"If Paul Westerberg had grown up worshiping Angus Young instead of Alex Chilton, the Replacements might have sounded something like this Atlanta band." – Rolling Stone.
It's always a treat when Drivin N Cryin comes to town. As many times as Kevn Kinney and his scrappy band of rocking pop/jangle cohorts play our area, every show is a new adventure.
The band is back Saturday, Feb. 1 for a show with Big Engine at Coach's Corner. It's their third area appearance in six months.
Kinney has just released Songs For the Turntable, the fourth Crivin N Cryin EP in two years. It follows Songs From The Laundromat, Songs About Cars, Space and The Ramones and Songs From The Psychedelic Time Clock.
Some degree of thought went into the EP plan of attack, Kinney told Connect last summer. "Records aren't supposed to be over-thought," he said. "Every record you've probably ever loved was made in a day or two. Everything at Motown was done in a matter of hours. Once Pink Floyd hit, people deconstructed and reconstructed ... I don't work well that way. I hate being in the studio longer than I have to. It's like going to the dentist."
Each EP is stylistically different. This intrigued Kinney. "These are all 'What would Drivin N Cryin would have done if they took this fork in the road?' records," he told us.
Songs For the Turntable is "a pretty traditional Drivin n Cryin/Bad Company record," he said. "It's got kind of a pop hit song on it, it's got a little bit of our Zeppelin ..."
The starting point was Kinney's admittedly short attention span. "I get albums from friends of mine all the time, and I just never listen to more than just the first five songs," he explained. "I get in the car, listen for 20 minutes and then I'm where I'm supposed to be ... if you've ever given me a CD of your band, I probably have never heard the last song.
"When albums came out, they were really two 15-minute records. You had to get up and change it, and the by the time you got up to change it you'd probably switched over from Sinatra to Trini Lopez or Johnny Cash ... and I love the 45— I can listen to "Yummy Yummy Yummy," 12 times over and over, but I don't know if I want to listen to 14 songs by the Ohio Express."
In other DNC news, Kinney has written and produced 12 songs for the FX cartoon series Archer, to be performed by the character Cheryl in her country singer alter ego of "Cherlene."
The Feb. 1 show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25-$35 at the club, or online at coachs.net.
Gimme a Cuss!
Unless you've been living under the proverbial rock, you'll well familiar with Cusses, the band that's been Savannah's most potent musical force for two or three years now. If you're new to town—a student, say, who knows every corner of SCAD but still hasn't firmed up with the city's vibrant music scene—this is the band to see. Take our word for it.
Angel, Bryan and Brian have been on performance hiatus—locally, at least—for a couple of months. That's because they've been in Nasheville and Atlanta working on the second Cusses album. The taut trio plays the Jinx this week (Saturday, Feb. 1) with Bear Fight! and the Greensboro duo known as The Bronzed Chorus.
We'll have more on Cusses '14 in next week's issue. They're playing the Savannah Rocks! show Feb. 7 at the Knights of Columbus Hall.
Burlesque, baby
A year ago, Savannah didn't have a single, consistently performing burlesque troupe. Now, there are pretty girls dancing and vamping in skimpy pinup outfits everywhere you turn.
OK, maybe that's wishful thinking on my part. But there is, in fact, a new one: The Downtown Delilahs promise "light-hearted strip tease, lip syncing, comedic entertainment and more!" at the shows Feb. 6-8, and 13-15, at the Carnival Bar. This is inside the House of Mata Hari, the best-kept non-secret in town (it's a "members-only" drinking and entertainment club at 306 W. Factor's Walk). The show, called "Valentine's Day is for Suckers," is part old-school burlesque and part Vaudeville, with all sorts of wacky and high-spirited all-in-fun hijinks.
Tickets are available at at Gatsby's on Broughton, 309 West on the River, Mata Hari or at (912) 272-7601.
But wait, there's more! The Savannah Sweet Tease Burlesque Revue returns to the Jinx on Valentine's Day (that's Feb. 14, don't forget) with "Va Va Valentine's Day," sharing the stage with the lovely Lovely Locks.
Valentine's Day .... Hmm, one of these shows or an evening with Art Garfunkel at Dollhouse. Tough choice?
