(Click buttons to the left of the dial to surf the site.) Where To Buy: "Under a whiskey moon" @ CD baby "UNDER A WHISKEY MOON" @ MILES OF MUSIC {Under A Whiskey Moon also available at Amazon.com, Borders.com,Towerrecords.com and TargetDirect.com. Or download it at i-Tunes or Audio Lunchbox.} News: Hey, ya'll. Been a long time since we've posted anything. Hell's 1/2 Acre is NO LONGER. Look for a new band in the works with 3 of us and 2 new folks. (P.S. It won't be called "Hell's 1/2 Acre", "Acre", "1/2" or "Hell." ) Please feel free and surf the site. We're leaving it as it is/was for reference. Check back soon for the new deal. Thanks to all who supported us. Rock on./ Nettwerk America CD complilation out now! Here's a review from Louisville Eccentric Observer: "Public Display of Affection" (various artists. Nettwerk America) "Everyone who listens to public radio should be familiar with the term Adult Album Alternative (AAA). It’s the new-ish music programming format that’s been adopted in varying degrees by much of public radio culture, including local affiliate WFPK-FM (91.9). This compilation album is basically a AAA promo. Four pre-eminent public radio DJs from across the country — including WFPK’s recently departed programming director, Dan Reed — each chose three of their favorite tunes to make this venture spin. It’s an interesting project with considerable results: a solid and emotionally equitable compilation more fluid than most. It avoids the artifice of highbrow artfulness that plagues so many of the half-assed mix tapes you’ve been hearing across the public radio dial in the past few years. “Good call!” kudos go to Reed for picking local boys Hell’s 1/2 Acre, whose “Sun Comes Up” is without question the best song here. Bruce Warren (of Philadelphia’s WXPN) introduces us to Amy Correia’s “Hold On (The Prison Song),” a fine tune sure to help invigorate the painfully ambiguous AAA format. Hell’s 1/2 Acre plays with Marah and Cabin Saturday night at Headliners." —Stephen George Thanks to WFPK Louisville for putting "Under a whiskey Moon" in the top 5 (#1 four weeks) for 12 weeks... What They're Saying: “Always good, Woosley has become great. So has Hell's ½ Acre. " -- Courier Journal “Get the CD, enjoy it as much as I have, and help stick it to The Man. " -- Freight Train Boogie “...striking, more urgent, wonderfully melodic. ” -- All Music Guide Radio Adds & Spins: WFPK KNBA WXPN KS95 WHAY WRIU KLCC WRIR XM KDVS WFTX KCUV KRCB RadioMILO/Spain WDVR WRFL KUMD WICN KRXS MSURadio/Asia WRNX WRPI WCAW RADIO 100/Portugal WGWG WEFT BRTO-Radio/Holland N.D. Radio Roots Highway Radio/Netherlands RWNL/Netherlands Rootstown/Netherlands The Bang Bang Bang Show/Netherlands Radio Siljan 94,1 Selected reviews for Hell's 1/2 Acre's "Under a Whiskey Moon:" FREIGHT TRAiN BOOGIE: "Take four parts Louisville twang, one part big-time producer, mix liberally with serious musical chops, fun songwriting, and serve hot. What you get is Hells 1/2 Acre's new CD, Under A Whiskey Moon. Ranging from the Beatles influenced "Sun Comes Up" to the irony of "Kindness of Strangers" to straight-up existential twang on songs like "Big Black Car," Hells 1/2 Acre shows a breadth and depth in their songwriting that really shines. They clearly have a single in "Silver Dollar" and maybe a few more past that. The production work of Mike Wanchic, who has played with and produced for Mellencamp, is really wonderful. Wanchic could be the fairy godmother who turns Hells 1/2 Acre from a fun, talented regional touring act into a group we get to hear on our car stereos. If for nothing else, this CD is wonderful for the ironic and perky death-row song "Kindness of Strangers" about a bad man who can't see that he's bad, and "One Lonely Night" where the protagonist tries to win his love by comparing her to Eva Braun and a hooker in an alleyway. If country radio had any cojones or sense of humor, they'd play this CD. Get the CD, enjoy it as much as I have, and help stick it to The Man. (4 STARS) " -- CLINT WEATHERS COURIER JOURNAL: "Hell's 1/2 Acre plows ahead." "When Hell's ½ Acre began pounding Louisville stages a couple of years ago, they were a flat-out rockabilly band that went after it hard, long and heavy. It was all good fun, but not overly ambitious. Last month the band released a new album, "Under a Whiskey Moon," and seemed to be transformed. The songs had grown to embrace a variety of American music, gracefully blending country, pop and rock in familiar ways that still felt fresh. It's one of the year's most enjoyable records, and a good distance from the band's roots. "We stopped trying to fit into a musical niche and let the songs be what they were going to be," said singer, guitarist and songwriter John Woosley. "It's still a rootsy sound overall, but we let each song take on its own identity," said bassist and songwriter Rankin Mapother. "Whether that's country, pop, rock or even a little jazzy." The album was recorded with some giants of Hoosier music. Mike Wanchic, a guitarist, producer and writer in John Mellencamp's band for more than two decades, offered to produce the new album after Mapother sent him a copy of the first. Guitarist Andy York, another Mellencamp alum, joined in, as well as Paul Mahern, a veteran of the indie-pop scene. Wanchic gave the band some advice on arranging, resulting in tighter, instantly memorable songs. You hear "Silver Dollar" once and immediately want to hear it again. "Like any good producer, Mike was invaluable," Mapother said. "He really knows how to build songs. Andy is just a fantastic player with lots of ideas. He's very intuitive." But they needed good songs to work with, which Mapother and Woosley provided. Woosley then sealed the deal with the best singing of his relatively short career. His slightly husky drawl puts the songs over the top, giving them a real sense of emotional depth. "I think we just took more time with it," Woosley said. "The first album was recorded piecemeal. This one was done all at once. So there's more continuity. It gave me an opportunity to really find the vibe of each song." Hell's ½ Acre, filled out by drummer Glen Howerton and guitarist/lover man Screaming John Hawkins, is going on the road in late summer or early fall. A few labels have also been sniffing around. You can get a taste tonight, as the band officially celebrates the release of "Under a Whiskey Moon" in the Roof Garden at the Phoenix Hill "--JEFFERY LEE PUCKETT MILES OF MUSIC: "Insurgent cowpunks Hell's Half Acre reconvene their clever variety of influences for this evolved follow up to 2003's Blacktops & Blackouts. Taking off from the band's rockabilly roots down gravelly roads, skimming tear-stained bar tops and breaking bottles Under A Whiskey Moon, these tunes have a more rough-hewn, melodic jangle-pop sound overall. Passionate vocalist John Woosley handles everything from smooth, engaging twang-pop to bluesy swagger. The raspy warmth and tongue twister lyrics of "Kindness Of Strangers" conjure an alt country Elvis Costello, while Woosley's breathy honesty color the glittering acoustic groove of "One Lonely Night". The band's nimble, driving twang-pop progressions have at once an urgency and an ease, brought out by Mike Wanchic's production (longtime producer for John Mellencamp)" COURIER JOURNAL: "Full Moon." "The artistic growth from Hell's ½ Acre's first album, released just last year, and the new "Under a Whiskey Moon" borders on staggering. Songwriters Rankin Mapother and John Woosley are still wandering a familiar landscape of dingy bars, sunrises on the rocks and rusted-out relationships, but the music has exploded. The rough neo-rockabilly of "Blacktops & Blackouts" has been transformed into jangle-twang pop songs sporting dusty Beatle boots and studded with bottle caps. Producer Mike Wanchic (John Mellencamp) no doubt helped the band focus its sound but had nothing to do with Woosley's singing, which is the album's heart. Always good, Woosley has become great. So has Hell's ½ Acre. " -- JEFFERY LEE PUCKETT ALL MUSIC GUIDE: "On the follow-up to their 2003 debut Blacktops & Blackouts, Louisville's Hell's Half Acre have undergone a kind of musical transformation. While their first outing was a boisterous, drunkabilly, cowpunk vision of excess, Under a Whiskey Moon offers a deeper, wider approach to American music. The songs by frontman John Woosley and bassist Rankin Mapother here reflect a wider, varied palette. One can hear the Faces, and the early-1970's era Rolling Stones in their countrified roots rock. That's not to say that Hell's Half Acre have given up writing about getting drunk, getting high, or raising hell; they just do it differently. With John Mellencamp's guitarist Mike Wanchic at the production helm — and the album being cut in Bloomington, IN rather than Louisville, KY, the sensibilities are striking, more urgent, wonderfully melodic, less frivolous, but no less raw and rockin' an attack. There are guests in the mix as well, such as Andy York from Jason & the Scorchers and Tupac session keyboard player Moe Z.M.D., and cellist Peter Searcy. In case you are raising your eyebrows about this last cat, he's the most punk of all, having done time with everyone from Squirrel Bait to Big Wheel. Standout tracks include "Doctor Please," "Silver Dollar," "One Lonely Night," "Big Black Car," and "Lonesome River." A very solid sophomore effort." — THOM JUREK ALT COUNTRY NL : (Netherlands) "Hell's Half Acre's debuteerde in 2003 met de cd Blacktops & Blackouts. In de recensie vroeg Altcountry.nl voor een volgende release om ‘nog iets meer vuur’. Op de nieuwe cd Under A Whiskey Moon worden wij op onze wenken bediend. De band uit Louisville, Kentucky heeft duidelijk andere wegen gezocht: in plaats van door rockabilly beïnvloedde cowpunk horen we nu vooral rootsrock met country-invloeden. Denk daarbij aan the Drive-By Truckers, the Bottle Rockets en Slobberbone. Voor de opnames van de cd werd producer Mike Wanchic - voormalig gitarist en producer van John Mellencamp - ingehuurd. Dus horen we op de meeste songs de enige echte Jack & Diane-gitaar! De voornamelijk door zanger-gitarist John Woosley en bassist Rankin Mapother geschreven nummers zullen het goed doen op een zaterdagavond, in de plaatselijke honkytonk, met een glas whiskey of een fles bier erbij. Opener Silver Dollar heeft een lekker zuigende B-3 (gespeeld door Moe Z MD: Wallflowers, Tupac Shakur), Kindness Of Strangers een rinkelende Byrds-gitaar, Doctor Please een fraaie National 12-string, Somewhere een sprankelende pedal steel. Op Big Black Car en Here’s To Me voeren loeiende elektrische gitaren de boventoon. Toch zijn we niet helemaal tevreden. In het rustiger Lonesome River probeert Woosley te mooi te zingen, en hadden we ook wel zonder de (tegenwoordig bijna onvermijdelijke) cello gekund. Het jazzy slotnummer Missing You valt hier volkomen uit de toon en is zelfs na een hele fles whiskey en een sixpack bier nog niet te pruimen. Dus houden we het ook deze keer op drie paardjes. (PEER BATAILLE)" AMERICANA UK: "Rock hard roots rock from the heart of Kentucky." "Taking their name, one can only assume, from the obscure Robbie Robertson album track, ‘Hells 1/2 Acre’ offer to corroboration this assertion by acknowledging The Band as influences. On the face of it, their songs seem to have a sympathy with the South; however, even if the roles were reversed & ‘H1/2A’ made their living singing about the wilds of Canada, they would still sound Southern thanks to Little John Louie's distinctive Kentuckian drawl. Aside from that, these tales are less organic and more observational & first person than Robertson’s generally character based songs. This is a strident record with guitars very much to the fore. They rock hardest on tracks like 'Here’s to Me' (‘fuck you all, here’s to me’) which drives along with an energy that will make it an absolute live favourite. Elsewhere there are mid tempo tracks built around swirling guitar figures that break down to instantly memorable chorus' like 'Silver Dollar'. Even the odd power ballad 'Somewhere' does not sound as cloying as it might suggest. The only real criticism I can find is in some of the lyrics; while at no point does this record ever set out to be Blonde on Blonde, there are still a few unacceptable howlers concealed within... 'Somewhere there must be an Angel, who won't fly away and be gone' (Somewhere) and 'Don’t you know my love for you is true, and Eva Braun and Adolph, they had their love to' (One Lonely Night)… to name but a few. My literary snobbery aside, this is an album I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with. The songs are texturally interesting enough to hold repeated listens while remaining catchy, which will warrant a definite visit to the live shows should they cross the pond anytime soon."-- Review by Pete Gow" COUNTRY STANDARD TIME: "Hell's 1/2 Acre, of Louisville, Ky., returns for the first album since their 2003 debut, "Blacktops and Blackouts." Solid roots-rock seems to be the order of the day, with tasty guitar work as well as crisp drum work from Glen Howerton. Vocalist John Woolsey channels growly Southern honey-n-grits vocals tapped by bands ranging from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers to the V-Roys to Six String Drag. Just when you think you can put a label on the band, they move from an alt.-country workout like "Silver Dollar" to a tune with Britpop echoes, such as "Kindness of Strangers." There's more here than initially meets the ear. " --Brian Steinberg ROOTS HIGHWAY (ITALY): "Se decidi di fondare una rock'n'roll band nel bel mezzo della provincia americana, potresti avere bisogno di quel valore aggiunto per distinguerti dalla concorrenza spietata. Gli Hell's ½ Acre hanno trovato qualche santo in paradiso per la realizzazione del loro secondo lavoro, Under a Whiskey Moon, un titolo che la dice lunga sulla filosofia di questi quattro ragazzi di Louisville, Kentucky. Inevitabile sottolineare il carattere adulto della produzione messa in campo. Basterebbe il nome di Mike Wanchic, per anni al fianco di John Mellencamp, ad accrescere l'attenzione: è lui che si occupa della regia e suona occasionalmete il mandolino, rendendo robusto e mainstream il suono degli Hell's ½ Acre. Non solo, ma mettendo mano all'esperienza ventennale si è portato in studio le strepitose chitarre elettriche di Andy York e le tastiere di Moe Z, anche loro alla corte di Mellencamp in tempi recenti. Il salto di qualità è garantito, nonostante il terreno musicale sul quale si muovono John Woosley (voce, chitarre), Rankin Mapother (basso) e Glen Howerton (batteria) sia perfettamente allineato alle regole di un roots-rock che più classico non si può. Il risultato è un disco godibilissimo, frizzante e idealmente diviso tra un carettere ruspante e provinciale, ricordo degli esordi alternative-country, ed un corposo rock stradaiolo dai risvolti melodici. Puro heartland-rock nell'iniziale Silver Dollar, giusto per tracciare una continuità con la storia dei musicisti coinvolti: vigorosa quanto basta la voce di Woosley, altrettanto torride le chitarre. Dietro l'angolo si cela però l'altra faccia degli Hell's ½ Acre: Kindness of Strangers ha movenze più sbarazzine ed un ritornello facile che vira al pop-rock da college-radio americana. Una tentazione che nello svolgere di Under a Whiskey Moon non eccede il dovuto (la sola Lonesome River appare davvero un po' insipida), preferendo piuttosto rifugiarsi nel country-rock di maniera di Doctor Please e in quello più malinconico di One Lonely Night, una ballata coi fiocchi che sa di "small town" e periferia americana. Con Hole e Here's To Me si stabilizza la bilancia, tornando prepotentemente al ruvido linguaggio del rock'n'roll, materia che la band ha imparato direttamente dalla strada, suonando di supporto nel SouthEast con Bottle Rockets e Drive By Truckers. Le influenze southern subite da queste frequentazioni si sentono forte e chiaro soprattutto in Big Black Car e nella corale ballata Somewhere, due degli episodi più maturi dell'intero disco, che approda stranamente al finale jazzato e notturno di Missing You, episodio fuori contesto nel quale la band mostra di non avere le qualità adatte. Piccole cadute di tono giustificabili, in un prodotto che ha poco a che spartire con le tipiche dimensioni a budget ridotto di altre realtà del settore." (Fabio Cerbone)