This great party CD moves through a diversity of styles (including swamp pop, blues and rockabilly), but never strays far from good ole rock and roll. The band is made up of veteran players from the defunct local group Backbone Slip. The material is about half original songs—derivative of Fats Domino, the Georgia Satellites (who were quite derivative in their own right) and the Fabulous Thunderbirds—and well-chosen covers, with the strongest titles being blues-oriented. Standouts include the country-flavored “Bloodshot Eyes” (with a guest appearance by Steve Spitz from the Wild Peyotes on pedal steel), “Stop Playing Me for the Fool” (a good blues ballad), and a Chuck Berry-ish “Dixie Chicken.” Most of the tunes are harmonica-driven and star singer/harp player Mark Bancroft. His fine harp playing is reminiscent of Junior Wells and Kim Wilson (of the Fab T-Birds) and adds a spark to the proceedings, but his vocals could use some beefing up. Dmitri Resnik’s guitar work is solid and exciting on the blues and rockabilly material but sometimes falls flat on the other selections. Mike “The Creature” Neyrey on drums and Brad Smith on bass round out the personnel.

This project was recorded locally at Dinosaur Studios and is a credible first effort. It creatively captures a good live “roadhouse” feel and is an infectious foot tapper to boot.