Scott Link - Guitars and vocals
Don't quote me on this, But;
Matt Robbins - Lead guitars, manic stage presence
Ginger Cote - Drums, blistering coolness
Scott Conley - Bass, default guitar tech (he's a luthier by trade)
Player to be named later - Keyboards
Influences
Steve Earle, Johnny Cash, Dwight Yoakam, The Blasters, X, Drivin' n cryin', Elvis Costello, Ruth Brown, The knitters, Social Distortion, My Dad, The Ramones, Hank Williams, Scruffy the Cat, The Police, The Sex Pistols, Los Lobos, Willie Nelson, This guy I used to see play on the street in New Orleans, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Dick Curless, The Beatles, Jason and the Scorchers, Steve Earle
Sounds Like
Steve Earle, Jack Ingram, Ryan Adams, All those Americana songwriter guys with a band. Hey I'm not reinventing the wheel here just trying to say what I gotta say.
Scott Link is the most famous musician his fans hardly know. That’s because he’s the former Diesel Doug, frontman for the hard charging and much loved alt-country pioneers Diesel Doug and the Long Haul Truckers. Over the course of a career that made him and his talented band alt-country cult heroes, Link cashed plenty of four-dollar ASCAP checks, but he also thrilled through the experience of opening for Willie Nelson and found himself the object of Stephen King’s admiration in the monthly back-of-the-book column he writes for Entertainment Weekly.
King was wowed by Mistakes Were Made, a greatest hits collection (really) celebrating the songs that made Angel Not a Saint and The Fine Art of Carousing so well reviewed and among the best-selling local albums of the past 20 years. They appear alongside live tracks and a Christmas novelty tune that only begin to present a picture of just how fun it was to sip a beer, laugh with friends, and enjoy Diesel Doug tunes that recalled everyone from Dick Curless to George Jones to the Rolling Stones.
As Link led a roots-music movement that put Portland’s music scene on No Depression’s map, there was a time, 10 years of good times in fact, for playing someone else. Now, 20 years after he first picked up his father’s Gibson B-25, it’s time for Link to play himself.
Over the course of the past two years, Link has crafted with gifted producer John Wyman (As Fast As, Ray LaMontagne) a debut solo album, Coming Around, and now he’s put together a powerhouse band full of the best the vibrant Portland music scene has to offer to help him promulgate its inspired songwriting. Guitarist Matt Robbins is the premier rockabilly picker in Maine as a 15-year veteran of King Memphis, paired with fellow axeman Keith Tasker, who’s been seen all over the country touring with Jess Tardy and NYC’s Brilliant Mistakes. They’re supplemented by the keyboard lines of Joe Boucher, a veteran of beloved local pop-rock bands the Troubles and the Frotus Caper.
The rhythm section features a former Long Haul Trucker in Scott Conley, who’s found his own measure of post-Trucker success. As guitarist for old-timey bluegrass band the Muddy Marsh Ramblers, Conley is considered a gifted songwriter in his own right, thanks to fan favorites like “The Old Railroad” and “Above the Timberline,” both featured in the Greetings From Area Code 207 series of Portland alt-country compilation discs put together by Diesel Doug guitarist Charlie Gaylord. Conley is paired with Ginger Cote, quite simply Portland’s most in-demand drummer, a former Nashville session player, and the personal choice of long-time roots rocker Cindy Bullens.
As Link and the band storm through familiar territory all over the Eastern seaboard and Midwest, long-time fans will recognize a heart-felt and ironic country twang, and fans new and old will find it hard to resist his honky-tonk swagger, refined and softened since he first took his art-school aesthetic to a sawdust-strewn barroom stage.
With his new work, Link opens up and lets us inside that formerly manufactured Diesel Doug persona with hints of the naked joy of pure pop and the introspection of indie rock, without ever straying from the guitar-based Americana that first inspired him. It’s honest, and real, and proof that there’s always a place for stories of hard work and simple pleasures. “Done” will remind you of the first time you were really floored by the girl across the room; “End to End” will make you wonder if she might just be too much of a good thing.
That is, if you can think about anything while the fat-bottomed guitars tug at your belt buckle. Link’s a master of the beer-soaked slow burner, good for last-call swaying on sweaty summer nights, and he’s got a mean nostalgia streak. “Picture of You” is a flat-out stomp to “free me from this wasted time.” There’s a simple poignancy to couplets like his title track’s “There are answers right in front of us, if we dare enough to be bold/ Should we fall, a strong hand to grab hold.”
Link has dared to step out from behind the curtain. Dare enough to join him.
Hallöchen wollen nicht stören! Aber wir haben vor Kurzem ein paar neue Songs aufgenommen! Wenn du also Zeit und Lust hast, hör doch mal rein Rock'n Roll on :-)
hey Scott - thanks for adding us to your friends list - always good meeting other bands & artists from this great state of Maine! - good luck with your music - John Koutny & Red Cross Sky
Hi, we're Stackers from Tokyo, Japan, originated in New York City, USA in 2003. Check out this video of one of our shows in Japan. We have been compared to such bands as Rancid and Hi-Standard
and we have a full length album available worldwide at Interpunk.com!
Please feel free to help us copy and paste the STOLEN BASSES flyer into a bulletin, to get the word out that these are hot and pressure the culprit to turn them over.
Scott, It was great ringing in the New Year with you! I was hoping for a jam session, but watching the shocking image of Dick Clark's zombie shell of a body on a high-def TV was hard to top. - Erik
Hey Scott I'd like to invite you to listen to the songs on my profile, if you haven't already. There are four songs from our new album, 'Fingers In The Pie', and two from the first album, 'The Long Run'. Feel free to write a short comment; and if you really, really like what you hear, my special offer for direct orders of the new CD is still going. Please contact me for more information. And thank you for looking into my music!
Hello Scott, I am interested in your new stuff. How do I buy a CD? I'm not much for downloading music (I just don't know what I'm doing.) As far as the Diesel Doug stuff goes, I have the "Mistakes were made" cd. The original albums were most likely out of print by the time I stumbled on to your music. I'm usually in town once a week so dont think I'm ignoring a message if I don't respond right away. If purchasing a cd is impossible, I guess I'll have to learn how to purchase and download songs. I suppose it's about time! Thanks a bunch-Mike
I pulled out my old Diesel Doug Cd and cant get enough of it. Prides corner reminds me of Buck Owens which is a good thing. I guess I'll break down and buy your new stuff. Thanks for playing music that I enjoy-Mike
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