Brad: Timebomb

Brad is more than a fantastic storyteller. He's a multi-talented burlesque performer, and visual artist. If only to put the rest of us to shame, Brad is also an author. In 2020 he serialised his novel Maxine and the Planets Unknown as a 20-episode podcast. It's worth a listen. Think of the children. You can learn more about Brad by following him on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. You can also take storytelling classes with Brad at Kevin Allison's Story Studio. I could go on for a looooooong time about alt-country in general and The Old 97s in particular. Like Brad, the alt-country movement hit me at a musically and personal important time. Bands that he mentioned (like Uncle Tupelo and Southern Culture on the Skids) and dozens he didn't, like Whiskeytown, Lucero, Slobberbone, Fiftymen and others were very very important to me in the late 90s. The idea of "starting a country band because punk rock was too hard to sing" has lost a lot of its charm as the purveyors of the sound have either moved on or transformed into (still loveable) dad rock, but I still occasionally dig out some twang and roll (especially for Kate who loves the sound of a two-step high hat). Check out this playlist of some of my favourite alt-country songs that remind me of Timebomb (including Timebomb) if you want to slide down the rabbit hole with me! Some other time, I'm sure I'll make a playlist of just songs with Timebomb in the title. Make sure you follow The Volume Knob on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or at our website volumeknob.net. And if you have a story about the song that saved your life be sure to send it to me at [email protected].