the hold steady are often credited as being one of the best bar bands in america.  i'll take it a step further; the hold steady are one of the best bands in america.  period.

in minneapolis back  in 2000, craig finn (formerly of lifter puller) combined his "lyrically dense" style of storytelling with a "riff heavy mixture of classic rock"  and formed the hold steady.   the original lineup also includes tad kubler (also of lifter puller) on guitar, galen polivka on bass, judd counsell on druns (later replaced by bobby drake), and franz nicolay on keyboard, accordion and other instruments.

the hold steady were formed in minneapolis back in 2000 while craig and tad were watching the famous the band concert film the last waltz.  craig leaned over and asked "dude, why aren't there any bands like this anymore?"  the rest is twin city history.  criaig describes his songs as "sing along songs" and find influence in bruce springsteen, thin lizzy and the replacements (another great twin city bred band).

their fourth l.p., stay positive, released july 14, 2008, continues telling stream of conscience stories of "hood rats" and "dead-end kids" drinking "down by the bank of the mississippi" or occasionally in ybor city, and smoking in "cute little cars" and hotel rooms.  i truly believe this is the best album of their career (at least as good as their second l.p., separation sunday).

there's a lot of great stuff available for your listening pleasure, and i expect you to listen to all of them.  click here for a may 30, 2008 performance at d.c.'s 9:30 club or here for a november 20, 2007 d.c. show, both recorded by npr's all songs considered.  click here for a set from the cmj (college music journal) music festival recorded at the gibson showroom by kexp.  click here to watch a few songs from a gig in minneapolis on october 25, 2006.  click here for  an in-studio set/interview recorded by wxpn's world café, february 12, 2007.  click here for a story broadcast on morning edition, july 24, 2008, or here for an all things considered story from august 24, 2005.

the hold steady are constantly touring, click here to find out when they are playing a bar near you.

as always, please buy this album from your local independent music store and not from retailers like wal-mart (soulless, globally-homogenizing, community-killers) or i-tunes (albums should be listened to as an entire composition with album cover and liner notes in hand).  incidentally, these two companies sell more music than any other retailer in the united states.  that my friend, bites.