The Cheaters

The good songwriting and the excellent control of the instruments as well as the outstanding singing surprise in view of the young personness of the musicians.

The sound is characteristic and irresistible.

- Squelar Rocks

Young, hot noise from Maryland, THE CHEATERS, and murder-moderate breaking into of CD, "The Cheaters L.P.".

After the first passages one heard much, but prevailing a thought actually remains: These are the legitimate successors of the BLACK CROWES.


- Home of Rock

Local favorites reach a world-wide fan base

By Adam Durham • Special to the Beachcomber • July 10, 2008

Although veterans of the local music scene, The Cheaters have one of the freshest stage shows around, blending pure rock, Southern heartland and a non-conforming stage presence.
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The Cheaters have opened up for national acts such as ZZ Top, The Wailers, REO Speedwagon, and are slated to open up for Shooter Jennings July 20 at the Bottle & Cork in Dewey Beach. “We would love to get on a show with someone like The Black Crowes.” says drummer Kevin Shook.

The Cheaters’ gig at Booty’s Bar & Grill on 28th Street in Ocean City this Friday will be their first home-state gig since returning from their debut overseas tour — a five-day circuit of Germany and Lithuania, including a performance at the Saltsound Festival.

“The promoters of the festival had come across our CD at a music expo in France and really liked it. They contacted us about doing the festival. We considered this a great opportunity because our online CD sales are greater in Europe than they are in the United States.”

If you miss the Booty’s show, the band will also be performing Thursday, July 17 at Pulse nightclub in Ocean City with the Grilled Lincolns.

Q: What is the best (and worst) part of playing around Ocean City?

A: Ocean City is great, because it’s close, but is still a nice getaway from our normal playing schedule. There are also some great people in the scene here. Lower Class Citizens are good friends of ours, and are an amazing band. Rob and the Delmarva Nightlife crew are also really doing a lot to promote original music in the city. One of the downfalls is that a lot of the bars in the city are geared more towards cover bands than original music. That’s not really a problem that’s exclusive to Ocean City though.

Q: You guys have been around the scene for a while — what keeps fans coming back to see a Cheaters show?

A: We always try to throw in something new every time. It may be a new original, a new cover, or maybe a new twist on one of our older tunes. Whatever we do, we like to keep it fresh. Anything can happen at any time during a Cheaters show. You will (never) see the same show twice.

Q: How would you describe your songwriting process?

A: Our songs have a couple of different ways of coming together. Everyone in the band is a multi-instrumentalist, and is capable of writing. Sometimes, a band member will come to practice with a song completely finished. Other times, they may have a couple of parts written, and as a band, we’ll jam on it for a while, and try to finish up the song.

Q: Where do you want to see the band 18 months from now?

A: Our focus right now is releasing our second album and continuing our European distribution of the first album. The band’s popularity overseas has grown exponentially over the last couple years. Eighteen months from now, we see ourselves having completed a second album, which will be followed up with a tour of Germany and/or France.

Q: Why should people come see you — and opening act Fixer — at Booty’s tonight?

A: This is going to be an amazing rock show. Both bands play out so much that we don’t get to do too many gigs together, but when we do get to play together, it’s always a very unpredictable, rockin’ night.
- Ocean City Beachcomber

Thursday, August 6, 2009

If what the Cheaters are trying to get across is that their sound is more than a bit of a throwback to the kind of straightforward, hard-edge blues rock made famous by bands such as the Rolling Stones and the Faces -- and that it recalls down-home American rock like that of Lynyrd Skynyrd or the Allman Brothers Band -- then "whiskey-fueled" and "home-fried" are right on. Whatever you want to call it, it's very catchy. - C. WOODROW IRVIN

I received an advance copy of the album and got the chance to listen to it a few times. Slicing guitar, impressive arrays of drum beats that are finely varied and creatively timed, and vocals that are developed way beyond the typical abilities of a young singer are the elements in what makes Midnight Run the release of the year. The songwriting shows strong development and diversity, with a few amazing surprises for listeners.

To say it more succinctly, in rock terms, this album FREAKING RIPS! Ask yourself the last time you were blown away by a new rock release; real, authentic rock? Thank The Cheaters, because once Midnight Run hits the streets we’ll all have a reason to “Grab the whiskey (and) grab our friends.” Their CD release party is June 5th at the 8×10 in Baltimore - Jeff Schad

They have an incredible on-stage presence. Their genuine music, demands and deserves the attention of their audiences. - www.barsannapolis.com

Cheating has never been a well-received vice. Cheat on your significant other, expect a break-up. Cheat on a test, expect a failing grade. But, when it comes to homegrown, rock 'n' roll music, The Cheaters are where it's at.
Kevin Shook, drummer for The Cheaters, wants the crowd to be as uproarious and excited about the band's upcoming gig as they are.

"Our show is an in-your-face rock 'n' roll experience," Shook says. "Our shows are really high energy; it's pretty much the only way we know how to play. We just couldn't stand still up on stage, even if we wanted to."

Bringing a bag full of excitement and energy should be easy since this original-rock-meets-classic-cover-song band delivers concerts worth cheering for - maybe even cheating for!

"We try to play mostly our originals, but when we do covers, we do a lot of classic rock," Shook explains. "We cover traditional Zeppelin and Skynyrd, but we also slip in some recent songs. One of our most popular covers is 'Simple Man'; we really take it up a notch on that one."


And these covers aren't done just to get a reaction from the crowd. Shook admits he and his bandmates are faithful followers of "big guitar rock," especially Led Zeppelin.

But The Cheaters don't just idolize and imitate their favorite rock legends, they play alongside them - as any up and coming rock stars ought to do.

"This has been a huge year for the band," Shook says. "We've found ourselves playing shows with bands like ZZ Top, The Pretenders and Shooter Jennings. We even went to Europe for our first international tour."

International stardom in Cape May doesn't happen every day, so plan your Saturday, Oct. 4, around a trip to Cabana's Beach Bar and Grill. The Cheaters have been a rock 'n' roll ensemble for nearly three years, and even though these boys formed in Maryland and aren't New Jersey natives, they consider southern New Jersey home turf. Show your appreciation at Cabana's, and let yet another infamous cheating streak begin!

What They Play: A slew of original rock 'n' roll music that keep audiences interested, as well as heavy-hitting classic rock gems that never fail to entertain.

Roster: Kevin Shook, drums; Jason "Bumpy" Morton, vocals, guitar; Brett Wilmer, lead guitar; Dave Wolf, vocals, bass guitar.

Originals: "One of the things I really like about our first album is that everyone seems to have a favorite song," Shook says. "One of our most popular originals would definitely be 'Evan Williams.' It's a tune we wrote about our favorite cheap whiskey. It's a real catchy tune."


Why They're Cool: The Cheaters are about music, having fun and being creative - what band isn't? But The Cheaters are more into making their show one helluva night. "If you like the album, you'll love the live show," Shook says. "Like I said before, we have a hard time standing still. We like to give off a lot of energy, and try to get that same energy coming back at us from the crowd. We're known for our showmanship; we do lots of guitar solos and stick twirls."

What's On Tap: "We're about to go into the studio to work on our second album," Shook reveals. "It's going to be a lot more straight-ahead rock 'n' roll. We've been playing some of the new tunes at shows, and they've been getting a really good response, so we're excited to start working on it."

Go See Them: 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, at Cabana's Beach Bar and Grill, located at Beach and Decatur avenues in Cape May. Call 609-884-4800. "This is our only New Jersey tour date for a while," Shook says. "We do a lot of traveling up and down the coast, but if you're in the area, you should really make it to our Cabana's show."

Web Sites: www.thecheaters.net; www.myspace.com/thecheaters. You can purchase The Cheaters' debut album at www.cdbaby.com or on iTunes.

- Story by Rebecca Grites; photo provided by The Cheaters
- Press of Atlantic City

The Cheaters play every show like they’re in front of a broken-bottle and pool cue-swinging outlaw crowd at some dusty outpost, as if their survival is contingent on the energy they bring to the stage. Singing songs about booze, good times and girls over screaming blues-based guitar solos, The Cheaters aren’t trying to rewrite the rock ‘n’ roll handbook they picked up from AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. What these dudes know is how to hit an audience with a testosterone-driven good time.

“The mission of the band is to continue to rock the faces of everyone in the world, and we will not stop until we do,” says lead singer and guitarist Jason ‘Bumpy’ Morton in complete seriousness. “A solid live performance is what attracts fans, and it truly is our favorite thing, too.”

You see the time and energy the band puts into touring Friday, Aug. 15, when The Cheaters band plays The Whiskey, an appropriate venue for a band that’s written an homage to Evan Williams bourbon and pitches their music as “whiskey-fueled, home-fried rock ‘n’ roll.”

Morton in particular hurls himself around stage with relentless reckless abandon, working up such a sweat that you can’t help but wonder if playing barefoot runs the singer the risk of electrocution. Bassist Dave Wolf — whose furry, Amish-style beard suits his surname — leaves the theatrics to Morton while keeping the low-end moving with a more-funky groove than is usually heard in southern-style rock bands. H. Brett Wilmer is the band’s obligatory guitar virtuoso, playing Slash to Morton’s Axl Rose. He plays the role with showmanship and mesmerizing solos. Drummer Kevin Shook knows when to bang like hell on the skins or sit back in the pocket and let the song ride.

As the phrase goes, luck is what you get when opportunity meets preparation and “we definitely work our butts off when we’re not on stage,” says Shook. This summer, Lady Luck smiled on The Cheaters. The band is just back from their first international tour, playing festivals in Sventoji, Lithuania and Frankfurt, Germany.

“The festivals’ promoter picked up our CD at a world trade music fair in south France and loved it,” says Morton. “He decided to put on a last minute festival, called the Saltsound Festival, in Sventoji, and wanted us to be part of the line up. There were 20 bands from all over the world. We were the only ones chosen from the U.S.”

The band describes the experience as the best they’ve ever shared. “The production was over the top!” marvels Morton. “There was smoke, lights and 11 giant TV screens suspended high above us for the backdrop of the stage.

“Immediately after the performance the promoter walked up to us and said, ‘You’re coming back next year! That was fantastic!’”

While making the most of their time abroad, the band inevitably had some fun too, described as “completely out of hand,” according to Shook and seconded by Morton. “It was everything from having beer-chugging contests on tables to arm wrestling over fire,” says Morton. “I’ll tell you what, when your night ends with jumping off a pier into the Baltic Sea 700 meters off shore, I think you had a good night!”


Hear The Cheaters in Annapolis Fri. Aug 15 at The Whiskey, 1803 West St.: 410-626-0622; www.thewhiskeyannapolis.com; or anytime at www.myspace.com/thecheaters - Bay Weekly - Rob Goszkowski

"The Cheaters are crowd-pleasing party starters who mix up a heady cocktail of 70's Southern rock and rip-this-joint rock 'n roll. They've risen from bar-band to arena shakers, opening for major-leaguers like ZZ Top and REO Speedwagon. All Of The Drugs is a cautionary tale about the hazards of over-indulgence, set to a hedonistic hard rock beat. " - Classic Rock Magazine

Hailing from the Annapolis/Baltimore area and just barely qualifying for status below the Mason-Dixon Line, The Cheaters have nailed down the patois of classic southern rock, both musically and lyrically.

This foursome from Maryland sounds more like they were raised somewhere near 1970s Georgia, alongside The Allman Brothers' boys and any number of members from Lynyrd Skynyrd (be it the original outfit or today's tribute band), with their hard-driving electric guitar riffs, rugged vocals and songs that serve as odes to the Big Easy and the fiercest of black label whiskeys.

Juggling deft chord progressions and twangy guitar rifts, The Cheaters' sound is deep-fried southern rock, injected with more than just a pinch of Texas Pete to spice things up.

Tracks like Lovin' (which shouts lines like "Hey Mama leave a window open into my room / when you come on in girl that love's gonna start up soon") and Peaches (with its not-so-subtle metaphors about sweet Georgia peaches: "I can't leave them alone / so soft and sweet") are rough and tough, appealing to fans who favor situations where they can play hard to get.

The arresting quartet has played alongside notable acts like ZZ Top (whose influence can be heard in Can't Read Your Mind ), REO Speedwagon, and the ferocious females of the tribute band Lez Zeppelin (coincidentally enough, the original iconic rockers are one of The Cheaters' number one influences). And while the majority of their sound is jagged-edge bluesy rock, there's some more modern aspects added to the mix, like the Spin Doctor-y stutter in the aforementioned Lovin’ ("We can do all these things we've been dr- dr- dreaming of"). And to increase their musical scope even more, just this summer the four flew to Lithuania, where they were a smashing success at the 2008 SaltSound Festival.

A smorgasbord of infectious electric guitar solos, bluesy drum beats and rugged, energized vocals, The Cheaters truly, bluely master the southern rock sound.
- wyszynka