MY OWN HOLIDAY
REASON TO BLEED
ECLECTO GROOVE RECORDS EGCRD 517
HOLD ON ME–RAZORBLADES–TWO COINS–MEMPHIS–DEVIL IN ME–REASON TO BLEED–WHISKEY IN THE WELL–ON THE FLOOR BLUES–SMILE–STONE FREE–STRANDED–DON’T SHINE ON ME–RIGHT BACK WHERE I STARTED
My Own Holiday consists only of guitarist/vocalist Joey Chrisman and drummer Nick Bartolo. They hail from Lake Arrowhead, CA, far enough from the glitz of L. A. for them to create a sound that is raw, passionate, and fuses the blues with elements of metal. Their latest album for Eclecto Groove Records is “Reason To Bleed,” and these thirteen cuts put the emphasis squarely on the band’s incredible songwriting skills and their minimalist, propulsive sound.
Check out the grungy punch of a love gone so bad that “it hurts to hear you speak/I’d rather just go chew on Razorblades,” and another one that comes at you hard and fast, “on my last day you can send me away with Two Coins over my eyes!”
“Whiskey In The Well” is perhaps the set’s most somber piece, and finds Joey trying to drink a lost lover off his mind, while “Stranded” has a tremolo-drenched, Fifties’ feel. The set closes on a Dylanesque note, with quiet guitars over Joey’s vocal, “Right Back Where I Started.”
Our favorite was easy. Another song with a cool storyteller’s vibe is the tale of a man who realizes all too late that “I should have quit you when I had the chance to fly higher,” entitled “Memphis.”
My Own Holiday ain’t the Black Keys, nor are they the White Stripes, altho those comparisons are inevitable. Nope—Joey and Nick owe as much to Dylan as they do Son House. Great songs set over a sparse arrangement is the premise of “Reason To Bleed,” and we highly recommend this one to all blues fans! Until next time…Sheryl and Don Crow, The Nashville Blues Society.
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