Randall Kirsch: He definitely has one of the more soulful voices I've ever heard. In the late 90's early 2000's, he was the leader of Winston-Salem based jam band Drifting Through. The Atlanta native returned home to start a solo career and it's never really taken off. He plays in a duo these days and tours sporadically. I highly recommend the Drifting Through disc Spell. It has some remarkable songs on it and Randall's solo disc Searchlight Sessions is a DIY effort that should have gotten into the hands of some industry insiders. http://www.randallkirsch.com and also http://kirschgroves.blogspot.com/

Seafood: A British foursome that plays what they describe as "London post-grunge." It takes a bit of warming up to like this disc, but I for one fell in love with it from the first listen. Others haven't come around to it yet. It definitely has an indie bent to it and is not for the average pop/rock music fan but their CD When Do We Start Fighting was one of my favorite discs in college. http://www.seafood.co.uk

Zoo Story: This band lasted for no more than a year. Randy Coleman who was been featured in this blog was their frontman. If you watch the movie Dragonfly with Kevin Costner (I know its not amazing, but it is decent) the song that plays during the credits is Zoo Story's Star. It's an incredible track. Their disc "Come Out and Play" flirted with the major labels but was taken off the shelves before it ever made it into record stores. Gavin MacKillop who has worked with some great bands produced the CD and gave it a really nice gloss. If it had made it, it would be one of the better releases of 2002. Consequently it hasn't but it is available to listen to at http://www.zoostory.com

Dropline: About the same time Zoo Story was set to relase their disc, a band from LA actually did. They were called Dropline and the disc was called You Are Here. I don't think the band has toured since the album's release year. I doubt they are still together. Paul Ebersold who worked with Sister Hazel produced the CD. The disc is probably still available and if you like Zoo Story you will probably love Dropline. Vocalist Steve Sulikowski has awesome vocal ability and the songs are some of the finest pop-rock around. Still listen to this disc as much as I can.

Bleu (McCauley): Oh man is this guy good. He looks like a doofus with his mutton chops but his hyped up, super literate power-pop is total ear candy. A great live performer and a man who has collaborated and shared the stage with some of the industry's biggest names. His disc Redhead basically wore itself out I played it so often between 2001-2004. http://www.bleutopia.com