Some of you may have wondered what I mean by 'House of Twang.' What the heck is twang anyway?? It may bring to mind words like nasal and drawl, a Southern or maybe even hillbilly accent. In terms of music, twang is TONE! Think of the guitar sounds of Duane Eddy or Buck Owens. That is twang! Go back even further to groups like The Maddox Brothers and Rose or Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys and you'll notice the guitar sounds are in the same ballpark, albeit less of a sonic force.
To me, the twang in these musicians' music represents a bygone period of American life. The vibe of these recordings, specifically the sounds of the guitars, is dated... and I kinda like that. The spirit, drive and ambition of 1940s-50s American life is forever captured in the country, rockabilly and early rock & roll hits of the day. The twangy guitar sound is the cornerstone of this uniquely American music.
So on a larger level, twang to me represents a sound which, while at the time was cutting edge, now represents a simpler, perhaps more wholesome time. There are a lot of distractions in today's day and age. Twang serves as a reminder to keep things simple, to do what I can to carry some of yesterday into tomorrow.
The quest for bubbly Twang:
For my 30th birthday this year, my lovely girl gave me a pin she made out of a bottle cap of Twang Root Beer circa 1950s:
There isn't a lot of information on the net about Twang Root Beer, but according to www.root-beer.org it was a soda produced by the Cammarano Brothers in Tacoma, WA from 1947-1958. Twang Root Beer was available in a 12oz bottle and two different 31oz cans.
I'll be keeping an eye out for more info on the now defunct root beer brand and will, of course, post all findings here. With some luck, maybe we'll come across an old bottle or two of the Twangy drink...
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