When The Music Hits…

By Kupka

Hello and welcome to When The Music Hits, our music column here at Bingemedia.net. Here is where one man will give his opinion about all things music related. New Releases, Old Releases, Concerts, Videos, Movies, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Now, with that being said, on to the topic at hand.

J Roddy Walston & The Business

The older we get, the more cynical we become.  You may call bullshit but it’s true, you’re just not old enough yet to realize it. I had become quite cynical with music over the years. Upon my searching for new music I was certain that pure Rock N Roll was dying and there would never be a band that gets it and does it, and does it well. Folks, J Roddy Walston and The Business is this band.

Moreno introduced them to me for our most recent Binge Music Cast (yeah, I know, new shows soon, we promise) [Moreno note: new one up today!], where we reviewed their most recent offering entitled Essential Tremors and boy am I forever grateful. J Roddy Walston and The Business (JRW) is a 4 man band from Cleveland, TN that have been around for over a decade. Like a few other bands I’ve come across recently my first reaction was, how the fuck am I just finding out about these guys now, why aren’t they the biggest thing ever right now, but most importantly when are they coming to Chicago? I had to experience them live. And I did.

Since I’d been listening to JRW pretty much nonstop since my first listen I thought I had a good idea of how the show was going to be. My hopes were high but expectations moderate. We’ve all been to shows that we built up the band so much that when it was all over the only possible reaction was, meh. JRW made sure this didn’t happen, because they KILLED! I’ve seen some rock shows in my day but I’ve never seen/heard 4 guys put out as much energy with as much honesty and feeling as they did. From opener to closer not a single note nor vocal was wasted.

While it was the newer singles like Heavy Bells and Black Light it was tracks like Same Days, Don’t Break The Needle, and Sweat Shock that really brought the raucous (JRW ain’t nothin’ to fuck wit). They can also slow jam with the best of ’em as showcased by Brave Man’s Death, Boys Can Never Tell, and Midnight Cry (which I absolutely love and like to think they played per my shout request). I really can’t say enough about these guys and if they come to your home town you really should check them out. Unless of course you don’t like having fun while listening to everything that Rock N Roll ever was and ever should be. A beer drinking, foot stomping, ass shaking, hand waving, even the old people are dancing, good time.