· Jake Speed & the Freddies release their third album, Huzzah!, in conjunction with a show at Arnold’s on Saturday.
There’s something instantly grabbing about Speed’s clever spin on “old timey” Folk music, which touches on Bluegrass, Ragtime and Blues. By spinning that sound with youthful exuberance and contemporary local landmarks and reference points, Speed’s songs have an intimacy befitting the crisp production and acoustic familiarity of Huzzah! and all of his other releases. Speed and his band are traditionalists, but they have fun within the boundaries they’ve set for themselves. Huzzah! revisits the vintage melodies and structures that have prevailed on previous albums. But the group’s — and, specifically, Speed’s — charm makes the lack of innovation irrelevant.
Besides the warm, accomplished performances, Speed’s lyrics are plenty enough to keep fans coming back. On Huzzah!, he crafts some of his finest lyrics yet. Speed might be an “old soul,” but his playful words are steeped in current events. As much as Cincinnati seems to inherently inform every nuance of the group’s music, his love for the city is tempered with the kind of social consciousness that would make his idol, Woody Guthrie, proud.
“Leavin’ Cincinnati” sarcastically tackles the post-riot white-flight, as Speed pronounces he’s “suburb bound” because he’s “scared of downtown,” while “Streetvibes Rag” praises the local homeless newspaper and derides “Mayor Charlie” for trying to restrict vendors’ ability to sell them. Most all of Speed’s songs are infused with a homespun sense of humor, but “Talkin’ F-Word Blues” is gut-splittin’ comedy that rivals Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant” (in the song, Speed is deemed a terrorist and the SWAT team is called after he orders “French” food at a restaurant).
Speed is kind of like David Alan Grier’s old bluesman character on In Living Color, who had a song about every common occurrence in his life. I imagine most conversations with Speed could be peppered with a lot of “I wrote a song about it … wanna hear it?” And that’s a great thing; songwriters as citizen journalists is a past trend that is long overdue for a comeback (especially in these divisive times). It’s a cliché to call anyone a “local treasure,” but if anyone deserves the tag, it’s Jake Speed. (<a Jake Speed & the Freddies release their third album, Huzzah!, in conjunction with a show at Arnold’s on Saturday.
There’s something instantly grabbing about Speed’s clever spin on “old timey” Folk music, which touches on Bluegrass, Ragtime and Blues. By spinning that sound with youthful exuberance and contemporary local landmarks and reference points, Speed’s songs have an intimacy befitting the crisp production and acoustic familiarity of Huzzah! and all of his other releases. Speed and his band are traditionalists, but they have fun within the boundaries they’ve set for themselves. Huzzah! revisits the vintage melodies and structures that have prevailed on previous albums. But the group’s — and, specifically, Speed’s — charm makes the lack of innovation irrelevant.
Besides the warm, accomplished performances, Speed’s lyrics are plenty enough to keep fans coming back. On Huzzah!, he crafts some of his finest lyrics yet. Speed might be an “old soul,” but his playful words are steeped in current events. As much as Cincinnati seems to inherently inform every nuance of the group’s music, his love for the city is tempered with the kind of social consciousness that would make his idol, Woody Guthrie, proud.
“Leavin’ Cincinnati” sarcastically tackles the post-riot white-flight, as Speed pronounces he’s “suburb bound” because he’s “scared of downtown,” while “Streetvibes Rag” praises the local homeless newspaper and derides “Mayor Charlie” for trying to restrict vendors’ ability to sell them. Most all of Speed’s songs are infused with a homespun sense of humor, but “Talkin’ F-Word Blues” is gut-splittin’ comedy that rivals Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant” (in the song, Speed is deemed a terrorist and the SWAT team is called after he orders “French” food at a restaurant).
Speed is kind of like David Alan Grier’s old bluesman character on In Living Color, who had a song about every common occurrence in his life. I imagine most conversations with Speed could be peppered with a lot of “I wrote a song about it … wanna hear it?” And that’s a great thing; songwriters as citizen journalists is a past trend that is long overdue for a comeback (especially in these divisive times). It’s a cliché to call anyone a “local treasure,” but if anyone deserves the tag, it’s Jake Speed. (freddiesmusic.com)
· Good ’70s-era Rock is alive and well on greatmodern‘s self-titled CD, their first. The band — guitarist/vocalists Mike Landis, and Lee Gallagher, bassist Jason Randall and percussionist Nate Hickey — acquit themselves admirably with musically soaring/lyrically dark tunes that are highlighted by Landis and Gallagher’s beautiful harmonies.
The first track “NY Stone” puts one in mind of vintage Who bash ‘n’ pop, and the disc roars on from there with the sadly accusatory “Mean Streak.” “You got a mean streak and only you know where it goes,” Landis and Gallagher croon, making an insult sound like a benediction with their entwining vocals. The beautiful “When the Whistle Blows” contains the classic line “Jesus only loves you ’cause he has to,” while “Unusual” is a reflection on a marriage — or a career — gone wrong and a hopeful look to better days and second chances. The wistful sadness hanging over the songs is made palatable by Hickey and Randall’s muscular support, Landis and Gallagher’s clear guitar lines and their genuinely beautiful voices interpreting somewhat psychedelic, world-weary and literate lyrics.
Greatmodern’s CD release party is on Friday at the Northside Tavern with guests Tonefarmer. For more on the band, see greatmodern.com. (Dale Johnson)
· Northern Kentucky’s 6 Sigma will unveil their debut album, Résumé, on Saturday at Covington’s Radio Down with guests Langus and Mr. Creeper. The quartet, formed in early 2003, features former members of area bands like Broken Image, Half Inflated Demon Lords and 8C8. Not sure if the world needs another “New Rock” format band, but 6 Sigma does the heavy, melodic Angst Rock thing as well if not better than most of the big wigs in the field. There’s a respectful diversity on Résumé; instead of trying to sound exactly like Tool or Korn or Godsmack, the band takes elements from each (and a variety of other influences) and makes the sound its own. Thick, brawny and undeniably powerful, Résumé burns with an adept aggressiveness and is delivered with intent and passion. The robust sound of the album is impressive and, while occasionally overly dramatic, 6 Sigma sells it like they mean it. There aren’t a lot of area bands that you instantly think deserve to get serious major label attention, but 6 Sigma’s proficient Hard Rock makes them real contenders. Already featured on the soundtrack to the Acclaim All Star Baseball 2005 video game, 6 Sigma could be coming to a radio near you real soon. (6sigmaband.com)
This article appears in Nov 17-23, 2004.