American Cheese

American Cheese is a deceiving band name. It just screams “cover band,” the kind made up of accountants and assistant attorneys who trade in their suits for Godsmack T-shirts, spike up their hair into fauxhawks and take the stage to play a “zany” polka-meets-punk version of a Hinder song. You know the kind I mean.
An admitted music snob – hell, a professional music snob – I avoided writing about American Cheese for a good two years, all because of the band’s name. What a jackass.
American Cheese is not a party-time cover band. Not to say that fans don’t party at their shows – they drink, they dance, they get down. But what they’re getting down to is what’s really interesting.
The Cheese specializes in a swampy, sweaty, dark-as-night mix of folk, blues and punk, with just a pinch of Buffett. The music – which singer and guitarist Dax Bryan calls “blues-a-billy” – is simultaneously fun and creepy, like making out with your hot cousin, and creaks with history like an old church pew.
As the band’s primary songwriter, Bryan draws inspiration from a list of artists that reads like an English professor’s iTunes library – Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Patti Smith, Leonard Cohen, John Prine – with the Velvet Underground and Radiohead thrown in for good measure.
“I write songs that I think have a Delta blues-y sound, like some of the old Bob Dylan songs,” Bryan says. “It’s a little bit of blues, a little bit of rockabilly. Some of our songs sound like they’ve been around a while, even though they’re new.”
The Bainbridge-based band – a family affair with Bryan’s brother Nate on guitar, cousin Justin Leach on bass and life-long friend Tony Bevel on drums – is actually in its second incarnation. The members first rattled around the local scene in the late ’90s under several different names, eventually parting ways in 2001. But when Dax re-approached his bandmates in 2005 with a more defined sound and a renewed passion for performing, it was all systems go.
Since then, the mission has been to deliver American Cheese’s blues-a-billy to anyone and everyone who will listen. And people are listening – listening, dancing, drinking and whooping it up like they’re at some kind of unholy tent revival.
“Everyone seems to have a good time at our shows,” Dax says proudly. “We do some old punk songs, like from The Kinks, before punk was even punk. It’s stuff that you can just dance to and have a good time. That’s what we’re all about.”
While he’s obviously jazzed about the reception American Cheese has gotten since its return to the live circuit, Dax is even more excited about the improvements the band has made internally – specifically, the sixth-sense tightness the members have developed, the result of a musical partnership that has spanned a decade. Being related doesn’t hurt either.
“We’re starting to get to know how each other plays, so it’s just a matter of looking at each other and knowing what each other is thinking,” he says. “That’s the best part, and it’s just getting better as the years progress.”
It’s that part – the musical connection – that Dax and company are most concerned with. As grown men with full-time jobs, they are no longer chasing the dream of stardom; it’s more about having a good time, and helping other people do the same.
“We try to just do it for fun and a little extra money,” Dax admits.
Starting this month, fans can bring the tent revival home with them in the form of American Cheese’s new album, 8 Slices.


- Jeff Royer/Oct '07

Last weekend I caught my second American Cheese show at the Paris Pub, and I must say that it was as much fun as the first one I saw at the Quarter. These guys blend rock, rockabilly, blues and folk with a hint of country to produce a unique and energetic sound.

They cover classics like Credence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson. But originals like "Cigarettes and Alcohol" (my personal favorite), "One More Mile" and "Ocracoke" prove they are not just another cover band. Check out some of their originals on their MySpace page to see what I'm talking about. Dax's folksy vocals and Nate's soulful guitar get the crowd up and dancing.

I recommend you catch them at one of their upcoming dates, which include Bube's Brewery on Saturday, July 28th and Appalachian Brewing Company on Sunday, August 26th. Watch their Web site for other shows.

They just recorded their first CD and are currently having copies printed, so expect to see it available soon.

Have you have the opportunity to see these guys? If you have, share your thoughts on the band in the comments below!

- Colette Cope/July '07