SwampVoodoo

"Slick Black Truck Drivin' Man plays the gi'tar and does the low volume mutterin'. T-Time provides the ground-thumpin' vibration, teaming with Dr. Dan who uses the voodoo beat stick. That leaves Gato to blow at the gates of Hell with his sax and harp. Does this information, gleaned from the liner notes of the new SwampVoodoo E.P., make you think you're in for something special? You are correct, sir! Gato's groovy sax lines and Slick Black's understated vocals make opening track "Gravely Impo'tent," about an unscrupulous gravedigger, sound like a Commander Cody/Captain Beefheart mash-up while "Heartastake" could be Dr. John fronting a blues-rocking garage band. And "Cool as Can Be" sounds like Lou Reed gone swamp rock. Yup, special! Too bad there are only five cuts on this fun debut." - Kevin Wierzbicki

"I love music. I love all kinds of music. The only thing I love more than music is story. I hate when I'm trying to tell someone about something amazing and lose all my ability to bring words to the page. I truly love the words and music of SwampVoodoo. These guys are amazing; there's no style of music that they don't know. They know it all, cold. Cold, like it's their only style. They know everything Latin, everything burlesque, everything rockabilly, and everything else.

They spin out their stories in mini-epics, each having its own movements and flavors. The gritty mumbling of front man, Slick Black Truck Drivin' Man is almost an undercurrent in the smooth river of jazz or samba or two step. The sidemen are perfect together. You can almost see the club's stage lights glinting off Gato's sax as you listen to it weaving through the complex counterpoint between T-Time and Dr. Dan. The bass and drums work to make a story of their own.

All the members of the extended Black clan are represented in stories throughout the site. The Outlaw Man, Daisy May, Gerome. The New York City Woman that may or may not been seen by another relation. I love them all. How can I explain to those that have never heard these songs? If I said that a guy heard of LSD when he was three years old and moved to NYC in search of mind expanding experiences, would you think I had lost my mind? Or expanded it?

But again, the best part of this amazing experience is the story. The reading of the adventures of Slick Black and Ol' Betty cannot be fathomed. There cannot be many of the truck driving brotherhood who can have seen the sorts of things that Slick Black has seen. He has met those shimmering otherworldly types, and they have come bearing...whiskey.

So join me at www.swampvoodoo.com or www.myspace.com/swampvodoo and see what I mean. I love SwampVoodoo. I love the body moving rhythms that T-Time and Dr. Dan lay down. I love the smoke that emanates from Gato's sax and weaves right in with my soul. And I love the low voiced muttering of Slick Black. Yeah, and the alien whiskey." - Jive Priory

"SwampVoodoo may be from California, but man, do they sound like they're from right in the bayou (after all CCR were from California, too). You get a strange tale lyrically, as well as squawking sax, great jazzy drumming and bass work, a tasty guitar solo about three minutes in and laid back vocals done in an almost conversational way explaining the weird goings-on in "Grifter". Dr. John, Captain Beefheart, Cherry Poppin' Daddies and Tom Waits would be pleased. Fun, different, jazzy, swampy and definitely out there." - Indie-music.com

"With this CD SwampVoodoo has put out a truly family album about the likes of Daisy May, Tiny and Slick Black - more dysfunctional than Disney - but hey, who wants to hear about Mickey Mouse? Rappers would be a lot more interesting if they'd take a few lessons from Slick and his crew." - Butch Kara, KZGM-Pacifica