大象传媒

If you thought Seattle was all about Nirvana, Pearl Jam, grunge music, board shorts & check shirts, then think again, because joining Bob in session tonight are Seattle's favourite honkytonkers, Rachel Harrington & The Knock Outs.

Rachel's made a name for herself over the last few years with 3 highly acclaimed solo albums - described by Q magazine as "ancient country noir" - but when she was asked to perform some tunes at Seattle Theater Group's annual Patsy Cline tribute concert in 2011, Harrington found herself talking backstage with a host of fellow girl singers and musicians. It didn't take long for their shared love of honkytonk, classic country, early rock and the Bakersfield sound to become obvious. And so the Knock Outs were born backstage and christened with a few shots of whisky. Harrington then set to work on writing fresh material for the fledgling group.

A 2011 winner in Merlefest's esteemed songwriting contest (previous winners include Gillian Welch and Tift Merritt), Rachel says her past few albums came largely of her study of the Old West and turn-of-the-century American music. "And the new record may sound a little different, but I'm still writing essentially the same stuff." She winks. "It's just that I moved forward in time about 40 years."

"I've always wanted to make a full-band country record, but a fundamentally west coast derivative, one where you could hear its western influences. Something that let you hear some of the songwriting tone of Loretta Lynn, along with the California country of Gram Parsons and Buck Owens, some hints of the backing vocals of Ray Charles' Raylettes, a little bit of the indie of the Northwest - that kind of thing."

Find out for yourself tonight as the Knock Outs make their national radio debut!