The Boxcars – December 13th

The highly anticipated, self-titled debut CD from The Boxcars won’t drop until October 19, but Mountain Home Records has just released a first single to radio.

The song is December 13th, one of nine band originals out of thirteen tracks on the album. It was written by guitarist and lead vocalist Keith Garrett, who excels in both roles and bring a soulful, thoughtful quality to the group’s sound.

Keith explained a bit about the song, and how it came to be written…

“I got the idea for this song a couple of years ago after watching the movie The Shawshank Redemption (for the 4th or 5th time). In my song, however, the implication is that the guy really commits the murder (after all, it is a bluegrass song…..someone has to die…).

One funny thing about this song is that I played it for my wife for the first time on December 12 (I think 2008). She was a little disturbed, both because of the date and also because she incorrectly assumes that my songs are all autobiographical in some way. I assured her that I was of sound mind and had no intentions of committing such a heinous crime on the very next day. Still, she was extra nice to me for the rest of the evening.”

December 13th:  [http://traffic.libsyn.com/thegrasscast/12_13.mp3]

The audio sample above demonstrates why I feel that The Boxcars may have the grooviest rhythm section in bluegrass – in both senses of the term. Ron Stewart is on banjo, Adam Steffey on mandolin, Harold Nixon on bass and John Bowman on fiddle, with Garrett on guitar. Listen to the snap and drive as soon as the band kicks in.

You can hear the whole track, and download a free MP3 copy, from the Mountain Home web site, and anyone attending the IBMA convention later this month will have several opportunities to catch The Boxcars live.

Radio programmers will be able to download a hi-fidelity version of the track for airplay in the next few days.

I can’t wait for this CD to hit.

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About the Author

John Lawless

John had served as primary author and editor for The Bluegrass Blog from its launch in 2006 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.