Kentucky Music: Sad Bastard Brothers

The Sad Bastard Brothers is a Louisville, Kentucky band that has members from Louisville, Morganton, and Bowling Green, Kentucky as well. They fall under rock and roll, Indie, and alternative country, but their guitarist and vocalist Shawn Coots say their name comes from wanting to play "that old Sad Bastard" country music. He says that it is old outlaw country fused with indie rock and blues music.

The band is comprised of Brad Annis on drums, John Birk on bass, and Shawn Coots on guitar and vocals. When they play live, Andy Guilaran joins them on keys, and Marth Manuel and Lesley Coots accompany Shawn with backup vocals. Sometimes Ken Embry and Russell Brooks replace Brad and John when they are out of town.

"It's a rather large family affair," said Shawn.

Artist inspiration can come from just about anywhere, but Shawn says that his lyrics usually come from a personal place or the bottom of a bottle, preferably whiskey. He really doesn't drink much but says that he is inspired by liquor and pretty girls. The "pretty girl" inspiration seems to have always been a theme for Shawn as he says got into music because he loved playing guitar and thought it would be a cool way to meet girls.

The Sad Bastard Brothers are among the more accomplished bands in the Kentucky music scene, as they have completed a CD and it is available on Itunes and at Louisville music store, Ear -X-tacy. The name of the CD is Hibernation Season and sports 14 tracks with names like "Eskimo's Inherit the Earth", "Devil May Care", "White Widow" and "I Hunt Alone". You can purchase the whole CD from Itunes for $9.99 or each track individually for 99 cents each.

The Sad Bastard Brothers enjoy being part of the Louisville, Kentucky music scene. Shawn says they have no desire to chase after record labels or to try to garner a record deal. They're happy being independent and want to release another album in the next year. They also might like to set up a small east coast tour.

The band played an event in New York City in April, and Shawn said it was interesting. His main thoughts on the trip was that it was a long drive. It was exciting to say they've played in Manhattan on a Saturday night, but the trip was riddled with frustrations and according to their MySpace blog, they all wanted to kill each other at one point or another.

Shawn is also talented in other media as well. In the past, he had a television show on public access known as Apartment 2, and has helped in the production of other independent film productions. He's also a talented web designer.

Sad Bastard Brothers has a website at www.sadbastardbrothers.com and their music can be heard at their MySpace page, www.myspace.com/sadbastardbrothers