Last year around this time I was in Athens, Georgia, celebrating the marriage of my good friend Rebecca Coates to a gentleman I'd never met, Jim Willingham. Jim is one of those great souls that you don't meet very often. I knew this after talking to him for about fourteen seconds. Jim is also very gifted when it comes to making music. His band is called Ham1. Here is their MySpace page, where you can listen to one of my favorite songs, "The Gift." Then go here to download the rest of their insanely catchy debut. And get ready for their new release, "The Captain's Table," which comes out on Orange Twin on September 18th. I've been listening to it consistently for a few months now, and I can confirm that it's even better than their first album. They cover a ridiculous amount of musical ground, yet the record still feels unified and cohesive. You heard it here first: Ham1's "The Captain's Table" is one of 2007's must-have records.

Though cinematic obligations prevented me from attending their first New York City appearance earlier this evening, I can't wait for Monday night's show at Sound Fix Records. They go on at 8pm, followed by Liz Durrett at nine. Go here and listen to "Far From Home." It's a beautiful, haunting song. Ham1 is her backing band, and she's Vic Chestnutt's niece, so those are two more reasons to get your butts to Sound Fix for some Monday night rock-and-roll, y'all.