The classics, Dammit

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The Dammit — that’s two Ms, no N — are a “swamp boogie” band who remember that music should be fun first. The veterans of several bands over the past 15 years are now celebrating the release of their first full-length album, playing Cahoots Saturday night with a promise of “free beer (while supplies last) when The Dammit starts their set!!” The evening begins at 9 p.m. Singer/guitarist Brian Leonard discusses their “ass-kickin’, boot-stompin’ good time” music with LEO.

LEO: The band calls its sound “swamp boogie.” What does that mean to you?
Brian Leonard: It’s like regular boogie but dirtier. You know what a Speckled Alabamian Sissy snake looks like? That’s what we sound like.

LEO: What have you all learned from past bands?
BL: Keep it simple. Over-thinking ruins everything. It twists things around, makes you worry, and makes everything seem a lot worse than it really is. Age and bourbon has helped us a great deal with that.

LEO: How does The Dammit fit into the modern music world?
BL: We have a tremendous amount of respect for modern bands and how hard they work for their success, but no one is really doing what we’re doing. We don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing; it’s just what we do. We were raised on the classics — artists like Waylon Jennings, R.L. Burnside, ZZ Top, Prince, and Hank Jr., to name just a few. I think the best way for us to contribute is to remind the modern music world how great the classic sounds make you feel.

LEO: What can Louisville expect from your live show?
BL: Our shows are typically a haze by the next day. We remember people dancing and screaming, but everything else gets lost in the fog. We just do what we love, and people tend to join in. We’re a four-person party with an open invitation.

Read your invitation at reverbnation.com/thedammit.

c. 2012 LEO Weekly

JC Brooks brings the sound

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JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound are rising stars of the soul-rock revival movement that has also seen Alabama Shakes, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, and Fitz and the Tantrums find a home on NPR stations across the nation. So it’s fitting they return to Louisville, only four months since appearing as openers at Headliners, to headline this year’s inaugural “Waterfront Wednesday,” public radio station WFPK’s summer concert series.

“I’m really looking forward to ‘Waterfront Wednesday,’” Brooks told LEO last month. “I’m gonna cross my fingers, ‘Please don’t rain …’”

The band visited here in January for what Brooks called “a really great show” opening for JJ Grey & Mofro, and the frontman received an unexpected surprise. “I ran into an old friend from college that I didn’t even know was living down there. We had soundchecked and went to this little bar/restaurant near the venue, and she was actually eating there. She said, ‘Holy shit! I’m coming to see your show,’” mimicked Brooks, a theater-trained actor, in a high-pitched voice. “‘You cut your hair!’ You know, I guess you gotta expect people to change a little bit in 10 years.”

The Uptown Sound first became known not only for their dynamic ’60’s-style live show, but also for highlighting previously undetected flavor in Wilco’s “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart,” a cover which earned them a friendly relationship with that other Chicago-based band.

Though Brooks’ spirited vocals and the band’s sharp suits quickly define them as heirs to the Chicago soul throne, Brooks is quick to defer such labels. When asked if they feel more compatible with soul, garage rock or other mid-’60’s sounds, Brooks replied, “Because of the way we’re written up, I think that we’re all forced to identify with the soul scene; the word ‘soul’ dominates a lot of the conversations that we have about the band. But we all identify with a lot of different things — our influences are so varied.

“I don’t want to say that we don’t identify with the Chicago soul scene, but I also think that we’re a lot more than that. We’re trying to push the boundaries of what we do, just so as to not get mired in one genre.”

Brooks continued, “It’s not like we’re trying to write soul music. It’s just that that’s where we started, and we tend to slide into that groove, that pocket, but there’s also a lot of new stuff we’re doing that’s different. Hopefully, people will be pleasantly surprised,” he laughed, “as opposed to appalled when they hear it.”

So, how’s the live show?

“Umm … I don’t know … it’s a sweaty black dude that screams at you for an hour or so,” he laughed, clearly joking. “It’s kind of like watching ‘A Time to Kill: The Musical.’ Write it up like that! ‘A Time to Kill: The Musical,’ starring JC Brooks as Sam Jackson.

“No, no, no, it’s a lot of fun. All we wanna do is make people dance and then have a good time. I like connecting with crowds. I have a lot of fun doing my thing, and part of the fun is — don’t get me wrong, I love when the crowd is into it and comes out ready to dance and party and play — but part of the fun is actually trying to get a crowd that might be a little more reserved engaged. That’s the challenge … that’s where I actually have to work. The rest of it is just fun. I’m living the dream, dude.”

WFPK’s “Waterfront Wednesday” with JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, Sugar & the Hi-Lows, The Tunesmiths
Waterfront Park
wfpk.org
Free; 6 p.m.
c. 2012 LEO Weekly

‘Real Housewife’ gambles for a good cause

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The Kentucky Derby has always attracted celebrities, though not some of the culture-defining figures one might expect. While fans of New York’s sports teams can depend on seeing Adam Sandler or Lady Gaga on an average day, and the Coachella music festival attracts hip movie stars, Derby has, historically, been most attractive to reality TV personalities, lesser-known rappers, fratboy chef Guy Fieri, and the like.

Vicki Gunvalson is a reality star visiting, and though she hasn’t had a career to rival Gaga’s, she has thrived over seven seasons with Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” the only original “cast member” left. Gunvalson has also distinguished herself as an insurance company owner, successful and self-sufficient regardless of the men in her life. She’s probably also the only “Housewife” open to speaking with a snarky alt-weekly in service of promoting her charitable work.

Vicki Gunvalson: You’re stationed in Louisville?
LEO: Yes.
VG: Wonderful. I love that city. It was the first time I had been there, last year, so I’m really excited to be coming back.

LEO: This poker tournament is a fundraiser for Blessings in a Backpack. How did you get involved with them?
VG: It’s a great charity, to be able to give these children an opportunity — so many children in the United States are missing out on so many things, and we’re always worried about other countries instead of taking care of our kids right here. I was part of this charity last year, and it just really struck a chord with me; I want to be part of it every year from now on. It’s a great way to see how it’s affecting people in real life, not just giving to a charity where you don’t know where it’s going. It’s helping these kids who are very vulnerable to their environment, and they can’t change it.

LEO: How good of a poker player are you?
VG: I am not good at all! I lasted two rounds of celebrity poker last year, and Nate from Boyz II Men was trying to help me (laughs), and it didn’t go too good. He had a real serious face on, and I said, “I don’t know, I’ll hit!” He said, “This isn’t blackjack.” At the end of the day, it’s about having fun …

That’s my take, especially after exposing my life on a reality TV show … you can’t take life too serious anymore, when the editing comes back and they do things that you never thought they would do … I just focus on giving back to others, and blessing others along the way in life is what we all should be doing. That’s my goal. And do a little “woo-hoo” along the way, right?

LEO: Did you interact with any other celebrities at Derby last year?
VG: You know what, it was actually quite funny — Prince Albert (of Monaco) had come up to me, in the midst of me just talking to other people, and he said to me, “I just really admire you and I love your show.” So I said, “Oh, thank you! Do you want a picture?” I didn’t know who he was (laughs). He says, “I’d love a picture.” … Anybody could come up to me, other than the country music artists, and I wouldn’t know ’em.

LEO: Do you follow the horses?
VG: No (laughs), are you kidding me? I just follow the outfits! It’s all about the outfits and who’s wearing what. That’s what I’m about.

The Derby Poker Championship takes place Thursday, May 3, at the Seelbach Hilton. For more info, go to derbypokerchampionship.com.

Photo by Michael Rosenthal

c. 2012 LEO Weekly