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New Music Monday: Roadkill Ghost Choir

By Dave Sanford August 18, 2014

RoadKill — Image used with permission by copyright holder

“Combining the experimental edge of Radiohead and the dusty roots-rock of Tom Petty, the five-piece make music that sounds tailor-made for arena-sized, prog-rock festivals and grassy, pastoral stages alike.” – Consequence of Sound

“…an exciting build from what we heard on Quiet Light.” – Paste Magazine

Emerging fully-formed from the desolate heart of Central Florida, Roadkill Ghost Choir make unsettling, powerful American rock, Tom Petty by way of Radiohead and Cormac McCarthy. Set against Kiffy Meyer’s ghostly steel pedal, singer and main songwriter Andrew Shepard triumphantly conjures an allegorical American landscape of drifters, specters, and violent saints. Andrew’s brothers Maxx (drums) and Zach (bass) Shepard round out the rhythm section, and Stephen Garza handles lead guitar. The band released their debut EP Quiet Light in 2013 in the midst of a touring run that saw them opening for Band of Horses and 2013 festival slots at New York’s Governor’s Ball, Austin City Limits, and Shaky Knees in Atlanta, GA. In January 2014 the band was invited to perform on the David Letterman Show, where they performed standout track “Beggar’s Guild.” The band’s full-length debut, In Tongues, recorded in Athens, Ga., and in its home studio in Deland, Fla., with producer Doug Boehm, is out August 19. The band will be touring supporting the new album, including stops at Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza.

Purchase Roadkill Ghost Choir’s In Tongues on Amazon or iTunes.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Culture

The best cigars for a wedding, chosen by a cigar expert

Man in a tux at a wedding holding a lit cigar.

Cigars offer the perfect celebratory experience, and that's precisely why people give them out to commemorate a birth or to honor a relationship union and a wedding. In fact, I'd argue one of the absolute best times to smoke a cigar is at a wedding.
The top cigars I'd recommend for a wedding
I will go into more detail about each category below and offer a few more options. But here are my top choices if you want a cheat sheet:

Get the in a Double Robusto size for your Best Man.
Get the in a Toro size for your groomsmen.
Get the in a Robusto size for the rest of your wedding party.
Get a or a in the Cello (Rothschilds) size for your family.
Get some in the Rothschild size, or in the Petite Corona size for your guests.

Culture

Will Hulu’s Under the Bridge be your next true crime obsession?

Why you should make the time to catch Hulu's new true crime series, Under the Bridge.

Riley Keough and Lily Gladstone in Under the Bridge.

Although Shogun has easily been one of the best shows on Hulu this spring, it's going to have some competition soon. Later this month, Hulu will premiere Under the Bridge, a new original series that just might be your next true crime obsession. This show has the star power of a season of True Detective, and it's even based on real events. But more importantly, it has a serialized storyline that's going to keep viewers on the edge of their seats through its eight-episode run.

To get you ready for the show, we're sharing everything that you need to know about Under the Bridge, the Reena Virk story, and why you should watch this series on Hulu.
Who was Reena Virk?

Culture

These are the best Maduro cigars I’ve tried and tested in 2024

Maduro cigars on Spanish decorative tile table

Maduro cigars offer some pretty complex flavors. While there are a few major cigar wrappers, from Connecticut and Corojo to Habano and Maduro, Maduro is one of the broadest categories in the cigar world, second only to Natural (Connecticut). The tobacco used to create Maduro wrappers is usually harvested from the top of a tobacco plant, where it gets the most sun exposure. They're also aged and fermented, where most of the oils and darker colors come from. Maduro means "ripe" or "mature' in Spanish and is also called Capa Negra.

You may recognize Maduro cigars by their markedly darker colors and shades. Still, the Maduro category includes many types, like Connecticut Broadleaf, Double Maduro, Mexican San Andres, Colorado Maduro, and more. Most people mistake Maduro cigars as being the strongest, but that's not necessarily true, and it's not always the case. Maduro flavors are rich and full-bodied for sure, but also usually very sweet. Depending on the type and the blend -- including the filler and the binder -- you'll taste flavors like chocolate or cocoa, coffee, earth, wood, leather, and cream. Varying pepper levels may also come through, especially when smoking Nicaraguan cigars.