DOWNLOAD: American Minor - Demo

Happy Birthday Robert McCutcheon, formerly of American Minor. I've been listening to the alt-country/southern rock band's 2002 demo a lot recently. If you don't have it already and you're a fan of Uncle Tupelo or Ryan Adams, be sure to download one of my favorite demos from a West Virginia band.

DOWNLOAD: American Minor - The Buffalo Creek EP

When American Minor released its 2002 demo, the band played a gritty brand of alt-country that blended the poignant, earthy rock of Uncle Tupelo with the wistful pop sensibilities of Ryan Adams.

When the band soon relocated from Huntington/Charleston to Champaign, Illinois, they were joined by guitarist Bud Carroll, whose hard blues-boogie style took American Minor in a new direction. Moving away from an alt-country overtone, the quintet grew their hair long, adorned themselves in plaid and boots, and took on a guitar-heavy Southern rock sound influenced by Lynard Skynard, the Black Crowes or Exile-era Rolling Stones.

Title track to 2004's four-song Buffalo Creek EP sums up the newfound style - macho riffs layered with a bluesy lead, hard-hitting drums and Rob McCutcheon's raunchy but soulful vocals. "Movin' On Up" shows the band's sexy side that hints of vintage Rod Stewart/Faces. The opener "Walk On" is a re-styled track from the band's original demo. The song combines the earnest elements of American Minor's initial sound with the energy and experienced musicianship (and production) of the band's better-known work - it is also, in my humble opinon, the group's finest accomplishment.

Artist: American Minor

Album: The Buffalo Creek EP

Year: 2004

For Fans Of: Lynard Skynard, Black Crowes, Faces

DOWNLOAD: American Minor - The Buffalo Creek EP

WATCH: American Minor live in Huntington, 2010

The Huntington Music and Arts Festival took place on October 2 and brought together more than a dozen artists from the region and state to perform at Ritter Park. The highlight of the event was the reunion of Huntington souther rockers American Minor, who had not played together since 2005. Below is a video of the band's opening song "Walk On" as well as an interview with guitarist Bud Carroll on Marshall University's student-produced late night show "Up Late" (that also features a former student of mine as the show's host's sidekick).

DOWNLOAD: American Minor - Demo

Before Charleston's American Minor was a guitar-thick southern rock outfit, before they all had shoulder-length hair and before they ever signed to the same record label as Britney Spears, they were an intimate alt country band. Better known for the Lynard Skynard-esque style of their self-titled album on Jive Records, American Minor in their beginning in 2002 sounded more like the lovechild of Ryan Adams and Uncle Tupelo.

It was in 2003 when the the band replaced guitarist Zac Ray with Bud Carroll that the band took a new direction with its sound. The unquestionably talented Carroll's loud-and-dirty rock riffs and blues leads turned up the volume on the once-bittersweet-sounding band. Eventually American Minor received the common major label treatment of being dropped, which led to the group's break-up.

In the end, American Minor's ambition, dedication and musicianship earned them deserved success that evades most bands - especially from West Virginia. A four-song demo recorded and released soon after the band's formation was then an indication of the band's eventual national success, but is now just an illustration of the roots of this group of talented musicians. More lap steel and Telecaster than drums and Les Paul, the early songs of American Minor are organic and earnest and just fun to hear. "My desperate heart can see you done gone and forgot me."

Artist: American Minor.

Album: Demo.

Year: 2002.

For Fans Of: Ryan Adams, Uncle Tupelo, The Old '97s.

DOWNLOAD: American Minor - Demo.