Lost highwaymen Bucktown Kickback mine alt-country goldFebruary 6, 2008
by Matt Wake - BOOTLEG
Bucktown Kickback was formed five years ago in Columbus, Ohio. According to Singer Adam Brooks Dudding, the multifaceted nature of the Columbus music scene is evident within his own band.
Somebody forgot to tell Adam Brooks Dudding backwards tracks don’t belong on bluegrass albums. There are rules. Purists could be offended.
Dudding — singer, songwriter and creative force behind Bucktown Kickback — produced much of the band’s 2007 disc “Lost In Your Hometown” to sound like prime Appalachia. The record effectively balances roots grit and country rock coherence. However, a pair of musical interludes on “Lost…” point to where the band might head next. On the fourth track, “Slow Train,” acoustic slide work tangles with electric guitar double-stops.
The instrumental transitions the album from a series of alt-country motifs into more ambitious compositions. There’s the aching ambience of “The Space Between,” with its cello flourishes. “Seven Number Blues” is an enlightened redneck tune that sounds like a “Basement Tapes” leftover.
Song 12, “Slow Train II,” reprises the wordless rustle of its predecessor. But this time, the guitars are mixed in the choppy, slurred context of backwards tracking. The studio technique was made famous on songs like Jimi Hendrix’s “Are You Experienced” and numerous late-period Beatles numbers.
“I enjoyed creating those soundscapes,” Dudding said. “That piece is supposed to ease the album from one place into another.”
“Lost...” concludes with two pivotal songs: “That’s Life” is a slow burn of honky-tonk molasses. A Neil Young-type rocker, “A Shooting Star,” closes the record. The album finale is also a highlight of Bucktown live shows.
“Shooting Star is set up to go in any direction and sometimes we do, “ Dudding said.
Bucktown recorded “Lost…” in a series of sessions at Tech Art, a private studio in Hilliard, Ohio. The record is not short on tonal color. Lap- and pedal-steel, French horn, accordion and saxophone augment the core instruments — acoustic and electric guitars, upright bass and traps.
But the heart of “Lost…” is Dudding’s songs and lived-in vocals. While the embellishments are tasteful, the material could stand up fine presented by Dudding and his Gibson J-50 acoustic.
The album opener, “Valley,” is a dose of double-time giddy-up. Dobro and harmonica drive the pace. A furious banjo break and hot chicken pickin’ cement the deal.
With its windows for improvisation, “Lost…” is built for the road. Although Dudding is proud of the record, the next Bucktown title is unlikely to be a rehash.
“It might be more focused on the songwriting,” Dudding said regarding a follow-up. “‘Lost In Your Hometown’ has many more open jam sections. The next album might also be more electric.”
Like many rural revivalists, Dudding worships Gram Parsons. Parsons is known for many things — being Keith Richard’s best friend, opening The Stones’ harrowing Altamont gig, overdosing on pills and tequila, and having his stolen corpse burned in the California desert. However music heads idolize Parsons for his palpable songs and cosmic cowboy fusion.
In addition to founding the Flying Burrito Brothers and cutting two remarkable solo albums, Parsons joined The Byrds for a brief period of time. Under Gram’s guidance, The Byrds dropped their jangling folk rock for more of a Southern feel.
“(The Byrds’) ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo’ was a very changing album for me,” Dudding said. “Gram brings honesty and raw emotion. Being able to present that night after night…it’s amazing to do that. He was also so instrumental in originating the country rock thing. That’s something a bunch of bands are still trying to pull off, including us.”
As the man that stirs the drink in Bucktown, Dudding insists the rest of the band isn’t hired hands. Indeed, “Lost…” sounds nothing like a solo album. There’s sweat and telepathy involved.
“It’s a tricky thing being a musician and dealing with the delicate emotions that go with it,” Dudding said. “Sometimes everybody feels good about what you’re doing and sometimes everybody does not feel good. These songs wouldn’t sound the way they do without them. Everybody believes they are a big part of the sound being created — which they are. I feel they’ve been really lucky to find me and I feel the same way about them.”
Bucktown Kickback was formed five years ago in Columbus, Ohio. According to Dudding, the multifaceted nature of the Columbus music scene is evident within his own band.
Bass player James Donovan also plays with a Cream-like power trio. Although he’s equally adept at African hand percussion, drummer Dave Blankestyn is a bluegrass beast. Multi-instrumentalist Adam Schlenker adds flat-picking, mandolin and banjo bursts. Schlenker also engineers the band’s albums.
After guitarist Alex Anest departed following the “Lost…” sessions, Dudding brought in Anthony Papa to play lead and lap-steel. A devotee of Jimmy Page and bluesmen like Robert Johnson, Papa plays a Gibson Les Paul through a 1963 Fender Super Reverb. With his vintage gear and classic influences, Papa has pushed live Bucktown shows into more rollicking affairs. The “Lost…” tune “Turn Left Off the Exit” is a perfect vehicle for Papa’s bluesy licks.
“That song is almost Stones-esque and a great way to break up the alternative bluegrass street we usually go down,” Papa said. “With a Gibson, you’re still able to get country tones, but there’s also some blues and rock muscle behind it.”
When it comes time to write the next Bucktown record, Papa hopes his string bending will impact the material.
“I hope to bring a little bit more of a rock energy, an ‘Exile On Main St.’ vibe. But maybe you shouldn’t tell Adam that,” Papa said with a laugh.
