Metro Pulse/Music/Eye on the Scene

Keep On Keepin' On Dept.

Nearly a decade since the band's inception, Superdrag has surely found its second wind and is steadily moving toward indie veteran status, complete with a fanbase of rabid cultists. Naysayers be damned (see Metroblab, for example), the band has gone and done it on their own terms. The indie route requires hard work and tenacity, but it leads to loyal fans and a long-term career.

The 'Draggers are out on tour with femme fatale sexbomb buzz band The Donnas. Sure, this is a high profile tour. But it ain't exactly the first mass-market exposure the band has had of late. The boys have already toured with Guided By Voices (including a stop at Blue Cats last month) and Phantom Planet this year.

"The Donnas really draw a big crowd, but it's kind of a strange mix," says drummer Don Coffey. "They get a lot of 15-year-old kids and a lot of 40-year-old perverts who get up front trying to look up their [The Donnas'] stuff."

I was lucky enough to catch a recent show where Superdrag headlined Chicago's premier large venue, The Metro. And, believe it, the band's following borders on obsessive. The show was a nonstop sing-along, punctuated by frequent audience requests.

"New" members Sam Powers and Mike Harrison are reaping their share of adulation. Both Powers and Harrison took the spotlight as lead vocalist, and their efforts were met with sincere praise from the frenzied and ever so slightly intoxicated crowd.

It really warmed my heart to see the band proudly acknowledge their hometown roots. Repeatedly announcing the band's Knoxville base, John Davis made no effort to hide his southern accent. And Superdrag's new stickers, which feature the band's logo printed over a picture of Tennessee with a star marking (you guessed it) Knoxville, are, well, just danged cool.

Music Review

Brooklyn Cowboys
Dodging Bullets (LEAPS)

When he was in Knoxville, leading the bands Wh-Wh and Shinola, Brian Waldschlager liked a little country in his rock 'n' roll. Since moving to Nashville a few years ago, the balance has shifted. Waldschlager's now leading (or at least standing in front of) the Brooklyn Cowboys, a group of veteran country and rock musicians from Nashville and New York with a taste for old-fashioned honky tonk and a little rock 'n' roll.

On the Cowboys' second album, Dodging Bullets, Waldschlager, a frenetic country warbler, shares lead vocals with Walter Egan, an old friend of Gram Parsons. (The band also includes Buddy Cage, who's played steel guitar with the New Riders of the Purple Sage, Bob Dylan and the Band; bassist Jeff "Stick" Davis of the Amazing Rhythm Aces; drummer Fredro Perry and keyboardist Michael Webb.)

Dodging Bullets never veers into straight country; there's too big a backbeat and the guitars are too loud. But even the rock that's there is old-fashioned bar-band rock. This is country rock like Joe Ely or Delbert McClinton, not Uncle Tupelo.

And, best of all, the Brooklyn Cowboys manage to avoid the soulless precision of records made by session musicians. The band is tight and never afraid to show off, but it does so with taste and restraint, putting its chops to good use in the service of solid songs. The title song is a mid-tempo ballad with epic steel guitar and fiddle that never sound like too much; "I Was Wrong" and "Trouble With a Capital 'T'" don't break new ground, but are saved from cliché by the down-and-dirty performances.

There's nothing on Dodging Bullets that hasn't been done before. It's just done better than a lot of people do it anymore. There's probably not much of a market in New York or Nashville for a record like this, but that should actually count in its favor.

Go.

Thursday: Every night a different band is the most emotive one in the America. Tonight, Shannon Wright at the Pilot Light could be the one.

Friday: Elliot Holden works harder than any guitar player you know. Go to Manhattan's to see if the work is paying off.

Saturday: It's in you and it's got to come out—dance at Fairbanks Roasting Room at the R&B/Soulive Dance Party.

Sunday: November was made for klezmer music. Or so I've been told. Ken Brown leads Dor L'Dor at Borders.

Monday: Let's be honest, sometimes it's better to stay home and drink alone.

Tuesday: The Knoxville Jazz Orchestra will soon have a new CD out, featuring performances from around the world. Until then you'll have to settle for hearing them live in Knoxville at Fairbanks.

Wednesday: WDVX is one of the best public radio stations in the country. Go see their weekly Behind the Barn live broadcast at Barley's Tap Room.

—Emma "another dreaded sunny day" Poptart with John Sewell and Matthew Everett