Cow Punk

Punk rock collides with country music tonight when Jeff Dernlan plays the Barking Spider. The Philadelphia troubadour calls his brand of songwriting "gruntry." "It's sung by a Yankee who grunts, hollers, and strains in place of the twang, drawl, and yodel normally associated with country music," he says. "Grunters also use cheap gear and borrowed equipment, and steal song ideas from Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams, and Creedence Clearwater Revival."

Dernlan — who was raised in West Liberty, just north of Dayton — traces his country roots to his college days at Penn State University. In the late '90s, he moved to Nashville, where he met local punk band the Uninsurables. They backed him on the sessions that resulted in Broadmoor, Dernlan's new CD. Dernlan says that his mix of hardcore punk and down-on-your-luck lyrics translates into any language. "It lets people know where I'm coming from," he says. "Even though I'm not from the South, and I don't have a Southern accent."
Sun., Nov. 5, 9 p.m.