i grew up in kalamazoo, MI also, but found the town more conducive to other forms of depressing music.. hence an embarrassingly long stint with goth vox. ^_^' but. hey! growing up in rural michigan means remarkable diversity in adaptive music. i honestly don't know much about country, but it sounds like you have a lot of variety on this tape. i only ask -- what about the women?? there's a comp i've been digging a lot lately, "Gals of the Big 'D' Jamboree", esp. the tracks by the Lovett Sisters, Sherry Davis, and Ramona Reed. i think Kelly Hogan is pretty awesome too, though i've yet to hear the new album...

oh god, i'm so glad there's somebody out there who feels the way i do - i grew up sort of passively distainful of country but yes: when i got bored of everything else, it turned out that there was this whole new pretty neat genre for me to explore. right on! :)

I live in K-zoo right now, Sindy. Still have a few vampires walking the streets. There are a few women on here, but I guess being male and most of these songs being somewhat emotional, it's easier for me to relate to the male point of view. But I'll check your sugs out for Vol. II.