Okay, here’s the skinny: The scheming corporate vampires and piggy-bankers have waddled away in a silent-but-deadly cloud after gobbling their fills at the public trough, leaving the rest of us poor schmos to pick the corn outta their poop and call it lunch. The whole stinkin’ economy is burning with the eternal, icy blue flame of corruption, and we’re down here with…what?

LIFE, for one great big thing—HEART and SOUL and ROCK’N’ROLL, and we got Ed Anderson and his able co-conspirators in Backyard Tire Fire to remind us that ALL OF THAT counts for way more than all the high-ticket stuff you can sneak out the back door.

With their fifth full-length disc, Good To Be, Backyard Tire Fire have achieved one of those big-time, long-haul records that matter far more than the sum of its considerable parts—and not via grandiose, larger-than-life lyrical imagery but through blue-collar, common sense miniatures that remind us of the simple beauty present in mundane, daily, person-to-person experience—a reminder that the hard work and struggle that these times are so dead-set about avoiding are the only actual treasures, the only worthwhile endeavors that bear fruit of substance.

Which is NOT to say that Good To Be is yet another one of those one-dimensional, granola-rootsy, rustic Americana takes on post-Uncle Tupelo barn-board rock; there is a taste of that, to be sure, but Anderson & Co. have spread the stylistic court with a rich, ever-expanding palette of aural rock ‘n’ roll colors and textures that tap into bouncy, Kinks-meet-Squeeze Brit pop-rock, Tom Petty-styled Southern rock, Beatle-esque majesty, intimate balladry, chiming folk-rock and heartland/populist chest-pounders. Bearing a consistent message of empathy, humanity and hope, Good to Be is a triumph of Anderson’s own thirteen year journey as a rock and roller.

Based in Bloomington, Illinois, Backyard Tire Fire have worked the national circuit tirelessly, sharing stages with fellow-travelers Cracker, the Reverend Horton Heat, Govt. Mule, Alejandro Escovedo, James McMurtry and Los Lobos.

Brighton MA is a five-piece rock band from Chicago. Named for lead singer/songwriter Matt Kerstein's hometown, Brighton MA has existed in various forms since 2006. In the past year, founding members Kerstein, Sam Koentopp, and Jim Tuerk have been joined by Joe Darnaby and Jon Ozaksut to develop their most cohesive sound to date. BMA has built a reputation throughout the Midwest on a series of blistering live performances and a catalog of undeniably tuneful and well-crafted songs, heard on such prime-time television shows such as Gossip Gir, One Tree Hill and Castle. The diversity of songs has led them to share the stage with a number of noteworthy and disparate sounding performers, from Old 97s, Elvis Perkins, and Mason Jennings, to Man Man, The Essex Green, and Appleseed Cast to name a few. With an ever-expanding catalog and a quickly building fanbase, Brighton MA are a band on the rise and poised to break through.

BMA is currently working on their as of yet untitled third LP, a followup to Amateur Lovers [2008] and the self-titled debut EP [2007].