Start Your Genealogical Research at the Alabama Vital Records Office

Can you just imagine the wealth of history that must be stored at the Alabama Vital Records Office? My father’s ancestors are from the South but he moved to Ohio a few years before I was born. I’ve never been very close to his family, except for my uncle, and I’ve always wondered about my Southern ancestors. And I guess I’m not the only one these days with long lost relatives and my ancestral heritage on her mind. More and more people are becoming interested in genealogical research and websites are popping up all over the internet to help you trace your ancestry.

My uncle is the historian in our family and he’s traced our roots clear back to Ireland, but then I think most people are of European descent. He did say he found that one of the branches of our family tree carried the name of Davey Crocket – which is probably why my brother always fancied that coonskin cap when he was 4.

The Alabama Vital Records Office sounds like one of the most fascinating places to me. All that Civil War history. I don’t know if you’re familiar with a new television show that’s just come out – Who Do You Think You Are? It’s all about celebrities tracing their family histories and one of the first few episodes featured Matthew Broderick tracing he family back through the Civil War era. It was a very somber episode and you could just feel the history all around.

That’s what it’s like at the Alabama Vital Records Office. Of course, not everyone who goes there is looking for Civil War era information. You can visit the office to find more recent birth certificates, marriage and divorce decrees, and death certificates. You can also find service records and information about property transfers. If you’re interested in tracing the roots of our own family tree and you believe some of your ancestors were from the Alabama area, then the Vital Records Office would be a very good place to start.

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The Search $12.78 When Jay Farrar resurrected the sound and approach (if not the personnel) of Son Volt for the 2005 album Okemah and the Melody of Riot, it was a welcome return to what Farrar does best after the poorly focused meanderings of much of his solo work. But while embracing the Son Volt handle energized his muse on Okemah, the second album from Son Volt 2.0, The Search, suggests it has also given him a clearer vision in his search for new sonic territory. The melodic textures of The Search are very much in the mode of Son Volt’s early work, but Farrar has offered a few noticeable change-ups in how he approaches the material, most noticeably the addition of Derry Deborja on keyboards, whose washes of organ and piano add new colors to the band’s palate. Farrar also takes a few other chances here that pay off, particularly with the punchy soul horns on “The Picture,” and though it remains clear that Farrar is in charge of this band, The Search finds this lineup of Son Volt growing into a sound of their own, with the rhythm section of Andrew DuPlantis and Dave Bryson sounding more comfortable but also lending a stronger backbone on the more rocking material (especially the title track) and Brad Rice given more room to blend his guitar work with Farrar’s Neil Young-influenced leads. And while Farrar isn’t likely to get ever over his shyness about direct declarative statements in his lyrics, like Okemah The Search is clearly informed by the political and social malaise of America under George W. Bush, and Farrar’s compassionate anger on “Satellite,” “Adrenaline and Heresy,” and the title tune is bracing and powerful. In their original incarnation, Son Volt made a brilliant debut and followed it up with a genuine disappointment, but the second time around, Farrar has followed strength with strength, and The Search is a potent reminder of why Farrar was and is one of the watershed artists of the alt-country movement. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi Performers: Jay Farrar – Electric Bouzouki, Guitar, Vocals, Piano; Brad Rice – Sitar (Electric), E-Bow, Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Baritone); Eric Heywood – Pedal Steel; Andrew Duplantis – Vocals (Background), Guitar (Bass); Chris Deusinger – Saxophone; Dave Bryson – Percussion, Drums; Derry Deborja – Organ, Keyboards, Piano; Keith Moyer – Trumpet;

In Search Of… $16.78 Fu Manchu was one of the most enduring and influential bands of the ’90s stoner metal movement (along with Kyuss, Monster Magnet, and Sleep), but it wasn’t until their third full-length release, In Search Of…, that the Southern California stoners finally obtained “major” label support by signing with Mammoth Records — not that this had any effect on singer Scott Hill’s indistinctive vocals, or the band’s fuzzy dirge of post-Sabbath riffery with psychedelic overtones. And like most Fu Manchu albums, In Search Of… is a very inconsistent affair, with only a few cuts such as “Asphalt Risin’,” “Strato-Freak,” and “Seahag” really standing out of the pack. Simply put, one gets the impression that Fu Manchu doesn’t try that hard, but then, not every band wants to rule the world. Thankfully, the departure of guitarist Eddie Glass and drummer Ruben Romano to form Nebula soon after this recording would provide the band with the impetus and inspiration to really start moving forward on the following year’s much improved The Action Is Go. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, Rovi