2006 Best Blues Performer
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45.63% Left Lane Cruiser*
Others with Votes (more than one):
* On the Ballot |
It may have come as a surprise to Left Lane Cruiser's Brenn Beck, but for a lot of other people, the notion that the drums/guitar duo should win three Whammy Awards was a no-brainer. Beck and guitarist Joe Evans won Whammys for Best Blues Performer, Best Live Duo and Best Local CD Release/Non-rock, and seem to be forming a pattern in the process. "We actually didn't think we'd pick up a single one," Beck said. "We had some stiff competition. We were blown away." Competition from the likes of Mike Conley and Chris Dodds, who have run the table in the best duo category for what seems like forever, and from G-Money on the blues side of the tally, who Beck praised as "A really talented performer." As for the Best CD/Non-rock slice, well, Left Lane Cruiser won the Whammy last year for 2005's Slingshot, so when Getting' Down On It came out last year it was only fitting that they should get it again. Beck, who cites R.L Burnside as their biggest influence, with nods to the similarly outfitted Akron duo The Black Keys, said the efforts they put into their CDs – long hours in their home studio fine-tuning their rough-hewn sound – have paid off. "We don't just go into a studio and lay down tracks. We spend a lot of time in the garage getting the sound just right." The sound Beck and Evans pull from their instruments is old and dusty and swaggers across the room. Call it Mississippi Delta blues, call it punk-blues, call it whatever you want. Evans leans into his guitar while seated, and despite the fact that Beck sometimes uses a marching band bass drum the size of Rhode Island, he mostly sits, too. Their music, though, is running flat out, sometimes snarling, but always coming at you directly with purpose. It demands attention and it gets it. A third album, Sausage Paw, is due sometime in June. After that, Beck said they're loading the van and heading to the West Coast for a string of dates at various clubs, a tour they set up through an ever-growing network of friends and fellow musicians. "We've been in contact with Alive Records, (The Black Keys' first label) and we're going to meet with them when we swing through California." Beck and Evans have built-in momentum. Suddenly, California and the big time seem not so far away. (Mark Hunter) |
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