Girls Guns & Glory - Pretty Little Wrecking Ball
Of all the little details that make up the band Girls Guns & Glory, the one I like best is that drummer Johnny Surprises’ mom made him take percussion lessons from Tito Puente.
It’s like I’ve always told my boys, “Listen to your mother. Sometimes she knows what she’s talking about.”
So listen up.
While a band from Boston evokes images of a certain blue-state philosophy, these guys seem more like they should be jumping around a stage in some red-state backwater where the politics are insane, but the music is terrific.
GGG offers no oh-so-earnest Shawn Colvin-inspired acoustic strumming or tediously crunchy metaphors of flowers and sunshine. The sound is straight-up traditional country and early rock-and-roll with honky-tonk piano and tight Tex-Mex rhythms. And yet, their music, particularly their latest CD
Pretty Little Wrecking Ball, remains easily accessible. There is nothing here that is offensive or even particularly thought-provoking. They have the spirit of a bar band, in only the best sense. And you gotta wonder: Why isn’t this considered to be mainstream commercial country? And then, you remember. Mainstream country must suck. In a fair world, Kenny Chesney and Brooks & Dunn wouldn’t be able to score a gig at a used-car lot grand opening. There is no justice.
Pretty Little Wrecking Ball is filled with catchy songs, but sometimes slightly twisted lyrics. I can’t tell if
Soft Raccoon is a tender but playful ballad about a child’s lost stuffed animal, or the threatening and obsessive rant of a stalker.
And
Tennessee Rose is something of an ironic reverse on the typical wayward country boy. Songwriter and lead singer Ward Hayden plays off the tale of a boy overcome by the spirit to wander and now sits alone, most likely in a cold northern city, pining for the bluegrass of his southern home. But instead of that story,
Tennessee Rose is about a momma’s boy whose feet are firmly planted in a northern town and is too fearful to jump that train with the beckoning whistle. So he stays where he’s supposed to be, most likely with the reliable job, good health benefits and profitable 401k.
To Hell that train is bound
Hear that whistle blowin' as it rides this town into the ground
A train is not enough for me to turn my back and walk away,
You know I love my momma very much
Awww, see? The boy can’t leave because he loves his momma. I’m so definitely buying my sons this CD.
Anyway, I saw Girls Guns & Glory last fall at Dewey Beach’s annual Americana Festival. I just checked their tour schedule and these boys play pretty much close to home. So it gets me a little misty to know that they drove all the way down to the southern tip of Delaware and played such a terrific show for nothing more than beer money – and the mutual glowing appreciation that you get any time you get a bunch of drunken musicians together in a bar for three days.
Admittedly, I’m a little fuzzy on some of the details from the weekend – I remember something involving shots and banana crème - but here are my recollections on GGG: They were great. And while they played with lots of energy and polished enthusiasm, one never got the feeling that they took themselves too seriously – unlike the guy that took the stage after them and who, in my opinion, has been receiving far more attention than he deserves. Lead singer Hayden looks like Buddy Holly, trills like Dwight Yoakam, and owes inspiration to Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Buck Owens and a great number of other country music singers who came along before country music sucked. I also remember thinking Hayden wore great shoes…and had nice lean hips.
The performance was mixed with their catchy originals and some great old standards. Near the end of the show, they played Folsom Prison. Now, there are a few songs that a band can play to make me love ‘em forever. Especially after a few drinks. Folsom Prison is one of those songs. So, admittedly, I’m biased here.
In addition to Hayden, and drummer Johnny Surprise, the band’s other members are: Bruce IV, on bass; Brendan Murphy, percussion; and Colt Thompson, lead guitar.
In December, Girls Guns & Glory signed a management deal with Perriello Productions. And in the Dec. 28th issue of The Boston Globe, Pretty Little Wrecking Ball was listed as one of the top 15 local releases of the year. So hopefully, they’ll be getting more attention in this year.
You can listen and buy 'Pretty little Wrecking Ball' here.
