December 23, 2006

Fucked It All Up

Merry Christmas, goddamn it! Holidays mean nothing to me except for an unwelcome disruption, and this year, a long drive to Fresno to visit with the family. At best, it’s an opportunity to do some xmas shopping at Wacko and ogle that gorgeous Asian girl with the multiple lip piercings. Anyway, it’s not too late to buy me a present, if that’s what you’re into…

The Black Diamond Heavies are a neo-bluespunk duo that play a gimmicky but irresistible, stripped-down, raw, swinging kind of music that’s a little less highbrow than the Black Keys and a lot more cultured than Blues Hammer. They were apparently a three-piece until last March, when the guitar player quit the band, but have honed their crowd-rousing skills (before & since) by relentlessly touring everywhere, except where I live. I’ve never heard their earlier first record, but I aim to.

The first thang about the Heavies’ sound that grabbed me was the booming, overmodulated Hammond bass drone that is a signature of their best tunes. It’s just a kick-ass blast of unrefined low-frequency sugar that makes John Wesley Myers’ precision burbling rhythmic organ riffs sound fresh. The drummer, Van Campbell, plays straight-ahead rock stomp with a twist of swing, except when it’s time to tone it all down for a quiet number. Some songs work better than others, but I can attest to the entire album’s solidity and staying power (i.e., you can listen to it more than twice without getting bored). It’s not often that I get hold of a band’s advance material (thanks, Patrick!), and like it, and get a chance to share it with my loyal 14 web readers. The two songs here are taken from a CD called Every Damn Time that will hit “the streets” in five weeks. Have a taste.

Of all the latest roots-punk singers that fall into the Captain Beefheart cookie-monster blues shtick, Myers is “one of the good ones.” There’s soul up in there. He’s also a member of the Immortal Lee County Killers. Sure, if you reflexively hate the crazy cool modern phenomenon of white boys playing a kind of reverse race card – something that falls between old-negro-worship and self-parody – why then, you’ll hate this too. But then, y’all probably hate punk rock, the Gories and the Oblivians. Fuck y’all. The rest of us will definitely be picking up this choice nugget at the end of January.

Black Diamond Heavies – “Fever in My Blood”

Black Diamond Heavies – “Leave It in the Road”

UPDATE 2-6-07: The lovely Rick Saunders has uploaded some YouTube videos of a stellar Heavies in-store performance last week in St. Augustine, FL. Check out parts ONE, TWO & THREE!

Rick at 9:34 am

4 CommentsÈ

Hooray! You’re back!

Comment by The Kid Ñ December 23, 2006 @ 5:54 pm
thanks & Merry Xmas
dd+gtm

Comment by peteski Ñ December 24, 2006 @ 11:42 pm
And a MFC back atcha! At least it’s not a “long unpleasant trip to
Fresno” to visit the family….....

Keep those entries coming, it’s what we live for…...

Comment by broski Ñ December 28, 2006 @ 12:32 pm
Thanks so much for this post! After hearing how awesome the BDH tracks are I was able to get them a show here in Charlottesville, VA. It’s this upcoming week and I am soooooo looking forward to it. I got a copy of the cd as well and it is to say the least…phenomenal! I’ve listened to it a dozen times over the past few days and can’t get it out of my head. I even played a track on my radio program. Thanks again and all you scum bags, low lifes and no counts should get out to see them live and get a hold of this disc.

Comment by Brother Jimmy "The Truth" Ñ January 19, 2007 @ 2:16 pm