Posted DCist Interview: Dawes to DCist
When I think about the band
Dawes, I'm remind of that line in
Oh Brother, Where Art Thou when George Clooney's character, Ulysses Everett McGill, is explaining the sound of his band, the Soggy Bottom Boys. In an attempt to convince the old blind radio station operator that the group is worthy enough to play on air, Everett says, "Uh, sir, the Soggy Bottom Boys is been steeped in old-timey material. Heck, we're silly with it, ain't we boys?" Now if you consider CCR, CSN, Neil Young, The Byrds, The Band, and Gram Parsons, "old-timey material," then Dawes too, are steeped in, and silly with it.
Posted Blind Pilot @ Black Cat to DCist
As the cold remnants of Hurricane Ida drenched the Mid-Atlantic, a few intrepid souls left the quotidian comforts of home to gather at the Black Cat for three sets of warm acoustic bluesfolk from
Mimicking Birds,
The Low Anthem, and headliners
Blind Pilot. The lineup was assembled from across the US—the first and final hailing from Portland, OR, the median from Providence, RI. The main stage room was full and hazy with persistent, idle chatter. People dribbled in like wet rats.
Posted Wolfmother @ 930 Club to DCist
Typically I
try not to describe a band's sound by listing every obvious influence and antecedent. But when it comes to
Wolfmother, the exercise is almost impossible to avoid. Their sound is a skein of 70's rock tropes. Songs contain blatant borrowings from Steppenwolf, Led Zepplin, The Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, etc. Everything from little riffs, to entire melodies, to more esoteric thematic robberies. It's not bad to borrow but there is certainly a big difference between what someone like Jack White has managed to do with his influences and what Wolfmother is doing with theirs.