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S.F., CHICAGO & L.A.
Tony Peyser
Mirror contribuing writer
Roy Rogers is a Bay Area blues guitarist who played with John Lee
Hooker for several years. This fact alone means he’s got some serious
chops. Rogers’ new album is the all-instrumental Slideways. Take the
vowel out of Roy’s first name and you have Ry as in Cooder, whose
slide guitar playing Rogers’ will remind you of. A half a minute into
“Gumbo Funk,” this track sound like Blondie’s 1980 smash “Rapture” but
then evolves into a piece of swampy blues that’s a jolting boogie
blast. The song is over six minutes long and when it shifts gears two
and half minutes in, you will dance and-or jump and down and make a
happy fool of yourself. And the opening track, “Avalanche,” will sweep
over you like a vintage Allman Brothers jam. Yeah, he’s got the same
moniker as that legendary singing cowboy but this Roy Rogers is making
waves in the blues world that have already made that name his own.
You could call The Meat Purveyors’ music black and bluegrass. Or
neo-folk alt-country with a modern wallop. Whichever name you prefer,
All Relationships Are Doomed To Fail is worth getting. “S.O.S.” is a
saucy Abba cover that works even if you weren’t fan of Frida, Benny,
Agnetha and Bjorn. “Without Love” was composed by Mr. Nick Lowe, a man
whose sensational work makes me happy I have ears. The Meat Purveyors
do it justice with a spanking good rendition. “Lies” is another cover
which shows the band has excellent taste and good sense to find
obscure material. This song was written and sung in the 1975 movie
“Nashville” by Ronnie Blakely. Keith Carradine won a songrwriting
Oscar back then for “I’m Easy” but Blakely’s “Lies” is every bit as
good and The Meat Purveyors make that abundantly clear. Lest you think
it’s all covers, “Circus Clown” is a stinging original in which the
singer bemoans being a fool in the sideshow of love. Hey, it happens
to a lot of us.
Finally, Home is the debut CD by The Signal Hill Transmission which
features three guys whose first names are Scott. These L.A.-based boys
sing like siblings and remind me of The Delevantes, another roots pop
band which features Bob and Mike Delevante who are brothers. The
Scotts are also like a quieter, more thoughtful version The Goo Goo
Dolls or Counting Crows. Put the hypnotic “Wonder” on and you’ll
instantly know this Transmission is worth tuning into. Low-budget
movies are often good places to look for smart new music. So,
attention indie film producers: The Signal Hill Transmission has some
great tunes that should be on your soundtracks. Get ‘em before the big
boys find out about them.
CDNow has Slideways for $16.98. Miles of Music has All
Relationships Are Doomed To Fail for $14.00 and Home (a seven-song EP)
for just $10.00.
On May 31st, The Signal Hill Transmission will be at The Mint.
The Goofy Band Name Of The Week is … Elvis Hitler. |
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