Review Roulette: The Dusters, Guilt, "Alive At JC's" (1986-1991)

THE DUSTERS
This Ain’t No Jukebox...
Nashville blues-rockers check in with their first full-length disc, which turns out to be well worth the wait. A collection of ten earth-scorching tunes, it’s obvious that the dusters took their time and did it right. Although long-time fans of the band will recognize such live favorites as “The Truck Won’t Start” and “This Ain’t No Jukebox…We’re A Rock ‘N Roll Band,” other cuts shine as well.

The dusters’ cover of Savoy Brown’s “Hellbound Train” smokes the original, achieving in three to four minutes what the original took thirteen to accomplish; “Phantom of the Strip,” “Street Legal,” and “Blues Highway,” all dusters’ originals, bristle with bluesy energy and rock and roll fury. Ken McMahan’s growling, guttural vocals are well-matched to his searing guitar style, while Dave Barnette’s solid bass lines and drummer Chris Sherlock’s pounding rhythms round out the (still maturing) dusters sound. This Ain’t No Jukebox… is the album that George Thorogood should have made, as a new generation of white boys pick up the blues-rock torch. (The Metro, 1991)

GUILT
Thru the Night
Long-time Nashville cult-heroes deliver a strong five-song, twenty-minute EP with Thru the Night. Lovingly produced by Steve Earle, the disc showcases the band’s impressive, innate abilities (which are often overshadowed by the cult of personality that has evolved around the band). The music is somber, passionate Goth-rock, heavily influenced by the works of Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, and Joy Division while retaining a metal-influenced edge.

Guitarist Chuck Allen’s six-string soars at times, providing some honestly thrilling moments, while Skot Nelson’s bass playing is an important part of the mix, throbbing with visceral delight. Toss in vocalist Tommy McRae’s primal vocals and one will find Thru the Night to be an excellent intro to one of the Music City’s longest-lived and exciting bands. (Radical Pizza, 1991)

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Alive At JC’s
What’s the matter, Bunkie...bored to tears over the same old nifty fifty as heard over your “all-of-the-hits-all-of-the-time!” radio station? Heavy metal misogyny, hard rock histrionics, and empty-vee got you down? Well, cheer up…because in Green Hills, tucked away on Bandywood Drive is a quiet, unassuming establishment by the name of JC’s, a wonderful club offering up great food, a selection of imported beers, and the very best in jazz music as performed by a truly talented roster of the Music City’s top artists.
    
Alive At JC’s is a cassette compilation of material performed live by three of the hottest and most popular acts to appear on the JC’s stage. The tape opens with Funktion, their trademark sound revolving around the dancing, soulful saxwork of Jeff Kirk, and buoyed up by the sparking keyboards of Micky Basil and the searing, fluid guitar lines of Stan Lassiter. Bassist Bob Burns, keyboarding Kevin Madill, and percussionist Dale Armstrong fill in the edges, producing a sound as tight and clear and flowing as you’ll ever find.

Apollo follows, presenting a unique jazz/funk fusion style that’ll brighten your day every day. The basic guitar (Cliff Richmonds) – bass (Carl Dobbins) – drums (Stan Smith) formula is fleshed out in Apollo with the addition of keyboardist Ted Wilson, Jamie Nichols’ congas, and the wailing reed of Mark Douthit. The result is an exhilarating and original sound that’ll have you humming these melodies for days. The superstar assemblage Rush Hour closes the tape, featuring the talents of Apollo’s Douthit on sax, and Funktion’s Madill alongside a number of impressive hornmen and rhythm players. Rush Hour’s sound illustrates improvisation as only the jazz art form can encourage, never sounding clichéd or derivative.

Although the bands represented on this collection will surely go onto greater venues and increased prominence, you can rest assured that JC’s owner “Chick” Cicatelli will always present the freshest and most talented artists in the world of jazz. If you’re truly bored and disgusted with commercial hacks and music that all sounds alike, go on down to JC’s and see what the real artists are doing...and if you like what you hear, ask “Chick” about the Alive At JC’s cassette…you’ll be glad you did! (The Metro, 1986)

Vintage Review: Lonesome Bob's Things Fall Apart (1998)

Now this, this Things Fall Apart album from this guy Lonesome Bob, this is the way that country music was meant to be. No big-hat, tight jeans posing for photo opportunities, or ‘Music Row’ pop crap, this is Nashville’s greatest fear: a talented and creative singer and songwriter that doesn’t fit into any of their corporate molds. Boasting one of the best baritones this side of Waylon Jennings, Lonesome Bob carries on a musical tradition that has its roots in Hank Williams and Bill Monroe and runs pure through Johnny Cash, George Jones, and Willie Nelson to the songs on Things Fall Apart.

Love and betrayal, death and despair, these are some of the subjects of Bob’s songs, delivered in a rocking honky-tonk style that sometimes gets a little loud and raucous while, at other times, is eloquently genteel. Guest vocalist Allison Moorer contributes her beautiful vocals to several duets on Things Fall Apart. Sounding a lot like a young Emmylou Harris, Moorer’s voice provides an angelic charm that counters Bob’s twangy growl. A satisfying collection of tunes that will continue to grow on you with every listen, Things Fall Apart is the kind of country album Nashville forgot how to make.

Released by Checkered Past Records, a Chicago indie that, with a roster that includes Lonesome Bob, Tommy Womack, and Paul Burch, seems to have their finger on the musical pulse of Nashville better than the dozens of labels that are located here in the “Music City.” (Checkered Past Records)

Review originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide™, 1998

Vintage Review: Java Christ's Songs To Confuse Slam Dancers (1996)

Back a few years ago, I had a gig as the night manager of a local newsstand / convenience store in the university area of Nashville. As one of the few places in town that sold the notorious Jolt Cola, we had a regular weekend crowd of young punks, cybergeeks and metalheads who would buy this high-octane gutrot by the caseload. I got to know several of these customers on a casual basis, often talking music/computers/politics with them. I was old enough to be their father, but I listened to them, supported their dreams and accepted them for what they were, which was a diverse, creative lot with a lot ahead of them.

What a couple of these young Jolt guzzlers had in front of them was Java Christ, the finest young band to emerge from the Nashville scene since the Teen Idols first took the stage (which, although not really that long a period of time, says something nonetheless considering the large number of truly mediocre bands that come and go in the Music City in a year’s time). Thanks to the fine folks at House O’ Pain, Java Christ make their vinyl debut with the 7” Songs To Confuse Slam Dancers EP, an altogether red-hot slab o’ punk rock fun that comes with an iron-clad Reverend K guarantee: if you buy this disc from House O’ Pain and don’t like it, send it (in good condition, naturally) to R.A.D! and we’ll give you yer cash back on it. Yes, it’s that good.
   
Side one of the EP kicks off with “Gasoline,” an infectious ska-tinged rocker. Layers of fuzzy guitar punctuate the tune’s rock-steady rhythm, with the entire effort burning as bright as its name and subject matter. “Suburbia” opens with gonzo rock chords, flashing quickly into a fast-paced, mile-a-minute musical romp. The second side’s “Insomnia” is anything but a snooze, hard and fast chords underlining a classic tale of love lost (and delivering a the most effective lyrical “piss-off” since Dylan’s “Positively 4th Street”). The disc closes with “Clue,” another delightful ska-fest, chockful of energy and attitude.

After seeing Java Christ play live at this year’s House O’ Pain/Lucy’s Record Shop Anti-Extravaganza show, I can say that they’ve got a bright future ahead of them. They’re charismatic and likeable, with a solid punk ethic that just can’t be beat. Songs To Confuse Slam Dancers is an entertaining and impressive recording debut that manages to capture enough of the band’s live energy to scorch your turntable. (House O’ Pain Records)

Review originally published by R.A.D! music zine, 1996

Nashville Rock Memorabilia: Jason & the Scorchers' Halcyon Times tour poster

Jason & the Scorchers' Halcyon Times promotional tour poster. Sent to clubs and other venues in PDF form, they could print out the poster, write in their show details at the bottom, and stick it in the window. Back in the old days, bands would have to have a couple hundred promotional posters printed up and mailed to clubs, often at their own expense. How things have changed!

Vintage Review: Jason & the Scorchers' Thunder and Fire (1989)

Jason & the Scorchers are, arguably, the best-known of Nashville’s brash young bands, an outfit with a critically-acclaimed past and an infinitely-open future. Thunder and Fire is their first album for A & M Records, and their first effort with the new band. Folks, they’ve never been better.

This is a mature and fully-realized work: Jason’s songwriting collaborations breathe new life into the Scorchers’ material; Warner’s guitar playing gets better and better; and the additions of bassist Ken Fox and skilled multi-instrumentalist Andy York round out the sound of the band, allowing them more diversity and providing a fuller, bigger feel to the songs. Drummer and co-writer Perry Baggz is like “Old Faithful,” an often (unfortunately) overlooked and underrated percussionist who manages to balance the entire chaotic crew.

The result is an album, Thunder and Fire, that is certain to become the band’s biggest. Artistically impressive, musically powerful, lyrically fresh and exciting, the Scorchers made the album that they wanted to, and it shows. The boys may have gotten older, but they’ve not gotten softer…if anything, they’ve become more passionate, more committed with age. (A&M Records)

Review originally published by The Metro, 1989

Memories: The Electric Cowboy Festival 1983

 

The first and only Electric Cowboy Festival was held over Labor Day weekend in September 1993. The three-day event didn't feature any artists from the fledgling local rock scene, although Gregg Allman was born in the Music City and past sell-by date Southern rockers like the Marshall Tucker Band and the Outlaws had a tenuous connection to Nashville through the business. Leon Russell would end up moving to Nashville, but was never really a part of the local "scene."

The Electric Cowboy Festival was the first event of this sort in the region, however, beating both the ill-fated Itchycoo Park Festival (1999) and the more successful Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival (2002) by a good decade and a half. The event had some high-profile performers, too, like Joe Walsh, Joan Jett, Cheap Trick, Humble Pie, and Kansas but offered a somewhat eclectic mix of artists like the Elvis Brothers, Mitch Ryder, Fastway, Quiet Riot, Teenage Head, and Madness. I covered the festival for the first two days for some rag or another and had an overall good time. I don't know if the event made any money but since they never held another one, I'm guessing that it broke even at best. But the Electric Cowboy Festival holds good memories for many who went, so many that there's even a Facebook group for the concert.