Written by Fantasma el Rey

I first heard the North Mississippi AllStars when I bought their first album Shake Hands With Shorty out of curiosity. I had seen the CD before and wondered at the band's name and song titles, such as "Po Black Maddie" and "Shake 'Em On Down." I picked up the disc and it's been in my rotation ever since, and deservedly so, because these Southern Kats lay down a mean country/blues boogie that's infectious and new.

The AllStars line-up has not changed from that first album released in 2000. The trio, brothers Luther (guitar/vocals) and Cody Dickinson (drums) and Chris Chew (bass), love what they do, which shows every time they take the stage, from small clubs to large open-air festivals. These gents are house rockers and always leave you wanting more. From the opening chord pick on the cigar-box guitar (Luther plays an actual homemade cigar-box guitar) to the last bass pluck the North Mississippi AllStars give us their all.

The concert DVD, Keep On Marchin', recorded live in Burlington, VT, on 11/11/05, captures the magic that the AllStars posses as a unit, providing two hours of jammin' blues-based rock 'n' roll. Luther plays a stinging, wicked guitar as brother Cody keeps time and beyond, kicking and banging out solid beats that keeps the feets moving. All the while Chew's bass thumps in and around, fattening the sound and adding to the vibe of fun and brotherhood this three-piece band projects.

It doesn't mater how these kats play because it's their passion that gets to you. No matter if they're stompin' out low-down, "mean as hell" blues like "Shake 'Em On Down," "Going Down South" with its hip hop/ blues back beat or slowing the pace down with "Hurry Up Sunshine." They can even play that real rock drive on "Bang Bang Lulu" with the same sounds that delivered early rock 'n' roll to the masses.