One Sheet                                    Band Photo

Mix the downhome lyrical stylings of Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, and Guy Clark, spice it up with some Uncle Tupelo and you've got The Wild Rumpus. Singer/songwriter, Andrew Adkins, tells his tales with deep-lunged gusto while backed by Charlie Garvin's pseudo-bluegrass guitar, Allan Sizemore's Carolina inspired banjo, and Dr. Sneed's rock-a-billy bass. The whole album has a bouncy, almost live feel about it.   The group's debut album consists of primarily upbeat rhythms tempered with haunting ballads like "Ghost Town" and "For Grandpa". The final two tracks "Lost & Found", and "Don't Mess Around (Mama Said)" have an entirely different feel to them. The former speaks of the hardships of the dust bowl era with a driving, downbeat rhythm and the latter is a percussive call-and-repeat accented by heavy foot stomping and a bluesy guitar and harmonica duel. The album manages to capture the raw sound of live acoustic instruments while at the same time providing a rugged vehicle for Adkins stories of, well, love, trains, and home.