WATCH: Diamond Teeth Mary McClain

Born in Huntington, Diamond Teeth Mary McClain ran away from home at age 13, began singing at 15, but didn't receive recognition until she was in her mid-30s. She sang until her death in 2000 and had performed at the Appollo and the Cotton Club and has been billed with the likes of her half-sister Bessie Smith as well as Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington and other legendary musicians. Here are a couple videos of Diamond Teeth Mary including a short bio about her in the top video and footage of one of her later performances below.

WATCH: Down Goes Frazier live in Huntington, 2009

I recently traveled home to West Virginia. While there I got the opportunity to hang out with my good friend Ryan. That inspired me to listen to his old band Down Goes Frazier. If you're a fan of Hot Water Music or Planes Mistaken For Stars, be sure to download their discography. Here's a video of DGF playing in Huntington in 2009. They were a good band.

WATCH: The Blanket Institute live in 2001

Yesterday I posted the demo from Huntington noise-rock band The Blanket Institute. I mentioned their live performances, which were always tense and abrasive. So here is a video of them playing in what seems to be a gymnasium - maybe at the old Ceredo-Kenova High School - in 2001.

WATCH: Sam Black Church live in Boston, 1994

This past weekend, I saw All Pigs Must Die (ex-The Hope Conspiracy, Converge). At the show I mentioned Sam Black Church, and APMD's singer Kevin overheard me. He excitedly spoke of the days of SBC being the biggest band in Boston, and how good they were live. See what he's talking about in this video of SBC playing a hemp festival in Boston. (Skip to 2:15 for the SBC footage.)

WATCH: 'I Have a Lot of Faith' from Hollow

I Have Alot of Faith from Elaine McMillion on Vimeo.

The above video is a clip from Elaine McMillion's film project Hollow. It is a project you should 1) pay attention to 2) help support.

Hollow is a hybrid community participatory project and interactive documentary where content is created "for the community, by the community." The project combines personal documentary video portraits, user-generated content, photography, soundscapes, interactive data and grassroots mapping on an HTML5 website designed to discuss the many stereotypes associated with the area, population loss and potential for the future. Members of the community will take part in the filmmaking process by creating 20 of the 50 short documentaries in efforts to build engagement and social trust and empower the community to work together for a better future.

Elaine McMillion is a West Virginia native and WVU grad based in Boston when not working on this film. Follow her on Twitter.

WATCH: Rollins Band live in Huntington, 1999

Rollins Band covering Thin Lizzy's "Are You Ready" at the Gyrationz (Drop Shop) in Huntington in 1999. What else do you need to know?

WATCH: Brother's Keeper live in Charleston, 2001

Here is a pair of videos of Erie hardcore band Brother's Keeper playing at the VFW in Charleston in 2001. I sure I was at this show, but I don't remember it very well. I do, though, see a lot of friends including Dana White, who put on the show and deservedly receives words of appreciation from BK singer Mike Ski. I wasn't the biggest fan of the music of Brother's Keeper, but the guys in the band were always incredibly friendly and appreciative. Any band that enjoyed coming to play in West Virginia had my respect, and the members of Brother's Keeper always returned with their future projects. That is what I think about when I watch these videos.

WATCH: WWF introduces Earthquake as "John" from West Virginia

In 1989 at a WWF even in Wheeling, the Ultimate Warrior and Dino Bravo participated in a push-up contest. To show off Bravo's strength, Jimmy Hart picked a random audience member to sit on Bravo's back. The 460-pound man introduced himself as "John," and said he was from West Virginia. John Tenta, who was actually from Canada, eventually became known as Earthquake, and wrestled in the WWF for 5 years. In fact, I saw Bravo and Earthquake take on Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior in a tag-team in Wheeling the next year. Yeah, I loved wrestling, and never forgot seeing this clip when I was a 8 years old, and how excited I was to hear "John" say he was from state.

WATCH: Paul Sturgess: Big Man On Campus

I came across Paul Sturgess via an interview on Huffington Post. The 7'8"-tall Englishman was drafted by the Harlem Globetrotters in 2011. Before that, Sturgess was the tallest ever college basketball player when he was a part of the team at none other than Mountain State University in Beckley. Here's an ESPN piece about him from 2010.

WATCH: Police try to shut down The Radio Beats final show

Speaking of punk rock, here's a great video of The Radio Beats' final show in 2006. Hailing from Pittsburgh, The Radio Beats was a three-piece punk rock'n'roll band, for which my friend and once-Wheeling resident Steve Anderson sang and played bass. They were a great band with a lot of attitude playing music influenced by the likes of the Devil Dogs and Dwarves. Just as they were starting their at The Rock Room in Pittsburgh for their final show, the cops showed up and told them to "shut it off." Check it out, and if you can ever track down some of the Beats' record, do.

LISTEN: Friday Nights Lights and West Virginia

In October I wrote about Friday Night Lights, and how the first season closed with Bright Eyes' rendition of Daniel Johntston's "Devil Town." It was exciting as a new fan of the show that a song by a West Virginia (and Austin) native had been used.

Last night, with bittersweet emotions, I finished the series. (Best ever.) In one of the final episodes, though, it wasn't football that made me sit up and cheer (it rarely is on this fantastic show). Instead it was hearing Daniel Martin Moore's "Flyrock Blues" playing in the background of a quiet scene between two characters. With anticipation, I listened for the line where he sings, "In West Virginia the water's bad, and there just ain't no peace to be had." I was excited to clearly hear the name of my home state on my favorite show. It's a good song, so give it a listen, but if you haven't watched FNL, do.

WATCH: Sierra Ferrell - Wet Your Whistle live in Charleston, 2010

A few months ago, I stumbled across this video of Charleston-based singer-songwriter Sierra Ferrell performing at the Empty Glass. I had never heard (of) her, but was impressed by her voice and this song enough to want to share it on here. I believe this talented young lady plays with a band called 600 Lbs. of Sin, who are okay. If I was her friend, I would recommend she stick to the solo gig (and probably try a career in a place like Nashville or Austin) as she belongs with the likes of Laura Marling or Elle King.

WATCH: GG Allin live in Huntington, 1991 (NSFW)

No better way to start off 2012 than with some GG. Happy new year, scumfuck.

WATCH: Dallas Campbell and Geoff Hoskinson - McDonald's Holy Arches

Dallas Campbell (Drown Culture mastermind and former singer of The Minus Tide) and Geoff Hoskinson have been busy lately with Geoff Hoskinson & Dallas Campbell Make Videos. The project consists of the two Wheeling-ites writing, producing and performing in bizzarre, surrealistic and satirical music comedy sketches - think Tim and Eric but more hip and handsome. This recent video was featured on iheartchaos.com, but be sure to check out more of their videos on their Tumblr blog. The one below is my personal favorite.

WATCH: Alex's Birthday, Family Ties

Check out this gem. When Michael J. Fox's character on Family Ties turned 18, there was only one way for him to celebrate - head to West Virginia to drink. And yes, that is Crispin Glover (aka George McFly). Brilliant.

WATCH: The Demon Beat love at Trackside, 2011

Here is a video of a recent performance by The Demon Beat, a garage-blues-rock trio from Shepherdstown. I've been hearing a lot about this band over the past couple years. I posted about them back in September after posting the drummer's fantastic solo effort The Rozwell Kid. I have not listened to The Demon Beat much, though, because, to be honest, they just didn't appeal to me. I'm not a fan of The Black Keys and prefer My Morning Jacket's early, more mellow material, and those are two bands to which I would compared The Demon Beat. Then I saw this video, and I'm sold. It's a great song by talented musicians playing with tons of energy. David Klug, music engineer and former drummer from The Minus Tide, said The Demon Beat put on a great show. I hope they make it to Austin again soon, as I'd love to see them. For now I will watch this video for the sixth time.

WATCH: Pulling John

The other night I was searching through Netflix Instant for something quick and easy to watch and came across the above film "Pulling John." The documentary is about John Brzenk, a nearly impossible-to-beat arm wrestling champion, and two men who hope to end his invincibility. One puller is Alexy Voevoda, an overwhelming species of strength from Russia - like Drago with a soft heart and a ponytail. The other is Travis Bagent, a loudmouth egomaniac from, of course, West Virginia. I had no idea one of the main characters was a West Virginian, but as soon as I saw that, I was hooked. Bagent is half vainglorious villain and half underdog, and as much as he wants to make you dislike him, it's hard not to root for him. "Pulling John" isn't the best doc I've seen in a while, but it's a film that will make you cheer. Except for the fact that they say Travis from Charleston when he's actually from Charles Town. If you have Netflix, check it out.

WATCH: The Caterpillar Scheme live in Morgantown, 2008

Here are a couple videos of The Caterpillar Scheme playing at 123 Pleasant Street in Morgantown in 2007. Though the camera is hidden behind the drums, the light is low, and the audio is a bit loud and booming, the video hints at the The Caterpillar Scheme's energetic and intense live performances, which could not be captured on the band's self-titled EP.

WATCH: Kukim live in Dayton, 1994

Most readers of this blog are pretty familiar with Lincoln by now. Formed in the early 1990s, Lincoln was considered one of the originators of the post-hardcore/emo/screamo sound - "filled with super heavy dissonant guitars, screaming vocals and spastic drumming to a relatively medium tempo," as drummer Justin Wierbonski explains. "However, I don’t and never did consider Lincoln an emo band. We were just a rock band to my ears, and a pretty darn good one at that." Truth.

So it was unfortunate that after just a few short years and a handful of seven-inches, Lincoln called it quits. But where Lincoln left off, the Morgantown band's members picked right back up with Kukim. Kukim never released any albums except an in-studio performance at Morgantown's U92 radio station, but here are a couple videos of Kukim performing in Dayton in 1994. The top video features video from the show but overlayed audio from the u92 recordings. The video and audio below are from the actual performance.

WATCH: Eric Courtney on Showbiz Pizza and staying up late

This is Eric Courtney. He is from Clarksburg. When he was 7 years old, he went to a Showbiz Pizza lock-in. Now he lives in Los Angeles, and he stays up more than you.

This video (made by filmmaker James Markidis) deserves to go viral. Make it happen.