‘Stripped down’ bands from Boston and Memphis hit the Union

by Sarah Laubacher
Staff Writer

Once again The Union offers a solid line-up of trashy, blues-inspired garage rock this Friday night, with all-female, Boston two-piece Mr. Airplane Man, Memphis “ruckus” rockers The Porch Ghouls and local openers The DropDead Sons.

Scott Winland, the Union’s booking manager, has deemed the show a night of “Deconstructo Blues,” defining the term as “stripped down bands playing stripped down blues.” Winland, also a member of local band Geraldine, will play bass and provide vocals for The DropDead Sons ­ a “gospel-rocket soul” band also including local musicians from We March and Dirty Johnny & The MakeBelieves.

“We’ve got two really good bands coming in from two really good music towns ­ Boston and Memphis. So we’re playing songs from old Boston bands and some gospel stuff from Memphis,” he said.

Winland said their sound is organ driven, kind of spooky and a little trashy. “(The organ) is one of these really cheap Radio Shack keyboards that’s plugged through an old tube amp,” he said.

The DropDead Sons are not the only band fond of unconventional, homemade instruments. The Porch Ghouls use an altered, mid-’60s hard-shell suitcase as a makeshift drum set.

“(It has) a kick pedal that’s like a kick drum. There’s also a tambourine attached to the top, and a microphone inside ­ it sounds just like a bass drum,” said Eldorado Del Rey, the band’s guitarist and lead singer.

Joining Del Rey are Duke Baltimore on suitcase, Randy Valentine on harmonica and maracas and lead guitarist Slim Electro. Del Rey said their sound could best be described as “ruckus” ­ referring to a movement led by 1920’s street musicians who frequented Beale Street in Memphis.

The band just recorded their CD “The Bluff City Ruckus” for Roman Records ­ a new record label founded by Aerosmith lead guitarist Joe Perry. Del Rey works at Sun Studio in Memphis, and one serendipitous day led a private tour for Perry.

“I had a CD on me and gave him one. I didn’t think he’d listen to it, let alone like it,” Del Rey said. “then I hear through the grapevine that he’s a fan.”

Perry is the executive producer of the new CD, which will be distributed by Columbia/Sony. The record was engineered by Stuart Sikes, who also did the White Stripes’ “White Blood Cells,” and mastered by Greg Cartwright of the Oblivians.

Cartwright also produced Mr. Airplane Man’s latest album, “Moanin.” The similarities between the two bands do not end there. Both said they prefer North Mississippi blues and appreciate a dynamic set list ­ alternating between thick, hypnotic, repetitive grooves, and faster, trashy rock songs that will get people moving.

“North Mississippi blues is totally different from the Delta blues. It’s not flat and low like the Delta blues,” Del Rey said. Mr. Airplane Man drummer Tara McManus described North Mississippi blues-inspired music as laid-back yet driving, and ragged yet always coming together.

“‘Moanin’” has been on heavy rotation at the Union; we’re all excited for them to come. They have the howlin’ Delta blues aspect, but their lyrics are delivered via Margaret Garrett’s sultry, soft, subdued vocals,” Winland said. “I think they are two of the most exciting stripped down bands touring the country right now.”