Me Talk Pretty is one of the bands now performing in Georgia with The Dolls as the next leg of the tour unfolds. The James Brown Music Festival is among the venues they are playing.
Following Me Talk Pretty was a band named Lourds who drives rock like they stole it. They are led by Lourds Lane who plays electric violin among other instruments and backed by Sarah Vasil on drums, Gene Blank on a screaming electric guitar, and Joey Sagarese on bass. These guys give you a show to remember. Their sound is sort of a fusion of punk and straight up hardcore rock-n-roll as only a NYC based band can do it. It was my first time seeing this band and regretfully I walked out of there without a copy of their CD but I am going to remedy that situation shortly.
Next up was Jonny Lives!. The band is currently promoting their new EP; Get Steady. I have a copy of the EP and after listening to it a couple times I think it is a commercially viable piece of work. I mean viable in the larger market outside the Lower East Side of Manhattan from which they claim to draw quite a bit of influence and inspiration. An easy comparison of their sound would be to say "sounds like" The Killers with some early Beatles stylings. I like the EP a lot.
The Redbelly Band followed Jonny Lives! on the stage. The Redbelly Band was imported from Georgia by the Dolls specifically to play this show and it was the first time the guys ever played New York. I talked to their guitarist, Walker Howle, before they played and he said the band was enthusiastic about playing in the city.
While we talked Elizabeth (aka Nightmare), lead singer for Devola, joined in the conversation. She mentioned the boys from the south had done some cooking the night before, whipping up some regional dishes while they bands were hanging out together and her opinion was essentially "that's good eatin'." I have a copy of their EP titled Petition To The Queen and it, like their food, has a flavor all it's own born and bred in and reflecting the cultural influence of the south. I have a soft spot for Southern Rock and these guys do the tradition proud.
Drag Citizen is a Black Sabbath (among others) influenced rock machine from, to quote the band; "the seedy, industrial shithole of East Williamsburg, Brooklyn". The trio is led by Nick Vivid who plays a white, flying V bass guitar. I spent some time downstairs in the bandroom during the evening mooching free beer and while I was there Nick and I talked about the business of rock-n-roll from the perspective of the indie artist. I think we agreed that it takes hard work and determination. Once you get your band to the place where you have your own CD out and have developed a loyal fan base, you can approach a major label for the funding and connections that you need to progress to the next level. With two self-produced EP's to their credit already Drag Citizen is well on their way to reaching that place.
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