Mississippi Man

It ain't easy to buy a band from California that calls itself Mississippi Man, but this SoCal outfit is worth the benefit of the doubt. Their new EP, The Snake Oil Salesman, is solid barroom roots rock elevated by a few '60s Brit-psych curlicues. "Bonjour le Monde" initially sounds more than a little like Cold War Kids, but the song is far superior to that band's smug shrieking, and Mississippi Man give it a twist, allowing it to devolve into a Zombies-like choir breakdown that pushes through to an anthemic coda. I don't know how old the fellows in the band are, but my impression is that they are fully talented if a bit green, capable of doing excellent things in the very near future. Mississippi Man shares the bill with New York's Rosewood Thieves, a band that subscribes a bit more heavily to the late-era Beatles model, with satisfying but ordinary results. NED LANNAMANN - Portland Mercury

American infused... earnest folk-pop - Buzzbands LA

The band's live sound references the past while simultaneously looking to the future - SPIN Earth

Mississippi Man played last night at the Silverlake Lounge, and while I don’t condone judging a band SOLELY by their headwear, i do think it can be a indicator of what you’re about to hear. One of the singers was sporting the grizzled mountain man cap you see in the picture above, and I do believe it was Bedazzled (definitely a DIY job). Anyway, Brianna and I knew we were in for something good and our hat test did not fail.

It’d be easy to pigeonhole Mississippi Man into the Cold War Kids/Delta Spirit genre of rootsy Americana-influenced indie rock, but they are a bit more country (y’all) than both of those bands. The first half of their set (which I enjoyed a bit more) was full of raucous boot-tapping hoe-down-inducing fun, the songs punctuated with the distinct sound of an old-timey saloon piano. Then they slowed it down a few notches for some folk tunes and they weren’t at all shy with the slide guitar and harmonica. Overall, a great set from a band I’d never even heard of before.

A few more fun facts: They are from “the desert” — who isn’t these days? — and will be playing the Unknown Theater on May 29th. We’re not sure where it is. And their band members go by the names Mumbles, Grumbles, Stumbles, Fumbles and Crumbles. You literally cannot argue with that.

http://www.myspace.com/mississippimanmusic

Their EP “The Snake Oil Salesman” is now available at Amoeba - Nu Rave Brain Wave

First, listening to Mississippi Man’s debut EP, The Snake Oil Salesman, will clear up any doubts of how five West Coast kids from L.A. came to be called Mississippi Man. The album is infused with the feel of old time Southern blues, both in melody and tone, as the band reaches deep into the storied South to pull inspiration.

The album starts with a ghostly carnival melody above the atmospheric hiss of an old record. The nostalgia quickly ends as the band enters and the ghostly melody transforms into a quick toe-tapping swing, accented by the shrill but melodic voice that drips into the music with grace.

“Bonjour Le Monde,” the second track, is reminiscent of bands like the Cold War Kids, whereas “The Jester” sounds like a lost Beatles track. Yet, despite the familiarity, Mississippi Man creates a unique and enjoyable sound that carries through the entire EP. The strongest track on the album, “Ricochet,” plays like The Band’s “Long Black Veil.” It is a slow story-driven song that could easily cause spontaneous barroom singalongs.

The last track on the EP is a wonderfully executed and beautifully written heartfelt song about war called “The Fight.” It’s a simple song that showcases all of the band's talents. The music is sparse at first, but slowly all of the elements are added. The unique voice for this song restrains itself to be a quiet storyteller, then the simple but steady percussion, piano and bass all disappear as the band uses broken glass, clapping, and their voices to transition. After the song ups the tempo, a graceful and quotable solo brings the album to an end.

The Snake Oil Salesman may relish in stories from the past, but there is nothing stale about the album. Here, Mississippi Man deliver a fresh and original album that deserves multiple listens. (self-released)
-Dan Evon - Performer Magazine

Last year Mississippi Man busted out of Fullerton with a truckload of sweet melodies, endearing harmonies and a twangy EP, “The Snake Oil Salesman” that earned them immediate comparisons to indie folk/blues merchants Delta Spirit and Cold War Kids.

Since, they’ve had a flirtation with an indie record label, played a mess of shows and slowly worked on a full-length — all the while trying to keep smiles planted on their faces. “The cool thing is, we’ve taken a lot of time,” says David Knight, who with Luke Messimer is one of two singer-guitarist-lyricists in the band. “We wrote the songs, we toured them, and I think there’s more maturity to them.”

Maturity, yes, and surprising optimism.

The album is titled “A-OK,” and it’s the sprightly, ’60s- and ’70s-indebted work of five guys who obviously aren’t given to mopery. “We had all this stuff happen to us about four months ago,” Knight says, “We kind of got through it, and at practice once day someone uttered ‘I guess everything is A-OK now,’ and the title stuck.”

With Knight and Messimer twining their boyish tenors, Scott Rabjohns and Patrick Haag keeping the rhythms jaunty and keyboardist Santino Lighthouse adding some barroom piano lines, the loose-limbed “A-OK” has more in common with Dr. Dog or early Shins than any slide guitar-wielding outfit.

“Our EP was definitely folk-rock, but I feel for one reason or another we’re moving away from that,” Knight says. “The influences are still there, but our new songs are more poppy sounding than folky.”

The songs, composed largely as a group and representing the differing lyrical approaches of both Messimer and Knight, do reveal a get-to-the-hook sensibility, as well as crisper harmonies. “Raymond [Richards, who produced part of the album] kept telling us we had to practice harmonies at least an hour every time we’re together,” Knight says. “A lot of bands don’t realize how much practice harmonies take.”

It’s paid off in “A-OK’s” upbeat feel.

“I don’t know if [optimism] is in vogue,” Knight says, “but it is with us.” - BuzzbandsLA

Local favorite Mississippi Man are one of the hard hitters in the local Orange County/ Los Angeles scene. Consisting of two frontmen, Mississippi Man is making moves setting them at the top of the ranks. Their new album A-ok will be released this summer. Paving the way for their album, Mississippi Man won themselves a residency at The Echo in Los Angeles featuring some of Orange County’s best.

These Pop Indians have a hand up on a grip of Pop bands in the area. Not often do you see Pop Indie done well in this area in my opinion and Mississppi Man fell through the cracks teetering on good pop and good indie. - The Ruffian Blog

It'd been a long time trying to figure out when we'd all be able to get together, the key being this supposed shack they had out in Joshua Tree (which, it turns out is real and lives up to the hype). So we met up with the gang at the Applebee's just outside of town (which apparently is better than the average Applebee's?). This was a good idea, since not much further down the road it turned into less than adequately signed dirt roads leading to one of a handful of scattered plots essentially in the middle of nowhere.

After making a stop at Home Depot for a few extension cords (which may or may not have been returned immediately afterwards), we made our way out to the "shack," which was essentially just four walls and most of a roof (the door and windows had been busted out from a previous night of debauchery). It was already hot as hell, but thankfully they'd picked up some PBR on the way in. With a little love, we managed to daisy chain enough extension cords to barely make it from the kind-of-nearby house that actually had power, and set everything up.

You'd probably guess from their name that these boys would have a bit of Southern influence in 'em. But their careful vocal harmonies and clever change-ups take more from the Beatles or Young than your typical contemporary Southern blues-rock fare, and their progression as a band with this latest batch of songs is likely to bolster comparisons to the like of Dr. Dog or Edward Sharpe. Really though, what's most engaging about the band is the personality that permeates through every song. There's an exuberance that makes you move your feet, bob your head, sing along, and want to partake in all the fun.

Unfortunately, we had to get the cameras back to LA that evening, so we couldn't stay and hang out for what I'm sure inevitably turned into a night of raucous drinking (because what else is a shack in the middle of nowhere to be used for?). Oh well, next time…

Find out more about Mississippi Man @ http://www.myspace.com/mississippimanmusic - Little Videos