Welcome to ROCKHOUNDING
a new ongoing review column headed up by the elusive Al Bruting
The Devil Makes Three, One Hell of a Show..
Guitarist/vocalist Pete Bernhard,
upright bassist Lucia Turino and guitarist Cooper McBean.
Last Saturday the Santa Cruz trio The Devil Makes Three hit their first ever Detroit stage at St
Andrews Hall. It was straight to
business. They walked out, strapped in
and lit the place up with a string and vocal harmony sound so dense you
couldn't fit a drummer in sideways. There was lots of swing and charged
traditional country rhythm playing without having to sit through break out
solos.
They have taken the Johnny Cash style of percussive
strumming originally created to fill in for not having a drummer and have made
it as big as it gets. Playing mostly
original tracks, they did toss in a Doc Watson cover that fit the bill. The
band got busy and so did people within earshot. The show hit a point where
jumping and dancing in the room sounded and felt like it was going to collapse
the floor into the basement.
Like the live show, the album released Oct 29th "I'M A STRANGER HERE” is a raw but
a finished sound. This new recording
took 4 years to lay down. Most tracks are vibrant and spirited, but a country
gospel sound and folk styled ballads are still heard. Produced by Buddy Miller, the recording was done using live
tracking. This picks up the energy of
the songs in a style more reminiscent to Sun Studios and gets closer to the
sound of a live show.
The Devil Makes Three is a touring band and the time spent
on the road shows up in the quality of delivery on stage. Stops have included the Newport Folk and
Austin City Limits Festivals, Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza, and tours with Willie
Nelson, Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell.
For fans of a more traditional country sound with the energy of a punk
rock band, lend them an ear.