Chuck Mead was the co-founder of the three-time Grammy nominated BR5-49, the honky-tonk heroes that almost single-handedly lit and carried the blowtorch for the mid-1990s alternative country explosion. He was the songwriting genius behind such BR5-49 classics as "Little Ramona's Gone Hillbilly Nuts" (her punk rock records are gathering dust), and he's been hailed as "The Hillbilly Renaissance Man" for his subsequent successes as a songwriter, performer, producer and musical theater director. Now Chuck emerges as a solo artist with the album "Journeyman's Wager." “I respect the term ”˜journeyman,'” Chuck says, “because that's I what consider myself. I've been living by my wits musically for more than 20 years now, going from job to job and doing them all pretty well." The album is full of great roots songs of all kinds, and this show should be a real treat for anybody who's spent time on country music's sharper edges.