Say Something Nasty

When I first heard about this band, somehow I thought they were some sort of glam rock band. Boy was I wrong!!! This band plays a mix of good old-fashioned AC/DC style boogie rock and classic Southern Rock. It's heavy on the riffing and this band displays it's roots and influences as proudly on their sleeves as the Confederate flags they display on their T-shirts and other band merchandise. They hail from the state of Georgia, U.S.A. and were formed in 1996 by the team of Blaine Cartwright (guitar, vocals and principle songwriter) and Ruyter Suys (lead guitar), who usually wears only a tank top and jeans for starters and often ends up in her panties by the end of gig (gotta like that!!!). Oh.....and her guitar playing really rocks too!! Other members include Katie Lynn Campbell (bass) and Jeremy Thompson (drums). Their debut album, Let Them Eat Pussy, attracted quite a bit of attention for their raunchy and wreckless style and the song Fried Chicken and Coffee actually got them a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance (they probably lost to Jethro Tull!). Their second album, High As Hell further helped get the word out on this band and they landed a spot on the Tattoo The Earth Tour in 2000 with Slipknot, Slayer and Sevendust. The spoken intro by Blaine Cartwright, reiterates something most men already know....it's all about pussy!!!...from needing money to get the pussy, to having to write songs about pussy in order to make the money to get the pussy etc. etc....you get the picture. It then slowly eases into the title track, Say Something Nasty, which begins with a very metallic guitar sound and a riff very much like something from Powerage by AC/DC (which as a matter of fact is one of Blaine Cartwright's favorite albums). Most tracks, especially Can't Get Rid Of It have a very familiar AC/DC style arrangement with repetitive riffs and pounding drums. Blaine Cartwright's voice has a raspy style that reminds me of Alice Cooper or even Blackie Lawless at times and it's obvious that he's a fan of Ted Nugent and Rose Tattoo as those band's influences can really be heard as well. This stuff is right out of the late 70's and early 80's! Ruyter Suys plays a lot like Angus Young and can really rip out some very fast and bluesy lead solos. Her ability as a slide guitar player really shines on Gonna Hitchhike Down To Cincinnati and Kick The Shit Outta Your Drunk Daddy. That's the name of the song, I kid you not! These are fun tracks filled with lyrics about drinking, partying and with all the "weed" references, I think that must be an important thing for this band! This stuff reminds me of my high school days, partying and listening to full blast AC/DC! You Give Drugs A Bad Name is another tongue-in-cheek track and has an Aerosmith/ZZ Top type of groove to it. Some tracks, namely The Bitch Just Kicked Me Out, are very fast with some punk influences to make things interesting. Also very evident are influences from two of the great southern rock bands, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Molly Hatchet. This album also contains a cover of Rick Derringer's Rock and Roll Hoochie Coo, a decent version that is more stripped down and without a lot of the backing vocals. The whole production of this album has a very live feel to it. You get the feeling that they just plug in and play (very few overdubs). The lyrics are raw, sexist and littered with profanity, but that makes this style of music more fun! There's nothing really new here as far as sound, but they are really a very tight band and a very enjoyable one to listen to as well. This album really offers a good dose of very energetic guitar driven songs with a mix of bluesy and some kick-ass almost punk-like tracks. They're currently out on tour right now playing the bars and clubs across the U.S. and Canada (For those of us Canadians, they are playing right across Canada this summer with a lot of gigs scheduled.....check their website for venues/locations) and from what I've read about their live shows, they're legendary!!. So if you like this sort of charged up bluesy AC/DC style high energy hard rock and want to experience a little bit of late 70's or early 80's nostalgia, check this band out. After all........it's all about pussy!!!!