Asleep At The Wheel Clings To Country Roots - And Success
Seems like only yesterday that Asleep at the Wheel opened for fellow Austinite Willie Nelson at Playfair Race Course, doesn’t it?
Looking back, nine months have passed since the two shared the breezy August evening together in the Inland Northwest.
Fortunately for us, Asleep at the Wheel is blazing back into the area for a concert at Kelly’s Grand Ole Opry in State Line, Idaho, tonight.
Like its Austin cronies, Nelson and Jimmy Dale Gilmore, Asleep at the Wheel has eluded Nashville’s nauseously derivative sound with continued commercial success since the early ‘70s by clinging to country music’s roots.
Asleep at the Wheel is all about western swing, even though there’s nothing fashionable about it.
But there’s also nothing entirely unfashionable about it, either, as indicated by the golden sales of Asleep at the Wheel’s “Tribute to Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys.” Also paying homage to the kings of swing on the 1993 disc were Nelson, Lyle Lovett and Garth Brooks.
After yielding thousands of stand-out performances and over a dozen albums, the twenty-something Asleep at the Wheel, fronted by singer-guitarist Ray Benson, shows no sign of tiring.
Want proof?
Just ask the Grammy Awards committee, which bestowed two trophies on the band in the last two years. This year, the combo clinched one for best country instrumental performance for the tune “Hightower.” In 1995, Asleep at the Wheel won for best duo or group country vocal performance with Lovett on the song “Blues for Dixie.”
You can also ask the thousands who watched the band’s marvelous country swing exhibition last year at Playfair. You know they’re already holding tickets for tonight’s show.
The concert starts at 9 p.m. Tickets are $10 and are available at G&B Select-a-Seat outlets or at Kelly’s.
Freak Daddies
By browsing the pages of Eugene’s Cherry Poppin’ Daddies’ press kit, it wasn’t hard to figure out they’re the daddies of hype.
In an effort to qualify their worth, the Daddies, who play Ichabod’s North on Saturday, quote virtually every critic who’s ever written something good about them. There’s even a comical plug allegedly from former Nirvana bass player Krist Novoselic, who said, “We stole all our moves from the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies.”
Further, the Daddies, led by the wiry and animated vocalist Steve Perry (no relation to the Journey singer), disclose their album sales and concert gross figures.
The Daddies have sold a combined 34,000 copies of its two albums, “Ferociously Stoned” and “Rapid City Muscle Car.” By touring, they’ve grossed $150,000 each year. Both are incredible feats, considering the band finances both its CDs and tours.
Even the band’s fans hype it to no end.
Believe it or not, unlike 99 percent of the bands out there, this sevenpiece jazz, punk, lounge, cabaret, rock, ska combo - augmented by a three-piece horn section and former Mr. Bungle and Sweaty Nipples drummer Hans Wagner - is worth every bit of the hype. Even if the group was selling millions of records on a major label, it would still be one of the most underrated bands on the planet.
Why?
Few bands possess the natural talent to plant a diverse crop of music styles into their approach. And even fewer bands have the ability to combine it all into an unstoppable, danceable, rockable stage show.
Eugene’s Billy Jack opens. Music at 10 p.m. The cover is $5.
And the award for most improved band goes to …
I know it’s still relatively early in the year, but I’ve already discovered the most improved band of 1996.
It’s Big Comb.
If you caught the band’s terrific opening set at the Schlong, Jaks and Lizards show last Saturday, you’ll probably agree.
The show marked the first in over four months for the metal- and punk-tinged band. Its three members had been in hiding, writing and practicing new material.
Big Comb has been a part of the local music scene since 1993. The power trio - guitarist-vocalist Rick Warriner, drummer-vocalist Bill Gibford and bassist-vocalist Tim Patrick - has always been one of the town’s better bands. Its self-titled EP and two songs on the “Lie Lack City” compilation are pretty good, too.
Yet something seemed elusive in its music - compelling songs.
That’s all changed.
About a dozen electrifying and unrelenting, spine-jarring tremors surfaced on Saturday. Big Comb waged its sonic assault for about 30 minutes. Certainly, it could have played longer and no one would have been disappointed.
Keep it up, guys.
You can catch Big Comb at Fall Rock on the River concert at Riverfront Park on Saturday. The show, also featuring the Cherry Poppin’ Dadies, the Flies, Quitters Inc. and a few others, starts at 11 a.m. and continues until sunset.
Checking in at Swack’s
Does original music really have a home at Swackhammer’s, a club that reeks of Top-40-ness with its neon lights and beer propaganda sprinkled throughout the high school gym-like Cadillac Club?
Not so far.
Ever since the club devoted Sundays and Mondays to live music at the start of May, attendance has been thin. Sunday’s show, featuring three bands with three distinctly dissimilar sounds - Lollipop, Cotton Mouth and Retrofit - was depressingly feeble.
By the time the headliner, Lollipop, came on, one person stood by the stage while another half dozen or so milled around. (Lollipop belted out a furiously wild set, if anyone cares.)
Blame it on the holiday, blame it on the bands or blame it on the club. Maybe Swackhammer’s Cadillac Club should stick to what it knows best: dance music.
Coming up
Mark your calendars: Industrial music demi-god Sister Machine Gun, featuring former Spokanite Chris Randall, will unleash its aural bombardment on Tuesday, June 11, at Outback Jack’s.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo
MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: NIGHTWATCH PICKS Best bets at area clubs: TONIGHT: Asleep at the Wheel at Kelly’s Grand Ole Opry in State Line SATURDAY: Cherry Poppin’ Daddies and Billy Jack at Ichabod’s North