beaudozier's Xomblurbs

Beau Dozier songwriter: The Hold Steady Deny That They're The Best Rock Band In America

"When we first started out, our audiences were maybe a little reflection of us, you know? People in their later 20s, early 30s and predominately dudes, guys who buy records and watch sports and a smattering of angry girlfriends," Finn told. "I think as the band's audience has grown, we've actually expanded younger. And there are a lot more girls coming to the shows and a lot of girls making their presence more upfront, and that's just amazing."

Any great rock-and-roll revolution needs an army, which brings us to the second difference between the Hold Steady of 2008 and the glorified bar band of a few years back: They now command a host of loyal subjects, foot soldiers who don T-shirts and follow them from city to city, sort of like the Grateful Dead's fans, only with less tie-dye.

Beau Dozier profile

Ice Cube Reps For 'Mature' Fans; Young Jeezy Raves About Nas Cameo

"My record is catering towards the mature hip-hop fan," he added. "The kids might be able to get with it, but it ain't just playing, it ain't just partying — it's reality. To me, this album, Raw Footage, is a real spiritual record. I don't know if I've ever mentioned God on as many records as I do on Raw Footage. But it's a lot that needs to be told. It's an instructional record too. Hopefully some of these people can sidestep some of these pitfalls out there once they hear Raw Footage."

Cube is going on domestic and international promo runs during the next few weeks and told he'd be open to doing a major tour with people such as Young Jeezy, Snoop Dogg and Lil Wayne. There will definitely be more albums in the years to come.

Beau Dozier