A Psychobilly 2 for Tuesday
About 10 years ago, my friends and I would frequent this cool bar in Tempe, AZ, that went by the name of 6 East, or “the Beast”. They had probably the best, most diverse jukebox I’ve ever happened across in a bar.
So I’m in there putting back a couple one night, and I hear this strange sound emanating from the speakers. Loud, aggressive, hip, twangy, just downright strange. I had just been introduced to the Reverend Horton Heat. The song was “I’m Mad”. I marched right out the next day and picked up the CD, “Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em”. And I soon discovered that the Rev is a slave to the road, so I’ve had the chance to see him, Jimbo (standup bass), and their drummer multiple times over the years. If you want a high energy, soul-cleansing psychobilly experience, go see the Rev live.
Here’s a couple from the Rev:
Reverend Horton Heat – I’m MadReverend Horton Heat – Baddest of the Bad(mp3) – from ‘Liquor in the Front’See the Reverend Horton Heat Official Web Site
Buy the Rev’s music on Amazon
Find out the Rev is coming to your townCalling Elvis, is Anybody Home
I came across this great web site / music magazine called Glide Magazine. They offer free downloads of entire shows. Their latest selection is the mighty Mark Knopfler and his great band live in Hamburg, Germany from 2001.
The opener of the show? “Calling Elvis,” of course. Check the link below to download any or all tracks from the show. Great quality, superb musicianship. This one’s already in my car cd player after discovering it last night.
Mark Knopfler Live in Hamburg 2001
I’ll be your sure thing…
Here’s a 2-minute pop masterpiece by a band out of south Philadelphia who call themselves Marah. They caught my attention a few years ago when they released Kids in Philly, an album chock full of powerful lyrics and imagery, and bare bones rock n roll. They sort of went off the deep end with their next release (Float Away with the Friday Night Gods), but holy $#%@#, they are back this year with 20,000 Streets Under the Sky, one of my favorite albums of 2004 (Yeah, I’m 34 years old, and I will call them albums for the rest of my life!).