Story and pix by Mary Jane Farmer
Round 2 Week 2 has come and gone, but not without delivering an incredible night of showmanship, musicianship, songwriting-ship, and downright fun! Held this week (Oct. 6) at Love & War in Texas, Grapevine, Pearl Street Riot took on the Rodeo Clown Dropouts in 45-minute sets that must, and did, include two cover songs mixed in with their originals. These bands, plus 22 others that began in July in this weekly, 3-round contest, were there to win a recording contract through Shiner Records, plus the opening spot on the 2012 Texas Music Revolution, and a complete band outfit provided by Kona Guitars and DP Percussions. Links to all those, and to Rogue TV, who is video-taping each segment and streams it during the contests, will be at the end of this review.
Judges this week were sponsoring radio station KHYI personalities Brett Dillon and Chuck Taylor, Love & War owner Tye Phelps, and longtime professional music promotor Mark Jenese.
The beginning was unusual, but it worked well for the two band members who are friends off the stage and friendly competitors on stage. Pearl Street Riot drew the opening straw, and took the stage with the calmness that is part of their demeanor (At least until they crank up the sounds!) But, when bass player Justin Cashion, aka ‘Cash’ plugged his guitar in, it simply did not work. Now, when other bands in the competition have had equipment problems, they have always jumped up and helped each other. And that could have happened this time, too, except that Rodeo Clown Dropouts bass player Jimmy Duval didn’t have an electrical bass — he plays doghouse, rockabilly, stand-up bass.
The Amazing Ric Denker, who is an electrical engineer for Raytheon and a pretty mean fiddler player on his own, and who helps each week set up and tear down the basic equipment, was there, tools in his car. He said, with assurance, he could fix it.
So, Rodeo Clown Dropouts took the stage first, and that gave Denker 45 minutes to go to work on Cash’s treasure. Of course, Cash and the rest of the band were apprehensive, because without the repairs and the bass, they were hamstrung. Denker took his tools out, took the bass completely apart, found several wires inside it which had broken loose, welded them together, put the bass back together, and the rest became history as the night moved on.
Ric was thereafter referred to all night as “The Amazing Ric Denker” by both bands, on and off the stage.
Pearl Street Riot is made up of Cash, its newest member, Rodney Key on drums, Cody Phifer on lead guitar and back-up vocals, and Wesley Joe Malone on acoustic guitar and lead vocals. To hear this band, one would think of Corb Lund combining with The Flatlanders and adding in some rock n roll of anyone’s type who has fun with it. In fact, they opened with their first cover, Tom Petty’s “Anything That’s Rock n Roll.” Keeping the momentum going, they also covered Janis Joplin’s “Mercedes Benz.” In between were a multitude of self-written songs, historical in nature in some cases, and others bringing people onto the dance floor. “I like rock n roll with my beer,” Wesley Joe belted out.
Dillon opened the critique with the simple word “Awesome. I got no negatives for you guys. Cody, always a great job on lead, and Wesley Joe, love your vocals. You all look like a band and you feel like a band, thanks for dressing like a band.”
Phelps said he especially liked the original “(The Battle of) Butcher Holler” and added that the lead vocals were great, and the band was tight, as if “You know what’s going on.” He noted, too, that when there was a glitch, barely noticeable, Wesley Joe made it less noticeable by slowing down the tempo a bit. And to Cody, he said he liked that Cody didn’t turn up his amp so loud that nobody could hear anything else.
Taylor was a little less complimentary, stating that Pearl Street Riot’s music is “not the kind of music I could play on a radio st ation, and I’m looking for that. You are a punk band.” Wesley Joe answered, “We still love you.”
Jenese said of Pearl Street Riot, “It’s a great rockin band, great guitar. I had a blast watching. You are not country by anyt stretch. I would love to hear another 45 minutes of you playing.”
Pearl Street Riot pix (moving on)
The Rodeo Clown Dropouts are as much fun to watch as they are to listen to. The band is made up of Jimmy Duval on that non-electric bass that got used as a stool by the lead guitarist, Jimmy James Arnold and a pinwheel (at times) for Jimmy, and Jimmy’s son, Cody Duval, on drums. Together, they combine rock n roll with rockabilly with country with energy. For covers, they chose “Rada Love” and “Mystery Train,” both selections which pleased the judeges during critique.
Rodeo Clown Dropouts
In fact, Dillon compared the band with “Texas true rockabilly in the style of the late great Ronnie Dawson.” He especially liked, he commented, that they threw in a ballad between the fast-paced rockabilly songs, and called their original “White Trash Anthem” a great tune. “You did a rock solid, great job.”
Phelps‘ first comment was on Cody’s talents on the drums. “Good job, I love the drummer who plays within himself.” Of the whole band, he commented, “Great energy, Axel Rose meets Vince Gill, but Two Tons and Buddy Holly type as well.” It was the band’s diversity that awed him, Phelps said.
Taylor remembered that during Round 1, the Rodeo Clown Dropouts have a touch of def metal country to them. “I didn’t quite get that this time, but still got your psycho-billy.”He said the band blended the best of 1100 Springs with Rev. Horton Heet. On the constructive criticism side, he said that the band didn’t seem to engage it’s audience between songs. “You didn’t seem like you had the set thought out. You have marketability and songs that can play on the radio.”
Jenese said “I would buy your record right now,” and Jimmy laughed when he said, “I got them in the van.”
This Thursday, Oct. 13, finalizes the preliminary competitions, with Jeremy Phifer & the Badwater Band of Lamar County vying against Brad Dunn & Ellis County of the San Antonio area. Note this change — it has been moved from its previously announced venue to Southern Junction in Rockwall. Since these are both larger bands (5 members in Phifer’s band and 6 in Dunn’s), it should be nice to have them on such a large stage as the one at Southern Junction.
Check out these links:
KHYI’s 2012 Texas Music Revolution
Kona Guitars and GP Percussion,