Little Rock can't seem to get enough of The Good Time Ramblers lately. I don't know what rock I was living under the last couple years. It's either I just missed them or this band has just completely exploded onto the LR local music scene. Solid songwriting, great vocals, and an array of impressive instrumentation, there are truly no weak links. They have been writing music since the summer of 2005 and just released an EP last year. In preparation for last weeks run of concerts I checked them out on their Myspace page and was blown away. I marked their White Water show that week on the LRLM concerts page. Originally scheduled to be the opener they unexpectedly headlined that night for American Aquarium and Nathan Singleton. After an incredible performance by the two opening bands from Raleigh and Austin, Little Rock's GTR went toe to toe and played late into the night.
Part traditional country, alternative country, and southern rock, GTR have a passion for music that is widely apparent from their live shows. The band is one of the most solid performing acts I have seen in recent years. Lead vocalist John Lefler and bass guitarist Rich Dwiggins harmonize perfectly, Alex Piazza is an amazingly talented lead guitar and pedal steel player, and Brooks Browning keeps the beat and the energy flowing.
I normally don't go to shows by myself but Thursday night was a big exception. Everybody else from LRLM was out of town so it was just me. I showed up at Sticky Fingerz at around 9:30 just as GTR were getting into their sound check. Sticky Fingerz was jammed packed. Now at first I thought maybe it was the $2 Coronas (beer of the month) or the free cover charge. I was proved wrong when the crowd stuck around for the entire 2 1/2 hour show and judging by their response, became obvious everybody was there for the band. I think the band was even slightly surprised by such a large turnout. Last week at White Water Lefler asked the very welcoming and energetic crowd where they had been for the past three years. Obviously a little taken back by their recent success, this band is definitely going somewhere. With an even larger audience at Sticky Fingerz Thursday night the band fed off of their quickly expanding fan base through the early morning hours.
The band played through their entire EP released last year and several new songs from the tentatively titled Bigelow Strange album due out in the fall. The band has almost completed the album and just needs to spend some more time, and money, in post production. Rich sang lead on several songs including a new one he wrote while hanging out at Tootsie's in Nashville. Another one "Coming Back Home Again" was introduced to the audience that sounds great live. Brooks kicked into the two-step and Alex played an awesome guitar riff that had people instantly hooked.
The band paid tribute to some of their early influences and played through songs by Johnny Cash, Gillian Welch, Jimi Hendrix, The Band, Willie Nelson and a host of others. The band really got the party started and the dance floor hopping when they ripped into their version of "Mississippi Queen". Sticky Fingerz lighting and sound guy, Maestro, worked the lighting controls to make GTR look like something right out of Guitar Hero. I think the most impressive moment of the night came when the band covered Springsteen's "Atlantic City" They covered the legendary song perfectly and transitioned in to my favorite song off their EP "Gotta Get Back". The most unexpected moment came when later in the second half Jeff Coleman from "Jeff Coleman and the Feeders fame" joined the band on stage to play a thunderous version of his awesome song "All The Whiskey In Texas" In case the audience was still not convinced, the band played the most impressive version of Dylan's "Maggie's Farm" I think I have ever heard. Another couple songs off their EP, "Roland Lilly" (written about Lefler's wife) and "Carolina County" had the band's friends the "Saline County Boys" and group from Buffalo Grill stomping to the beat.
If you haven't seen them live yet, you will undoubtedly have plenty of opportunity. The band has a quickly expanding group of fans and are gaining extraordinary momentum. I quite honestly don't know where we have "all been the past three years", but we are all here now, and the Good Time Ramblers freakin' rock.
http://www.myspace.com/goodtimeramblers
-T
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