While I was sipping my au lait at Simple Pleasures in the Richmond this morning, I overheard a conversation between two fellows who also happened to be sitting at my table. They started out by talking about Hunter S. Thompson’s Hell’s Angels–the younger guy was in the process of reading it, and the older guy had an interesting story about riding his motorcycle down Haight Street some time back, seeing that Hunter S. Thompson was signing books at The Booksmith, and wandering in to get a personalized copy. Then the younger guy mentioned that his band had just gotten a nice plug by a reviewer for a new album that’s coming out in 2007. The band is Red Meat, and I gather this is their website, and of course I helped them toast, because a new album is a thing to celebrate. Listen to them on MySpace–they’re a little bit country, and they sound fabulous!–or view upcoming shows here. They’ll be playing at Annie’s Social Club on March 10. Check out their snazzy restaurant reviews here. (Unless the guy I was talking to was actually from Red Red Meat, which is a very different sort of band, and scrumptious in its own right).

One of the band members, Scott Young (guitar, fiddle, vocals), is originally from the Ozarks. I once spent a lonely year in the Ozarks, just a stone’s throw from the infamous Pig Trail. I think a lot of good music comes from the same place a lot of good writing comes from–loneliness. Not that I was doing much good writing when I was in the Ozarks, but I think maybe some of that Ozark-inspired malaise simmered and came out later in some form or another.