Trailer Bride was a Chapel Hill,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

–based

alternative country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...

rock band signed to

Bloodshot Records Bloodshot Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, which specializes in alternative country music. History Bloodshot Records was founded in 1994 by Nan Warshaw, Rob Miller, and Eric Babcock, who knew each other from ...

. Formed in 1993, the band consisted of Melissa Swingle (vocalist, guitarist), Robert Mitchener (bass guitar), Brad Goolsby (drummer), Bryon Settle (guitarist) and Scott Goolsby (guitarist). In the summer of 1997, after the release of their first album, Daryl White replaced Mitchener as bassist. The band is known for a

southern gothic Southern Gothic is an artistic subgenre of Gothic fiction, fiction, Popular music, music, Gothic film, film, theatre, and television that are heavily influenced by Gothic fiction, Gothic elements and the Southern United States, American South. ...

sound, with lyrics reminiscent of the works of

Flannery O'Connor Mary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, 1925August 3, 1964) was an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist. She wrote two novels and 31 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries. O'Connor was a Southern writer who of ...

. Their songs are described as "spooky", and often contained dark themes of death, sin and sex. The first album, '' Trailer Bride'', features songs of local character that celebrate

Chatham County, North Carolina Chatham County ( )
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the University of North Car ...

, and the main route to the nearby town of Chapel Hill, US 15-501. The first track of their album ''

High Seas The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regiona ...

'', "Jesco" is a homage to Jesco White, the

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

n "Dancing Outlaw". The band met White while playing a show with

Hasil Adkins Hasil Adkins (April 29, 1937 – April 26, 2005) was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His genres include rock and roll, country, blues and more commonly rockabilly, and because of his unusual playing and singing style, ...

. White told Swingle, "I don't get out much on account of being famous", which was used as a line in the song. Swingle started playing music when she was pregnant with her child, Isabel. She learned that fumes from her oil painting could affect the baby, so while looking for another creative outlet, she began to play guitar. Isabel's artwork is on the album ''

''.

Discography

References

Musical groups established in 1993 Musical groups from Chapel Hill-Carrboro, North Carolina American alternative country groups Bloodshot Records artists {{US-rock-band-stub