With New Cds Fresh Off The Press, Three Local Bands Putting On Parties
We’ve got a fistful of brand spankin’ new CDs coming our way this weekend.
Three Spokane bands celebrate the release of their newest works with shows at a variety of local clubs.
So, folks, it’s time to get out and support your local bands - they are your friends, your relatives and your neighbors, after all. Not only that, they have some good music to offer.
From blues to rock, serious to sarcastic, these guys dole out a good variety of entertainment. I’m sure you can find something you like.
The Mayfield Four
If you weren’t there a couple months ago to help The Mayfield Four record their live CD, then here’s your second chance to take part.
Tonight, The Mayfield Four, Spokane’s home-grown rockers, celebrates the release of “Motion” - a four-song EP recorded live at Outback Jack’s in September.
It’s the first CD released by the band, which has been signed by Epic Records. Jerry Harrison, former member of the Talking Heads and producer for Live and the Violent Femmes, produced the EP.
Recorded at Outback’s and featuring a picture of the Suki Yaki Inn on the cover, “Motion” is a billboard for Spokane’s night life - not to mention a superb sampling of The Mayfield Four’s talent for progressive rock and roll with a solid guitar punch.
“Fallout” begins the EP with soaring moments of hang time before diving into a seething texture of guitar and rhythm. “10K” finds moments of restrained tunefulness amid muscular rock energy. Throughout the album, singer Myles Kennedy’s voice deftly stitches the two elements together.
Kennedy is joined by guitarist Craig Johnson, bassist Marty Meisner and drummer Zia Uddin.
The album also includes a song penned by one of the group’s music heroes.
“We’re all huge Marvin Gaye fans,” Johnson says. “It’s kind of sacred territory so we didn’t want to butcher it. Some might say we did, but I think it turned out OK.”
He’s right. Their rendition of “Inner City Blues” is a fantastic version of the Gaye song. Kennedy’s elastic voice rises and plunges through the high end vocals as the band gives the tune a crunchy-yetrespectful ‘90s edge.
The audience - the 400 or so who showed up the night the EP was recorded - can also be heard lending their part to the CD. Listen closely to “Fallout” for a woman badly in need of a beer.
As for the choice of the Suki Yaki photo on the cover: “That’s where all the important Mayfield Four business was done,” Johnson says.
Tonight’s show kicks off a busy touring schedule that should last until The Mayfield Four’s first full-length album arrives. The band recently finished mixing their LP with Pearl Jam producer Brendan O’Brien. It’s scheduled for release the third week of May.
Tonight The Mayfield Four return to the place they recorded their EP - Outback Jack’s. Smash Velvet and Indy 977 open. Cover is $5 and the music starts at 9:30 p.m.
Mumbo Jumbo
After three years of practicing, performing and polishing their sound, Spokane blues band Mumbo Jumbo has finally released their first album - “Shiny Metal Objects.”
“Everybody wants to do a CD,” says bassist Rick Smith. “But I think we waited for the right time. It pays not to do things too soon.”
“Shiny Metal Objects” is a solid, well-executed album packed full of that cool Mumbo sound - blues with a swinging big band feel.
“I think what’s catchy about this stuff is that it doesn’t sound like anything else that’s going on,” Smith says. “It’s a combination of a little bit of jazz, a little bit of blues and a little bit of rock.”
In addition to Smith, Mumbo Jumbo is Chip Busch on vocals and harp, Pat Barclay on guitar and vocals, Dave Winslow on piano and organ, and Jim Bruce on drums. The Resurrection Horn Section - Chuck Swanson, Mike Lenke and Nim Bjorklund - add a steamy kicker to the band’s sound.
“Shiny Metal Objects” is a mixture of four Mumbo Jumbo-written tunes along with four covers of songs from the likes of Willie Dixon and ZZ Hill.
The title track is a Mumbo-penned instrumental that highlights the horn section’s polished talent. “Let the Sister Dance” is a boogie inspiring number nicely topped by Busch’s husky vocals.
“Our writing is generally from the heart, with a lot of self-experience thrown in,” Smith says. “Hopefully it’s the kind of thing that millions of people can relate with because it’s something that happens every day.”
Pick up the new Mumbo Jumbo CD at the following shows. The band performs Sunday at the Fort Spokane Brewery starting at 7 p.m. Cover is $4. Catch them Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at Swackhammer’s through the end of February. There is no cover charge and the shows start at 9 p.m.
Delbert
Do not, I repeat, do not go see the band Delbert if you can’t handle a bit of toilet humor.
After all, this is a group that penned an entire song about spending time in the bathroom.
The rules at this family newspaper prevent me from printing the name of that song, but let’s just say the tune explores the most disgusting aspects of relieving oneself in a public restroom.
“We’re very serious about our music, and I want people to know that all of our songs should be taken seriously,” says Tom Solinsky, guitar player for the Spokane band.
I see.
Delbert, a group of five very earnest Gonzaga University students, is in fact a bit like crossing Weird Al Yankovic with the Barenaked Ladies, or maybe Dave Matthews - although they don’t yet have Dave’s finely honed musical skills or his electric violin player.
They do, however, have a sax and flute player. And a friend who plays one mean triangle.
The Delbert guys - Solinsky, singer Dominic Bartoletta, bassist Tyson Bickle, saxman Dave Fague and drummer Rick McQuesten - have just released their first CD, titled “All Dressed In Brown.”
“It’s pretty happy music more than anything,” Solinsky says. “A lot of it’s almost sarcastic.”
You don’t say.
Listening to the CD finds me torn between smirking and smiling. In addition to the aforementioned potty tune, the song “Watermelon” is a hick-rocker about a watermelon seed spittin’ contest.
“T.R.O. (Temporary Restraining Order)” is an obsessive ode to all the body parts that never get written about in song: “I like your elbows, they’re in the perfect place/When you rest your chin on your palms, they help support your face.”
On a politically correct note, Bartoletta sings the entire tune, “Thwab Twoll (Suave Troll),” with a fake lisp.
“All Dressed In Brown” is by no means the best CD I’ve heard. But if you want to dance a little jig and have a lot of goofball fun, it’ll do the trick.
Delbert celebrates the release of its CD at the Fort Spokane Brewery tonight. Show starts at 9:30 p.m. Cover is $2 if you bring a can of food to be donated to the Spokane Food Bank or $3 without.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Photos
MEMO: Send nightclub news to Winda Benedetti at The Spokesman-Review, 999 W. Riverside, Spokane, WA 99201 or fax it to (509) 459-5098. She can be reached by phone at (509) 459-5089 or by e-mail at windab@spokesman.com. Deadline for Friday publication is the previous Friday.