The Bowery Presents

The Mercury Lounge upcoming shows

Late Show

Scott H. Biram
10:30

Drunken Barn Dance (feat. Scott Sellwood of Saturday Looks Good to Me)
9:30

Venue:
The Mercury Lounge
Date:
Mon 8/02
Notes:
21+
Doors: 9:30 PM / Show: 9:30 PM
$10
Tickets
Scott H. Biram
official website
myspace
Rock 'n' Roll ain't pretty and neither is Scott H. Biram. The self proclaimed 'Dirty Old One Man Band' successfully, and sometimes violently, lashes together blues, hillbilly and country precariously to raucous punk and godless metal. Biram ain't no dour ass singer/songwriter either, sweetly strumming songs about girls with big eyes and dusty highways. HELL NO!!! His singing, yodeling, growling, leering and brash preachin' and hollerin' is accompanied by sloppy riffs and licks from his 1959 Gibson guitar and pounding backbeat brought forth by his amplified left foot. The remainder of this one-man band consists of an unwieldy combination of beat-up amplifiers and old microphones strung together by a tangled mess of guitar cables.??Years of non-stop touring have honed his assault to a fine edge; his wide-eyed throw downs in the First Church of Ultimate Fanaticism routinely lead giddy followers to a fiery baptism.??Scott H. Biram wont die. On May 11th, 2003, one month after being hit head-on by an 18-wheeler at 75 MPH, he took the stage at The Continental Club in Austin, TX in a wheel chair - I.V. still dangling from his arm. With 2 broken legs, a broken foot, a broken arm and 1 foot less of his lower intestine, Biram unleashed his trademark musical wrath. When Scott H. Biram took the stage at his 2004 SXSW festival showcase right after Kris Kristofferson he was quoted as growling "They said that was a hard act to follow....I'm a hard act to follow motherfuckers!!" The stunned crowd looked on.
Drunken Barn Dance (feat. Scott Sellwood of Saturday Looks Good to Me)
official website
myspace
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 bullshit.

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.”
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