Local band Safety reviews Car bomb Driver's latest CD
By Julie Garisto ... and the guys from Safety
Published August 10, 2007
This week's CD: Car bomb Driver, Evacuate
It's the long-awaited full-length CD by punk rock vets Car bomb Driver, a St. Pete band that's been playing live shows since the mid '90s. The band performs a classic, no-nonsense melodic punk rock that slips vintage licks into its loud and raucous sound - a formula that works great live. The recorded version gets the once over live by a band that's part of the new generation of punk.
This week's collaborators
Contributors: Members of Safety, a college-age Tampa hardcore band: Ben Matras, drums; Andy Diaz, guitar and vocals; and Grayum Vickers, bass and vocals
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Grayum: Classic groove punk.
Andy: Yeah, definitely, but I like when bands try to step out of that box. I like when they try to show it in their music but not necessarily ...
Grayum: Yeah, but if that's not what they're going for.
Ben: There's a different type of crowd now.
Julie: You mean people are used to something more? Seems to me like bands aren't just sticking to one hardcore or metal formula. The lines have been blurred.
Andy: Which is kind of cool, to see what people can do with punk and metal influences. Like, I was into the Ramones at the same time I was into Metallica. That kind of stuff mixed together can be really neat. ... This stuff is very '80s and late '70s.
Grayum: Seems really focused on drinking and partying.
Andy: Reminds me a lot of the Dictators, this song especially (Brookwood Girls).
Grayum: What kind of puts me off about them a little bit is, like in the next song, is that he's talking about his parents. I know these guys are older.
Ben: It's like they're trying to write from the point of a view of a teenager.
Andy: Like if we were trying to write about our 401Ks and careers.
Grayum: It's a bit out of touch. ... What's this song called - Balls on the Outside? That's helpful (laughs).
Julie: You mentioned that the stuff sounds dated, but it seems like people do like to listen to stuff from the past nowadays.
Andy: Definitely. When I listen to stuff like this, I have to be in a certain mood. Stiff Little Fingers is a great band, but I don't listen to them all the time. There's so much new stuff and bands you get caught up in. ... Kids are into the old stuff. But kids are into old stuff that's established, that has a following, like Vibrators or something like that.
Grayum: I could see being at a party and having this in the background. That would be appropriate.
Andy: These guys are doing their own thing. ... I like the solos. They do a lot of good guitar work for a three-cord punk band. They're sprucing it up. That's something a lot of the old punk bands didn't do.
Grayum: For a band that's older and knows exactly what it wants in the studio, (the CD) could have come out a little better. I wish they'd mixed it better, there was more bass.
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What is this?
An occasional series of collaborative reviews with folks from the local music scene. It includes excerpts from casual chats about new music.