New Albums From Wayne Hancock & Scott H. Biram (+ Bloodshot Records)

Down with Pop Country, News 1 Comment



The King of Juke Joint Swing and now a wily veteran of the underground country circuit, Wayne “The Train” Hancock will be releasing a new album this April, called Viper of Melody. According to waynehancock.com the album will feature his current touring lineup of Izzy Zaidman on lead guitar, Huck Johnson on slap bass, and Tony Locke on steel guitar.

“I’m like a stab wound in the fabric of country music in Nashville. See that bloodstain slowly spreading? That’s me.” –Wayne Hancock

Also the one man madman band Scott H. Biram is also releasing an album in June called Something’s Wrong/Lost Forever.

From Biram:

“Some of the songs included on the album are “Sinkin’ Down”, “Still Drunk, Still Crazy, Still Blue” and “Judgement Day”. The Black Diamond Heavies appear on a cover of Muddy Waters’ “I Feel So Good” written by Big Bill Broonzy, and John Meyers of The Black Diamond Heavies appears on the SHB original “Hard Time”.”

I had no idea until reading about his new album that Scott H. Biram was on Bloodshot Records, the same Chicago-based label that Wayne Hancock is on. In fact, the Bloodshot Record stables is a proverbial who’s who in the underground country music scene. Check out this lineup:

Wayne “The Train” Hancock
Scott H. Biram
Split Lip Rayfield
Justin Townes Earle
The Legendary Shack Shakers
Bobby Bare Jr.
Ryan Adams
Neko Case
The Meat Purveyors
Whiskeytown
Old 97’s
Wee Hairy Beasties (Don’t know em, but love the name)
And others that you can read HERE.

Bloodshot also recently put out a Wanda Jackson (who I wrote about in my last blog) tribute album, Hard-Headed Woman: A Celebration of Wanda Jackson

Check out this MP3 previewer I might start using in these blogs. Not necessarily trying to peddle anything, it’s just a great way to allow everyone to listen to the albums and songs I’m writing about.


Bloodshot Records needs to be commended. I get emails and comments upon occasion from people saying the we all focus on the negative too much around here when it comes to the country music scene, and I tend to agree with them. It’s just there so much negative stuff happening nowadays in country music, I feel like I’ve always got to have my dukes up, fighting for what I believe in.

But Bloodshot Records is one big thing to be thankful for. With so many of the Nashville labels perpetuating pop country and eroding the foundations of what REAL country music is all about, it is great to know there is at least one label, however small, willing to put their butt’s on the line for these artists, and not worrying solely about the bottom dollar.

The label was started in 1994 by Nan Warshaw and Rob Miller in Chicago. The idea was to “Champion the music that lurks between genres,” and because what we would all consider country music has been run underground by pop music parading as country, REAL country music artists have been a good fit for Bloodshot.

I found this little piece of art on their website:



I’ll tell you right here and now people, country music will die over my dead body. We have to cut the pop and money mongers out like a bad infection to hopefully save and preserve the music for future generations.

Bloodshot Records calls themselves “The Home of Insurgent Country.”

I like the sound of that.

© 2023 Saving Country Music

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