Steelhead: Press

Which Way Now? Nowhere to go but UP! Wow! I finally took the time to listen to Steelhead’s CD. WOW again! I love it! Really! Can’t help but dance to it, which is one real test for great music. When I finally do put it away, it’s going to be right next to The Best of Buddy Guy and Riding with the King. It just doesn’t get better than that. Please pass on my accolades and congratulations to the rest of the guys. I’m glad you all made this happen. (Who says you’re big fungus?!)

This was a treat. The band is good and inhabits the area between well arranged and loose. The magic of this is that it sounds like you're all having a great time!

Energy behind this CD

Just recently I had a chance to meet up with Barry Billings of Steelhead...and was stoked to get a chance to review their new CD, a smartly produced, fun filled party for the drunk and sober alike, except the drunk are probably having just a little more fun.

The party starts with "Fever on the Road," featuring the grooving harmonica playing of Dan Walsh in an easygoing blues jam.

It seems each song tells a little of the story at a time, so on that road (Barry) says in the next track called "Shared the Same Name": "I saw an ex-wife of mine..." They talk about the good times they once had, but, "The only thing that I would have changed, we never should have shared the same name...Never again," he concludes. Hindsight.

"April Fool's Day" has some crazy lyrics, check these out: "I murdered a rock. I injured a stone. I hospitalized a brick. I'm so bad, I made medicine sick," then talks over this cool blues jam about Mohammed Ali's wins and losses during his well followed career. Wild mouth organ work on this off-the-wall track.

"It Hurts Me Too" features a ripping guitar solo. Thom Bjornton really can wail on the fretboard. He has a definitive smooth and clean style.

It's encouraging to see a band get excited about it's own work.

You can feel the energy behind the groove. There's something spiritual about it in a way, that feeling you get when a song somehow saves your life by making you laugh instead of cry, one of which you will inevitably do drunk or sober while giving "Which Way Now?" a listen.