left to right: Debra Kammerer (keyboards), Phil Miarmi (bass), Erich Roneree (drums), Elisabeth Slack (vocals), Aaron DeLaRosa (guitar/vocals) and Joel Plewa (guitar/banjo) - New Brunswick, NJ 2003
New Brunswick-based band U.S. Rail has been described as "folk punk for punk folk". Combining classic blues, folk and country music structures with twee indie rock sensibilities, U.S. Rail come off as a sloppy charming adult version of the Little Rascals jug band. Or something like that. The band released a 10 song 18 minute album called Who Am I Today? which garnered some good reviews. After playing shows in NYC, NJ and Vermont, they recorded tracks for their second album in Highland Park, NJ. Hopefully they will finish mixing that before the end of the 21st century.
In 2016, after a thirteen-year hiatus, on the eve of the presidential election, the band reunited to record a new album entitled Never Odd Or Even, which became their second release even though in a temporal sense, it's their third album. Try wrapping your brain around that.
Purchase the album Who Am I Today?
Purchase the album Never Odd Or Even