Drams article in Dallas Observer

(The Drams @ SxSW 2006 - New West day party)

(The Drams @ SxSW 2006 - Twangfest day party)

Jubilee Year
The Drams are the Best

By T. BALLARD LESEMANN Published: May 31, 2007



The Drams weren't in mind at all when Denton-based songwriter Brent Best—a melody-minded veteran rock dude who knows his way around a hook and a heartfelt lyric—first started working on the songs that ended up on the band's debut, Jubilee Dive.

Despite what you'd think, the Drams aren't haunted by the ghosts of Slobberbone—just of two little girls.

"When Slobberbone shut down, I wasn't ready to do a band thing again," admits the singer/guitarist. "I'd been doing the solo thing here and in Europe for about a year. I'd been recording at home with the intent of doing a solo album at some point, with a clear idea of how it should sound."

Slobberbone evolved from a straightforward-but-stumbling country-punk band in the mid-'90s into a critically acclaimed underground roots-rock act. They released a low-budget debut titled Crow Pot Pie in 1995, followed by Barrel Chested in 1997. By that time, the band was touring across the Midwest and East Coast with a solidified line-up featuring Best on lead vocals and guitar, Brian Lane on bass, Tony Harper on drums, and Jess Barr on guitar and a variety of stringed instruments. The quartet made a racket that had as much in common with '60s garage-rock and post-Brit Invasion pop as it did with the ultra-twang reverberating around the so-called "alt-country" scenes. Their 2000 album, Slippage, followed the excellent Everything You Thought Was Right Was Wrong Today.

The Drams' lineup currently features two of Best's Slobberbone mates—Barr and Harper—along with singer/keyboardist Chad Stockslager and singer/bassist Keith Killoren, both of whom add to the group's expanded instrumental range and vocal harmonies.

"Our first show came together almost accidentally," says Best. "At a South by Southwest [in Austin] a few years ago, they had me scheduled in between several rock bands, and I didn't want to just show up with me and an acoustic guitar, so I called Jeff and Tony up—and Keith and Chad from Dallas band Budapest One—and put the band together on the fly. Our first show ever was at South by Southwest, which was kinda weird. New West was really into the demos, so we kept it together and pressed ahead."

Produced by engineer Matt Pence (Centro-Matic, South San Gabriel), the 14 songs on Jubilee Dive bounce off Best's from-the-gut sentiments, life lessons, personal observations and colorful stories. The organ and piano parts add a earthy dose of late-era Beatles, The Band, Badfinger and Big Star to the guitar-based foundation.

"The point with Slobberbone was that we kept things fairly simple and straightforward," he says. "Chad is a really good arranger and has this pure rock/pop pedigree for someone his age, so that adds a lot more to it. It's a cool thing to have in the arsenal, you know? In the studio, it was the first time in my life where I had to get brutal with the editing and producing and cutting things. When we were younger, we weren't very good players, so we basically got what we got [laughs]. There was never as much decision-making going on. This newer attitude made for a really fun time recording. If something was kind of over the top but made us smile, we kept it."

http://www.dallasobserver.com/2007-05-31/music/jubilee-year/

Slobberbone, we hardly knew ye...

"Well I've seen you hanging around for awhile,
And I wish that you'd just go away
Cause I've been stuck in this old town for awhile,
And this town has seen it's better days"
(Slobberbone - "I'll Be Damned")


SLOBBERBONE @ THE 400 BAR - MINNEAPOLIS, MN - 3/5/05

Well, that was fun.

Slobberbone's au revoir to the Twin Cities was everything I would want a farewell gig to be - loud, joyous, emotional and, mo' definitely, rockin'. Hell, that's what I wanted every 'bone gig to be. To their credit, they usually rose to the occasion. Last night they delivered in spades. I'm happy to report that there were no fistfights or long faces. The crowd was just one big drunk, happy family - peace and happy vibes seemed to rule the moment. People loudly cheered each fave song and I saw so many people singing along that I was moved to ponder why bands break up when they have such a devoted fan base, no matter what the size. Well, maybe I just answered my own question...

I'll admit to be a bit anxious after hearing about what apparently was an off nite in Chicago; those damn Internets. But after over 2-1/2 hours of drunken revelry at the 400, the exhausted crowd - and band - knew that they had just participated in something special. Brent gave a couple special shout-outs to the packed house - changed the lyrics in "Lumberlung" to "we headed up towards the land of 10,000 lakes" and offered up a "this town has always been our favorite place to play" hosanna that seemed more genuine than boilerplate - but the long, long show was basically just a whole lot of what they've always done best. I wouldn't have expected anything less - or more, for that matter.

A couple statistical observations: this was about twice as many people as I've ever seen at a S-bone show in MN, dating back to The Turf Club in 1997, and they played about twice as long as I've ever seen them play up here. It figures - I was just kvetching about them never doing "marathon" sets in MN and, bam, that's exactly what they do. Maybe I should've bitched about them not breaking up enough.

The band seemed to be in fine spirits all night; if there are any underlying "issues" amongst the boys, they weren't on obvious display. Speaking of spirits, "drinking breaks" occurred at regular intervals during the set as a steady succession of shots, drinks and beers made their way to the stage. During other intervals, Brent solicited questions from the audience and offered several heartfelt "thank yous" to the increasingly soused punters who were depleting the 400's always shaky booze inventory at an alarming rate. To say that this was a "drinking crowd" would be a severe understatement.

I'll leave the setlist details to the historians, but they played some things I've never experienced in person and/or haven't been played regularly since the last century ("Front Porch," "Get Gone Again," a nice "trio" version of "One Rung" while Jess fixed a string). And, much to my surprise, they finally played friggin' "Some New Town," a song Brent said he used to hate playing - in spite of all of the requests, which he said he hated even more - but now has grown to enjoy doing live. He said something about "the distance of time" having a healing effect, a statement that rung more than a little poignant on this particular night.

Like a giddy fanboy, I kept thinking during the show, "wow, this has to be my _favorite_ S-bone song ever - cool." Thankfully, this happened several times: "Billy Pritchard," "Lumberlung," "Barrel Chested," "Your Excuse," "That is All," etc. "I'll Be Damned" was especially memorable with the crowd roaring along during the chorus like a bunch of drunken soccer hooligans. Lots of requests from long-time fans went unfulfilled: "Tilt-a-Whirl," "Meltdown," "Josephine" - and "Placemat Blues" was kinda conspicuous by its absence - but after a sweaty 2-1/2 hours I didn't hear anyone complaining.

The encore was a 1-2 punch of special covers. Soul Asylum's "Cartoon" was first, only the second time I've heard them violate the "motherland rule" up here. Brent once said that MN is the "motherland to all that is good and true about rock 'n' roll," a testament to his love of bands like SA, The Mats, Jayhawks, etc. Anyone familiar with Slobberbone's rich history of great covers has probably heard winning renditions of "Martin's Song," "Can't Hardly Wait" or "Cartoon" at some time over the last 10 years. Brent had steadfastly resisted requests for those songs during their many visits here, citing the "motherland rule" each time, until they finally fell off the wagon on one of their last visits, which, I guess, was something of an omen. Speaking of Soul Asylum, Brent was jumping for joy when my friend Caffeine Zombie gave him a SA boot after the show ("Platinum Punks" I think) that sported a cover of "Free Bird," a song that S-Bone has also butchered in the past.

The night started out with a Neil Young cover ("The Days That Used to Be") and it ended the same way. "Big Time" is just one of many Neil songs in the 'bone arsenal, but some of the lyrics seemed tailor-made for the occasion and hit home like a ton of bricks: "I'm still living the dream I had / For me it's not over." And, on this night, they tore it up in a manner that woulda made the master proud.

After "Big Time," Brent and Brian - clearly not wanting to leave - spent several minutes on stage "performing" a feedback jam that I suppose you could say was a "cover" of the "migraine" segment of Wilco's "Less Than You Think." Brent was crouched over his guitar on the floor while Brian was fiddling with his bass perched atop the bass amp. Eventually, Brian went to the front of the stage, stretched his arms out and slowly fell into the crowd. I was then shocked to look up and see a cadre of fans literally running full steam towards the back of the club while carrying Brian high in the air. It was truly one of the damnedest things I've seen at a rock show in ages.

For the entire show, well over 150 minutes, I stood in one place - right smack in the middle of the crowd - wanting to soak up every last bit of Slobberbone I could before their existence was consigned to fading memories and digital artifacts. They were every bit as good as I've ever seen them, maybe even better, which made the whole experience even more bittersweet and maudlin than I could've imagined.

After the show, the boys "worked" the crowd just like at a funeral, only this one was their own. My wife and I spent a few minutes giving our best to Brent as we reminisced about good times past, mutual friends in Texas and Neil Young. As we turned to leave, my wife hugged Brent and gave him a kiss on the lips. He then suddenly grabbed me and did the same, which, given the circumstances, seemed strangely appropriate. Talk about being "touched" by a performance!

My lasting visual image of the whole night is one that is rather fitting given the subject matter of many of Brent's best songs. After the crowd cleared out, the floor of the 400 looked like a bomb had gone off. I've never seen so many beer bottles littering a small club; it was actually hard to walk, and there were more than a few people who were already having trouble in that department. I took a quick pic of the debris with my cell phone cam. In the future, when I'm feeling nostalgic, I'll look at that pic as I crack open a beer and put on "Barrel Chested," feeling that happy/sad tingle that fans know all too well after one of their faves decides to walk that long walk.

Review: Slobberbone - 9/15/01 - 400 Bar - Mpls, MN

SETLIST
1. Lazy Guy (acoustic)
2. Dunk You in the River (acoustic)
3. Pinball Song (acoustic)
4. Barrel Chested
5. Can't Stay Sober
6. That is All
7. I'll Be Damned
8. Stupid Words (new song)
9. Billy Pritchard
10. Engine Joe
11. Front Porch
12. Sister Beams (new song)
13. Gimme Back My Dog
14. Stumblin'
15. Haze of a Drink
16. (I Can Tell) Your Love is Waning
17. Sober Song
18. Placemat Blues
ENCORE
19. Rockin' in the Free World

Great, great show - easily the best of the 4 S-Bone shows I've seen so far. I can't think of better place to see these guys than in a crowded Midwestern bar on a Saturday night. Well, maybe a crowded Texas bar on a Saturday night, but for some reason these guys sound distinctly Midwestern, if not downright Replacement-esque. Indeed, they've been known to refer to these here parts as the "Motherland." Hell, they do up "Can't Hardly Wait" purdy nice (although not quite as nice as Marah does). Anyhoo, it was a deliciously intense, all barrels hittin', rock-with-a-capital R show.

It was our first night out after the horror of last Tuesday and it felt pretty damn good. I had no problem paying for the overpriced beer - several times. The crowd also seemed very enthusiastic and upbeat (and, by the end of the night, pretty juiced up). Brent was quite engaging, if not downright charming, and thanked everybody numerous times for "coming out." At one point he mentioned that they had been going crazy holed up in a hotel room, which I took to mean that this may have been their first show after...

The show itself was pretty much perfect-well paced, very passionate, tight as a drum. The 1-2-3 kick-off punch of the acoustic set worked like a charm (Jess had the banjo smokin'), the 2 new songs sound even better than a few months ago and it was great to hear some "Crow Pot" gems that I'd never heard live before, obviously done in honor of the swell new New West re-release. It was nice to see them available at a reasonable price after the show compared to the high bucks the originals are currently commanding in the collector's market. It's a solid album that deserves to be heard more.

I like the way Brent's songs really grow on you after a spell. They're populated with interesting characters and full of sentiments and emotions that are easy to relate to. He's got a nice eye for detail and narrative structure. His settings and themes are often familiar - lost love, dead-end jobs, alcohol, the saloon as metaphor for life itself-but there's something in most of his songs that prevent them from being trite or corny. The "bar room troubadour" shtick of a lot of what used to be called "alt-country" has almost become a cliché, but Brent's songs transcend the stereotype. Ryan Adams has tried to wander down this path a time or two, but he's never written a song as good as "I'll Be Damned," Haze of a Drink" or "That is All" (whose chorus - "Everything you thought was right is wrong today" - seemed positively eerie in light of recent events).

Saw lots and lots of familiar faces and there was a lot of socializing going on. There was a definite need to bond and connect, to talk or pat somebody on the back, or give up a hug. Large Soul Asylum and Jayhawks contingents were showing up after an outdoor bash out at Canterbury which helped contribute to the almost party-like atmosphere. BTW, the 'hawks gamely soldiered on as a power trio (!!) due to Jen and Steven McCarthy being stranded due to cancelled flights. I asked Perlman if this was a "new direction", and he wryly commented, "No, more like an old direction."

The highlight of the show - and one of the most powerfully emotional moments I've witnessed at a rock show in a long, long time - was the encore. After rippin' it up for 80 minutes or so the band left, appearing to be totally spent. After they ducked downstairs, the crowd very quickly started chanting "U-S-A, U-S-A..." The band stumbled up after a few minutes, Brent commented under his breath, "yeah, we agree" and they launched into a song that, in retrospect, seemed all too obvious - "Rockin' in the Free World." Everybody was jumping up and down, screaming, singing along, completely getting lost in the moment. They absolutely nailed it - rivaling some of the very best versions done by the master himself (Neil's incendiary 1989 SNL version comes immediately to mind, as do the angry, all-too-apropos versions done on the Crazy Horse tour in the Spring of 1991, during the early days of our last War).

There was no way that they could top this, so they didn't even try. A sobering (how's that for irony with these guys?) end to a show that many won't soon forget.

"There's colors on the street
Red, white and blue
People shufflin' their feet
People sleepin' in their shoes
But there's a warnin' sign
on the road ahead
There's a lot of people sayin'
we'd be better off dead
Don't feel like Satan,
but I am to them
So I try to forget it,
any way I can."