NYC-based pop tunesmith Django Haskins of Django & the Regulars writes a lot. I mean really a lot. After the success of the new album, Laying Low and Inbetween, as well as 1998's critically-acclaimed release, Folding Stars, there has been talk of jumping right into the box set to accomodate all the new material. But cool heads eventually prevailed, and it looks like you're going to have to take in his pop gems one batch at a time (better for digestion, anyway). You can always catch the newest material at the live shows to tide you over, however.

Raised by wolves with a surprisingly eclectic record collection, Django grew up listening to Gershwin, Beatles, Dylan, Thelonius Monk, the Replacements, and Elvis Costello, creating in him a deep-seated love for pop music in its many forms. You can hear this Love of Song in his well-crafted melodies and his sharp lyrics.

In Django's unique blend of pop, folk and rock, the innocence and tradition of Smalltown, USA meets the sin and raw energy of the Big City. Give Norman Rockwell a Fender Telecaster and imagine what it would sound like. Probably not very good. Norm was tone deaf. Django, on the other hand, is not.