Independent's Day Radio

Craig Elkins' story is a familiar one in the new music universe. Elkins was a founding member of the band Huffamoose, which played the main stage at Woodstock in 1994, got signed to Interscope Records, cracked Billboard's charts, played on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and garnered some effusive praise from rock impresario and film director Cameron Crowe. But despite the impressive resume, Huffamoose folded. Elkins kept hacking away at songs without his band and found some success getting his music into film and television shows. Now, Elkins is back with a new record called "I Love You" - and it features quirky vocals with a hint of an Elvis Costello vibrato, swaggering groves and roadhouse piano that share space with intimate ballads and enough tongue-in-cheek lyrics to offset some earnestly twangy pedal steel. It's a satisfying musical experience, and although we're not sure he left, we're happy Elkins is back.