Search - Drunken Barn Dance :: Grey Buried

There are rules in our lives: Stop here. Pay this. Do that. These rules serve certain purposes; to protect us, guide us, keep us safe. Drunken Barn Dance has rules as well. Although they re broken with semi-regularity, the rules exist nonetheless: (1) adult beverages are mandatory, (2) no more than a handful of tracks, (3) no more than a couple of takes, and (4) enjoy it. There is no pretense here, nor a desire to smooth the rough edges. With a drink in one hand, nods to the Guided by Voices and Hold Steady ethos is apparent - a literate, boozy amalgam of obliquely western tinged indie rock. Put Neil Young s Crazy Horse in a tumbler, add the Mountain Goats, shake the hell out of the drink, and pour it into a rocks glass with Jameson. They might not be happy if you called it Americana, but then again, they might not care. It is this loose and ambling conception of being a band or recording a record that both challenges what everyone else assumes these things mean and defines Drunken Barn Dance. That is not to say there isn t weight here. Sellwood s songs are artfully crafted and darkly revealing. The performances are nimble and often electrifying. But where there are rules, there are trade-offs. The rapid-fire recording method has destroyed many a hard-wrought song and melody that can t make the cut in two takes, but in this instance yielded 17 songs in 8 hours, 10 of which grace Grey Buried. There isn t a single instrumental overdub you hear it as it was played. All vocals recorded a few weeks later with the same 1 or 2 take rules. No fat. No bulls**t. Now you re listening, and they ll buy you a drink at the bar and nod hello to you afterward. On behalf of Scott Sellwood and the rest of the band, thanks for being here. DBD is Scott Sellwood (Saturday Looks Good To Me) backed by, Ryan Howard (City Center, Canada) on drums, Scott DeRoche (Saturday Looks Good To Me) as well as Greg McIntosh (Great Lakes Myth Society) on guitars, and music veteran Jim Roll on bass.