![]() ![]() “I didn’t hear much back, actually… the demos were raw and we were really underdeveloped as a band. Carey had recorded about half of OMM’s first record Guts N’ Teeth in his garage and handed the demo to Fat Mike when Youth Brigade was on tour with Bouncing Souls and NOFX. Lead singer/guitarist Johnny Carey and bassist Joey Garibaldi joined the band Youth Brigade around the same time starting Old Man Markley in 2007. Old Man Markley’s sound is completely unique to every other band on Fat Wreck Chord’s line-up and the vibrations of their vocals, drums, guitars, and banjo cannot be mistaken on the concept record that was released on February 10, 2015. See what they had to say about the concept album that include original songs from the punk-rock theatrical musical, Home Street Home. (I’m clearly no expert, but think Against Me! plus a banjo player, with Larry the Cable guy sharing lead vocals.)Īnd as for my pre-conceived notions about country/bluegrass vocals, well, aren’t we all just guts n’ teeth? It’s all just music, and Old Man Markley’s speaks for itself.Southern California 7-piece bluegrass/punk outfit Old Man Markley can be heard on a decent portion of the concept album for Fat Mike’s upcoming musical production Home Street Home. The marriage of the instrumentation of bluegrass music with the attitude and desperation of punk on Guts n' Teeth is not only perfectly executed, but relatively unique. Old Man Markley’s debut is a stunning achievement. I watched you suffer too/ Stuck steadfast to beliefs/ And I’m apart from it/ But woe is me.Īnd after all underneath/ Ain’t we all just guts and teeth?/ Ain’t we all just reflections?/ Moving in separate directions/ In our heads, out of our minds and out of time… I still see my actions ripple/ Grinding hope stones into sand/Losing too much kills the lion/ Makes mice of many men. I challenge you to listen to this song, if nothing else from the album, and not be touched by his lyrics: Carey’s lyrics on this cut stand above the rest of the album, and his vocal delivery supplements the sparse instrumentation perfectly. The song Guts n’ Teeth begins with a simple chord progression on an acoustic guitar before Johnny Carey’s voice comes in and takes centre stage. The most probable point of infatuation with this record however, lies within the title track. Whether it’s during the catchy and relatable chorus of Running Weight (I’m paranoid/ When you’re running this much weight, you can’t avoid/ getting paranoid/ Worries crash into me like an asteroid) or the fast-paced romp that is Do Me Like You Do, trust me, it will happen, likely sooner rather than later. But even the most cold-hearted of hipster elitists would eventually break down and start singing along at some point while listening to this album. Well, sure, I was skeptical on first listen. Maybe it reminds you of Jeff Foxworthy and his stupid f ucking “You might be a redneck…” jokes. The variation in this area stops the album from ever feeling stale, or from feeling like the band is just recycling the same handful of ideas over and over. At times, frontman Johnny Carey’s vocals are closer to a gruff punky yelp than a bluegrass drawl. This is where the punk influence really starts to show. ![]() ![]() The thing is, Old Man Markley’s music is so full of energy, it’s nearly impossible to not be swept away into the upbeat atmosphere that the album creates. What’s going on!? It’s not that the band avoids the use of the dreaded drawl, far from it some of the vocals have me reaching for the XXX moonshine and calling up my first cousin to ask her what she’s wearing. Oh dear.īut wait! I’m not seeing red! My head isn’t becoming clouded with thoughts of massacring the entire “deep south” of the USA! Instead of punching holes in my drywall, I’m tapping my toes and slapping my knee uncontrollably. The fiddle player saws away with her bow, the banjo player chicken-picks like a madman, the mandolin strings click away in the background, and a harmonica line soars overhead. At any given moment of Guts n’ Teeth, the listener will find themselves in the middle of a smorgasbord of (perfectly executed) bluegrass clichés. Hailing from Los Angeles, Old Man Markley is a nine-piece band that plays what can best be described as a hybrid of punk and bluegrass music. I’m not exactly sure why, but when I hear a drawl, I see red. I’ve undoubtedly missed out on quite a lot of great music because of this, but I don’t care. At worst, it annoys me to the point that I can’t even appreciate the music for what it is, based on its merits. One of mine is the vocal style so prevalent in country and bluegrass music that is referred to as the “southern drawl”. Judge if you must, but I think that we all have certain musical turnoffs that are just impossible to move past. Guts n’ Teeth is not the sort of album I’d usually enjoy. Review Summary: Aren't we all just guts n' teeth? ![]()
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