2008 Best Local Rock CD Release
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37.16% Left Lane Cruiser / Bring Yo Ass To The Table*
Others with Votes (more than one):
Swingin' Angels/ Faster Than Angels, Downstait/ Can You Hear Me Now?, Fist-a-Face/EP 2008, Pleasing Melani/ Fifth of Wisk and a Bottle a Pill
Rock Releases
* On the ballot
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Left Lane Cruiser just might want to consider changing their name to something a little more aggressive like Get the Hell Outta the Way or Eat Our Dust. The duo took four Whammy awards at this year's show, coming out on top in the categories of Best Original Rock Performer, Best Live Duo, Best Blues Performer and Best Local Rock CD Release. "It feels wonderful," said guitarist and vocalist Joe Evans. "We've been working up market for a bit now, but Fort Wayne is and always will be near and dear to our hearts, and to have the support and of our friends there is really important to us." Although Evans and his partner in crime, drummer Brenn Beck, weren't on hand to accept their Whammys, their wives were, and they kept the men informed of each new award via text and cell phone video. "We were playing a show in Chattanooga, and we just kept getting these texts saying we'd won another award," said Evans. "They kept piling up. We couldn't really believe it." As if four awards in one night weren't impressive enough, Evans and drummer Beck carried heavy percentages of the vote in all four areas, particularly in the CD Release category in which a remarkable 37 percent of respondents voted in support of LLC's Bring Yo Ass to the Table, the band's first album with a nationally recognized label. The album came out in January and sent the two friends on a coast-to-coast tour with stops in Seattle, Chattanooga, Nashville, Pittsburgh, and Detroit, not to mention the renowned Knitting Factory in New York City. Just recording the album was a thrill for Evans and Beck, who found themselves in Suma Studios in Painesville, Ohio, a studio decked out in gold records by the likes of Grand Funk Railroad and The Black Keys. Adding to the good times, according to Beck, was the fact that the disc was recorded with all analog equipment. "We always wanted to do something on reel-to-reel tapes. That's really more our style, and it turned out incredible because of that. The whole album has that warm old analog sound we were looking for," he said. LLC beat out some serious competition for their Whammys. Other vote getters in the four categories included: The B-Sharps, Teays Vein (for Best Original Rock Performer); Mike Conley & Chris Dodds and Deuce (for Best Live Duo); Pop ‘N' Fresh and PoopDeFlex (for Best Blues Performer); and Zephaniah and The Orange Opera (for Best Local Rock CD Release). This year's Whammy victories are the icing on an obviously pretty rich cake for LLC, who recently rawked a packed house at the Embassy Theatre, covering Led Zeppelin for Down the Line 3. "There we were, just two guys trying to pull off Zeppelin, but we decided to do it our way and have fun with it," he said. "The Embassy's an amazing theatre to play in. It was wonderful to be a part of it, and an honor to be asked by Matt Kelley who really knows how to put on a great event." Beck and Evans came together in the summer of 2004 when Evans' then fiancé (now wife) suggested he hook up with Beck for a jam session. Originally, LLC included bass player Jesse Garrett, but Evans and Beck made the tough decision to let their friend go, not because he wasn't a great musician but because they were in search of the kind of raw sound they get from Evans on steel guitar and Beck on a 30-inch bass drum with harmonica at the ready. Evans and Beck wasted little time in releasing their debut album, Slingshot, followed up by the popular Getting Down on It. Both CDs won Whammys, and LLC started to draw a large local following, thanks in part to their strong showing at whatzup's 2005 Battle of the Bands. Then, in 2007 they signed a contract with Alive Records to produce a record originally entitled Sausage Paw. That became Bring Yo Ass to the Table, which so far has earned the band about 3- raves to two rants, a feature in Modern Drummer magazine and this shout-out from a critic for Casual Listener: "Left Lane Cruiser's high-voltage blues sound is downright nasty. Blistering electric slide guitar and leering vocals distill old-school Mississippi blues down to its rowdiest essence. This band has some major mojo." LLC followed up that tour with two-month jaunt through Europe, which seemed at first like it might be the shortest European tour on record. There was passport trouble, and they were sent home their first day in England, but soon they were back, playing for full houses and trying to get used to seeing their faces on billboards all over the country. "They really knew who we were. We just didn't expect the kind of welcome we got," said Beck. There's no rest for the weary, or the overnight success. Evans and Beck are finding themselves in the enviable position of being constantly in demand. They missed the Whammys due to their invitation to South by Southwest Festival, and they're looking at another nationwide tour this summer, to be followed by the band's second jaunt to Europe and an appearance at this year's Emergent Festival in Montreal. Regardless of their busy touring schedule, Beck said they plan to get back in the studio soon to start recording their follow-up to Bring Yo Ass. "It's been a crazy year, but it's not going to change us. We're just going to keep doing what we're doing, having fun, making our music," said Beck. (Deborah Kennedy) |
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