Take a couple of country boys, a rhythm section with a punk-rock background, add a multi-talented guitar player, and you’ve got FortyTwenty, a young, energetic group of musicians playing the songs they’ve written and the songs they grew up on. The group has been tabbed alternative country, roots, old-school country, rock-a-billy and Americana, while frequently selling out blues and rock venues, cowboy dancehalls, small-town bars, state fairs and saloons. In its short existence, FortyTwenty has performed live on radio stations and shared the stage with numerous national acts – including BR549, Hank Williams III, the Derailers, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Split Lip Rayfield, Those Legendary Shack Shakers, the Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash, Rex Hobart and Jason Boland and the Stragglers. Currently based in Lincoln, Neb., FortyTwenty has worked to expand its fan base with the help of numerous show dates throughout the Midwest and South, and the 2003 release of its debut album, “Lowdown and Dirty.” The first single from the album, “Honky-Tonk Me” has been receiving significant radio play in numerous markets. The group recorded its 10-song disc with producer A.J. Mogis at Presto Studios. FortyTwenty, which first took the stage in April of 2002, consists of David Wilson (fiddle, rhythm guitar and vocals), Lern Tilton (dog-house bass and vocals), Jon Bradley (guitars and vocals), J.J. King (drums and vocals) and Lloyd McCarter (pedal steel and vocals). “This whole thing started out as a way for us to get our old-school country fix, while we were all pursuing other musical endeavors,” Wilson said. “One day we realized we had enough common song knowledge to fill two or three hours. So we polished up some of our originals, went down the street and played our first gig – hoping other people might want to hear this stuff, too.” To this day, FortyTwenty has been known to pull out numerous covers (usually by request) at live shows, while focusing on original music written primarily by Wilson and Tilton. “It seems like I tend to write mellow songs about sitting around, pondering life and wondering where to go from here,” Wilson said. “Lern’s songs are usually about drinking, women and drinking some more. The two shouldn’t really mesh together, but we try to pull it off.” Included on the group’s debut album are Tilton’s ‘The Wagon,’ an upbeat drinking song that includes a handful of much-needed catch-your-breath pauses, and Wilson’s ‘Dreamin’ Big and Livin’ Small,’ which ponders suffering the consequences of not following your dreams. Wilson and Tilton have recently worked to collaborate their musical and lyrical ideas, co-writing the song, ‘Skunk Yodel No. 7.’ It’s a heart-wrenching love tale that tells the story of a young woman who can not be tamed. Mixed in, of course, is plenty of yodeling. Tilton’s punk-rock background can occasionally be sensed in his songs with the help of King, who has spent much of his recent years drumming for underground punk bands. Wilson and Bradley, on the other hand, are fresh off a stint with a more-or-less straight country band that has played packed dancehalls throughout the Midwest for the past four years. Prior to his country work, Bradley spent time playing in blues and jazz groups. Wilson grew up learning to play the fiddle in the mountains of Northern Idaho, picking up the rhythm guitar along the way. The five twenty-somes have blended together to form a unique sound that continues to entertain audiences with varied musical tastes. “If it ever came to a point where nobody wanted to hear our stuff anymore,” Wilson said, “we’d still be playing on somebody’s porch. This is just fun music.”