Mike & the Moonpies

'The brand of country on "The Real Country," the debut album from Mike and the Moonpies, is extremely adaptable. Some of the music, like the steady blues bounce of "Water on the Rocks" or the relaxed Southern sway of "Matrimony," call for cordial two-stepping in an upscale dance hall. But if you were to hear the twangy romp of the title track's steel guitar riffs at, say, the band's Aug. 12 gig at the Mohawk, you couldn't help spilling your Lone Star before you scuttled across the dance floor.
It's fitting, then, that the Moonpies feel at home all over town. They're in their element among the rough-edged rock elites on Red River, but they also held the release party for "The Real Country" at the historic Continental Club, and they're veterans of the tiny Drag dive the Hole in the Wall. Ultimately, "The Real Country" is exactly what it claims to be — Texas country for Texans, played straight from the heart of Texas.'