Dangerville
is a trio from Grand Rapids featuring the mighty Delilah DeWylde
on stand-up bass fiddle, hornrim-bespectacled Lee Harvey Osbourn
on skins, and the burly, tattooed Danger on lead howl and geetar.
They do an amped-up/methed-out rockabilly style commonly referred
to as “psychobilly”(the other possible term, “punkabilly,”
has far too many Warped Tour connotations). Dangerville have been
ascendant for a coupla years now; they’re not quite yet to
the level of, say, Reverend Horton Heat’s Full Custom Gospel
Sounds or the first Amazing Royal Crowns record, but damned if they
aren’t getting there, and still putting on a helluva show.
Osbourn will bomp away, DeWylde will stand atop the stand-up, and
Danger will holler and wail and powerpick all night.
When emailed about why many current popular indie bands are opting
for a retro sound, DeWylde responds, “I think it’s great,
since the vintage sound is so much more pleasing to my ears.”
She classifies a “vintage sound” as “anything
that’s not super-distorted as hell, and louder than fuck,
sounds vintage to me...I can’t stand the ‘modern-rock’
sound.”
She continues: “I like old amps; they just sound warmer. And
all the modern effects bug the crap out of me. I think a good rule
is to just keep it simple... some effects I guess are okay; it’s
the over/compressed distortion I can’t stand. And most music
today sounds overproduced to me, nothing is recorded live anymore.
DeWylde also offers this rare (for a musician) caveat: “Remember,
I’m not an authority on vintage music...just upright bass.”
Go see them. Drink enough beer to maximize their effect.
Dangerville will be playing at the Elbow Room on April 3, with Dexter
Romweber (1/2 of Flat Duo Jets), Ghostwriter (from Austin), and
the Questions.
Dune Buggy Attack Battalion is one of the few bands playing psychedelic
pop tunes and inadvertently referencing Charles Manson at the same
time. Their self-titled record (on the local Deep Red label) loads
up on the fuzz and wah-wah’d crunch, with a little theremin;
live, they’re four smiley loonies bouncing around on stage.
The band is comprised of Jet Jaguar on vox and acoustic guitar,
Del Demoni on guitar/theremin, Mr. Deguello on drums/perc, and Sir
Zepha Heel on bass. Jet Jaguar, the frontman and group’s spokesperson
(i.e. he answered the first email I sent), tells how the band chose
its name: “I’ve always been fascinated by the Manson
saga. I’m not a serial-killer freak; there’s just something
compelling about that case. The guy himself is strangely charismatic,
there’s the Hollywood angle, Beach Boys, Doris Day, dune buggies,
etc, etc. Anyway, The Family by Ed Sanders has always been a favorite
read. I just thought Dune Buggy Attack Battalion, part of [Sanders’
book subtitle], was a great name.
“We do not endorse Manson or dune buggies,” he continues.
“We do, of course, endorse Ed Sanders’ literary and
musical ventures, especially his work with The Fugs. Only a few
people have realized where the band’s name originates.”
Other raving loonies they support include Roky Erickson, Syd Barrett,
Brian Wilson, Sky ‘Sunlight’ Saxon*, and the early Woody
Woodpecker.” The endorsed method of overland conveyance is
“feet,” since “one cannot do their best thinking
while operating a motor vehicle.”
Dunebuggy Attack Battalion will be performing at the Elbow Room
on April 2, with Haf Life, the Confidence Interval, and the Nastys.
*”Sky Saxon was the singer of The Seeds in the late ‘60’s;
hits included ‘Pushin’ Too Hard.’ Recently he
has been seen wandering around Hawaii with a sign that says, ‘GOD
= DOG’.”
Shows around Detroit: The Darkness is doing a sold-out gig at Clutch
Cargo’s on March 28 (and a record signing at the Tower Records
in Birmingham at 1:00 p.m. that day). The Alarm will be opening
for the Psychedelic Furs on the 30th at the Emerald Theatre. George
Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic will be back again at the Royal
Oak Theatre on Friday, March 26. The Shelter has Pretty Girls Make
Graves with Red Light Strings and Mahjongg on April 1.
Closer to home:
The Blind Pig has the indie pop of the Pernice Brothers and the
Long Winters on Tuesday, April 6.
The Elbow Room has many gigs for your listening pleasure, too. The
26th will have the Reverend Vince Anderson, with the dronerock of
the Scars, the grunge revivalists Glori5, Man (one-man rockin’
band), and Colic. Tuesday, Mar 30th has an overloaded show with
the Modey Lemon (bigtime rock duo, see Clocked In), with the Apes,
Gris Gris, the Cyril Lords, Skiptrace and Lingua Franca.
Oh, and two indie rock shows at the Halfway Inn: Saturday, March
27th has Fred Thomas with Kelly Jean Caldwell, Scattered Light,
and Eliza Beatrix Godfrey. Friday, April 2nd with Old Time Relijun,
the Fuzz, the Pop Project. A2P
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