Avey Grouws BAnd
The Devil May Care
self-released
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Avey Grouws Band was a new name to me,
although anyone attending recent International
Blues Challenge competitions in Memphis has
probably already seen this band from the Quad
Cities part of Iowa . They've
been together for just three years, a
band on the rise as evidenced by their recent
self-released debut album, The Devil May Care.
For a relatively-unknown group outside of their
home base, they're
better than they have any right to be. Yeah, I'm serious, like really impressive. All ten cuts
on The Devil May Care are originals from singer Jeni
Grouws and guitarist Chris Avey and they're not
putting out just a
one-dimensional sound, featuring a lot of
different styles of blues here.
Just
so you know who's who with this band, Ms. Grouws
handles the vocals with a voice that has both
range and power, and that's well-suited for the
material here. Avey is a strong guitarist and
also helps out on vocals at times. The rest of
the band is solid, with Bryan West on drums,
Randy Leasman on bass and Nick Vasquez on
keyboards.
The
Devil May Care gets off to a good start with a
Latin-ish swing beat leading into "Come And Get This Love,"
on which our singer, Ms Grouws, is trying to
lure that man with her feminine wiles. Grouws
vocals are strong and there's a nice organ solo
from Vasquez. Grouws then injects a heaping dose
of feistiness into her voice on the title cut
as she sings about a love affair that should
bother her conscience more than it does. It's
some of her best vocal work on the album, while Avey comes in with good, stinging guitar licks.
"Rise Up" may be the most important cut on the
album, extremely prescient based on the current
situation all through the country. Grouws booms
out, "...We've got to come together if we're
going to make things right..." and "...turn your
anger into actions..." Wow!
"Let's Take It Slow" changes the mood
completely, a love song that has the
couple planning their evening together, saying,
"...Baby, we've got the night, so let's take it
slow..." What stands out on this number is Avey's intricate guitar break,
turning it into
an old Mexican love song for just a few
moments. Our guitar hero returns on the more
country-sounding "Long Road" with really nice
slide guitar work.
Vasquez leads with barrelhouse piano playing on
the mid-tempo blues shuffle, "Let Me Sing My
Blues," with Grouws showing off her blues vocal
chops. I could tell right off that "Weary" was
going to be a travelin' song about being out on
the road as Avey lays down the appropriate
acoustic guitar notes to open the number before Grouws sings about how tired she is but with
four more hours on the road ahead of her, sounding reminiscent of one-time Lone Justice
singer Maria McKee. Avey makes good use of his
slide later in the song.
"Dirty Little Secret" is a snaky blues on which
Grouws sings about the man that she knows is no
good for her, and her voice gets more assertive
in the second half of the song after Avey lays
down a solid jazzy blues guitar solo that fits
this song to a T.
Our
two leaders share vocals on the boogie number
"Dig What You Do," an up-tempo stomper that
gives Vasquez another chance to show off on the 88s.
Horn players Nolan Schroeder and Dan Meier join
the band for the final number, "Two Days Off
(And A Little Bit Of Liquor), a jazzy tune that
could have been from the 1940s if we didn't
already know that it's a band original. Avey
shares some of his best guitar picking of the
album, reminding of Gatemouth Brown's
best fretwork.
I'm
still astounded that The Devil May Care
is this band's first album and that they've only
been together for a few years. It's just so
polished and professional-sounding, and the
songwriting is top-notch. I can't wait to hear
what's coming next from Avey Grouws Band.
--- Bill Mitchell