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Music
Rock of the Bay
They may lack fame, but our local bands can play. And you don't have to be Somebody to get to hear them do it.
By SEAN DALY
Published April 30, 2006
This is going to sound like some major-league sucking up, but it's the truth: When it comes to local music, the Tampa Bay area kicks Washington, D.C.'s tuchus. Sure, D.C., which I covered for 13 years, had Fugazi and EU and Chuck Brown and Last Train Home. But these days, most of D.C.'s local talent, whether hard-core or emo or alt-country, seems so exclusive. They weren't looking for new members; they were happy in their own circle of safety. D.C. is for scenesters, and woe be the dude who isn't on the guest list. What I've noticed most about the grass roots music here since moving to the bay area nearly a year ago is its warm, inclusive quality, whether it's the eclectic pop of Cuban Sandwich Crisis or pained poetic musings of Jeremy Gloff. I think this has something to do with the fact that you can buy beer in Target down here. It probably also has something to with flip-flops, Coppertone and gobs of talent. The following six CDs are just some of the best musicians we have to offer. I'd like to see more local hip-hop and power pop in my stacks, but no matter who you are, keep the good stuff coming. Here we go . . . Cuban Sandwich Crisis,Sunday Best On the pogoing New Wave pop of Annoying Voice Girl, one of the catchiest tracks on new album Sunday Best, St. Petersburg's Cuban Sandwich Crisis proves that it just might be the most versatile quartet in town. First of all, that deviously sharp song is unlike anything else on the quartet's new album, which also manages to infuse big hooks into Irish drinking songs, jazzy folk jams and straight-up pop rock. If that sounds like a suspect melange, don't sweat it: The genre-tossing rarely gets tiresome. Plus, CSC is so likable and innately infectious, even those "annoying voice girls" slammed in the song will no doubt dance to the track. Personally, I'd love to see these guys tone down the Barenaked Ladies shtick, but nevertheless, Cuban Sandwich Crisis is ultimately so much more than a great band name. To buy Sunday Best, go to www. cubansandwichcrisis.com. Among the Thirsty, Homeward Bound There's a good reason why Clearwater Christian rockers Among the Thirsty were chosen to open for Bon Jovi at the St. Pete Times Forum in February. And that reason is because they don't really sound like a Christian rock band at all. Jovi wasn't looking for religion; Jovi was looking for a band that rocks with style. And on debut disc Homeward Bound, Among the Thirsty does just that, unloading all-together-now choruses and layer upon layer of ferocious power chords. When this quartet of teens and 20-somethings slows things down, the ballads border on lackluster. But when Among the Thirsty plugs in and makes a racket, there's a switchblade edge to them, especially on The Arms of Love, which has an astounding guitar line that slithers and strikes in all the right places. The boys thank Jesus Christ in the liner notes, but a nod to the Edge would have been appropriate, too. (To buy Homeward Bound, go to www.AmongtheThirsty.com.) 10 Second Drop, 10 Second Drop According to the band's Web site, in early March, 10 Second Drop's Artie Edmonds reportedly split the group, leaving the bay area's most ubiquitous hard-rock quartet without a lead singer. But to be honest, the key to 10 Second Drop's future success isn't in the vocals, but in its awesome sludge section: the heavy stoner-rock inclinations of guitarist Justin Malinchak and bassist Ryan Gerardi. That's no doubt about the reason why 10SD was signed by Rock Ridge Music, the label that issued their eponymous debut. At its best, the band wraps you in a warm cocoon of head-banging heaviness, especially on such neck-snapping goodies as the Ozzfest appropriate Livin' for Me. Hopefully, if the band stays together, 10SD will dirty things up even more and truly embrace their inner Metallica. (To buy 10 Second Drop, go to www.10seconddrop.com.) Blue Dice,One Way Street When a band carries around too many hyphens in its bag of tricks, things often go awry. But Blue Dice's blues-jazz-funk-rock pastiche has a pleasant Friday-night-at-Skipper's vibe to it, eclectic jams that never lean too "lite." This eight-piece band carries around mandolins and tenor saxes, fluegels and flutes. But if you're looking for a clean and easy description of the band on its new album, One Way Street, try this out: Think Van Morrison. That comparison is especially apt on the new disc's first two cuts, Started With a Lie and Peace Love Devotion Trust, the latter of which has some solid swagger to it. At the risk of dooming the disc to failure: This would make a swell Father's Day gift. And I mean that in a good way. (To buy One Way Street, go to www.bluedice.com.) Jeremy Gloff,Now's the Right Time to Feel Good "I have written and released 222 songs on 14 albums over the last 12 years. This isn't something I want to be congratulated or rewarded for . . . I only did this because I was absolutely crazed." How's that for a howdy-do? That's the way Jeremy Gloff opens the liner notes to new album Now's the Right Time to Feel Good, an epic-minded exorcism about purging past ghosts and steeling yourself for future ghoulies. With a voice that recalls Michael Stipe in a helium cloud and a piano-driven songwriting style that hovers somewhere between Ben Folds' snarky epics and R.E.M.'s rolling diary entries, one of Tampa's favorite eccentrics is often a breathtaking talent, a man capable of gut-wrenching crescendoes and swoony melodies. That said, Gloff is also a bit of a nutter. And I mean that in a good way, too. (For more information on Jeremy Gloff, go to www.jeremygloff.com.) Various Artists,Tales of Drink and Debauchery If you want a quick, enriching tutorial in the area's best music - or simply some music to chase down that third shot of JD - you'd be wise to seek out Tales of Drink and Debauchery, a talent-packed compendium put together by the Bay Area Arts & Music Organization (BAAMO). Kicking off with Ronny Elliott's Man in Blackened Loser's Lullaby, the disc also includes Rebekah Pulley & the Reluctant Prophets' infectious dusty shuffle I Should Have Left You a Long Time Ago, Life of Pi's punk-poppin' Cars tribute Song X and the Mojo Gurus' yeehaw-yellin' Baddest Mother's Son. The first release from BAAMO Records is appropriately themed. After all, no one drinks and debauches quite like Tampa Bay. Those kids in D.C.? They couldn't party worth a lick. (To buy Tales of Drink and Debauchery, go to www.baamo.org.) Sean Daly can be reached at sdaly@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8467. His blog is at www.sptimes.com/blogs/popmusic.
[Last modified April 28, 2006, 11:31:48]
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