Diablo Dimes

"Villains" is a thirteen song muddy romp comes straight from the boogie
swamp, a frog hopping collection of straight-up (with no chaser!)
authentic Delta Blues. If you've ever seen his "Medicine Show", you Know
how Gott-Damned Good it was -- so good that you just wanted to take him
home with you, where you could wrap yourself up with him and never let go.
And, Yes Lord! With “Villains” Now You Can! Because this is only just
Diablo Dimes... his silky sandpaper voice... deep fried in a battered
shoe-string arch-top through a nine-volt amp... a peeled wall-paper kazoo
or a dime-store harmonica moaning and wailing winsome melodies... a giant
ragtime bass drum pounding the four or a floored tambourine tapping the
floor -- all recorded live to tape with No Overdubs. I've seen the Diablo
Dimes Medicine Show twice, and after mixing his "Memoirs" sessions I
thought about what kind of Dimes record I would produce if given the
chance...." --Billy The Jack. - Billy The Jack

Diablo Dimes meandered Beauty Bar wearing black pants, a white t-shirt and suspenders. His vaudevillian mustache and fedora told us to prepare for a carnival-esque blues show. Before he began his set, he briefly told me of his New Orleans roots, time spent in San Diego and the intensity and pace of living on the east coast (he now resides in Miami). Our time was cut short by what he called, “…a case of the laryngitis.” This seemed to make his voice even richer and more alluring.
By the time Diablo Dimes got to the stage I spent 4 hours on a stool, too much money on beer and was thoroughly ready to hear what many call “deep south blues”. I nudged to the stage past half naked burlesque dancers, scenesters and rock-a-billies. We all huddled together with cigarettes and 24’s of Pabst.
He had adorned the stage with Virgin Mary candles and shots of bourbon. Dolled up roaring twenties “burlesque kittens” brought us all to a time when blues and gin joints reigned king. On stage, Diablo crawled about, playing on his back, then to his knees. He leaped around, squealing and rocking; swaying with the rhythm of old time blues.
He played Howlin’ Wolf, Tom Waits, Muddy Waters and Jimmy Levine with an edge typically felt in hard-core or punk. The show was sexy, it was hot, it was Bukowskian, it was everything rock n roll should be; it was punk-rock Moulin Rouge in a dive bar.
The music of this trouboudor-esque, blues rocker was as engaging as he was entertaining. He seamlessly fused musicianship, odd vocal stylings, artistry and aesthetics. At times he stroked his mustache and wailed on a harmonica . Other times he blew on a kazoo till his breathe ran out. Raw, respectable and everything grimy, it sent shivers done my spine listening to him play.
- San Diego Indie Music Examiner Kevin Farr

I saw this guy on Miami Ink and was really intrigued by the little snipnet of Down from Nothin'. That lead me to check his stuff out online and his stuff is amazing. Check it out. - Bill Allison

Damn, what a great CD !!!! Only complaint is that it was only six songs long.Incredible music,intense lyrics and a very interesting style of singing. Buy it now !!! - CD Baby- Dave

I'm not one for liking country type of music and this CD stays true to that. It's more than country, it's a heartfelt, boogie woogie,raspy goodness, and I love it. Been listening to a few of his songs for a while and I absolutely love it. Tell your friends to listen and get this guy some money to keep singing such great music. All I can say is Damn. It's great !!! - CD Baby- Patrick

This album is absolutely amazing. The sound is unique and beautiful, as soon as the EP finishes, you'll start it all over again from the beginning. You'll be praying that Diablo Dimes is writing more for us right now. - CD Baby- Scott

In this day of corporate payola paying and rubber stamped bands , it's nice to hear something completely different. - Maddermaus

I adore this album ! It's fantastic to see someone who has passion and talent compared to what is being made nowadays. Can't wait to hear more from this talented man ! - The Black Dahila

Oh My God !!!! I luv this guy and his music. I listen to it constantly in my winery tasting room and the customers are like " WOW" who is this and will you please play that again. Especially Rainin' Wine Sunday, how more perfect
can that song be for a winery. These are all my new favorite songs but I just adore " Down From Nothin' ". I'm hooked and I need more,more, more !
- CD Baby- Denise

If Johnny Depp and Keith Richards had a love child, it would be Diablo Dimes. I have not stopped listening to it since I got it. - Catvance

Ain't nobody out there writing short and memorable stories in the raw this day and age. An amazing group of musicians and a legend for a producer. They create a nostalgic feel that is fresh to the ear. Something tells me that Mr. Dimes has plenty more songs to share with us and a long and fruitful career in our hearts ! - Hunter

Anyone who knows Bardot would've thought that Diablo Dimes must've played there at least a fistful of time in the few months the joint's been open. It seems like the quasi-cabaret was almost designed for Dimes's throwback swamp blues shuffle. But for some inexplicable reason, the Big Easy transplant hadn't staged there until just last night. But boy was it worth the wait.
Not that Dimes was actually waiting around, mind you. When you're a one-man-band that stands for the best of American roots music, you're literally a cat out of time. And there's not a hot minute to squander. That's probably why the ambidextrous muso seems so omnipresent over the last year. That Dimes happens to swing it as if it was 1929 all over again only adds to the calendar clouding.
But Dimes rings clear as a bell tolling in a back alley of a forgotten parish, where street corner kids strummed and kicked drum while the saints went marching on to whatever fresh hell would become them. And when that six-string strum and that steady, ready drum roils his Jelly Roll slur, you just can't wait to get back to where the juke joints all jumped in earnest.
With artists and poets and other assorted fellow travelers in the house, Dimes played as if he were right at home. And if the hush of the crowd was any indication, this town will never wear out its welcome.

BY JOHN HOOD // WEDNESDAY, JAN 20, 2010 - NBC Niteside, By John Hood