No bluff: John Howie's got a brand-new band

It's been nearly a year since Two Dollar Pisols called it quits, during which time frontman John Howie has spent a lot more time tending to family matters than playing music. But he's finally put a new band together, John Howie Jr. & the Rosewood Bluff, who are so new that they don't yet have a Web site or even pictures. The lineup includes drummer Matt Brown and pedal-steel player Nathan Golub from the Pistols orbit, Patty Hurst Shifter bassist Jesse Huebner, and guitarist Scott Gilmore from Joe Swank's Zen Pirates.

"Yeah, that's my new crew," Howie says. "It's a little more pedal-steel-driven than the Pistols were. The kind of ironic thing is that lends itself to more kind country-rockishness -- Michael Nesmith, Flying Burrito Brothers, that kind of thing. It's still very country-based, just more West Coast."

The songs are all new, and Howie hopes to get into the studio in April with Southern Culture on the Skids guitarist Rick Miller. In the meantime, the group's second-ever show is Feb. 28 at Raleigh's Berkeley Cafe, opening for South Carolina's Blue Dogs.

ADDENDUM: Jonathan Lee was kind enough to pass along some photos he took from JHJ&TRB's first show (which happened last month at The Cave).