by Sophie Block
Hungry for some rock n’ roll? Have some Strawberry Jam! I did, Saturday night at Antone’s, the renowned club that’s boasted legends such as Stevie Ray Vaughan and Muddy Waters—Antone’s hosted Austin rock band strawberryJAM’s CD release party. Along with bluesy opening act iMBiBE, they gave a kick-ass show filled with danceable jams, catchy lyrics and covers just as solid as their original songs.
At first glance the guys of iMBiBE may look like your college buddies, but they are anything but ordinary! Their funky blues songs, played by the trio behind burning incense, had all the elements of the music I like to listen to. Lowell Carrico’s vocals were those of a practiced, mature voice, along with flawless and impressive electric guitar. But his expertise was matched by both the bass player and drummer, who had an equally complex but not overbearing technique. Listen to their song “Ashes to Dust” and you’ll know what I’m talking about—the jam is married perfectly with the blues for some darn good listenin’.
strawberryJAM’s Zack Morgan joined iMBiBE onstage to play keys for a couple of songs before his band hit the stage. sJAM brought on the heat. The band is comprised of six musicians covering guitar, bass, keys, sax, violin, drums and mandolin. They opened with “Stone Angel,” a song filled with organ-style keys, singer Andrew Bennet’s falsetto and a soulful style-- “She looks so innocent but looks so threatening.”
Although their name makes them sound like they are a jam band, strawberryJAM is more structured rock with psychedelic and even pop elements. The band began as a jam band with a free-form format in which any one could play before they evolved into the group they are today. Their song “Wasting time” sounds like Phoenix. The original songs the band played Saturday were diverse and well-written. One of my favorites was their reggae jam “Without a Warrant.” The highlight of the set for me, however, was the remarkable cover of The Allman Brother’s “Jessica”-- a crazy complicated composition that they rocked! Carrico joined them onstage for that one to play acoustic guitar. Local rapper/songwriter Kydd joined them onstage for another song. sJAM also did a cover of the Grateful Dead boogie “Shakedown Street”, much to my enjoyment. Slide on over to their website for music and upcoming shows.
Hungry for some rock n’ roll? Have some Strawberry Jam! I did, Saturday night at Antone’s, the renowned club that’s boasted legends such as Stevie Ray Vaughan and Muddy Waters—Antone’s hosted Austin rock band strawberryJAM’s CD release party. Along with bluesy opening act iMBiBE, they gave a kick-ass show filled with danceable jams, catchy lyrics and covers just as solid as their original songs.
At first glance the guys of iMBiBE may look like your college buddies, but they are anything but ordinary! Their funky blues songs, played by the trio behind burning incense, had all the elements of the music I like to listen to. Lowell Carrico’s vocals were those of a practiced, mature voice, along with flawless and impressive electric guitar. But his expertise was matched by both the bass player and drummer, who had an equally complex but not overbearing technique. Listen to their song “Ashes to Dust” and you’ll know what I’m talking about—the jam is married perfectly with the blues for some darn good listenin’.
strawberryJAM’s Zack Morgan joined iMBiBE onstage to play keys for a couple of songs before his band hit the stage. sJAM brought on the heat. The band is comprised of six musicians covering guitar, bass, keys, sax, violin, drums and mandolin. They opened with “Stone Angel,” a song filled with organ-style keys, singer Andrew Bennet’s falsetto and a soulful style-- “She looks so innocent but looks so threatening.”
Although their name makes them sound like they are a jam band, strawberryJAM is more structured rock with psychedelic and even pop elements. The band began as a jam band with a free-form format in which any one could play before they evolved into the group they are today. Their song “Wasting time” sounds like Phoenix. The original songs the band played Saturday were diverse and well-written. One of my favorites was their reggae jam “Without a Warrant.” The highlight of the set for me, however, was the remarkable cover of The Allman Brother’s “Jessica”-- a crazy complicated composition that they rocked! Carrico joined them onstage for that one to play acoustic guitar. Local rapper/songwriter Kydd joined them onstage for another song. sJAM also did a cover of the Grateful Dead boogie “Shakedown Street”, much to my enjoyment. Slide on over to their website for music and upcoming shows.
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