I feel real bad about this. All three of these bands have been in the disc changer for two weeks. I’ve been intending to write about them but time just slipped by. Here we are now, on the eve of me leaving and I still haven’t written a single word…So let it be known, all three of these bands deserve far more attention than they are about to get.

THE SCISSORMEN



The Scissormen come out of Nashville and featuring a fella on slide-guitar, Ted Drozdowski, that just plain kills it. As much rock and roll as they are blues they are exactly what I wanna hear from a band when I walk into a foreign bar.

The Scissormen have 2 albums available, 2005’s Jinx Breaker (produced by Billy Conway of Morphine) and 2007’s When The Devil Calls. They will be performing at The Deep Blues Festival on Sunday night as well as a collection of shows around the St. Paul area before and after their set.

The Scissormen - Death Letter


GRAVELROAD


Gravelroad come out of Washington State. As of late, as well as doing their own thing they’ve been acting as T-Model Ford’s backing band. An honor and weight that has not been lost on them. They have the kind of sound you would expect from a few kids from the state that created grunge that probably own everything from the Fat Possum roster. Don’t let that come off as a slight to them cause it could not be further from the desired affect. This album, Shot the Devil (released August 5, ‘08),has a sound so dirty and thick it kind of oozes out of the speakers and into your ears much like the mud of a Mississippi swamp. All the while the grit in Stefan’s voice plays the perfect compliment. This is whiskey drinkin’ music and I’ll be right primed to do just that about the time they take the stage at the DBF Friday afternoon.

Gravelroad - Call My Name
Gravelroad - Taildragger


CICADA OMEGA



I initially wrote about Cicada Omega last August after they sent me a 5 track EP. Flash forward a year and I’m listening to their full-length getting ready to see them live thousands of miles from either of our homes. These Bones has a sound that could best be described as hill-country revival blues. The songs build and swell to feverish jams while Winfield’s vocals, howls and cries mesh to remind anyone who has been to a Church of Christ revival of that lady in the back who breaks into feverish tongues.

Every single thing coming out of Portland written about these guys talks about how awesome this band is live and lines like this from the Willamette Weekly only make me wish Cicada had pulled a night slight at the DBF:

the local quartet has proven itself a live act to be reckoned with—leaving audiences (and the members themselves) shaken and sweaty by the end of their howling, fiery performances.


Too bad they aren’t playing any club shows this weekend.

Cicada Omega - Last Night
Cicada Omega - Big Black Chain