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Swampdawamp

By Keith Hannaleck

Artist: Swampdawamp
Title: Swampdawamp
Genre: Blues-Rock
Label: Big Penny Entertainment
Website: www.swampdawamp.com
Purchase this CD: Amazon

With a tongue twister of a name like Swampdawamp you may not know what to expect for music. I figured it had to be at least southern flavored, and I was partially right. This band plays rock and blues and their sound is something like the Allman Brothers meets Lynyrd Skynyrd or some facsimile thereof. Ok enough with the comparisons and trying to figure who and what they sound like, when the day is done they create a sound that is all their own.

Gig Michaels has a hefty whiskey like vocal style that lends itself nicely to the lyrics and the sounds the band generates. Right at the outset “I’m Feelin’ Saturday” sets the tone and they grab hold and take control of the steering wheel, never once veering off track. As they move through each track you become increasingly entertained and engrossed in what they have to offer.

The one track that really says who they are lyrically and musically is “Sunday Southern Tradition.” It is all about backyard barbeques and pretty girls and the thrill of NASCAR racing. The south is veracious in their appetite for racing and the culture that has grown up with the sport. This tune tells the tale. It all sounds so darn real when you listen to the Swampdawamp wailing blues-rock machine pump out the music and Michaels starts churning out those vocal workouts. Then they hand out a “Little Pill Called The Truth” with a little ditty called “Tastes Like Chicken To Me.” This is a play on words and more than hints that what we are going through in Iraq right now tastes an awful like the last go round we had in Vietnam, accept this is much more complicated and difficult to get out of, but in the end it still taste like chicken. Yup, I heard that message loud and clear.

This is a very entertaining CD in many ways and well worth your time to check it out. If you have a hankerin’ for the blues-rock southern style, I have just the ticket for you, a little old band called Swampdawamp. You may not be able to say it or spell but you sure you can hear it.

Reviewed - March 6, 2007

Tracks:

01. I'm Feelin Saturday (3:18)
02. Sometimes (3:33)
03. Birthday (4:38)
04. Blind Crippled and Crazy (4:56)
05. Backporch (3:55)
06. The River (6:06)
07. Sunday Southern Tradition (4:50)
08. Miss Becky (3:32)
09. Little Pill Called The Truth (4:24)
10. Tastes Like Chicken To Me (5:25)

Credits:

Gig Michaels: lead vocals & acoustic guitar
Marty Hill: lead & acoustic guitars and dobro
Duke Rivers: B3 & piano
Michael Hough: guitar & backup
Robbie Hegler: bass & backing vocals
David Lee: drums & backing vocals

Additional Musicians & Vocalists:

Michael Brignardello: bass
Eric Darken: percussion
Zippy Dokes: B3
Sabra Callas, Lokie Cloud, Vicky Hampton: background vocals

About the Author:

Keith Hannaleck, known as “MuzikMan” is a Journalist specializing in independent and major music reviews and the promotion of artists via the various media outlets flourishing online. He has worked closely with artists, management, publicity directors, and webmasters to provide some of the best and far-reaching coverage an artist could have. Focusing primarily on the internet as a medium for his work, Keith has been a pioneer in the industry changing the way a reviewer with his various talents are used by many artists, PR folks, and labels. He has provided strong and valuable work to labels, artists, and publicity people, writing reviews, press releases, and biographies and much more over the years, giving the people he works with the maximum amount of exposure through several top-notch websites that post his content on their sites.

Hannaleck built and maintained his own website in 1998 while networking and building his reputation through thousands of reviews and interviews, creating a special niche for himself. Through many years of dedication and hard work, he has reached a respected level of competence and knowledge that is frequently sought by the music industry today. Known for his speaking from the heart interpretations of music and being able to put it in layman’s terms for music fans, his work is found everywhere in cyberspace and in traditional print media, from press kits to quotes from reviews in magazine advertisements.