Notes From Middle America is contributor Danny R. Phillips’ monthly column. You can read past installments here.

Being a long jaded follower of many musical genres, it’s hard for me to be leveled by a new live band; rare is the evil smile on my face or the slow climb of a shiver up my crooked spinal column. Since I’ve become a “professional” music critic as opposed to just another wiseass amateur arguing about music with anyone within earshot, few acts have issued a response in my mind higher than “they’re ok.”
Read the full story

Words and photos by Zachary Timm

It was a packed audience at Fridays Black Keys show, all of them waiting in anticipation for an amazing night of roots-inspired rock ‘n’ roll. From the moment the Heartless Bastards took the stage all the way to the last grimy blues guitar riff strummed on Dan Auerbach’s guitar, those in attendance definitely got what they came for.
Read the full story

The Rock Bible, a set of rules or commandments that have been spoken, followed and added to by rockers and fans alike since the infancy of the dirty little genre known as rock ‘n’ roll, were recently compiled into book form and published by Chunklet. One of the said commandments that struck me like a line drive to the forehead was “No white man shall sing or play the blues.” At first, I believed this to be ridiculous and more than a bit exclusionary; then I gave it more thought.
Read the full story