The Bottle Rockets

Uncle Tupelo cast such a huge shadow over the insurgent alt-country scene of the late ’80s and early ’90s that even Brian Henneman—who served as a guitar tech and backing musician for a few years—was able to parlay his UT association into his own fairly well-regarded band, The Bottle Rockets. For a while, the Rockets appeared poised for bigger things, but unlike Jeff Tweedy, Henneman has never moved beyond the standard alt-country playbook. A series of career-killers caused by bad record deals and personal tragedies further hobbled the band. But Henneman and crew keep on; their latest, 2009’s Lean Forward, was released on insurgent country label Bloodshot Records, and a live acoustic album—featuring 13 songs plucked from the band’s entire career—is expected this summer.

Updated 06/01/2011