Local Hooks
Published: Oct 12, 2007
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There's no Tampa sound. There are a whole slew of them.
Roots rock, power pop, post-, prog- and unclassifiable, as well as ska, African pop, blues and jazz. The quantity and quality of local releases keeps growing. Support the local scene and discover how good we've got it here.
Knowing Stu, "Reflector" (myspace.com/knowingstu): The eye-catching sleeve graphics might suggest a band obsessed with kitsch but this female-fronted quartet turns out tough-as-nails power pop. Tina Louise's vocals are just a hair below feral and Dean Johanesen's guitar riffs are razor sharp.
Geoff's Evil Twin, "Star Unstudded" (geoffseviltwin.com): Geoff Ford's songs are strong enough to shine in this unadorned acoustic-guitar-and-voice setting. The eight-song set shows hints of Paul Westerberg in the tongue-in-cheek and heart-on-sleeve lyrics and haunting melodies.
Tenspoke Indies, "Blinded by the Sound" (tenspokeindies.com): Formerly known as Harry Dash, this veteran quartet sounds revitalized on this full-length follow-up to last year's eponymous EP. Big choruses and snarling guitars announce that the Indies are ready to rock.
Al "Coffee" McDaniel, "Blues in My Shoes" (almcdaniel.com):Coffee's blues go down smooth but deliver a righteous jolt. He's got big-name help from producer Narada Michael Walden and blues great Lucky Peterson on some tracks, but his commanding vocals are entrenched at center stage.
Magadog, "Sunrise" (myspace.com/magadogtampa): Tampa's ska favorites reunite for a disc that finds them stronger, surer and tighter than ever. "Scare Tactics" and "The Seven Year Itch" are standouts on a solidly enjoyable album.
Zillionaire, "The Street Lights Have Been Turned Down" (newgranada.com):Music this subtle shouldn't pack such an unsettling punch. This comes from the excellent, fluid playing as well as the hint of menace in Heath Dupras' understated vocals. They risk it all on epic closer "New Cymbal," in which a minimalist groove grows and grows over 23 minutes right before your very ears.
Legatto Staccato, "Legatto Staccato" (mekkarecords.com): Nasty, elastic dub-jazz-funk grooves from the trio of Ronnie Dee (sax), Lemonjello (bass) and Tommy Fessenden (drums), all of whom can be heard swinging in local band Gravy as well.
Hollowpoint, "Bait and Switch" (hollowpointband.us): Hollowpoint plays no-nonsense hard rock that acts as if hair metal and thrash never happened. Fans of vintage '70s and early '80s arena rock - Nugent, UFO, Ozzy and the like - won't be disappointed.
Traveling North, "For That World" (travelingnorth.com):Traveling North has a toe in alt-country but retains the freedom to follow the song wherever it takes them on this 11-track disc. "Into the Ground" is an attention-grabbing opener while Steve Connelly adds eerie pedal steel to the Middle East-scented closer, "This Is Your King."
Cold Joon, "Crack! The Best of Cold Joon" (coldjoon.com):This generous 15-track sampler will help get novice listeners up to speed with the Tampa area's premier African/reggae/if-you-can-dance-to-it-we-play-it fusionists.
The Relics, "A Little Too Late" (payplay.cd/relics):The sepia-tinted cover photo might suggest an old-time bluegrass act, but The Relics play Fleetwood Mac-style soft rock with a significant folk influence, hence the version of "House of the Rising Sun" which closes the album.
Auditorium, "EP" (mekkarecords.com): A five-song sampler from Joran Slane and Co.'s long-awaited full-length, titled "Chinese Democracy," er, no, "The New Aezthetic." The band's art-prog touches are applied with an amount of taste rare in the genre; and these are just plain good songs, with or without the bells and whistles. Still, we like us some heroic lead guitar work, which Steve Krall provides on "Martyr," and look forward to the full CD when Axl, er, Joran decides to let it go. TBO.com Entertainment Producer Ryan Bauer is a member of the band.
The Human Condition, "Five" (human-condition.com): Knowing Stu's Dean Johanesen fronts this excellent roots-rock outfit. Johanesen's country-hued compositions are backed by a hard-riding rhythm section and some stinging guitar work on this five-song outing that leaves us wanting more.
Steve Robinson, "Undercurrent" (steverobinsonmusic.com): Headlights lead singer Steve Robinson follows up his excellent 2004 solo disc, "Away for the Day." The recipe is the same - brilliant melodies, beautiful harmonies and songwriting that captures the best of Anglo and American pop. The results are the same as well - pure pop heaven.
Various artists, "Stand Up: A Benefit CD" (standupforkidscd.com): Tampa area performers such as Red Room Cinema, The Vera Violets, Military Junior and Jeremy Gloff contribute songs to a CD benefiting Stand Up for Kids Tampa, a group helping homeless and abused teens in the area.
Red Room Cinema, "Red Room Cinema" (myspace.com/redroomcinema): Red Room Cinema is a band of few words. But the stories it tells with its gracefully shifting rhythms and otherworldly guitar melodies soar beyond mere verbs and nouns. The plane may be going down on the cover of RRC's CD, but its music soars on in infinity.
Tommy McCoy, "Kickin' the Blues" (tommymccoy.com): Commander Cody and T.C. Carr lend guitarist McCoy a hand on this fun collection of originals and covers, including The Rolling Stones' "Dead Flowers" and Tom T. Hall's "I Can't Dance," made famous by Gram Parsons.
