Metro Pulse/Music/Eye on the Scene

RIP

Well, it looks like it was a short, bumpy, and very eventful ride for Knoxville emocore prodigies Past Mistakes. A little over a year into their existence, the band has decided to call it quits, playing their final show last week at the Oglewood House with Atombombpocketknife and Kill Sadie.

"It [the breakup] totally came from left field, and I had no say-so in the whole matter," says lead vocalist/bassist and cherubic glamour boy Chase Valentine. "There are numerous things that fueled the breakup. First and foremost, I think they wanted to stop the band before we all killed each other. We have a lot of work to do on our relationships with each other. The paths of communication have been horrible for a while now."

Like it says in rock 'n' roll mythology (thanks, Mr. Young), "It's better to burn out than to fade away." Past Mistakes accomplished quite a lot in its short life span, releasing the

Try To Blink EP on Seasonal Affect Recordings and completing an East Coast tour with Indecision. Surely the guys

will continue on with music in other projects.

"I'm pretty upset about this right now," Valentine continues. "Past Mistakes was one of my greatest love affairs."

Rawkin' the Windy City—Knox Style

Knoxville bands may come and go, but three of them came back together on Saturday in the form of two new outfits at the appropriately Gryphon's-esque Big Horse in Chicago. The White Mules of Sin (featuring Satellite Pumps guitarist Harlowe Starrbuck and Thumbnail bassist Steve Schmidt) made their debut with the Philly-based God Country Family (staffed with Satellite Pumps frontman Adam Hill and the State Champs' Rob Matthews and Kelly Sprouse). If you add the fact that Béton Brut's Shane Elliott and former Metro Pulse music editor Shelly Ridenour were in the crowd along with the State Champs' Chris Leather and Seth Severns, you might've forgotten what city you were in, particularly since the Judybats were also playing at the House of Blues that same night.

Local CD Review

The Delta Souls
A Trip to the Roots of the Blues

Kenny Wayne Shepherd should take note: the blues isn't about how mournfully you can howl or how far you can bend your guitar strings. The Delta Souls prove that on their self-released CD, A Trip to the Roots of the Blues, with a few okay originals and 10 top-notch versions of classic acoustic blues songs.

The disc opens with three songs written by singer/guitarist Rey Pineda, all solid and bluesy enough, followed by a straightforward performance of Robert Johnson's "Walking Blues." A Trip really takes off, however, with the intro to the fifth track, a cover of the traditional song "Motherless Children," with Don Wood's stark acoustic slide guitar setting the perfect tone for Pineda's expressive vocals and appropriate, tasteful flourishes from harmonica player "Blue" Barry Faust.

That's followed by an atmospheric rendition of the Gershwin classic "Summertime," apparently modeled on the version recorded by bluegrass picker Doc Watson and his son, Merle. Then there's "Malted Milk," another Robert Johnson song, Elmore James' "Find My Kind of Woman," Blind Willie McTell's "Statesboro Blues," and a folk-blues flavored version of Hoagy Carmichael's "Lazy Bones."

All are tight and soulful, with a sense of authenticity that usually escapes white-boy blues revivalists.

The disc closes with two solo performances from Faust. Accompanying himself on slide guitar on "Good Things" and "Sitting on Top of the World," he captures the lonely weariness of the blues perfectly. Faust's voice isn't as strong or elemental as Pineda's, but he seems to know the blues. That counts for a lot.

Putting Their Money Where the Talent Is

Local alterna-metal rockers Galaxie have kicked some butt in the Jim Beam Backroom Band Search. At the beginning of May, the boys were heading to compete in the regional finals in Cleveland, up against bands from St. Petersburg, Fla., Cleveland and Conshocton, Ohio. But our Sunsphere City musicians did it right and walked away with the regional title, which earns them an all-expenses paid trip to Phoenix on June 1 for the national competition. Galaxie plus four other regional winners will perform 15-minute sets of original songs, and one grand prize winner will receive a five-market tour, a $1,500 equipment budget, a limited edition Gibson guitar, and (best for last) customized t-shirts. We wish them the best of luck. And, in a weird quirk of circumstance, Zippy will actually be in Phoenix and will do his level best to be sober enough to check out the show.

If you and your band would like a similar shot, this one sponsored by Ernie Ball and the Vans Warped Tour, check out www.ernieball.com. Turns out eight bands will be selected to play at their nearest Warped Tour venue (which will be Chilhowee Park on July 27) and a video of the band's performance will be uploaded and the band can win nifty-keen prizes. The deadline for entering is June 15.

—Zippy "Win one for the Zipper" McDuff