Raised in Akron, OH, alt-country singer/songwriter Tim Easton was influenced by a combination of pop icons (the Beatles, Kiss) and bluegrass/folk legends (Doc Watson, John Prine). Kosher Spears, his college band from his days at Ohio State, performed their unique roots rock hybrid across the Midwest, and Easton eventually found himself busking in the streets of Paris, London, and Dublin. Returning to the States, his folk-based songwriting brought an earthy sound to the Haynes Boys (an existing rock band that recruited Easton in the mid-'90s) and they recorded one album, Guardian Angel, for New York-based Slab Records. The band subsequently split, with its members working in Gaunt and Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments, and Easton pursuing his solo career. In 1998, Easton recorded his first solo album, Special 20, with session musicians in Nashville, and released it on his own Heathen Records. After inking a deal with EMI Publishing in the fall ...