HAYSHAKER

Hayshaker
Black Holiday in Mexico

All tracks recorded at Vision Sound Studios in Jacksonville, FL except “Mexico City” recorded with Eric McConnell in Nashville, TN





Swinging in from Waycross, Ga., the hometown of Gram Parsons, Hayshaker delivers a disc full of energetic and grungy bluegrass. It doesn’t matter whether you wear your flannel in Seattle or Kentucky, you’re going to find something on this album to like.

Black Holiday in Mexico kicks off with a Johnny Cash-styled intro and some pretty impressive picking on “Laurie’s Song” and then segues into the Meat Puppets-esque “In the Snow.” Songs constantly tread ground between the clean steel whines of traditional country and the distorted riffage of grunge-era rock, finding a comfortable middle ground in the loud-quiet-loud formula.

But it’s unfair to shoehorn Hayshakers too comfortably between those two genres. The best tracks on this CD are the ones that break the grunge/country dynamic and experiment in other sounds. “El Camino” is a rapid psychobilly surf rocker while “Dirtkick” maintains all the mean and dirty swagger of ‘70s hard rock.

Lyrically, Hayshaker renders a gothic country image that, while filled with the pre-requisite shit kicking and beer drinking, harkens back to the older age of country songs full of murder and angst. “Mexico City” illustrates this best when husband and wife vocalists C.C. and Laurie Rider harmonize on the chorus, “I lost my heart, I lost my soul / To a bottle and a whore in Mexico / And if I find her, execution / On the hills, on my land.”

Hayshaker’s unlikely, yet irresistible formula might not exactly be novel, but the band has certainly refined it, polished it and made it far more accessible than those that have preceded them, making this an album worth picking up. (Shut Eye Records)


www.myspace.com/honkeeband

David Feltman
- SouthEast Performer Magazine

Hayshaker ”Dirtkick EP” (Independent, 2007)

Uno, dos, tres, quatros.

From Waycross, Georgia - Hayshaker infuse rock with country and indie apparently. Well enough of the geography lesson. Let's get down to business.

The opener ‘Dirtkick’ launches this EP using loads of guitar and then a riff that comes close to Ram Jam’s ‘Black Betty’. We’re in for a loud and proud ride I thought to myself. “Whoa Black Betty (Bam A Lam)”. Meaty guitar and in ya face lyrics. ‘In the Snow’ continues in a similar vein but with less of a rush and a touch more melody and an infectious vibe; and what’s with the swirly stuff lurking in the ether? Gives all the surround sound speakers a work out.

This cd contains seven tracks, none of which can be accused of lurking ominously in the background. Ranging from rock ‘Dirtkick’ and ‘In The Snow’ to a more mellower country influenced feel on ‘Scrapwork’ and the chugging ‘Laurie’s Song’ with the ample pedal steel throughout and also incorporating influences from other times and places, such as Mexico in the 50’s.

But there is a nice sense of familiarity about a lot of this. ‘Scrapwork’ for example gets you humming The Band’s ‘Wheels on Fire’, whereas ‘El Camino’ reminds the listener of the scene in Tarantino’s ‘Pulp Fiction’ where he uses ‘Misirlou’ by Dick Dale & His Deftones whilst Vincent and Mia are at JackRabbit Slim’s restaurant flirting and dancing. Uno, dos, tres, quatros indeed.

‘Black Holiday’ brings an acoustic feel to the proceedings – well at least at first, it also rocks. And it fits in well. Gives the band the opportunity to display their more sensitive side and show off their musicianship and ‘Mexico City’ outlines a trip that didn’t turn out quite as they would’ve hoped. Or maybe it did.

All in all this is a very accomplished and infectious EP and in American bar-room parlance these guys RAWK!! Albeit Americana style. Check out the videos and the sounds on their website. Then purchase their EP – it only costs $5. You know it makes sense, especially as Americana UK rate it. What better recommendation do you need?


Date review added: Friday, August 24, 2007
Reviewer: Phil Edwards
Reviewers Rating:
Related web link: Hayshaker website
- Americana UK

It`s A Cracker!! 100% Guaranteed!!

CC & Laurie Rider dance their X-influenced harmonies atop a rumbling rhythm section and the dazzling guitar work of T.W. Lott. Shades of Dick Dale, Don Rich. The Cramps, Southern Rock, makes this a wild brew of American music. Pete Knapp of Shut Eye Records commented, "Like a bulldozer in a field of wildflowers, this powerhouse from the land of Gram has enough intelligent twang to satisfy any lover of quality Americana music - and enough pent up rage to satisfy any PBR-swillin` NASCAR fan south of the Mason-Dixon line." - Miles of Music