2009 Best Blues Performer
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50.80% Left Lane Cruiser*
Others with Votes (more than one):
Joey O. Band, Pliers, Todd Harrold
2008 Winner: Left Lane Cruiser
2007 Winner: Left Lane Cruiser
2006 Winner: Left Lane Cruiser
2005 Winner: G-Money
1998 Winner: Lil's Funk-n' Blues Revue
1997 Winner: Lil's Funk-n' Blues Revue
* On the Ballot |
Back in 2005 a certain bearded drummer started speaking a new, radical language. New, that is, for Fort Wayne bands of that time. Said drummer, Left Lane Cruiser's Brenn Beck, talked about touring. Getting signed. Playing festivals. Wanting to do such things, mostly, and the hard work it would take to make it happen.
No, these things hadn't quite happened for the Cruiser yet in 2005. In retrospect, these things weren't happening for any Fort Wayne bands in 2005. And, in truth, not much was happening for area bands playing original music back then.
Fast forward to Whammy night 2010, and the story is different. Left Lane Cruiser (Beck and singer/guitarist Joe Evans) have done it all. They've toured the world, released two studio albums on a national label (including 2009's Whammy winning All You Can Eat), been written up in huge publications, played festivals and so on.
And, oh yeah, they win Whammy awards. Lots of 'em. And usually by wide margins. Best Duo. Best CD Release (Rock). Best Blues Artist. Best Beards. Nice when good things happen to the hardest working dudes in the room, isn't it?
At the time of last year's Whammy show, Evans and Beck were in Chattanooga, on tour, making their way to the South by Southwest festival.
"We got gigs in Austin coming up again," Evans laughs when asked about this year's festival. "As long as you play Austin, you're there, bro."
"We missed the deadline to sign up for the proper festival, but this will be our fourth year playing shows down there during South by Southwest," adds Beck. "After that we're going back to Europe in May for some festivals."
"They're really passionate about American music," Evans says when asked about past European tours. "It's always mind-boggling to us. The big cities are one thing. But when we play small cities in Europe and the crowd goes crazy, that's just something else, ya know."
Back in 2005 it was common to go to a Cruiser gig and see most of the crowd singing along. In 2010, however, you can go to a Cruiser gig in, say, Portland, Oregon and see strange faces singing along.
Why? Well, the records. The songs. Those big, loud, dirty, barn-burning songs, the best example of which can be found on the band's still-new All You Can Eat record.
"We recorded the record with Jim Diamond up in Detroit at a pretty well-known studio called Ghetto Recorders," Beck says. "He did the first couple White Stripes albums and all kinds of other stuff. All analog. It was amazing. He was unbelievable."
"He's got a warehouse full of vintage gear," Evans adds. "We brought all our own stuff, but, looking back, I wish we hadn't brought anything so we could use all his stuff."
And with the tours and records come stories. Endless stories about chicken processing plants turned into studios and Seattle nights. A band on the run, jumping seas, building a history bigger than any other working Fort Wayne band.
Bring this big history to their attention, and Beck and Evans shuffle in their seats. Tooting their own horn becomes a quick game of Change-The-Subject. They'd rather look back than wax proud, focused, as always, on their hometown.
"I remember the first time me and this man got together," Evans laughs, nodding to Beck. "We said, 'What do you think about those Whammys?' to each other, knowing that was probably a couple of years off before we deserved that. But it was on our mind way back when."
"We recently had some kids drive eight hours to see us play at the Rail," Beck says. "They were singing along, calling out song titles, telling us to play until the owners cut the lights out. That sort of thing is amazing to us. We don't even know how to feel about it. To come that far."
"It wasn't even our show, man. We were just on the bill," Evans laughs. "They came and got the flavor of Fort Wayne though, man. Fort Wayne bands are just killing it right now. Busting their asses."
Beck and Evans quickly switch to a new game, this time Name-The-People-We-Love. Commorato. Faurote. Sauer. Duece and Kenny. Bill Lupkin. G-Money. Anderson.
"We see it everywhere when we're on tour -- places Fort Wayne bands have been," Evans says. "It's hard work, though. Nothing's gonna come to you; you gotta go out there and ... get it. And I don't mean that as advice. I just mean it as a reality that we found out. It takes years. Then [stuff] starts happening, ya know." ( |
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