It's about time to come up with another good local band review. Problem is, this review is probably way too late! Rumuor has it that the Uptown Savages are no longer together, but a few of the members remain to play music together under a different name. I'm not sure what that is, but I'm curious to find out. It took me a few months to get my hands on this cd, and the nice folks at Rush-mor records in Bayview were more than willing to find me a copy. I saw this six piece band play at Summerfest last year, and it was one of the great highlights of that summer. If you like Brian Setzer's big band and rock-a-billy revival, it's a good bet that you'll enjoy this band. Not quite the bombastic attack as the Brian Setzer Orchestra, but The Uptown Savages play true rock and roll that's powerful, fun, and danceable.
The majority of the songs performed here are originals, with lead singer J.P. Ziegler writing most of the material. The songs deal with your typical subject matter as traditional rock and roll: women, fast cars, and bottles of booze. "My Kinda Fun" pretty much deals with all three of these subjects! Tight snare drumming from Don Nelson mixed with a twangy guitar solo from Bobby Rivera proves that these guys know how to play true rock-a-billy. The formula here is basic three chord progressions that vary between blues and country influences. The other sound that gives this cd a true gritty rock-a-billy presence is the stand up bass. Matt "The Ratt" Davis plucks away effortless on the instrumental "Nash Rambler". The "chuga-chuga" sound produced reminds me of early Elvis Presley during his Sun years, and Riveras guitar sounds like a dead ringer for Chet Atkins. Another key to the savages sound is the addition of Dan Zaffrann's tenor and baritone sax and Jack Stewarts honkey tonk piano. "Likker Blues" trades guitar, piano, and sax solos between all these capable players. Don't expect any John Coltrane like solos with the sax here, but Zaffrann's smooth style blends in nicely with your stadard rock and roll instrumentation. The only real so-so song on this release is the country flavored "13 hours". It's a nice surprise to hear Liv Mueller of The Lovelies duet with Ziegler on this particular track, but the results are somewhat dull and predictible. I don't knock the band in experimenting a little on this release, but the true pleasure comes with this band commitment to churning out pure and classic rock and roll.
Once again, for anyone who enjoys early Elvis, The Brian Setzer Orchestra, or even retro 80's acts like The Blasters would find The Uptown Savages a very refreshing sound. They embrace the classic rock sound with sounding predictible, and they don't take themselves too seriously. It's really unfortunate that this unit isn't together any longer, but here's hoping that their new incarnation churns out music just as inspired as this. Check out Rush-mor records to reserve your own copy of "Rocket Drivin' Daddy", or you may have luck trying to order a copy through Uptown Savages.com.
