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Notch House |
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STREET BEAT FEATURE
HARD ROCKIN’ THE BLUES…
NOTCHOUSE
by Ernie Thomas
Their promo kit cites Jerry Lee Lewis as an influence, though this writer’s ears heard very little of “The Killer” in the songs of Northwest Indiana-based electric blues rock combo, Notch House.
“Remember when Jerry Lee Lewis pulled his Lincoln up to the gates of Elvis’ house [Graceland], and started waving his gun around,” mused vocalist/harmonicist David James Brown of Munster. “Well, THAT’s the part that influenced us!”
To be sure, “attitude” is a big part of the Notch House chemistry. Brown was inspired to form this band after witnessing a bunch of guys in khaki shorts and Hawaiian shirts passing themselves off as a blues band by playing a yuppie version of “Sweet Home Chicago”.
“That wasn’t the blues,” said this die-hard fan of true blues kings like Sunnyland Slim, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and later powerhouses like Buddy Guy and the late Son Seals.
What Notch House kicks out from the stage as they rattle through selections from their 50-plus song playlist are not traditional blues, but raw and raucous electrified blues that owe more to the likes of hell-raiser guitarists like Johnny Winter and Paul Butterfield than say the sweet side of blues played by the likes of B.B. King.
Notch House has a few original songs in the mix, but mostly do deep cut blues covers with their own indelible style. “We turn covers into originals the way we play them,” he laughed. Indeed, their fingerprints are all over treatments of tunes by Waters, Seals, Guy, Wolf and other legends of the blues. Listening to the Notch House demo CD that the band uses to land gigs and introduce themselves, strongly recalled the explosive garage rock blues efforts of heavy late ‘60s bands like Blue Cheer and Frijid Pink.
“Definitely,” agreed Brown. “Most people don’t remember those bands, so we avoid listing them as influences, but that is very much our sound.” Brown sings through his harmonica microphone on selected songs to give his vocals an over amplified, distorted and dirty sound. This effect comes off like the illegitimate love child of Big Mama Thorton and Trent Reznor.
On other numbers Brown uses the correct mics to keep the sound more traditional, though hardly “safe” enough to mistake them for a khaki short-wearing poseur band.
Brown’s deep respect of roots blues is shared by his band mates in Notch House, who have been jamming together for just over two years and playing out live in bars for just over a year.
Monster guitarist. John Henry. was once a card-carrying member of the long demised but seminal Chicagoland punk outfit, The Gruesomes, so energy and attitude are never wanting when he bends his strings.
Henry’s aggressive playing style rips and rocks while cradled by the thick rhythmic groove laid down by bassist Carlos Gonzalez and drummer Rob Crider.
Together the members of Notch House are making their presence known to region haunts.
“Right now, we play out about once a month,” noted Brown, citing various Chicago burb bars and Hoosier haunts that have welcomed them down to play thus far.
Not for the feint of heart or for weekend blues wannabes, attending a Notch House gig is very much like heading back to the garage rock days of Detroit when the blues fell into the hands of artists like The Stooges, The Detroit Wheels and Grand Funk Railroad.
Loud, proud, and unrelenting – ladies & gentlemen...this is Notch House! |
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