Reviews
The Crooked Mile Home
By Johnny Attitude, The Ramble, December 28, 2005
It was Friday afternoon. I was working on a few station updates. Really, it was Friday, so I was not working that hard, in fact, I think I was actually playing poker on line. Anyway, I was in the middle of a big hand and a new mail message popped up and blocked my view of the river card. I won the hand. The next hand sucked, so I decided check my new email. It was another submission for the station. I get quite a few and I give them all my attention, but let's be honest, it was almost the weekend and I didn't really want to get into a CD review that late in the day. However, this email contained these words "Our sound is a mix of Exile Era Stones/Gram Parsons with the Byrds and a touch of Stax Soul thrown in for good measure". Those words caught my attention, not because I believed them, but because I have been hearing that for years and nobody really sounds like that. Congratulations, they are the first band who has actually described their sound with a good level of accuracy. I never even described my band correctly.
Enter Chuckanut Drive from Bellingham, Washington. They are Steve Leslie, Chris Hess, Loren "Hot Sauce" Huggins, & Garth Highsmith.
In a world where Nashville has moved into the dark days of Kenny Chesney's sleeveless shirts, Cowboy hat and sandals, Austin has thrived with such new acts as Cross Canadian Ragweed, Bleu Edmondson, and Randy Rogers (as well as the legends like Joe Ely & Ray Wylie Hubbard). They all have a great sound and bring their own contribution to the table. A few years ago there was another rebellion that I like to call the dark ages of "No Depression". For the most part the music was great, but the magazine and the movement were every bit as clickish as Nashville. I mean artists from everywhere were trying to "Out Country" or "Out Roots" each other. The good ones are still making music, though some have moved on to a "new sound", like Wilco. Well, Grant Alden got a lot right. In no way am I speaking poorly of his magazine. After all, some guys in Washington State (at least that is where they are now) were paying attention. I know this because I have listened to "The Crooked Mile Home" from Chuckanut Drive. I really don't know how old these guys are, but they were probably just past fetus stage when Gram died. However, they must have listened to G.P. or Grievous Angel and dug it, because "Crooked Mile Home" sounds honorably familiar. Steve Leslie's vocals are unmistakably powerful in their simplicity. During the first spin, I heard some great songs. The second spin is when the real story came to life and it hasn't left my head since.
These guys are the real deal. If you want to find out more about this band, you can check them out at ChuckanutDrive.net or of course you can listen to Johnny Attitude Radio where they will be in rotation for some time to come. I look forward to great things from these guys.
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