It is easy to be skeptical when it comes to music and when someone talks about a “blugrassish country band” from Los Angeles….well, LA is known for Lipo…fake tits…failed acting careers…face lifts….and hair metal…so, excuse my skepticism…but here it is….Rose’s Pawn Shop, a self-described sound of “Appalachian bluegrass channeled through a rock band”. Far be it from me to speak with any authority on what is and what is not but I would be inclined to say that just because your band has a banjo player does not give you an unconditional lease on the bluegrass descriptor. But what ever…as I said, I am not one to speak with authority and I am not trying to slag on the band here because they are a pretty good band. There are a shit ton of instruments on the disc….electric guitars, banjos, acoustic guitars, mandolin, fiddle, pedal-steel, drums and acoustic bass and when the vocal harmonies kick in the skepticism gets lost…I mean, who cares if they are from LA…if the music is good then it’s good…right?….I mean, I am in Florida, the southernmost northern state…hell, people from Alabama do not think Floridians have any claim to the whole southern thing except for Lynyrd Skynyrd so how can I claim what is country or bluegrass and what isn’t….wait, we are starting to get way off base here, if I do not reel it in it will become a pitchfork type of review…I like the RPS disc….I really do, the songs are very well crafted and even though I was just looking for a reason not to like the disc my foot started tapping anyhow. So, if you think a nervous mix of rock, rockabilly, pedal-steel guitars and vocal harmonies is your thing…check ‘em out….plus, I would be a fool not to mention that they have one hell of a fiddle player….

Roses Pawn Shop - Down the Line
Roses Pawn Shop - Funeral Pyre
Roses Pawn Shop - Deep Red Clay

Roses Pawn Shop’s cd is a self-released title available on M.O.M. and CDBaby.

p.s.: Don’t worry RPS….people always laugh at me when I say I go mountain biking in Florida. Highly annoying but these are the stereotypes we are saddled with…