Gus Guthrie and Tom Stamp met in third grade -- that is, Tom was teaching it and Gus was just breaking into the education circus. That was 25 years ago, and they've been playing together ever since.

It was during those early days of friendship that the two discovered their mutual love for music. They both knew plenty of folk songs. Tom leaned country, Gus more toward rock. The guitars came out of the closet and from behind the couch, and they began to share the music with their students. Then Tom and Gus discovered something else: their voices blended like maple and walnuts. Gram Paxton met Jackson Prine and a band was born.

Gus and Tom fronted NoBetterOff, a cosmic country rock and roots band, where they polished those harmonies and added new flavors. And now, over two decades later, our boys are still at it.

South of Monroe is two friends, two voices, and the gift of time.