Monday, March 20, 2006

More than one prince.


So, we're from Little Rock, Arkansas, motherfucker...and we get shit about it all the time down here. Maybe because we bring it up too much....but goddammit we love that place...it made us into who we are now. How could we not mention it all the time? With so many amazing people, beautiful nature all around you, laid back Southern attitudes, and an incredible scene while we were in our musically formative years ('90-'98) it's pretty much impossible to not bring it up. (I might add that a quality number of people [considering the size of the state] have gone on to much bigger things recently --- Some of Lucero, !!!'s drummer and one of Ted Leo's Pharmacists to name a few). It was an interesting place. Everything from Econochrist to Green Day to Thumbnail had roots there, and the kids had diverse-as-hell music tastes at a time when things seemed very segregated and the dang ol' internets weren't taking over the world yet.

There were these two guys Sara went to school with...Collins and David...good guys; played in a bunch of bands back in the day...about a year ago I saw that they were in a band called American Princes and were starting to get noticed. They signed to Yep Roc (who reissued their first album), toured with Lucero, and started working on their second album. We ran into Collins at a show in Little Rock over xmas break and gave him a pile of the stuff we've put out on Hometapes. It was great to run into him and see that he/they were doing so well. What was equally amazing was the full-blown scene at an all-ages venue that served alcohol in downtown Little Rock. The place was packed.

The American Princes boys got in touch not too long after to enlist our help on their album artwork. We were happy to help old friends, and a few weeks later, they sent us a copy of the finished recording. It was absolutely incredible. I'd only heard a few mp3s from their first album and I liked it, but this stuff blew me away. Super musically mature; they bring the rock when it's necessary and the bring the quietude to help calm your nerves. David's vocals are very, very strong and Collins has become an absolute god on guitar. I've listened to it countless times since....on long drives, in the morning when I need some pep, in the afternoon when I'm just trying to make it through the day. I'm so happy for these guys that they have been able to achieve something that is so musically great. I can't believe I know these guys (and I can't believe we were slightly involved with a record this good). They should be superstars. Rock gods. Heartthrobs for youngsters. They are truly American Princes. Cheers, fellas.

Their new album comes out tomorrow on Yep Roc. Go and buy the shit out of it.


Here's the lead off track from Less and Less.

American Princes - Stolen Blues

1 Comments:

Blogger cbotwell said...

Whooo, Little Rock. I love Arkansas, Lucero, and American Princes.

3:00 AM  

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