Doug Gillard - Parade On

2014 – Nine Mile Records

By Phillip Smith; Aug. 1, 2014

Parade On, the third solo release from Doug Gillard is a refreshing double-dose of indie-rock.  Gillard is a renaissance man when it comes to music.  Singer/Songwriter aside, he takes on responsibility for performing every instrument on this album (guitar, bass, keys, percussion) with the exception of drums. 

Gillard breaks the seal on the track list with “Ready For Death”.  Here, he cleverly marries sullen lyrics sung from the agonized perspective of one just ready to let go, with a lovely upbeat melody which could easily be mistaken for a long-lost track from Electric Light Orchestra.  Then, as if the dial had been turned from the Seventies channel to the Eighties channel, “Angel X”, with its slightly fast tempo, takes me back to the days when the band Squeeze ruled my stereo. 

I can get lost in the melodically beautiful “Your Eyes”.  Sugary and poppy, it instantly puts me in a good mood.  Other favorites include “Come Out and Show Me”, a throwback to the early Who, and “I Shall Not Want”, which seems to draw more influence from George Harrison.

Gillard masterfully ties these eleven pop-infused songs up in one neat little package, to make Parade On, a damn cool aural treat.

Shotgun Rebellion - Shotgun Rebellion

Shotgun Rebellion, 2014

By Phillip Smith; March 29, 2014

This self-produced, self-titled, thirteen track album by Shotgun Rebellion fell into my awareness quite unexpectedly and I have to say, it pretty much bowled me over.  These guys elevate Southern Rock to a whole new level, by introducing fearsome guitar licks, emphatic beats, powerful vocals and wild-west imagery along with an arsenal of all-original songs.  Rooted in Oklahoma, Shotgun Rebellion features vocalist Rick Davis, bassist Jon Parr, drummer Johnni Walker, and to top things off, guitarist extraordinaire Randy “The Arsonist” Cooper formerly of Texas Hippie Coalition. 

“Lost My Way”, gets the album kick-started with a combination of vocals and guitar which reminds me a lot of Black Rain era Ozzy with Zakk Wylde, sans the British accent.  Davis and Cooper knock this one out of the ballpark.  The album only gets better.  I really like the infectious groove on “Squeeze My Shotgun”.  This double entendre titled party anthem takes me back a couple of decades to Guns N’ Roses (original lineup).  The song is pure no-nonsense rock with smile-inducing guitar play and crashing cymbals.  Another track that seems to emit that GNR vibe is “Pain and Misery”.  I can’t help but think of Black Oak Arkansas when I hear Davis’s voice on this song, and its successor “Train of Pain”.  Davis’s singing and style reminds me a lot of Jim “Dandy” Mangrum from BOA.   While on the subject of Jim Dandy,  I want to mention another song I really like,   “Just as Good a Day to Die”, a heady little ballad that falls right into the BOA wheelhouse. It’s as if it was written as a follow-up to the song “Lord Have Mercy on My Soul”.    

I detect a bit of Charlie Daniels inspiration when I listen to “Devils Home Brew” as Davis spins the tale of a moonshining witch.  The cool factor runs high on this eerie tale which tells us ‘there is nothing you can do once you get a taste of the Devil’s home brew’.   

Right up there on top of my list of favorite tracks are “Roll On” and “BadmansGUN”.  “Roll On”, plainly put, is one hell of a good song. Walker and Parr set up a really cool hallway of rhythm for Davis and Cooper to maneuver their way through. Then there is old-West themed ballad, “BadmansGUN”, which is sung from the view point of a man dying from a gunshot wound, and interjected with little bits of dialog and effects.  Sitting in on piano is Michael Miers, a friend of the band. One of the more interesting moments captured in the song is when everything gets quiet, and we hear just the piano, an acoustic guitar, and Johnni Walker softly whistling.     

Shotgun Rebellion not only captures my attention at the beginning, but it holds on to it until the end.  This album is quite impressive, and I hope we will be hearing a lot more from these guys in the future.  I believe we will.     

*  Special note :  Wes Wallace (also formerly of Texas Hippie Coalition) was added to the band full time about a month ago. So although he didn't appear on the album, he will be touring with them.

Damon Fowler - Sounds of Home

Blind Pig Records, 2014

By Phillip Smith; February 8, 2014

Damon Fowler’s latest solo album, Sounds of Home is a grab-bag of Americana at its best.  Soon after finishing the tour with the band, Southern Hospitality, which released one of my favorite albums last year, Easy Livin’, Fowler returned to the studio with bassist Chuck Riley and drummer James McKnight.  Tab Benoit not only produced, recorded and mixed this eleven track album, but he sits in on several songs as well, pitching in on vocals, acoustic guitar, and pedal steel. 

The album is a heavy mix of Country and Blues music. Fowler breaks out some really thick slide, on opening track “Thought I Had It All”.  This one gets the energy flowing, as Fowler makes his slide scream.  It almost borders on Southern Rock.   

Title track, “Sounds of Home” puts a smile on my face, as the guitar riffs bring to mind Steve Cropper, while the backing rhythm is very reminiscent of those cool early days of Stax Records. Big Chief Monk Boudreaux also makes a guest appearance here, pitching in on vocals and tambourine. 

Fowler tackles Elvis Costello’s “Allison” with a slightly different approach as he brings a little country twang to the vocals and melody, and an outstanding guitar solo on the bridge.  While on the subject of outstanding guitar and cover songs, Fowler brings it on again with a very swampy bluesy rendition of Johnny Winter’s “TV Mama”.  It’s so fun just to hear him play guitar, especially on songs like this.

Fowler digs deep and goes really ‘old school’, as he dusts off the classic spiritual, “I Shall Not Be Moved”, and plays it in a very traditional sense as he is joined by Benoit on acoustic guitar and harmonizing vocals.  Beautifully played, I thought this was a cool song to close the album with.    

Albums like “Sounds of Home” are so welcome to hear, as it allows the artist’s raw talent to shine through, and not be muddled by special effects and over-production.  This album is a “keeper”.  

Tesla at Riverside Casino - Riverside, Iowa January 25, 2014 : Review and Photos

By Phillip Smith

Saturday evening, I took a break from the harsh Iowa winter we’ve had this year and headed down to Riverside, IA to recharge my soul with the music of Tesla.  It was an exemplary performance.  Vocalist Jeff Keith, guitarists Frank Hannon and Dave Rude, along with bassist Brian Wheat, and drummer Troy Luccketta once again, proved they can sell out a show all while keeping an audience of dedicated fans on their feet for two hours.

Tesla took the stage, kicking things off with the hard driving, “I Wanna Live”, followed by “Hang Tough” and one of their newer songs, “Taste My Pain”.  Hannon switched out guitars, for “Heaven’s Trail (No Way Out)”, grabbing his Flying V and unleashed what seemed like everything he had on the song while Jeff Keith nailed it all down in place with his ‘made for rock’ raspy vocals.  Before switching over to Five Man Acoustical Jam mode, they finished the first chapter of the show with “Mama’s Fool“, which featured some really nice swampy bluesy guitar from Hannon, and cool vocal harmony with him and Keith.  I loved the bass line on this too. Wheat really tied it together.  Unexpectedly before the song ended, Hannon’s guitar whipped behind his back and he finished with an impressive guitar solo.  

For the Five Man Acoustical Jam, stools were brought to the front of the stage for the guys to perch upon, and the electric guitars were replaced with acoustic.  Although “Comin’ Atcha Live” was on their Five Man Acoustical Jam album, it’s still kind of odd to hear played in this format; however it is still cool as hell.  Hannon broke out his resonator guitar for this, giving the song some bonus twang.  And as on the Five Man Acoustical Jam album, they segued into the Grateful Dead song, “Truckin’”.  This put a huge smile on my face.  Before switching back to their electric instruments, Wheat switches his bass out for keyboard, and the band performs “Paradise”.  This one is really beautifully played.

With a driving beat provided by Luccketta, and the opening notes played by Hannon and Rude, “Signs” begins.  A brief chill hits me as the crowd begins to sing along. Bringing this one to an end, huge cheers are released to Hannon presenting a rather large banner over his head that read, ‘And the Sign Says Tesla Rules’’.  They ruled indeed.

The final third of the show was chock full of fan favorites. “The Way It Is” closed with a strong finish, and with the opening notes of “What You Give”, I could feel the excitement in the air balloon up.  Rude and Hannon, back on acoustic, sublimely play the intro to the power ballad, “Love song”.  Once it gets going, Hannon is handed his double-neck guitar.  His playing is so impressive.

It wouldn’t be a Tesla concert without a five start performance of Modern Day Cowboy, which is exactly what it was. For a moment it is thought the show is over, but Tesla, with a little coaxing from the fans, returned for one last song, “Little Suzi”.  This drew not only a ton of applause, but drew a few folks into the aisles for a little dancing as well.  I don’t know how he does it, but Keith can still hit those high notes.  All in all, it was a stellar show and a damn good time. 

   

SETLIST

I Wanna Live

Hang Tough

Taste My Pain

Heaven’s Trail (No Way Out)

Mama’s Fool

Comin’ Atcha Live / Truckin’

A Wonderful World

Paradise

Signs

The Way It Is

What You Give

Love Song

Modern Day Cowboy

(encore)

Little Suzi

All photographs by Phillip Smith.

Goon Moon “Licker’s Last Leg” -- From the Archives #1

By Phillip Smith

Jeordi White (aka Twiggy Ramirez of Marilyn Manson)  and Chris Goss (Masters of Reality) have collaborated once again to produce their first full length CD together as Goon Moon.  Licker’s Last Leg uses a variety of musical styles to walk the listener through the album.  Apple Pie, the first cut, almost scared me away from the CD with what I can only equate as the musical equivalence of running fingernails down a chalk board.  Eventually the annoyance stopped and the song unfolded, nicely I might add.  Although there is a lot of Goth rock influences in Apple Pie,  the rest of the CD seems to be a mix of classic rock peppered with a dab of industrial.   Tip Toe could easily have been mistaken for a Devo song, with its mechanical beat and quirky lyrics.    My Machine is another nice track,  it‘s a little faster than some of the other songs, and uses several tempos and synthesized vocals at times,  emitting an Eighties Techno/Metal flavor.  My favorite track though is An Autumn That Came Too Soon.  It has a simple beat but it is very hypnotizing, with its tranquil repetitiveness and smooth-as-silk vocals.  Individually these are all nice songs, but they don’t all necessarily all gel together as well as I would have expected.  What I considered the strangest and most experimental track, The Golden Ball, stretches to almost 10 minutes in length, and is composed of eight mini songs.  The last and least track, Built in a Bottle, could have been left off entirely and I would not have minded.  It was too slow and whispery to follow the eleven songs it followed.