U.S. Christmas is a band from the Appalachian mountains in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. The band plays a unique brand of psychedelic, high-volume blues rock that evades any easy classification. Founded in Marion NC in the summer of 2002, the band played rough biker bars, art spaces, and house shows all over the southeast dirt circuit for years, self-releasing albums in rough cd-r form. Scott Kelly of Neurosis heard the band’s third record, Salt The Wound (which was released in Russia by the label RAIG), through his radio show Combat Music Radio/KMBT, which lead to the release of the band’s fourth album Eat The Low Dogs on Neurot Recordings. USX now approaches a decade of playing, recording, and evolving, and continues to blur the boundaries of heavy music with earsplitting rock that is by turns jangly, crushing, and dark. The band has often been associated with space rock, and German Rolling Stone even included the band in an article/compilation cd on the history of that genre. However, USX are not simply continuing the space rock tradition (although USX, Minsk, and Harvestman recently recorded a tribute to the British space-searchers Hawkwind ), but are rather a group of musicians who pay attention to a wide variety of music from all eras and origins. Close attention to the band’s lyrical content will show that USX is not at all concerned with outer space, but rather focuses on themes of earth, nature, and terrestrial human history. In fact, the mountains and people of western North Carolina are a primary influence on the band’s sound. And though many have focused on the band’s use of vintage synthesizers and theremin, the band does not rely on any one instrument to create its bizarre sounds – proof that brains and hands are a musician’s most important tools.

USX toured Europe with Oakland thrashers Saviours in spring 2009, and played Neurosis’ third Beyond The Pale at the Roadburn Festival in Tillburg, Holland. In November, 2009 USX did a dozen dates across the eastern United States with Earthless supporting Baroness on the Blue Record tour. In March 2009, USX was part of Weedeater’s “9 Toe” tour of the American deep south, and was part of Tone Deaf Touring’s South by Southwest festival showcase in Austin, Texas. USX recorded its fifth full-length album, Run Thick In The Night, with producer/engineer Sanford Parker in September 2009. The album is set for release by Neurot Recordings in fall 2010.

Members :

Nate Hall – Guitars, words, vocals
Matt Johnson – Synthesizers, guitars, sounds
Chris Thomas – Guitars, bass
BJ Graves – Drums
Justin Whitlow – Drums, experimental sounds
Josh Holt – Bass, drones
Meghan Mulhearn - Violin