Some years back I was in Austin with my wife and brother to see Lucero. I had seen them the weekend before in Los Angeles and my ride had sort of bailed on, she had her reasons, but all of my merch was in her car. I had spent a pretty penny on merch that evening and was not happy about the whole situation but the evening wasn’t ruined. I ended up borrowing money from Ben to catch a cab back to my hotel and since neither of us had clue one about where were or where the hell my hotel was he gave me a crisp new hundred. Also not realizing, due to hanging out with Ben all night if you know what I mean, that LA is sort of built in the hills I thought it would be a good idea to just hop over the flower-bed in the hotel parking lot. The four foot drop on the other side was unexpected and I ended up in the street, face down, in front of my cab. I picked myself up, brushed off the gravel, and left my dignity lying in the street. Five whole blocks later I stepped out the cab and went into my hotel. It had been that kind of night. But I digress…

I went to Austin to see Lucero and pay Ben back for the loan and there’s more stories to that night than I can tell here but Bill Krejski (Sorry if I murdered you name Bill) had heard about my merch driving away and went about making sure everything was replaced and on top of that handed me some CDs by bands he really liked. I had never heard of either of them and have to admit that Nashville Pussy rarely sees any time on the playlist but the other band sees more than most. The first time I dropped I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House into the CD player I was hooked!

Now you have to understand a couple of things here. I love music for the sake of music and generally don’t like mixing politics with my tunes so normally that would be strike one against any band, after all Dear Mr. Heston is not exactly apolitical. The second is that Michael Dean Damron and I are polar opposites when it comes to politics. I doubt there is a single thing we could agree on politically and he does, or did with I Can Lick Any SOB, bring politics into his music so there would normally be strike two. I don’t usually even bother trying to find a third strike when it comes to music so most bands wouldn’t have seen a second play from me after listening to Put Here To Bleed but the music was so good that I overlooked the politics completely and now own all of their albums and thanks to our gracious host have recently caught up on Michael Dean Damron’s solo career. I think both with I Can Lick Any SOB and solo that Damron is an amazing songwriter and performer and more than that worth getting to know musically. So without further ado here are two tapes covering Damron from I Can Lick Any SOB to his most recent solo effort. Tape 1 is all I Can Lick Any SOB and covers all of their albums including Live at Dante’s. Admittedly I left out the political tunes for completely selfish reasons but since I am the one making these tapes I get to do that….

• Tracks 1-4: Creepy Little Noises
• Tracks 5-7: Menace
• Tracks 8-10: Put Here To Bleed
• Tracks 11-14: Live at Dante’s

Track Archive

Tape two is Michael Dean Damron solo and I think he is still getting better and better. I Can Lick Any SOB was an amazing band but songs like Cape and Blame it on the Whiskey are amazing songs and I will freely admit have helped me deal with my personal demons. You know those demons. They are the ones that show up when you come home from the bar, wife asleep, and all that’s there is you, whiskey, and the thoughts in your head. Those are the nights where you want to drop in some Michael Dean Damron and just let it all go. His cover of Drag The River’s Beautiful and Damned is one of the most amazing covers I have ever heard and is in heavy rotation on the iPod. Anyway, enough of my jawin’…

• Tracks 1-3: Bad Days Ahead
• Tracks 4-7: A Perfect Day for a Funeral
• Tracks 8-11: Father’s Day

All the linkage you might need:
I Can Lick Any SOB – Official Website
I Can Lick Any SOB store on In Music We Trust
The day I Can Lick Any SOB broke up – 9b article
Michael Dean Damron – Official Website\
Michael Dean Damron – Myspace
Michael Dean Damron’s coverage on 9b

This is Michael’s third album w/o his former Portland, Oregon bandmates, I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch In The House. His first cd, A Perfect Day For A Funeral, was a toned down exceptionally personal affair, while his second, Bad Days Ahead, was more of a midway point between ICLASOB and A Perfect Day For A Funeral. The two left me wondering where Michael was gonna go with his solo career.

Lucky for me the answer was a descent back to the calmer, quieter, more introspective, personal version of Michael Dean Damron, and the result is a total home run. The problems with the equalization/mix that seemed to plague Bad Days Ahead are gone and the biting songwriting is back, giving us a beautiful blend of country, folk, blues, and rock music that highlights the more emotional side of Damron.

Among the 14 tracks there is a cover of 9b faves, Drag the River. A cover of the Thin Lizzy track “Dancing In The Moon Light” (also oft covered by Drag the River) is here, too, as well as Damron’s take on the Townes Van Zandt track “Waiting To Die”. Despite the well-rounded selection of covers, the real standouts on the album are Michael’s originals. Whether is be the sentimental title track “Fathers Day” or the get fucked attitude of “Boy With A Car”, Michael always seems to shine when he is blazing his own path. While some people seem to pine for the bombastic Southern-rock sounds of Mike’s former band, I find the solo Michael Dean Damron sound to be Essential Listening.

Michael Dean Damron – Boy With A Car
Michael Dean Damron – Waiting Around To Die
Michael Dean Damron – Dancin’ In The Moonlight

Michael Dean Damron’s Official Site, Michael Dean Damron on myspace, Buy Father’s Day

“I wanted to do more things musically that this band was incapable of,” comments Damron on his decision to break up the band. “I want to write more rock songs, yeah, but I also want to write country songs, more folk-y songs, and other stuff, stuff the band wasn’t willing to do. They wanted to make all the songs rock songs and a lot of the newer stuff I was writing wasn’t going in that direction. And I didn’t feel like trying to force it upon the song. If the song was a rock song, I was all for it. But if it wasn’t, it needed to not be a rock song”.”  ~ Michael Dean Damron on his decision to break up Icanlickanysonofabitchinthehouse

ninebullets.net was a huge ICLASOB supporter and their split last November kicked off the year of bands I like splitting up.  However, a year later Michael has returned with his new band, Thee Loyal Bastards, and a new cd, Bad Days Ahead. Bad Days Ahead doesn’t have the, ‘crank it to 11′ breakneck rock and roll feel of any of the ICLASOB releases and and it isn’t as tortured and personal as Michael’s solo cd, A Perfect Day For A Funeral, opting instead to play up against and in the wide gap between the two. The new, calmer mood of Damron’s voice still has that signature cigarettes and whiskey-drenched sound, but it’s tempered and less ragged now. Any one familiar with ICLASOB and Michael’s solo material will find the lyrical matter familiar ground. Listening to songs like “Ghost”, I am inclined to agree with Michael’s sentiments about ICLASOB not being the band for these songs. It would have been like dog wearing a duck suit. Sometimes, like on “Moonshine”, you can tell Micheal’s still trying to firm up his footing with all these new sounds to play with, but all in all the cd is well worth your listen.

Listening can be done now if you are willing to buy the cd from the Netherlands-based record label, Rosa Records, as due to some sort of mix-up, the cd will not be coming out on Michael’s domestic label, InMusicWeTrust, ’til February. Michael and the band will also be hitting the road in February with an Alaskan band, The Whipsaws. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll make it all the way down here to Florida.

Michael Dean Damron & The Loyal Bastards – I Love The Rain
Michael Dean Damron & The Loyal Bastards – Ghost
Michael Dean Damron & The Loyal Bastards – Bad Days Ahead

Michael Dean Damron & The Loyal Bastards Official Site, Michael Dean Damron & The Loyal Bastards on myspace, Buy Bad Days Ahead