The Gazz, Monday, October 17, 2005
THE CD: "Wisdom From The Green Shag Carpet" (Brick & Stone)
PERFORMER: Redding Brothers

Scott Depot is known for a lot of things. Most of them I'm not aware of. The Redding Brothers are a three-piece rock outfit that hails from there, so, consequently, they're the star attraction.

Their 12-track, full length debut, "Wisdom From The Green Shag Carpet", is the result of years of playing and touring with each other. They released the CD on their own Nashville-based label, Brick & Stone Records.

They list Nirvana and R.E.M. as influences on their website, and the first song "Throwing Stones", sounds like it's right out of a Kurt Cobain set list. Singer Micah Redding sings: I'm living my life like it's not for me/I'm living my life like it's not for free.

Yet the up-tempo, grunge-era song is atypical of the broad range of tunes on "Wisdom". The second song, "Rosebud," gets a star by me (I've developed a set of checks and stars!) Driving acoustic strumming is joined by electric power riff, and the rocking begins shortly thereafter. The band starts to use synths (strings, piano, etc.) for a deep sound.

Micah's lyrics are deeply introspective. On "Rosebud" he says: I don't want to be another cold life/blowing out the candles just to shine in the night. Huh. The lyrics are not included in the sleeve, and that's a shame.

The band has got this tension thing down. Songs like "Soul Slip Away" and "Misled" are good examples of this. Slow, strumming, quiet intro verse, stomped pedal for the next couple of verses, snare roll (pre-chorus), rocking chorus, back to quiet verse, then even more rocking chorus for the outro.

If it is a formula, it's a good one. Other hits on the CD include "Child Of Yesterday," "Walking," and "Live," which features a church organ.

Vocally, Micah is strong. His voice sometimes seem to stray into the bathroom and into the tub (too much reverb-echo) With brothers Josiah (bass, keyboards) and Gabriel (drums) joining him, they're even stronger.

This CD surprised me. Described as an "acoustic-driven act," I expected something like James Taylor (not that there's anything wrong with that :>) If you expect an acoustic band, you'll be pleasantly surprised. Since they're just three people, you expect them to have a thin sound. No dice. Layered, distorted acoustic (sometimes too distorted) and electric guitar fatten the sound. How that carries over into a live show would be interesting to hear.

The keyboards, strings, and assorted noise make for a more experimental sound. On the last song, "Polar Bear Song", there's even a cool portamento-type synth effect for a second, like a siren that attempts to fire up, but gives up before it's first peak is reached.

I know what you're saying: "Nick, I love free stuff. How can I get this CD off you for nothing?" Easy. Leave a comment below to this post, or email one to This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it If it's half way intelligent, you may be a winnah.

The brothers take their act on the road this Saturday, when they hit the Halloween show at HYAMP. If you can't tell, that's the HYAMP flier for the show at bottom. And, oh yes, I do hate the player, and the game.