The Worthless Son-in-Laws
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The Worthless Son-in-Laws

Boone, North Carolina, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2004 | SELF

Boone, North Carolina, United States | SELF
Established on Jan, 2004
Band Rock Americana

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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

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"Local Musicians and Touring Acts Play in the High Country"

This Weekend Filled with Live Music

Local Musicians and Touring Acts Play in the High Country

By Jeff Eason

Looking for some live music this weekend? There are plenty of guitarist, mandolin players, drummers and other musicians out there plying their trade this weekend, so take in some great live music here in the High
Country. Here’s just a sampling of some of the tune-age going down this weekend:

[photo]

Worthless Son-in-Laws
One of the High Country’s premiere alternative country bands, The Worthless Son-in-Laws, will perform at the Jones House Community Center on Friday, August 3rd as part of the Watauga Arts Council’s 2007 Concerts on the Lawn Series. Don’t know what “alternative country” is? Well, with the Worthless Son-in-Laws it means you take the classic country-rock sound of 70s bands such as Pure Prairie League and update for a new millennium. The band has just released a strong album titled Sort of Back to Having a Life featuring a mysterious blend of acoustic and electric guitars, drums and bass.

The bluegrass band Southern Exposure will open the show on Friday at 5 p.m. Music lovers are invited to bring lawn chairs and blankets to the front lawn of the Jones for this free show. For more information, call (828) 264-1789.

- Mountain Times


"Merlefest Artists"

Members of the Worthless Son-inLaws from Boone cover a wide swath of musical territory, from Jimmy Davidson's slightly strange acoustic indie-rock songs to Rob Brown's roots-anchored tunes. Riche Crepeau throws in a sinister punk-country number. Aaron Cummings maneuvers from straight-ahead country beats to eclectic freeform rhythms. This all combines into a sort of "New South Underground." The Worthless Son-in-Laws have performed around the Carolinas and Tennessee for over three years and just released their first CD, "Sort of Back to Having a Life." The album features their songs, "Linville Creek," "Road to Ruleville," and "Baton Rouge." www.soninlaws.com - Wilkes Journal-Patriot


"Worthless Son-In-Laws Invited to Play MerleFest"

November 2, 2006:
Story by David Brewer

It’s likely that local quartet the Worthless Son-In-Laws will be the envy of a number of area bands and musicians. Much to the band’s delight, the members recently received word that they have been invited to perform at MerleFest 2007.

The Worthless Son-In-Laws will play on Friday morning, April 27 at the Americana Stage and Friday afternoon at the Chris Austin stage. They will also give an outreach performance at a Wilkes County school on Thursday morning. Members Jimmy Davidson and Rob Brown will also be featured at a special songwriter’s event on Friday evening.

The Worthless Son-in-Laws include Brown and Davidson on guitars and vocals, as well as Rich Crepeau on bass guitar and Aaron Cummings on drums. They have recently recorded an album with local engineer Steve Greene entitled Sort of Back to Having a Life. The band has played several events around the High Country, including Sugar Grove Farm Heritage Days and the Kraut Creek Festival in downtown Boone.

“It was a really nice surprise for us to be invited to Merlefest,” said Davidson. “There are so many amazing songwriters and musicians who play there. It’s a real honor to be included. We’re all pretty excited. I’m looking forward to seeing Elvis Costello perform too.”

Forming in early 2004, the Worthless Son-in-Laws perform a blend of alt country and indie rock music, primarily consisting of original compositions. The southern sound and mood is rock based but also contains distinctly acoustic elements.

“Sometimes I like to call it ‘new south underground’,” said Davidson. “Lucky for us, MerleFest includes all kinds of music, which is great. I think they really try to showcase a wide variety of acoustic and roots-influenced music. I think that variety has really opened people up to some things they might not have listened to otherwise, and it’s probably one of the reasons MerleFest has been around so long.”

In addition to the Worthless Son-in-Laws’ appearance at MerleFest, the High Country will be represented by local trio the Forget-Me-Nots and storyteller Orville Hicks.

The Worthless Son-in-Laws will perform this Saturday, November 4, at Black Cat Burrito with Johnson City band Feral Throes. The show starts at 10:00 p.m. For more info on the band, click to www.soninlaws.com.
- From High Country Press


"Worthless Son-In-Laws Bring Originality to Alt-Country-Rock"

December 8, 2005
By Jeff Eason

With all of the copycat musicians and cover bands out there, it’s good to know there are still some guys committed to making tightly knit original songs. The local band the Worthless Son-in-Laws is just one outfit making a name for itself through persistence, a determination for creating something original, and for blending the individual member’s differences into a cohesive sound.

The Worthless Son-in-Laws will perform at the Black Cat Burrito in downtown Boone on Saturday, December 10th at 10 p.m. Atlanta rockers The Tea Leaves will take the stage around midnight.

The Worthless Son-in-Laws features Rob Brown on electric guitar and vocals, Rich Crepeau on bass, Aaron Cummings on drums and Jimmy Davidson on acoustic guitar on vocals.

The sound has been described as somewhere “in between the indie rock and alternative country range of the musical spectrum.”

The band’s repertoire consists primarily of original songs written by principal songwriters Brown and Davidson. They also like to throw in the occasional cover tune by the likes of Merle Haggard, Vic Chesnutt, and Farmer Not So John.

According to Davidson, he and Brown bring widely differing tastes and influences to their sound. Brown’s tastes runs more toward traditional American favorites such as Little Feat, John Hiatt and the various Delta Blues masters. Davidson claims a love some of the more eclectic new bands on the indie scene such as Lambchop, American Music Club and Death Cab for Cutie. He also admits to a weakness for some of the indie-crossover acts such as Coldplay and Radiohead.

The third songwriter for the band, Crepeau, has an affinity for some of the current underground power pop bands getting play on college radio such as Sloan and Fountains of Wayne, as well as for English new wave favorites The Jam. Cummings, the band’s drummer, finds inspiration from everything from straight rock beats to Afro-Cuban rhythms.

“It might sound like some of our individual styles would clash,” said Davidson. “But I really think they come together nicely—they make something new. On some of my songs, Rob adds sort of a blues-country-rock interpretation, and that’s something I would never have imagined working. But he’s an excellent guitar player—versatile, you know—and he really puts his heart into it and makes it work.”

The band has its embryonic beginnings in Athens, Georgia where Davidson and Brown played together as the founding members of the band Blue George. When the duo reunited in Boone a few years later, they decided to form a new band and recruited New York native Cummings and bassist Crepeau to fill out the rhythm section.

Of this weekend’s show at Black Cat Burrito, Davidson said, “I think it will be a good show. We love playing live. The Black Cat usually has a good audience, too—they’re into music; they expect to see something original.”

For more information on this Saturday’s show at Black Cat Burrito, call (828) 263-9511.
- The Mountain Times


"Worthless Son-in-Laws"

Recently added to the 2007 line-up for MerleFest, High Country folkies the Worthless Son-In-Laws fuse their laid-back roots sound with the jangle pop sounds of NC band the dBs and Chris Stamey, while also recalling Son Volt and possibly a hint of the Decemberists. The quartet will return to Black Cat January 19th. - Shout Magazine


"Smart Bets"


who: The Worthless Son-in-Laws

what: Southern-tinged Americana band from Boone

where: Westville Pub

when: Thursday, March 29. (9:30 p.m. Call for cover: 225-9782.)

why: Great name and good taste: Besides their originals, the band covers the likes of Merle Haggard and Vic Chesnutt. - Mountain Xpress


Discography

Sort of Back to Having a Life (2007)
No. 8 Wire (2013)
Songs streaming on various sites
Videos on YouTube

Photos

Bio

“"The songwriting [on No. 8 Wire] by Jimmy Davidson with help from guitarist Rob Brown is through the roof here both melodically and lyrically, bolstered by a band that nails the songs with pinpoint perfection, floating from shades of Son Volt and the Jayhawks to the Connells and the Grateful Dead. The vocal delivery by Jimmy Davidson is rock solid on what can only be deemed one of the most pleasantly surprising releases of the summer. This one rests near the very top of the ‘highly recommended’ list. "
—Bill Hurley, The Alternate Root

“"[No. 8 Wire] alternates between slow ballads, such as ‘New York Times,’ and punchy rockers like ‘Still Life With Cake.’ The balance between the acoustic guitars and piano and electric instruments is flawless. But the real strength of the new album is the songwriting. Stylistically, the album is reminiscent of many of the stellar country rock albums of the 1970s, especially discs such as Pure Prairie League’s Bustin’ Out....”—"--Jeff Eason, The Mountain Times

“"Beautiful pop hooks and melodies wrapped in twang, reminiscent of the Jayhawks’ best stuff....“"
—--Warren Catlett, Radio Free Americana

Bio:
The Worthless Son-in-Laws are a Boone, North Carolina-based amalgamation of southern indie-rock and Americana formed in early 2004. It is only because they are friends with each other that they stuck it out long enough to figure out how to get Allmanesque roots-rock guitar to work with REM/Big-Star-style melodies and meticulous lyrics.

Jimmy Davidson and Rob Brown write songs about working on container ships, t-shirt shops, snail mail, talismans, weddings, and antique televisions. Davidson draws from his work experiences and flips through Bryan Garner’'s Dictionary of Modern American Usage for inspiration, while Brown’'s muse is his latent desire to be a truck driver. Rich Crepeau plays bass and plays gigs with stitches in his fingers. Dave Brewer plays drums and tends bar at the world famous Boone Saloon.

The Worthless Son-in-Laws' new album "No. 8 Wire" was recorded at the Fidelitorium studio with indie-rock veteran Mitch Easter.