2015 – Plano Road
Publishing
By Phillip Smith; Jan 23, 2016
Crooked Eye Tommy, a newer blues band making the scene in Southern California has been turning
heads since representing the Santa
Barbara Blues Society at the 2014 International
Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee and making it to the semifinals. The band consists of guitarist/vocalist Tommy Marsh, his brother, guitarist/vocalist
Paddy Marsh, bass player Glade Rasmussen, drummer Tony Cicero, and multi-instrumentalist Jimmy Calire. Their debut album, Butterflies & Snakes is a hot mix of roadhouse blues featuring
eleven original tracks.
“Time Will Tell” is soulful
blues with stellar guitar riffs and tasty B-3 accompaniment from Calire. This leads into another favorite, “Tide Pool”,
an outstanding track I could listen to all day.
It’s mellow and floaty essence feels so good to the ears. The funk is let loose on “Love Divine”, as
they tear it up on guitar and vox. This
one sounds really good. Love ballad “Over
and Over” is beautifully performed. Calire breaks out the heat on saxophone
and when background singer Becca Fuchs steps to the mic, it gets even hotter.
Crooked Eye Tommy delivers a solid album of blues with a dabble of this and that thrown in
for good measure. In addition to the
really interesting music on Butterflies
& Snakes, the cover art by Mike
Lemos stands out as a definitely favorite as well.
