Daddy.” Singer/songwriter/guitarist Joe Mid- dleton turns in some very good songs and that’s all there is to it. The boys get a little funky on “Into the Wind,” and “I Wish the Rain Would Fall” is just plain beautiful. An- other tune I really like is “Ok,” in which they pull out many of the Southern colloquialisms we all grew up with -(ie: “I’m feeling fair to middlin.’”) The set closes with the title track, “Ghosts,” another top notch tune. If we used stars for ratings, and five wat the best, this one would get a five. I love it... One North Carolina band we have watched grow better and better over the past few years is Halden Vang. The hard rockin’ three piece band from Charlotte, NC is fronted by 18-year old Jake Haldenwang, who we first witnessed burning up the guitar strings at age 15, With How About Now, Halden Vang lay it on the line. Jake’s guitar and lead vocals are front and center, and the original songs rock., “Walk Through the Fire” brings to mind Sammy Hagar era Van Halen. Turn it up to eleven.Every song on this six-track EP will make you want to spring to your feet and start playing air guitar, except for the lovely ballad “Sand in My Hand.” Choice Tracks: “How About Now;” “Walk Through the Fire.” Good stuff....... Michael Tracey is another North Carolina artist that has really captured our at- tention. The singer/songwriter is equally at home on the big stage with his full band or alone, just himself and his acoustic guitar. The songs are really good. They hold up under either condition. His new album, Ain’t Dead Yet is a prime example of Tracey’s song- writing talent. One of my personal favorite tunes is “Raven,” which sounds great electri- fied, but the acoustic rendition here is even better - haunting. My second favorite on the record is the rocking “Fashion and Fame,” a song that in some ways brings to mind an- other favorite Southern band of mine, R.E.M. Tracey writes about someone who did what-
ever they had to in order to be a star, regard- less of who they hurt along the way. How much did you pay for fashion and fame?” The love song “Shorelines” is another well written lyric backed by a smooth acoustic groove, and “Sing Together” is a rocking rallying cry to everyone to “throw your hands up high into the sky and sing together one time.” This one most likely gets his audiences going. Also of note is the rocking, “My Faith, My Country.” I love the lead guitar through the wah-wah pedal. Michael Tracey is an artist to keep an eye - and an ear - on... Dixie Still is based in Gastonia, NC, but the trio has been spending quite a bit of time in Nashville lately and they have a really great album to show for it. Rumor is a powerful country album packed with great songwriting, beautiful vocals and harmonies, and professional Nashville musi- cians. The very first time I heard their song “Dark Horse,” it was obvious that these kids have the talent to go all the way to the top. Move over, Lady Antebellum! “Dark Horse” is a powerful, positive song about overcoming the odds, and the melody resonates in your head. You end up humming it all day. I’m going to use three words that I never ever use. It’s a hit! As crazy as the music industry has become, it’s probably downright dumb for me to say that, but given the right air time, on the right radio stations, it could be a number one record. The great thing is, the album includes a whole bunch of other great tunes. Both “I Fell for Memphis” and “Gettin’ Ready to Rain” also share the aforementioned hit po- tential, and the entire record is a charm. Holly Robinson-Branch, Matthew Branch and Stephen Robertson make up Dixie Still, and their combined talent is a sight to behold - or a sound, that is. Seven-time Grammy-winner Mark Fain produced the album. Fain is an ac- complished Nashville producer who has won multiple grammys for his work with Ricky Sk- aggs, Bruce Hornsby, Charlie Hayden, just to
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