BY VANESSA SALVIA
MONQUI.COM
Mary And Mars plays Sam Bond’s Friday.
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Old-Fashioned Rock
Riffbrokers rock, Zadok rasta hops, Bop Kings bop.
S
eattle-based trio the Riffbrokers
will show Samurai Duck-goers just
why old-fashioned rock will never
go out of style. Saturday night, the
Riffbrokers will showcase tunes from first
album Your Superhero In That Bar, songs
that offer a gritty testament to the power of
heartland rock and pop.
Guitarist and songwriter Nick Millward
and bassist Heather Burnett have been
together, musically and romantically, since
their Boise days in 1999. They first per-
formed under the moniker “Unsmashable
Riffbrokers,” but dropped the cumbersome
“Unsmashable” — only retaining it as their
label name — when they relocated to
Seattle in 2000 and joined forces with
drummer Dustin Miller. (Unsmashable
Records also handles affairs for two other
Seattle-based acts: Vegas In Flames and
The Small Change.)
Superhero kicks off with a classic
theme, a song of wounded love called
“Hatcheted Heart,” which propels itself
along with a catchy beat you’ll be tapping
your toes to. “Eighty-sixed” is a fine power
pop number, and Millward’s throaty voice
gives it just the right amount of snarling
attitude. The band keeps the energy up all
the way through to the CD’s closer,
“Attractive Nuisance,” about a girl who’s
irresistible but troublesome. The band also
shines on a cover of 10,000 Maniacs’
“Stockton Gala Days.”
Superhero is a short EP (eight songs in
30 minutes), but shows a lot of potential for
the future, and Millward promises a new
full-length CD in a more timely manner
later this year.
While Superhero is spiced with meaty
guitar riffs, none of it is heavy-handed, and
the Riffbrokers are not an “alt-country”
band — no nasal twang, no affected hon-
key-tonkin’ personas. It’s just great,
straight-ahead rock music with a touch of
Americana roots that’ll make you feel like
dancing.
Also shaking around town: Luckey’s
continues its foray into eclectic booking with
San Antonio’s the Bop Kings . In a Saturday
night show at the pool hall, the Texas trio
will show Eugene why Las Vegas voted it
the Best New Rockabilly Band of 2002.
Casey Miller sings and plays acoustic
guitar, Mike Nesloney plays electric guitar
and Chris Darrell goes wild on the stand up
bass. What’s missing from this line-up?
That’s right, no drums. But you won’t miss
a thing when you hear their astonishingly
authentic rockabilly sound as they perform
songs from their debut record Rock It To the
Moon.
Miller has played in several other rocka-
billy acts, notably The Texas Thundertones,
K.C. Miller and the Kozmik Kowboys and
the Hectic Hepcats. Darrell honed his chops
in Corpus Christie’s The Hellbillys. The
Bop Kings tear through 16 songs on the
self-titled CD, all the way from “Cryin’
Alone” to “Hepcat Jive.” These guys are the
most authentic-sounding and talented outfit
I’ve come across in a long time. Fans of
rockabilly and hillbilly boogie will not be
disappointed!
Calling all Rastas! Calling all hip-hop-
pers! It’s Rasta Hip-Hop by Canada’s Sons
of Zadok , appearing Saturday night at
Cozmic Pizza. Presenting teachings from
the bible of the Essene Church of Christ,
Sons of Zadok performs songs from the CD
Nazarene Vow, offering “conscious, radical,
revolutionary rasta rap” that seeks to “con-
front the false powers of Babylon” and pro-
mote spiritual transformation.
Lastly, former Dixie Chick (albeit more
than 10 years ago) Sharon Gilchrist is now
part of “progressive bluegrass” trio Mary
And Mars . Each member of this acoustic
trio from Santa Fe, N.M, is a songwriter and
multi-instrumentalist; they trade vocal
duties as well as instruments during their
energetic sets. Together since 2002, Mary
And Mars presents mostly original takes on
modern bluegrass while remaining true to
the roots of the genre. Since the band’s
inception, the accomplished musicians have
played clubs and festivals to critical
acclaim hundreds of times, and now per-
form at Sam Bond’s Friday, opening for
Eugene’s Jack Straw .
ew
JANUARY 29, 2004 23