Buy our latest CD, "Shrimp Boat Town," at CD Baby. Click here.
For booking, send us a message here on MySpace.
Blue Diamond Shine's "Karankawa Daughters" was featured on the April 5, 2007, Open Mic on NPR.com
In the Jan. 5, 2007, Austin Chronicle, "Shrimp Boat Town" made Christopher Gray's local top ten list for 2006. Thanks, Christopher!
On Jan. 21, 2007, Charlie Martin of KOOP 91.7 FM named "Shrimp Boat Town" among his favorite Austin-related albums of 2006. Thanks, Charlie!
"Austin fivepiece Blue Diamond Shine's Shrimp Boat Town evokes a place where, in frontman John Stark's elegant bayou poetry, 'The jukebox is your only friend.' His well-spent quarters pay handsome dividends: the timeless swamp-pop of 'Lonely, Lonely Eyes,' Tex-Mex chug of 'The Desperate Side,' forlorn honky-tonk of 'Karaoke Queen,' and clever nods to R.E.M. and Rockpile on 'Karankawa Daughters' and 'The Judge.' -- Chrisopher Gray, Austin Chronicle
"Blue Diamond Shine are a smart outfit led by one John G. Stark, and their 'Karankawa Daughters' is tough, swampy and efficient and a great update of Creedence Clearwater's potent sound." -- Tim Peacock, Whisperin & Hollerin
"This is haunting, gorgeous Country music." -- Will Sheff, Okkervil River
"Led by John Stark, Blue Diamond Shine twangs with the kind of gothic/desperate-men-do-desperate-things lyrics that haunt while propelling the boot-scooting." -- Jim Beal, San Antonio Express News
"Blue Diamond Shine plays classic outlaw country based on the blueprint drawn by Johnny Cash... That Godforsaken Road uses the same jumping off point as the Bloodshot set, but with more reverance for and adherance to the sound laid down by folks like Merle Haggard..." -- The Onion, Madison, Wis.
"John Stark of Blue Diamond Shine writes about moral struggles just the same way Gram Parsons once did it, and sings 'em much like Jimmie Dale Gilmore does today. 'That Godforsaken Road' traveled by this five-piece is hard one, but its also going somewhere special. The production is sparse, yet the playing is tight and focused. The song 'Jet Planes and Rattlesnakes' gives a good overview of how Blue Diamond Shines tales describe a world where the modern jet age meets the harsh barren country like, that exists way outside of town. Stark writes the kinds of songs that may bring empathy to the listener one moment, then pity the next. Whatever the emotion, however, one can't listen to this music and still remain unmoved. Blue Diamond Shine is a sparkling example of what traditonal country music is all about." -- Dan Macintosh, The Roughstock Network
"The very real strengths on this Austin group's second album are John Stark's offbeat songwriting, Eric Hisaw's crisp lead guitar and Larry Tracy's lush steel ... Stark's lyrics make the effort very worthwhile on all ten originals, particularly 'Jetplanes and Rattlesnakes' and 'Comedy and Tragedy.'" -- John Conquest, 3rd Coast Music
"With touches of Hank Williams, Merle Haggard and Tom Russell, Blue Diamond Shine offers an excellent collection." -- Robert Wooldridge, Country Standard Time
"You generally cannot miss with a band whose singer has hair that tall and jet black. Trad rock meets Mavericks meets, well, you tell me." -- WILCO Great American Airwaves Radio
"Austin-based Country Rock that isn't afraid to get a little surreal. Blue Diamond Shine peppers its sound with dreamy pedal steel slides, rattlesnake rhythms, and a singer who sounds like Chris Isaak with a longer inseam." -- Listen.com
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