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At first listen, there is something different about this Band. It's apparent immediately. The saxophone. The theme. The music. The talent. It's all different and yet all the same in that this rocks, no matter how you look at it. With Western themes in their attire and music, songs like 'Outlaws of Love' and 'Bad Company' remind you that really good rock isn't about how loud or how fast you play, but how well. The Lawmen ARE the Outlaws of Love. It's ironic. And it works. Check out this Band on CD and check out the DVD Video for 'Outlaw of Love'. Totally awesome.
Metal Monthly 2007
- Metal Monthly 2007
After a while of getting friend requests from MySpace bands, all these streaming MP3s become static after a while. The friend approving and denying ritual becomes monotonous. It's either a metal thing, or some kind of 'hellbilly' thing, or a young diva wannabe that has auditioned for American Idol, some retro 'garage' kids, or some band with uber cool influences who are educated fans but their own music sucks. You really start to think it's all been done before. Nothing really jumps at you and just makes you immediately think "What the hell was that?" There is some good stuff but nothing that really just entertains you to death. So this week a friend request came from The Lawmen from Orem, Utah. If you don't know much about Utah culture or geography, Orem is not far from Provo. That area is very pretty and the people are (with the exception of the Utah County Swillers party house, which is a punk rockers' animal house that could be anywhere in the US) very conservative Mormon and a lot of the folks are a bit odd. These guys have been around since 2003 but there is very little trace of web presence in the last few years and their MySpace profile was very recently created.
I immediately thought The Lawmen would be some kind of southern rock influenced thing when I saw the pictures. Maybe even a country band. They were definitely older guys and I figured they probably knew their way around the Utah motorcycle saloon circuit too. Not quite. It's a schtick and it's a really really unusual one. First of all, they look like Wild West tourist trap re-enactors, like the guys that stage gunfights in Tombstone and Rawhide. Right down the waxed Mr. Pringle moustache on one of the co-singers. They have songs like "Rattlesnake Kisses" and "Cheyenne." What you don't expect to hear is a weird cross between semi-transvestites Pretty Boy Floyd from the 80s Sunset Strip glam/metal scene, mixed in with some Rocky Horror meets Bat Out of Hell saxophone, Clint Eastwood movie subject matter and cheesy 80s rock chorus hooks lifted right out of the Survivor songbook. I'd say their closest comparison would be The Upper Crust who rocked the AC/DC riffs in campy powder wigs and Revolutionary War era attire back in the 90s. The true genius of The Lawmen is the fact that they do it with such straight faces. You really knew The Upper Crust were pulling your leg and just having some silly fun. I'm just not so sure The Lawmen are kidding and they sell it like they are out on a serious mission to reclaim rock n roll with no wink or grin to indicate irony. The coolest thing about The Lawmen is the sax. If you miss 'All Revved Up with No Place to Go' on the Meat Loaf debut, The E Street Band and Edgar Winter, it will put a smile on your face because what a wonderful rock n roll instrument the sax is even if it's not really much of a Wild West instrument. This band is entertaining and just so completely different. These guys could easily just join hard rock cover bands and play what used to be called 'commercial rock' (although the formula doesn't really sell anymore) and just fade into barroom background noise. I really admire their tenacity to put some show biz in it and make it something really weird and memorable instead
- Buckshot George of the Earps
Discography
The Lawmen - Produced by The Kid, self-released by the band November 2005
Recorded at Home On The Range Recording Studios in 2005. The Lawmen CD is a collection of 11 melodic Gunslinger rock anthems guaranteed to keep your toes tapin' and your blood pumping on those cold lonely nights in the Badlands desert.
It has recieved fantastic reviews and thanks to the internet, is being heard all around the world.
The Kid is currently writing songs for The Lawmen's next CD release which will be titled "Standing In The Bone Yard"
Photos
Bio
http://www.myspace.com/thelawmenband
The music scene is ready for a new set of heros. A band of men united under one cause. A band of men brought together for one purpose and one purpose only. To bring their brand of showmanship back to the music scene.
For too long, music has been stale. No one daring to break the mold of what is popular. No one daring to take the lead. Now, that band is here.
With guitars blazing like the thunder of a 6-gun shootout at high noon, The Lawmen bridge the gap between the gunslingers of 1879 and a brand of melodic rock. Bringing with them, an incredible audio and visual assault upon an unsuspecting audience.
Hailing from the Badlands of Utah, The Lawmen were formed in 2003 and have a proven track record of appealing to all age groups from 10 to 75. They also cross over musical boundaries as well and appeal to both rock lovers and the pop county crowd,
making The Lawmen the perfect band for fairs, conventions, rodeos and any other mixed crowd event.
At no time in history has anyone ever captured the look and feel of the old west and combined it with hard hitting melodic rock. It’s a combination that works, and it works well.
Making up the band is Michael “The Kid” Coones on guitar and co-lead vocals. Holding down the bottom end is the well seasoned bass player, Bruce “Big Gun Willy” Wilson. Tommy “Justice” VanNoy holds the band together with his own form of thunder on
drums, and DB Long sings co-lead vocals and handles the Sax as if it were a 6-gun. Belting out solos until it is too hot to handle.
The Lawmen stage is also designed to reinforce the look and feel of the old west. From the imported Indian blankets, tumbleweeds and cow skulls, to the Texas Longhorns mounted on the front of the Marshall amp heads. The Lawmen are a force worth reckoning with, and they put on a show that you will never forget.
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