ODDSLANE
LOST AND FOUND
GULF COAST RECORDS
BLOOD ON THE VAN–DON’T GIVE IT AWAY–HARD RAIN–I AIN’T MISSING YOU– LITTLE TOO LATE–LOST AND FOUND–MOTH–SEVEN STATES–SPARE CHANGE–WHAT’S YOUR NAME–WHITE CASTLE BLUES
Friends since the eighth grade, Doug Birkit and Brian Zielie are the musical backbone of OddsLane. They hooked up with Mike Zito, who was looking for a rhythm section, and began playing in and around the St. Louis area in the late Nineties. OddsLane was formed in 2003, and have just released their latest, “Lost And Found,” for Zito’s Gulf Coast Records.
The eleven originals herein are a little bit of everything. There’s plenty of the blues they grew up playing, but on this set, there are elements of rock, pop, and, even some heavy metal!
Opening up, there’s a taste of that grunge-flavored blues, sage advice given to the fellows from a lady who’s “been around the block,” and, an old man who’s been “hard-liviin’ since 1942,” Both of ’em say, “you got to make that money, so Don’t Give It Away!” In “I Ain’t Missing You,” our hero is just whistlin’ in the dark with his proclamation after a lover leaves. In the process of trying to figure it all out, he comes to grips with the title cut, “If I can get Lost, I can get Found!”
We had three favorites, too. Set over a chunka-chunka groove, our “road scholars” bemoan “Five Days And Seven Cities” as they travel the globe playin’ these blues. The slide’s the rule on the Canned Heat-ish boogie of hard times in the land of plenty, “Spare Change.” The set closes with another tale from the road. Seems there’s nothin’ else that’ll do other than “10 of those little square things,” when you got a serious burger Jones, those “White Castle Blues!”
Doug and Brian were featured on Zito’s Ruf Records re-issue from 1998, “Blue Room,” and it was this set and Zito’s encouragement that led them into making “Lost And Found.” It’s varied, eclectic, and full of what they’ve been playing for over 20 years–good ole bvutt-rockin’ blues! Until next time…Sheryl and Don Crow, The Nashville Blues And Roots Alliance.
