Blacktop Badge: Snow Blinding Rock
Wednesday 14 March @ 15:01:52 |
 BY DWIGHT HOBBES
It's the first of March, day two of what has turned out to be a nasty blizzard (a white conspiracy, I believe, in retaliation against Black History Month). At venerable St. Paul rockhouse Station 4, the weather has taken quite a toll. Loch Ness Mobsters have cancelled-- that is, all except Ryan Simonet, who got the word late from his fellows and, since he's here, figures he may as well stay and rock a solo acoustic set. It holds everyone's attention (all half-dozen or so diehard souls) quite nicely, especially when he launches into a ribald little ditty about the perils of unprotected sex. Another band had better lines of communication: they all took the night off.
 This leaves Blacktop Badge as headliners by default. Fine by me. If anybody is worth tromping through steadily-mounting snow against a chilling wind for, these guys are. Been ages since I heard anybody do justice to classic balls-to-the-walls rock. Their album, Blacktop Badge, is tailor-made to leap off record store racks and into your stereo and bears repeated playing. It's hook-rich, stacked top to bottom with solid material: damned good music, tight lyrics and, of course, that indispensable prerequisite, hard-charging vocals backed by fine playing that starts on overdrive and keeps picking up steam. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. And keep the bartender as busy as possible.
The band immediately has to deal with, of all things, a heckler. "I don't see 'Any Road' on that set list," carps some guy with a pronounced limp and a drink in hand. What business he has snooping at the band's set list is anyone's guess. Lead singer Aaron McMenamy is gracious. "We can rectify that," he promptly replies, leaving the mouthy show-goer with nothing to do except sit down and enjoy the show, which, right from jump, kicks as hard as a country mule. Badge weighs in with "The Grind," segues into "Gone" and brandishes that hallmark of truly superior outfits: performing both songs even stronger than they did on the album. Then they launch into the anthemic "Star Spangled Man" and everything goes straight to hell in the best way possible. Guitarists Cory Jesok and Adam Whisner chug the intro. Dave Schermerhorn (bass guitar)--who pitched in with scalding vocals on "Gone"--and Aaron Biggar (drums) nail the pocket right behind them. McMenamy sails. The song has a hint of Lee Michaels-style funk crossbred with a taste of Jimmy Page. A few songs later, they burn the place up with "Any Road," taking a page of influence from Ronnie Laine while managing to stay original as hell. Give these guys good airplay, and they'll be playing halls instead of bars in no time flat.
As it is, they've been together for only 13 gigs. Last year, Dave, Aaron (the drummer) and Adam had knocked around for the longest, picking up session work and gigging for a while as power trio Big Junk. After auditioning more prospects than they care to think about, they lucked upon Cory Jesok and Aaron McMenamy and haven't looked back. "We needed to flesh it out," says Dave Schermerhorn, "and we did." No lie.
Complement-ing Adam Whisner's screaming, nasty-ass leads, Jesok snakes out some tasty slides--and picks more than few bad licks himself. In anybody's book, McMenamy is a find. This man was born to sing, and it's evident every time he takes the mic, owning it with spot-on intonation, phrasing and unbridled passion. The set includes a totally unexpected plus: a cover of "Soul Kitchen" that gives nothing up to The Doors, plus their version of The Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb," which has to be heard to be believed. And there's AC/DC's "If You Want Blood, You Got It" with McNenamy switching to rhythm guitar and Whisner airing his spleen out. By the time they're done there is no doubt: Blacktop Badge came to take care of serious business.
Throughout the set, a camera flashes. It turns out that an attractive redhead named Beth can't get enough of Blacktop Badge. "They are real," she tells me. "They aren't up there trying to pose. It's genuine. It's not forced." Her friend, Joy, adds, "You can see the chemistry between them. You can feel it."
After the encore, I get a chance to bounce Beth's and Joy's comments off the guys. A round table discussion ensues, boiling down to a few things. For one, stardom-hungry egotism has no place in this band. Cory flatly states, "There's no competition. It's not about whose turn it is to hog the spotlight. That keeps it real. We don't have to make an image, just play music." Adam is quick to say, "We're a family--a brotherhood. What's good for one of us is good for all of us-- that's how we're able to work off of one another so well."
First rule of thumb for aspirant rock 'n' rollers: If you don't have it in the pocket, well, you just ain't got it. Dave Schermerhorn explains the fundamentals behind Blacktop Badge: "Well, first of all, it begins with Engine Room. That's Aaron [Biggar]. He drives everything and we look at it similarly, from a minimalist approach. It's not about how much playing you can do. What you play is just as important as when you play. It's about filling the right spaces." When launched off this concept, Jesok, Whisner and McMenamy inarguably stand on solid ground and, accordingly, are given a free rein to go for the stratosphere.
Bottom line, Blacktop Badge resurrects stone-cold boogie-woogie to the bone. ||
Blacktop Badge play Fri., Mar. 16 at Manhattan Loft Pizza. With Black Days Down and The Nephilin.
8 p.m. Free. 802 Washington Ave. SE, Mpls. 612-627-9737. For more info on Blacktop Badge, visit their official website at blacktopbadge.com.
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