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(Clicka qua per la versione Italiana)
Summary.
The Gibson Bros in Ohio, led by
guitarist Don Howland and vocalist Jeff Evans, were natural
heirs of the Cramps and Pussy Galore. The blues and rockabilly bacchanals
of Big Pine Boogie (1988), which is mainly covers,
and Dedicated Fool (1989),
Evans moved to Memphis and formed '68 Comeback, another blues outfit,
while Howland formed the Bassholes,
whose Captain Beefheart-ian blues orgies topped the Gibson Bros' at least on
When My Blue Moon Turns Red Again (1998).
Full bio.
Drummer Don Howland of
Great Plains,
self-promoted to guitarist, recruited singer Jeff Evans and gave life to the Gibson Brothers. Their earliest performances were captured on Columbus Soul 85 (In The Red, 1996), an explosive record of covers performed by musicians with no musical talent whatsoever, and on the cassette Build A Raft (Okra, 1986). The single My Young Life (Okra, 1987) marked the beginning of their major career.
The new group had not lost the good humor of Great Plains but had more serious intentions toward the traditions of blues, gospel, and rockabilly. Pretending at times to be the Cramps, at times the Gun Club, and at times the
Violent Femmes,
Howland and company churned out effervescent records like
Big Pine Boogie (Okra, 1988) and Dedicated Fool (Homestead, 1989).
The first stands out for the frenzied rockabilly Sugartail Rock, alongside a series of tributes to the greats of blues.
Howland and Evans survived a schism that reshuffled the group’s lineup. The EP
Southbound (Glitterhouse, 1989), the album
Punk Rock Truck Driving Son Of A Gun (Homestead, 1990), with the
Workdogs,
the album
The Man Who Loved Couch Dancing (Homestead, 1991), recorded half at home and half live with
Jon Spencer
and Cristina Martinez, singles like Emulsified (Siltbreeze, 1990) and My Huckleberry Friend (Giant Claw, 199?), and the EP Mean Mistreater (Homestead, 1991) all demonstrate inexhaustible vitality, even if often it is difficult to salvage a single song from the general chaos.
Moving within the same coordinates—namely, the
Cramps and
Pussy Galore
— came Memphis Sol Today (Sympathy, 1993), again with Jon Spencer as a notable guest (and a third guitar alongside Evans and Howland). Crude and rough as always, this time the Gibson Brothers’ sound is also a bit predictable.
Evans, after relocating to Memphis, formed the ’68 Comeback.
The group (originally Jeff Taylor on guitar, Dan Brown on bass, Ross Johnson on drums) managed to release an endless series of singles (mostly rhythm and blues covers) and an EP within a year.
The EP
Paper Boy Blues (Sympathy, 1994)
includes two of Evans’s best compositions: Paper Boy Blues and A Little Bitch, both in the Cramps’ style. Golden Rogues Collection (Sympathy, 1994) compiles singles and EPs.
The first true album,
Mr Downchild (Sympathy, 1994), piles up a few more covers and some of Evans’s brilliant, ramshackle rockabilly (The String You Wear and Monk).
Following Taylor’s death in 1997, the lineup was overturned and guitarist Darin Lin Wood of Fireworks, bassist George Reyes, and drummer Jeff Bouck of
Tripping Daisy.
joined. A Bridge Too Fuckin’ Far (Sympathy, 1998) is a monumental tribute to Taylor: recorded in a Memphis bar and in an Austin garage, it boasts one of the most ramshackle productions in rock history.
The double album is divided into four parts with cryptic titles
(Love's Sting, D„nce Tyme, Mynd's Game, and Vintage Denim).
Some original tracks
('68, King's Road, That's How My Mind Works,
In The Company Of Kings)
are worthy of their earlier repertoire, but the band was increasingly becoming a cover band, as shown by Love Always Wins (Sympathy, 1999), devoted almost entirely to love song classics.
Howland formo` invece i Bassholes, di fatto un duo
con Rich Lillash.
Come dichiara il loro manifesto, Blue Roots (In The Red, 1992 -
Revenant, 1998), i Bassholes sono un omaggio alla musica del Delta reso con
lo spirito spasmodico di Captain Beefheart (Nakema).
Haunted Hill (In The Red, 1994) e
Deaf Mix Vol. 3 (In The Red, 1997), con lo strumentale
Basshole Luv Theme e l'Ear Candle Boogie
sono pero` prove sfocate, approssimative, amatoriali,
Sono raccolte, comunque, in cui puo` succedere di tutto.
L'eccentricita` e` la loro arma migliore.
Il gruppo riesce pero` meglio nei singoli, i cui titoli
spesso parodiano classici del rock and roll:
John Henry (Sympathy, 1993),
98 Degrees In The Shade (In The Red, 1993),
Baby Go (Honeyman, 1995),
Problem (Bag Of Hammers, 1995),
Hey OJ (In The Red, 1995),
Lion's Share (In The Red, 1996).
Long Way Blues 1996-1998 (Matador, 1998) continua in quella direzione
di garage-rock abbacchiato (Turpentine, una cover di Strychnine)
e di blues stralunato (Caboose Man Blues).
Sul monumentale
When My Blue Moon Turns Red Again (In The Red, 1998), con
Jon Wahl dei Clawhammer all'armonica e all'organo,
prende forma una missione piu` eclettica (e professionale), che parte ancora dal
blues piu` primitivo
(Judge Harsh Blues, Virginia Valley Blues)
e dal gospel piu` accorato (Born To Die), ma punta anche al
garage-rock dei party (Microscope Feeling) e al punk-pop delle
classifiche (Girls Girls Girls, Swimming Blues).
The Bassholes'
The Secret Strength Of (Sympathy, 2000) is a live recording from 1997.
While Jeff Evans launched the CC Riders (Contaminated, 2002),
Don Howland released his first solo,
The Land Beyong The Mountains (Birdman, 2002), his darkest and slowest
work so far.
It was followed by Howland's new mini-album as Bassholes,
Out In The Treetops (Dead Canary, 2003), the first studio collection
in five years, and not a bit less crazy than Bassholes' masterpiece (the
title-track).
Their full-length return, Bassholes (Dead Canary, 2005), de facto
introduced a new band, boasting professional songwriting, production, and
playing. Howland's hellish visions are recast as haunting personal confessions.
Broke Chamber Music (Secret Keeper, 2005) is an anthology of Bassholes'
singles.
Don Howland's Wooden Tit debuted with
Return To Cinder (2007), yet another old-fashioned rave-up.
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