Audio, Arkansas Times

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The Homeless and Wounded Edition

Lindsey Millar — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:20:00 -0500

The tech park's decision to hit the reset button, why Arkansas hospitals charge wildly different rates for the same procedure, the scandal that introduced the country (and me) to the town of Imboden, Arkansas — all covered on this week's edition.

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The Do You Remember Robbie Wills Edition

Lindsey Millar — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:52:00 -0500

Merger negotiations between St. Vincent and UAMS, non-partisan elections, the race for the Republican nominee for governor and more — all covered on this week's show.

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The Extremism Edition

Lindsey Millar — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:39:00 -0500

A Republican even crazier than Nate Bell, the last vetoes of the session, the latest outrage from Tom Cotton and Bloomberg versus Pryor — all covered on this week's podcast.

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The Nate Bell's Itchy Twitter Fingers Edition

Lindsey Millar — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:20:00 -0500

The passage of Medicaid expansion and the final days of the Arkansas General Assembly, Nate Bell on Twitter, Mike Ross’s moderate message and Mark Pryor’s gun votes — all covered on this week's edition. Plus, Max endorses pizza and Lindsey makes another plug for the Heritage Hog Roast.

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Expand-o-meter rumor mill: down to the wire

David Ramsey — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 09:50:26 -0500

Monday, 9:50 a.m. (90%):
The bill passes 77-23. It's on to the Senate, where it's thought they have the votes. Looks very likely that the "private option" will be enacted in Arkansas.

Monday, 9:25 a.m. :

Debate has started. Rep. Bell, speaking against, says the opponents of the bill have been in tears because of "threats and intimidation."

"When you look deep in your heart, do you want to be on the side of threats and intimidation or do you want to vote what's in your heart," he said. "You know what's the right thing to do."

Rep. Collins says he agrees that lawmakers should vote what's in their heart. He says that voting NO is a vote for D.C. Obamacare, voting YES is a vote for the Arkansas private option.

Rep. Payton says he lost friends and neighbors guarding the nation "against threats on foreign shores...Now there's a threat right here in these halls." He says that GIF money is being used to coerce votes.

Rep. Burris objected to the notion that YES votes are having their arms twisted, saying he had fought against GIF shenanigans. He said neither side should attack the others' motives.

Rep. Alexander says he decided two weeks ago that the private option was the best path forward but was voting NO because he said constituents hadn't had enough time to hear about the policy.

Rep. Kim Hammer, undecided as of last night, spoke against the bill. He said 60 percent of the town hall last night was in favor of the bill but he had to think of 100 percent. He said, "While it is a good bill, it could be greater with a few more stopgaps and trigger points."

Rep. Bruce Westerman accuses some unnamed legislators of voting against their conscience. He also said he'd stand up to big bad bloggers. This practice round of his stump speech for Congress is well written but the delivery needs work.

Woah! And Westerman just accused colleagues of being Judas Iscariot. Nice.

Also speaking for the bill: Rep. John Edwards, a rare voice from the Democratic side of the aisle; Rep. Sue Scott, previously a NO (with the best line of the debate: "when I look at the numbers, I see faces with those numbers"); Rep. Biviano; and Rep. Andy Davis.

Monday, 9:00 a.m. (50%)::

Hearing that they have the votes. We'll see.

Max notes that Rep. Jonathan Barnett's bill on diverting general revenue to highways is on the Transportation committee agenda today. Horse trade? (Lobbyist Robert Coon tweets that this is in fact routine: "You get two chances to run a bill. It stays on the agenda until that has happened or you pull it."

***Previous entries after the jump. House debating now.

Monday, 8:45 a.m. (49%):

Proponents are acting awfully confident, but I can't bring myself to go even odds still six votes short. The most likely scenario is that the vote will be short this morning (seems like magic number is locked at 72) and then they'll adjourn and try again either later this morning or this afternoon.

Monday, 8:20 a.m. (40%):

Hearing from vote-counters that they think they have 75. Also hearing from both sides that there are a few that will likely move to whichever side appears to have the votes, so the final count might be less close (on either end) than we're expecting.

Monday, 11:30 p.m. (33%) :

Yet another town hall tonight, this one in Benton and hosted by Rep. Kim Hammer and Rep. Ann Clemmer. Lots of speakers: on the pro side, Rep. John Burris and Sen. David Sanders, along with Medicaid Director Andy Allison; speaking against were conservative advocate Dan Greenberg and former Romney healthcare advisor Avik Roy (an AFP guest). Not sure why they didn't toss a current lawmaker like Westerman, who was in attendance, on the anti- team.

At one point, in what almost seemed like a plant to give me material, an angry man asked how the "private option" wasn't just Obamacare and then stormed out of the room before hearing the response. I took some notes on a variety of things said that I thought were wrong, or right, or somewhere in between. But honestly the big impression I got is that at this point in the discussion, it's all so much noise. Town halls are great, don't get me wrong. But when you have hyper-informed lawmakers throwing numbers back and forth, it's time to vote. As Hammer said, this has been "discussed, fussed, and cussed to death."

Two very general reactions: Opponents of the "private option" have a strong status-quo bias to their arguments, imagining dozens of law changes the feds could possibly enact some day that would impact state legislation, all horrible — so best to do nothing at all. Of course anticipating possible changes is important, but this frame reaches a point of absurdity; given the Supremacy Clause any state law could maybe some day be ruined! Lots of talk like "if you trust the federal government you should love this law." Heh. The other thing that stuck out is that the pundits' complaints about the bill were really at the margins, with lots of praise for aspects they liked. Roy several times said he agreed with 75 or 80 percent of this or that feature or argument. The difference seemed to be between conservative lawmakers pushing the bounds of the possible as far as they possibly could to create an experiment in Arkansas, and the pundits insisting that the experiment wasn't enough to their liking to be worth trying.

What's that all mean? Not much. Ultimately whether the "private option" happens or not is in the hands of legislators pretty unlikely to be swayed by one more argument (on either side) among the hundreds they've heard. Rep. Kim Hammer, Rep. Ann Clemmer and Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson all said they were undecided. Clemmer and Hutchinson both seemed to be leaning YES but hard to know. Hutchinson told the audience that tax cuts were unlikely to happen without the "private option."

For whatever reason, legislators in favor of the "private option" seemed very optimistic about tomorrow. Still seems like a hard road to 75, but we'll see.

Monday, 7:00 p.m. (25%):

The "private option" is certainly on life support but it's not dead yet. The House will convene tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. and try again on the appropriation. Three didn't vote yesterday — Rep. Anne Clemmer and Rep. Stephanie Malone were out of the room; Rep. Mary Lou Slinkard voted present but apparently intended to (or intends to) vote "aye." The general thinking is that those three are being counted in the YES group, which would put the vote total at 72, which was what most vote counters were saying in the final hours.

There was some doom and gloom at the Capitol among some expansion proponents, though many insiders are holding out hope. It's thought that there are around 10 legislators that could plausibly switch their vote. Some are saying they want more time with constituents (Rep. Randy Alexander is on record supporting the bill but still voted NO because of a desire for a few more weeks of chatting with the folks). Some support the policy but have political fears. And rumors continue that some legislators — including Rep. Terry Rice, Rep. Jonathan Barnett, and Rep. Les Carnine, all pro-business Republicans who have been happy to accept federal money in the past — have been voting NO due to a personal dispute with House Speaker Davy Carter.

We'll see. I've heard a very wide range of opinions about where we stand this evening; we could put the Expand-o-meter number anyone where from 0 to 60%. One thing we can report with certainty is that journalists are by nature pessimistic and politicians by nature optimistic!

Monday, 1:30 p.m. (45%):

Sounds more and more like they won't have the votes today although very hard to predict last-minute whipping. That doesn't mean it's over. If they don't make it today, they would likely run it again tomorrow. The potential connection to tax cuts would then likely loom large, with time running out in the session.

Monday, 1:10 p.m. (45%) :

Obviously we're at the point where rumors are mostly bluster, but am hearing that two votes were picked up over lunch, putting the count at 74. Sounds like if they fall short today, they'll try again tomorrow.

Monday, 1:00 p.m. (41%):

Questions have started to float about whether they are running the appropriation today given the uncertainty about whether they have the votes. All indications are that they will.

Monday, 12:30 p.m. (41%):

Still hard to believe that Rep. Alexander is going to vote NO on a huge bill that he is on record as supporting. But that is apparently his plan (he wants two weeks to make the pitch to constituents). Have to think there will be some public shaming of him for voting against his conscience during the floor debate if he's a deciding vote.

Monday, 11:20 a.m. (48%):

Rep. Nate Bell will vote NO. He has a long explanation of why on his Facebook page. Bell acknowledges that turning down the private option will hurt the state, but he cannot abide any federal deficit spending. In this case, the "private option" will have no meaningful impact on the debt but it does of course amount to accepting spending from the feds, and that's a principled line in the sand for Bell. With margins this tight, this is a big blow for expansion proponents.

Bell's wife has worked for Americans for Prosperity, a vocal opponent of the private option.

Hearing from the House floor and multiple sources that the count is at 72.

Monday, 11:15 a.m. (53%):

Rep. Bruce Westerman had a press conference just now at the Capitol, ostensibly to present HB 1965 — as we've noted below, it's just a poison pill to provide cover for the "do nothing" option — though Westerman spent most of his time re-hashing his case against the "private option." In fact, he said that he would vote against his own bill if it were up today. His main argument was that solutions to the expansion question needed to be "properly vetted." Asked what this vetting would entail, Westerman noted that the "private option" bill would need federal approval (of course, this is in the bill itself, which is structured as a take-it-or-leave it offer to the feds) and said that the "private option" idea was only a few months old. Delay delay delay. And of course, as Westerman knows, waiting a year would mean that the state leaves hundreds of millions of dollars on the table.

Westerman brought up a talking point that he peddled over the weekend — that somehow Congress was going to take away the insurance premium tax that would yield hundreds of millions in additional revenue under the "private option" because of additional plans in the exchange. Asked how Congress could legislate against a state tax on private companies operating on the exchange — a tax that is the standard mechanism for funding the exchanges, and will also be in place on the rest of the exchange in Arkansas and in states throughout the country — Westerman did not have an answer. Also worth noting that this issue was specifically brought up by state officials to CMS, which gave clear approval to the premium tax.

I noted to Westerman that his bill systematically violated the CMS rules and federal law, making it dead on arrival for the feds. He responded that this was a matter of opinion. Not so, but spinners gotta spin. (Westerman's move is even more blatant than Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, rumored to have intentionally sought a no from HHS. Haslam was at least sly enough to do so before the CMS memo that articulated that his ask was a no-go.)

Westerman said that he believes "the numbers are there to block the appropriation" and said he was actively speaking to other members to try to defeat the private option. He said that a number of legislators are interested in signing on as co-sponsors to HB 1965, so the "cover" angle may have some sway. I asked Westerman whether he was planning to run for Congress. He gave the standard "I'm thinking about getting through this legislative session" answer.

Monday, 9:45 a.m. (53%):

Per John Brummett on Twitter, Rep. Randy Alexander is for it but saying he needs two weeks to speak to constituents. The folks at his town hall were apparently evenly split after hearing a discussion of the issue, which some thought would be enough to persuade Alexander to vote for a bill he believes to be the right thing to do. Would he actually be the deciding NO vote on the biggest issue facing the legislature in decades, simply because the Ledge ran out of time? Lots of lawmakers chatting with Alexander on the House floor.

Meanwhile, I'm told that one of the legislators in the 75 count this morning is now leaning NO, so along with Alexander, the count may be down to 73.

Bell has made his decision and will post an announcement on his Facebook page around noon today. He called it "the toughest decision [he has} ever had to make."

Monday, 9:00 a.m. (58%):

Hearing from multiple sources this morning that there are 75 votes to get the "private option" passed right now, but things can change quickly. There remains no wiggle room, so wobbly votes will probably be getting an earful today.

Monday, 12:00 a.m. (53%):

On the eve of the vote, the general mood among observers the Expand-o-meter has heard from seems to lean toward passage. Still going to be very close.

One place that vote-counters will be watching closely is Rep. Nate Bell's Facebook page. Bell was leaning fairly strongly toward YES at the end of last week, but seems to have gone to bed a MAYBE tonight. He wrote on Facebook, "I am generally blacking out electronics and am spending this evening in study, prayer and thought as I make my final decision on tomorrow's vote."

Later, he added:

The #PO question can be boiled down to one moral dilemma. Do we choose what is best for the state and the state budget/economy or what is best for nation/fed budget/debt/deficit but damaging to the state. VERY difficult choice. Lots of short term pain and fallout without #PO.

Reasonable frame for a conservative like Bell worried about the debt. Of course the impact of the "private option" on the debt over the next ten years is less than a rounding error. Will legislators like Bell be willing to harm the interests of the state for an abstract principle about federal spending with no meaningful impact on the debt? We'll find out.

Here's a video of Bell's town hall meeting Saturday.

Sunday, 6:00 p.m. (50%):

Still looking like a toss-up this evening. Bruce "Do Nothing" Westerman announced just now that he will release details tomorrow morning on HB 1965, which is not an alternative to the private option as he will suggest, but a stunt to try to provide some phony political cover for the "do nothing" approach that Westerman is lobbying for. Westerman was careful to make sure the bill intentionally violated the key requirements of the CMS memo regarding "private option" plans, making it dead on arrival for the feds. Everyone knows this, but presumably the gimmick is to give cover for possible NO votes worried about the consequences coming if the state turns down the private option. Westerman (has he announced his run for Congress yet?) can pretend he offered an alternative, even though his bill would have the practical impact of a NO vote. The amusing part is that HB 1965 has many of the same features that Westerman has railed against all week in the "private option." He's in full whatever-works mode.

Meanwhile, rumors continue to float that there is a subset of legislators reluctant to vote for the "private option" because of personal opposition to Carter. Jason Tolbert tweeted tonight, "Hearing that the Deacons are working against the private option based on spite for Speaker Carter — sad if that is true." Remarkable to think that this policy impacting hundreds of thousands of lives and billions of dollars in the state — not to mention potentially impacting the national health policy debate for years to come — could come down to personal animus. Max suggested on the podcast that given the stakes, some of that may fade if they are very close to 75.

Sunday, 1:45 p.m. (50%):

At the Capitol last week, “what’s your count?” was the greeting instead of hello. There have been a lot of numbers thrown around in the last several months in the debate over healthcare coverage expansion, but now it comes down to two: 75 and 27. That's what it will take in the House and the Senate, respectively, to accept the federal funds to enact the "private option."

The House — generally considered the tougher climb — will vote in about 24 hours. What does the Expand-o-meter think? From Thursday afternoon on we've been stuck at 50 percent odds of reaching the super-majority. Everyone agrees that it will be extremely close, and most admit that no one really knows what will happen. The count was generally thought to be in the low 70s on Friday with the possibility of pushing it over the top, but a number of likely YES votes wanted the weekend to talk to constituents. According to numerous insiders, there are well over 75 who are convinced that the "private option" is the right policy, but a good portion are shaky because of political pressure or other factors. The presence of five to ten wobbly, unpredictable votes has made predictions change by the hour — one vote-counter described it as "trying to nail Jell-O to a wall." So while House Speaker Davy Carter sounds confident, it's looking like a down-to-the-wire tossup.

One promising piece of news for "private option" proponents did come in last night: Sen. Jason Rapert (thought to be a MAYBE) and Rep. Stephen Meeks (thought to be a NO) both announced that they would support the bill. Based on the Meeks announcement and various Twitter activity, it looks likely that the House could get to 75 at this moment, so the Expand-o-meter may be ticking up ... but again, we're at the stage where things change by the hour.

On that note, we'll be updating as rumors and announcements come in. Feel free to throw us news or tips in the comments.

Food Feedback Friday: raven, rock, and radio

Daniel Walker — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:57:00 -0500

Welcome back to what is quickly becoming the spiciest, most tantalizing food forum in the known universe, Food Feedback Friday! We, here at Eat Arkansas, love all our readers like family. We were please to get together with some of our regular commenters yesterday at the SoMa 2nd Thursday food truck event at Bernice Garden; it was great talking food with Raven, Sammy, Kevin, and Joel. We hope to meet many more of you all in the near future. Now it’s your chance to share about your week in food and tell us what restaurants are filling your bellies this week.

Last week of #FFF, here’s a bit of what you all were talking about: numbernine enjoyed Jimmy’s Serious Subs twice in one week, stating that “their brownies are a must for me but I also like the pork loin and Swiss sandwich.” Did somebody say, “brownies?” JenniferB “braved the chilly rain at the (new) Shoppes at Woodlawn Farmer’s Market JUST so (she) could try the kouign amann” from Mylo Coffee, and she’s “happy to say that it totally lived up to Eat Arkansas’s lavish praise.” We asked about the imminent arrival of Mellow Mushroom pizza to WLR and nonameneeded says it’s “so good! Can’t wait.” Sounds encouraging. Raven had the H.A.M. burger, a recent addition to their Friday menu, and he feels “it lived up to the hype. One of the best burgers I’ve ever devoured.” I expect this burger to be a pretty solid contender in next year’s Little Rock Burger Caucus burger bracket. Kevin reports that “the spinach and mushroom quesadilla at Rock ‘N Tacos are delicious,” but laments that his derriere did not enjoy the metal chairs at Big Orange. I’m sure it was no better for the chair, Kevin. SusieQ enjoyed the banh mi from Boba Tea on S. University, EY favored the “Local salad” with steak from Local Lime, and “longtime lurker” Candice “finally tracked down and joined the cult of Southern Gourmasian lovers.” Welcome to the party, Candice, we’re glad you’re here. You can read the rest of what was said here.

Finally, Michael and I have been making appearances on the Alice Stewart morning show at 96.5 The Voice, joined by Kevin Shalin of The Mighty Rib. All kind of antics take place; a few punches are thrown, Michael occasionally drops the “F-bomb” on the air, Kevin makes armpit farting noises in the background, and I try to keep frosting from getting all over Alice’s mics. It’s a grand time. Anyways, you can check out the audio from this morning’s show below (with shout-outs to Loblolly, Southern Gourmasian, HAM, White Water Tavern, Sugar Shack Sweets, Pizzeria Santa Lucia, Green Cart Deli, Guillermo’s Coffee, kBird Thai, Le Pops, and Mylo Coffee Co).

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The End is Near Edition

Lindsey Millar — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:18:00 -0500

The coming monumental vote on health care expansion, tort reform, Planned Parenthood and other legislative odds and ends. Plus, the latest from the Mayflower spill, Mark Pryor and guns and C.J. Duvall's unhappiness with the Tech Park Authority — all covered on this week's edition.

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The It's Exxon's Town, We Just Live In It Edition

Lindsey Millar — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:28:00 -0500

The oil spill in Mayflower, the final days of General Assembly, Asa Hutchinson and the NRA, Mike Ross's slow march to inevitable and the UAMS/St. Vincent merger - -all covered this week.

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The Good God Friday Edition

Lindsey Millar — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 17:13:00 -0500

Prop 8 and DOMA and the Arkansas General Assembly and Sen. Mark Pryor shameful responses where, the fight over voter ID, media criticism of the Democrat-Gazette, the morality of Republican tax cuts, Big River Steel, new numbers on expansion and the latest on the potential merger between UAMS and St. Vincent — all covered on this week's edition. Plus, Max endorses our Hog Roast and Lindsey plugs time capsules (sort of).

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The Max is Back, But Depleted Edition

Lindsey Millar — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:08:28 -0500

The private option, tax cuts, school choice, voter ID, Big River Steel, the political impact of a Republican majority in the legislature, the governor's race, the tech park and delay tactics in the Lake Maumelle watershed — all covered this week.

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The Rat Heads in Coke Bottles Edition

Lindsey Millar — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:09:00 -0500

Voter ID, taxes, ethics reform, expanding health coverage, newly filed bills of note—all covered on this week's podcast. Plus, Dave endorses the Boston Phoenix and Debo Band, and I plug On the Media's excellent mini-history podcast on the copyright roots of "The Happy Birthday Song."

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The Good, the Bad and the Weird Edition

Lindsey Millar — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 17:45:00 -0600

The good, the bad and the weird at the General Assembly—scarification, knife regulation, minimum wage, the end of zoning, abortion, expansion—it's all covered on this week's edition. David Ramsey fills in for Max again.

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The Bad Sports Metaphor Edition

Lindsey Millar — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 17:47:39 -0600

The "game-changing" Medicaid expansion news, a "final drive" for abortion bans and "third quarter" tax cuts — all covered on this week's edition. With Lindsey Millar and David Ramsey.

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The greatest robo-poll ever

Lindsey Millar — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 22:25:00 -0600

I'd heard tell of this robo-poll on the governor's race in the open line last night and on Twitter, but I figured it was a joke until one of our staffers got a call today when I happened to be around with a recorder.

After a string of questions on name recognition and "if the election were held today," the survey got into negatives. I managed to start the recording right after something on Mike Ross taking away benefits for seniors and Bill Halter not understanding Arkansas values. Hear the rest of the questions on the jump.

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Here's the transcript in case you can't stream:

Elected to Congress in 1996, Asa Hutchinson was among the first members of Congress who took power away from the people and gave it away to partisans and wealthy corporations. Washington remains broken and we still haven’t regained the power lost to special interests and insiders.

John Burkhalter’s experience includes having worked as a male stripper.

While in Congress Mike Ross took tens of thousands of dollars from the Koch brothers, two billionaire brothers who financed efforts to take away our Medicare and privatize Social Security.

Bill Halter is a liberal whose social agenda and support from labor unions will cost Arkansas millions and will raise our taxes.

Arkansans will lose their influences and their priorities will be ignored. John Burkhalter is a multi-millionaire who is trying to buy the office to promote his corporate interests.

In Congress, Mike Ross voted to take away unemployment benefits after voting to give more tax cuts to wealthy candidates and corporations.

So who's behind poll? I've heard credible theories for everyone, but I don't have a clue. Make your pick in the comments.

2013 AT Showcase Round 5: The Midnight Thrills

Robert Bell — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:09:26 -0600

If you've got a yen for blues-steeped Southern rock with a solid groove and satisfying guitar crunch, Little Rock's The Midnight Thrills are gonna be your jam.

The trio has obviously listened deeply and often to the canon of great classic rock — The Allman Brothers, Crazy Horse, The Black Crowes, Tom Petty and the like are discernible influences.

Check out the ragged, rockin' "Keep Me in Your Heart."

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2013 AT Showcase Round 5: The Sound of the Mountain

Robert Bell — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 12:41:03 -0600

Russellville quartet The Sound of the Mountain has the whole instrumental post-rock/shoegaze thing down — the atmospherics, the off-kilter rhythms, the circular guitar lines, the slow-burn dynamics building toward a squall of guitar, all of it.

All of that is to say, fans of Mogwai, Tarantel, Explosions in the Sky and the like should not skip this band.

Check out the band's "Confessions of an English Opium Eater."

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2013 AT Showcase Round 5: Knox Hamilton

Robert Bell — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 12:34:48 -0600

North Little Rock's Knox Hamilton makes effervescent indie pop with rich vocal harmonies, propulsive rhythms and shimmering, chiming guitars.

It's largely upbeat, melodic stuff that recalls, say, a less electro-steeped Passion Pit or maybe Of Monsters and Men if that band were less inclined toward melodrama.

Check out Knox Hamilton's "Tom Joyce" for a good representation.

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Tuesday: Dangerous Idiots album release at White Water Tavern

Robert Bell — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 09:48:09 -0600

The Dangerous Idiots play a record release show for their new long-player "Frankenbastard," out on Mostar Records. Opening the show will be Booyah! Dad and Adam Faucett, White Water Tavern, 9 p.m., donations.

Check out the excellent "Wifi" from the new Dangerous Idiots album below.

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The God, Guns and Fetuses Edition

Lindsey Millar — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 15:15:21 -0600

The latest on the reduction in the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery rewards to students, voter ID, the abortion bans, the grand ethics bargain, the professor carry bill, the hiccup for the spending cap legislation, Justice Courtney Hudson Goodson's high-flying disclosures and the tech park — all covered on this week's edition.

Stream on the jump.

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2013 AT Showcase Round 4: This Holy House

Robert Bell — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:53:05 -0600

The members of This Holy House are no strangers to the Showcase, having made it to the finals in 2011. At that point, the band was still a trio, but they've since added guitarist/vocalist Jordan Ahne to the lineup.

Oh, and they also released a full-length album and won the Back Room to the Main Stage competition last year at Vino's, which netted them a cool thousand bucks and a spot playing the Arkansas State Fair.

Check out "Put Your Arm Around My Shoulder" for some soaring guitar rock that recalls Jeff Buckley and Crazy Horse in equal measure.

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2013 AT Showcase Round 4: Tom and Hebron

Robert Bell — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:50:56 -0600

Brothers Tom and Hebron Chester have a spooky-good grasp on '70s singer/songwriter rock. Think Elton John, The Band, Wings, Emmitt Rhodes and the like. They must've spent hours with their parents' record collection, and you can hear how fully they've absorbed those dusty grooves.

This is a makeup show for Tom and Hebron, who had the flu a couple weeks ago. They're feeling much better now, presumably.

Check out "Ridge Runner," which hits so many classic FM sweet spots.

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2013 AT Showcase Round 4: Terminus

Robert Bell — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:45:32 -0600

Heavy, prog-informed post-rock is the name of the bidness that Fayetteville trio Terminus is in.

If your ears are open to the metallic crushingness of such bands as Baroness, Isis, Mastodon and the like, don't miss these dudes. Oh, and check this: they're in high school. They're in high school and their tunes could stand up with any number of bands twice their age.

Check out "Hierophant," for a muscular, raging workout that shows off the group's chops without seeming showy.

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2013 AT Showcase Round 4: Peckerwolf

Robert Bell — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:39:43 -0600

This Little Rock quartet isn't even a year old yet, but the dudes in Peckerwolf clearly know how to kick up an eardrum-bruising yet memorable ruckus using guitars and amps and drums.

Check out the sweet intro to "JT Boner," which tastefully cribs sweet bits of riff-gold from early Black Sabbath and melts them down to combine with the groove of The Jesus Lizard to create an alloy of rock that's a great soundtrack for getting up to no good.

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2013 AT Showcase Round 4: Miles Rattz

Robert Bell — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:23:44 -0600

Miles Rattz, a.k.a. Michael Chavez, makes lo-frills bedroom pop that charts the same warped, weirdo waters as Ariel Pink was wading around in back when he got started.

Chavez's "Fought Songs" EP is four tracks that recreate the feeling of lying on the couch with two stereos in two different rooms playing two different R. Stevie Moore cassettes at the same time, but you're too, uh, compromised to get up and turn one of them off.

Check out "Hotel Staytion" for a dose of Nilsson-in-a-funhouse-mirror pop charm.

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