The John Lisi show at Dave’s Aqua Lounge listed in this week’s issue as taking place on Saturday, July 11, is actually taking place on the following weekend, Saturday, July 18. Please make note on your live music calendars and we apologize for the error.
Way back in the beginning of ninebullets.net, I wrote a piece about the band Roxx Gang. There was a period in the late ’80s when I thought they were quite simply the bees knees.
Flash forward 20 years or so to former Roxx Gang frontman Kevin Steele’s newish band, Mojo Gurus, which is celebrating the release of their new disc, Let’s Get Lit With, this Friday. The Mojo Guru’s are Kevin Steele, Vinnie Granese, Doc Lovett and Mark Busto, and they’ve just signed a multi-album deal with True North Records. Along with Let’s Get Lit, True North will be reissuing the Guru’s first two cd’s, Hot Damn and Shakin’ the Barn, on March 24. To celebrate the occasion, the Mojo Gurus are throwing a big ol’ party at Dave’s Aqua Lounge and you’re all invited. Joining the Gurus will be another one of Tampa’s shining lights, Tailgunner Joe and The Earls of Slander. Read the rest of this entry »
Okay, I’ll be 100% honest. I’m not nearly as familiar with Malcolm Holcombe as I should be. He’s always been an artist I’ve meant to delve into but for what ever reason, have never gotten around to checking out. However, after reading the following quote from leftofthedial I dunno how I could miss the chance to see him live:
“Holcombe played with a scary intensity. I didn’t want to take my eyes away for fear that he’d sneak up behind me and pull out a knife. His voice sounds a thousand years old (I mean that in a good way), probably the result of decades spent smoking and singing. His acoustic fingerpicking was just as hypnotic as his crazy hobo stare. What stood out about his performance even more than the music was his semi-coherent rambling between songs. He just kind of lapsed into and out of stories – I now know all about his wife, his false teeth, and about the $23.50 he made playing in Georgia, among other things.”
I mean, seriously … I think we’re in for something special. Join me will you?
Any other readers out there ever seen Malcolm? How was it?
This Friday, San Francisco’s murdergrass outfit, The Pine Box Boys, will make their triumphant return to the stage at Dave’s Aqua Lounge. The last time these guys came through town I partied a little too hard with my good buddies Beam and Ginger, and was unable to write a decent review of the show, which is a good sign I had one hell of a good time (and I did). The interplay of the band members as well as their faux-arguments even makes the between-song inner-band banter a complete riot.
You’re asking, what does the band sound like? You’re wondering, what exactly is murdergrass? Well, let’s say you put Old Crow Medicine Show and Those Poor Bastards in a blender. Now, if you were to puree them, you’d get one hell of a mess, but if that mess could somehow make music, that amalgam of Old Crow and TPB would be The Pine Box Boys. If Old Crow are Dr. Jekyll, then The Pine Box Boys are their Mr. Hyde. Read the rest of this entry »
Last October, Ninebullets.net contributor Autopsy IV interviewed “no man gospel band” Reverend Deadeye, a blues howlin’ troubadour who just so happens to be playing Dave’s Aqua Lounge in St. Petersburg tonight. Here’s the write up and interview Autopsy IV has graciously allowed us to re-post here on Tampa Calling. Enjoy.
Some people pursue music for pussy. Some do it for the money. Others do it cause they love it, and then there are those rare few that do it for a much more organic reason. They chase this music thing ’cause they have to. Even when they don’t necessarily want to, there is something inside of them that makes them do it. Even when it’s hurting the ones they love and themselves, asking them to stop is as ludicrous as asking you to stop breathing. It’s in them, it has to come out…they are but a vessel. I am of the opinion that the Reverend Deadeye falls into that category. It is that very drive that made him leave a city that never really embraced him and hit the road with no clear plan outside of playing another show. He set out on the road with a van, a beer can turned into a microphone, a handmade guitar, and a sermon of hellfire and damnation for your sinnin’ ass soul.
His latest release, Turn or Burn, is available for the painfully low price of ten dollars. You should buy two and mail one to your momma. It’s a frantic explosion of slide-guitar blues meets tent-revival preaching. It’s everything that’s right with the one man band explosion. Check it out. Read the rest of this entry »
On an unusually cold night in Florida, me and about 20 or so of my closest friends (total strangers) managed to get out to Dave’s for Dahlonega, Georgia’s own Smokestack and the Foothill Fury. It’s a real shame so few people came out ’cause it was one hell of a show.
I walked in just as tour opener, The Corduroy Road, was starting. What an amazing little surprise they were. A four-piece with two singers, banjo, harmonies and harmonicas. The band plays a mix of bluegrass and country and they play it well. Unfortunately, the EP they’re selling suffers from less than stellar studio production, but they are looking to release a full-length sometime this summer. Hopefully they’ll have the studio kinks worked out and their recorded efforts will came across as well has their live show.
Smokey hit the stage next and you wouldn’t have known if there were 20 or 200 people in Dave’s from his performance. Despite having had a long night the previous evening, every bit of that “Tasmanian devil with a guitar” energy hit the the stage and started running through songs at a completely blistering pace. The sparse crowd showed their pleasure all night, making numerous trips to the tip jar. While there was an occasional song played at a slower pace, I’d imagine that the average BPM for Smokey’s set was about 180. For the longest time, Smokestack suffered from the same fate that The Corduroy Road did, a CD with crappy recording quality, but he solved that problem with Ain’t Gonna Pine and you can look for a full review in the coming week or so.
Smokey plays in this area four or five times a year. Do yourself a favor and catch one of his shows — you won’t be disappointed.
Imagine if you took the Tasmanian devil and put him in a chair with a couple of guitars, a slide, and some weird snare drum connected to a foot pedal contraption, and then demanded “MAKE MUSIC.” This explains the frenzy that is Smokestack and the Foothill Fury (which is actually only one person). Here’s what mountainfreak.net had to say about him:
“I wandered a little south of my normal coverage area this month to Loco’s in Gainesville for some music by a fellow whose sound I had heard labeled “Punk-Country-Blues.” Hard for me to miss something with a handle like that. “Smokestack” is a one man band with enough energy for a quartet. Armed with a small arsenal of guitars, his foot driven rhythm section, and a knack for telling a story..he puts on a good show that is a little different but highly entertaining.
So, I hope to see some of y’all out tonight. Catch me early and we can share a drink and tell some lies.
Show info:
Who: Smokestack and The Foothill Fury (w/Corduroy Road and Blind Buddy Moody)
Where: Dave’s Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg
When: Friday, January 16, 9 p.m.
Veteran guitar-playing songstress Bonnie Raitt (pictured at right) adds some Florida stops for her upcoming tour, including a show at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Sun., March 15, $59-$100, Clearwater.
Combichrist, an industrial electro-metal fivesome from Atlanta, brings their tour to State Theatre in support of their forthcoming album, Today We Are All Demons. Wes Borland’s Black Light Burns provides support. Thurs., Jan. 15, $16, 727-895-3045.
Bay area reggae makers Variety Workshop stage a CD Release Party in honor of their self-titled debut album, available for free to all release party attendees. Sat., Jan. 17, $9, Big Shots, Clearwater, 727-723-1091.
Suncoast Blues Society welcomes Delta Moon for its Jook Joint Night series. Sat., Jan. 17, $7, Dave’s Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg, 727-576-1091.
Acoustic blues singer/singwriter Roy Bookbinder returns to town and plays a gig at the quaint Craftsman House Gallery & Cafe. Sat., Jan. 24, $18 in advance, 727-323-ARTS.
Louisiana rockers Cowboy Mouth play a gig at the Tamiami. Sat., Jan. 24, $15, St. Petersburg, 727-550-0419.
