In this treacherous election year, the GOP tries to maintain its perch at the White House. San Diego band Grand Ole Party (GOP) thankfully doesn't appear to be Republican (O-bombs is their number one Myspace friend). This trio toured with Rilo Kiley year and had their debut record, Humanimals, produced by Kiley member Blake Sennett. Lead singer Kristin Gundred vocals's encapsulate the blues of Amy Winehouse, the fierceness of Karen O, and the wailing of Janis Joplin. Gundred snarls and brazenly belts out garage-blues songs on love gone wrong, the devil, drinking and other sins, all the right elements for quite a celebration.
Download: Grand Ole Party - "Look Out Young Son"
Gundred places herself and her drumkit between guitarist John Paul Labno and bassist Michael Krechnyak. She's going to be singing and drumming at the same time. She smacks those drums and belts out those tunes with intensity and kinetic energy. Sometimes her face crumples up like she ate something bitter. That's what love does to you. Between songs, she drinks tea and knocks down a couple of shots demonstrating she means business. The guitarist gets into the groove twiddling the frets. He's more livelier than the bassist. Grand Ole Party emanates a bass heavy combination of funk, blues and sometimes surf-rock. On the catchy "Nasty Habits," reverb washes over the crowd as Gundred scrunches up her face reliving sour times. The band exudes synchroncity with each member feeding of the other. They must practice a lot. Half way through their set, they play "F-One," which they state is the help key on a computer and also can stand for other things. The guitar on "Gypsy Man" hits surf-rock terrain and is redolent of ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down." Gundred slams those cymbals. The bluesy first song on the record, "Look Out Young Son" refers to being the devil's daughter. On the last song, the three contribute repetitive "ohhs," clack those drumsticks together and egg the audience to hand clap along with them. Barely out of the gate, Grand Ole Party put on solid performance full of grooveable moments and Gundred's talented vocals. It won't be long before they're headlining their own slot.
Check out more of Grand Ole Party at Raggedmag.com
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