Whiskey Daredevils
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Whiskey Daredevils

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Music

The best kept secret in music

Press


"CD Review "Greatest Hits""

When Cleveland (and Charleston) punkabilly faves The Cowslingers hung it up after a 14-year run, three members (brothers Greg and Ken Miller, and Leo Walsh) enlisted recruits from like-minded bands Crooked Mile and Hayshaker Jones, and promptly picked up where the 'Slingers left off. The resulting debut from The Whiskey Daredevils is greater than the sum of the parts - considerably more focused and fresh with noticeably less of the genre's cliched trappings.

While the territory may be familiar, the tunes are first-rate - the fast n' furious opener "AMC Hornet"; the gut-bucket country twang and irreverance of "Jesus Walks Beside Me"; the classic-sounding "Cool Cool Water" - and the playing is dead-on. Add a greasy cover of the Dead Kennedys' "Let's Lynch the Landlord", the two-beat "Ida Jane", and the genre-deprecating "Ironic Trucker Hat" and you've got the recipe for a good time - and an impressive record. - Charleston Daily Mail


"Best New Artist - 2005 Cleveland Scene Music Awards"

It was the most important song since "Dust in the Wind". At least, according to Whiskey Daredevils frontman Greg Miller, who said as much while his band launched into the hipster sendup "Ironic Trucker Hat".

The song, about a "tragic fashion mistake", mocked posing and posturing, and set the mood at this year's Cleveland Music Awards, held last Thursday at a crowded House of Blues.

The night began with the Whiskey Daredevils, whose nicotine swing was made for hoisting adult beverages. They wore workshirts and leather pants, an appropriate combination of grit and flash mirrored in their tunes. With touches of slide guitar set against an unceasingly swift backbeat, the Daredevils sang odes to martinis and doing blow off strippers' derrieres. The result was souped-up honky-tonk that sounded like an unhealthy combination of Hank Williams and amyl nitrate.

Best New Artist: Whiskey Daredevils - Cleveland Scene


"Sound Advice - Whiskey Daredevils"

For the past 14 years, there has rarely been any greater guarantee of a debauched and liquidly loutish good time than the words 'Cowslingers Tonite!' on a club's marquee. The news of the 'slingers returning to town has always brought with it the expectation of seeing a band that gleefully runs the red light at the intersection of Punk and Country, T-boning anything that gets in their way, regardless of the direction they happen to be traveling. The consistency and longevity of the 'slingers lulled us into a false sense of permanence, a sense that was shattered with last February's announcement of guitarist Bobby Latino's departure from the band and the decision of the remaining 'slingers -- vocalist Greg Miller, bassist Ken Miller and drummer Leo P. Love -- to call it a day. Fortunately, fans were in mourning only briefly; within months came the welcome news that the Miller brothers and Love would be joined by Crooked Mile guitarist Bobby Lanphier and Haymaker Jones guitarist Dave Bowling in a brand new aggregation christened The Whiskey Daredevils. In this incarnation, the former 'slingers and their new mates concentrate less on the Country aspects of their musical influences and push further into their Garage, Roots Rock and Americana obsessions. The Daredevils are quick to caution old fans that they are not a Cowslingers tribute band; the new sets are all freshly written originals, their cover choices are newly selected and rehearsed and "West Virginia Dirt Track Boogie" is not on the agenda. But if there is one constant that follows the ex-'slingers into the new Whiskey Daredevils, it might be something Greg Miller told me when I interviewed him almost seven years ago. "No matter what we do," he said at the time, "speed and volume have always been our friends." It would be hard to imagine the Whiskey Daredevils finding it necessary to change that particular philosophy. (BB) - Cincinnati CityBeat 01/12/05


"Show Previews"

You know a band is good when more than one town claims the group as its own. For a decade, Cleveland's finest cowpunk outfit The Cowslingers enjoyed a second home in the hearts of Buffalo music fans. A steady stream of well-attended shows and annual appearances at The Steam Donkeys' Americanarama music festivals ensured that Buffalonians tended to look at the Ohio quartet as something of an adopted brother (or at the very least as a close cousin). Last year, The Cowslingers parted ways with their longtime guitarist and retired its band name for a fresh start. Newly christened The Whiskey Daredevils, this new quintet is comprised of Cowslingers members Leo P. Love, Ken Miller, and Greg Miller along with Bobby Lanphier (of the group Crooked Mile) and Dave Bowling (of Hayshaker Jones fame). The new band promises the same high-intensity blend of country and rock that made its old group such a local fan favorite and offers Buffalonians the chance to welcome the boys back "home". The Whiskey Daredevils perform with The Steam Donkeys on Saturday (Nov. 6) at 11pm at The Mohawk Place. - ArtVoice, Buffalo, NY 11/04/04


"CD Review - "Greatest Hits""

Well, it didn't take Greg Miller long to come up with an album's worth of smile-inducing trash-rock gems to follow in the beer-stained bootsteps of his former band, Cleveland's own Cowslingers. With two 'Slingers reprising their roles in the rhythm section (Ken Miller and Leo P. Love), Miller tackles such Slinger-esque topics as drinking, driving, ironically wearing a trucker hat, girl trouble, drinking and hitting a Hard Rock casino with Jesus by your side.

In the country-flavored "Jesus Walks Beside Me," he goes gambling with the Son of God, who, as expected, gets mistaken for a Black Crowe ("We doubled our money playing Blackjack / Jesus knows when to hit or stand / He said he's got a system / But between you and me, he knows what's in the dealer's hand").

The track here that really proves nothing is sacred where Miller's concerned, though, is the one that risks offending people in the audience, "Ironic Trucker Hat," ("Your friend with the Atari cap, he bummed a couple smokes / Well didn't he go to boarding school with that one guy from the Strokes? / A different girl every night / You know that I'm impressed / I bet you score more chicks than when you looked just like Mike Ness.")

The music here, to its credit, is nothing you couldn't imagine the 'Slingers having done, with two guitarists in for Bob Latina. While that may have been a tougher hole to fill than when Eddie Van Halen was forced to carry on without David Lee Roth (although Miller's more David Lee Roth), the new guys -- lead guitarist Bob Lanphier and rhythm ace Dave Bowling -- get you through it, quoting "Sleepwalk" in the almost pop-punk flavored "Don't Go" and bringing the raunch with abandon on "AMC Hornet," a spirited cover of the Dead Kennedys' "Let's Lynch the Landlord," "Waylon Jennings Shower" and the slide-guitar-fueled "Greasy Box."

-- Ed Masley - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 07/28/05


"Regional Beat - "Greatest Hits""

Greatest Hits is actually the Whiskey Daredevils' debut, though the band's lineup has long been a fixture in Cleveland. Most members of the group were in the Cowslingers, before guitarist Bobby Latina dropped out and formed the Jack Fords. He was replaced in the newly rechristened lineup by former Hayshaker Jones six-string slinger Dave Bowling and Crooked Mile guitarist Bob Lanphier. True to their name, the Daredevils play a little faster, a little harder, a little looser, and with a lot more attitude.

The band's hard to peg: It plays too well to be punkabilly, it's too punk to be country. It gracefully slides into Santo and Johnny's classic "Sleepwalker" in "Don't Go," but rocks too hard to be rockabilly -- and its members don't have a stand-up bass or wear faux mechanic shirts. Rockabilly fashion is one of singer Greg Miller's pet peeves, and he expands his list of dress-code no-no's in "Ironic Trucker Hat," snarling, "I hate your vintage T-shirts/And your designer crap/But most of all, I'm so sick of your ironic trucker hat." We'll drink a PBR to that. -- D.X. Ferris

Whiskey Daredevils CD-release party. Saturday, June 25, at the Beachland Ballroom. - Cleveland Scene 06/22/05


"Long Live The Whiskey Daredevils! (Best Album of 2005)"

It's no secret that Cowslingers were one of my all time fave bands of the 90s, then they sorta disappeared. Well, imagine my excitement when I received the Whiskey Daredevils' debut album, which not only features three Cowslingers, but a new and improved take on the rootsy rock'n'roll they already mastered with Cowslingers. You CAN improve on perfection! Which is why their record is my pick of 'best album of 2005'. Greg Miller (vocal) and Bob Lanphier (lead guitar) were kind enough to answer my questions with long, intelligent, humorous and insightful observations, despite them being on a busy tour schedule. The other Ohio twangsters are Dave Bowling (rhythm guitar), Leo P. Love (drums) and Ken Miller (bass)... - LowCut #30 Dec 2005


Discography

"The Whiskey Daredevils Greatest Hits" full length CD

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

The Whiskey Daredevils are America’s new favorite poorly conceived band idea executed haphazardly. Leo P. Love, Ken Miller, and Greg Miller from cowpunkabilly deadbeats The Cowslingers (a cowpunk band that played from 1991-2004 and toured 38 States, five countries, and had releases on nine labels) have teamed up with Bobby Lanphier (Crooked Mile) and Dave Bowling (Hayshaker Jones) and thrown together a rock and roll band with all the elements that are important in your new favorite band.

1) Make sure all songs have real American roots music as their base: All the best songs are garage rock, surf, country, blues, and rockabilly anyway. Songs that combine some or all of these elements are what is commonly called “rock n roll”. That’s what we’re going with here folks. In the best interests of everyone, the Whiskey Daredevils have decided that there will be no sitars, French horns, or harpsichords in the immediate future. No Frills American Rock N Roll is what the Whiskey Daredevils are all about.
2) When in doubt, play it a little louder or a little faster: This is just good common sense. Leo is going to play the drums really fast and loud anyway, so the rest of the guys in the band might as well keep up with him and play the song together. This has thus far proven to be a good plan.
3) Don’t be afraid to do something stupid: The Whiskey Daredevils risk themselves 24/7 so you don’t have to. They are poorly paid professionals that are experienced in providing stupid entertainment for “the people”. They are not afraid to do what it takes to provide you with top entertainment value while you pound down cheap draft beers in plastic cups.

The Whiskey Daredevils have already written a monster set of original tunes that are destined to become Top 40 radio smash hits, as well as twisting around such rock n roll classics as the Dead Kennedy’s “Let’s Lynch the Landlord”, Roy Clark’s “Dented Fender” and the Customs “Long Gone” to fit their Master Plan of Rock. Yes, your new favorite band has arrived.

The Whiskey Daredevils have already been named "Cleveland's Best New Band" by Scene Magazine after just 9 months.