Breaking Boundaries #5

Spira

Boundary: a line which marks the limits of an area; a dividing line.

Often boundaries serve a purpose, sometimes they are waiting to be transcended.
Every Friday, here at The Rhythm Section, we will explore the ocean of music using the latter as our lodestar: breaking of a boundary.

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If you thought we are going to be all zen here at Breaking Boundaries… well, you have another thing coming!

Amps are red hot from overdrive, loudspeakers are vibrating like CERN particles before collision… and… I am pissed off!
Because of the way music industry promotes “emptys” in glamorous wraps and leaves “fulls” desperately seeking a place under the sun. To be honest, yeah… that is the way we have built our societies in general; but I digress.

I told you, last time we met, we are heading south to Palestine for some Hard Rock action.
You bet your record player stylus we do! To Palestine, Texas, USA.

Blacktop Mojo
A band that is oozing passion & talent.

You wanna call them a hard-hitting Southern Rock band? Be my guest.
You wanna call them a band of bearded guys from Texas, whose name sounds like a cocktail made from one part Lynyrd Skynyrd , one part ZZ Top, one part Soundgarden, served with Metal? Right on!

The Sicilian Storyteller at her recent piece @ IN THE GROOVE wrote: “ They didn’t set off pyrotechnics, smash their instruments, sport big hair or perform acrobatics on stage. They came out, laid down some mean guitar riffs and sang some awesome songs. No need for more than that.”
Man, does this apply to Blacktop Mojo!

Take for instance the opening of “Where the Wind Blows”; southern acoustic guitar licks followed immediately by a riff that will make your head move and your feet stomp.
Onslaught continues… vocals kick in… a huge voice that can easily fill a stadium.
Drums and bass form a wall of demolition eruptions, while rhythm and lead guitars soar…you are getting the picture, dontcha?

Ballad time? They deliver with the power of Blues and Rock ‘n Roll in their veins.

Covers, you say? Besides the one we will listen, they tackled the iconic “Dream on” by Aerosmith so well that I easily put it up there along with Dio/Malmsteen’s cover.

Three songs we will feature, portraying various facets of their repertoire:
a heavy riff coated sledgehammer, a bluesy hard rock ballad and a fantastic cover of My Girl by  the Temptations that completely transforms the song (minor scales rule!).

Blacktop Mojo will be on tour from May till August, starting on May 27th at D’s Irish Tavern, Baytown, Texas.

Turn up the volume to LOUD and get ready to be met by the energy of a band destined to become huge.
As the album/ title song “Burn The Ships” signifies, every means of retreat are burnt, no option left but to move forward and conquer.

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Thank you for joining us on this journey through the music of artists who defy conventions, inspiring, challenging and expanding our perspectives with their art.

Until next time, be kind to yourselves & take it easy.

SPIRA©2023

 

Published by Spira

A Renaissance human. Part healer, part B/W photographer, part artist, part sigh of a writer, part explorer of guitar & piano landscapes, always in love with music..."Music is the fabric that clothes our lives" as Denise Farley once wrote. All done with the dedication, intensity & passion of an imperfect speck of cosmic debris.

26 Comments

  1. Ok, first let me put it out there, that these gentlemen are very talented musicians. Their arrangements, their control and their respect to the songs they covered and their own music states that quite clearly. Second, wasn’t that cover of My Girl superb. It took a classic song and expanded it to be something more, while remaining true to the sentiment of the original.

    This was a great example of breaking boundaries and I love each and every second.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. How can I say it politely?
      Hell yeah, D!!

      I wish I could package the love you are giving them and mail it straight down to Texas!

      Your points couldn’t be more spot on.
      Explore their music, D…you won’t regret a single second.
      ( Tail Lights, Prodigal, Underneath, Can’t Sleep – to name a few).

      And here is the acoustic version they did to My Girl

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

  2. Has anyone seen my socks? They were just knocked off!

    Nick, my man! Whatthefuckedness just happened? I feel like a guitar string wrapped itself around the hook sticking out of the top of my head and pulled me off into another dimension.

    Where the Wind Blows, right around the 1:17 mark when the drums did a rapid six BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM, my eyes flew open. Seriously insane rhythms. This drummer obviously went to the Keith Moon School of Drumming. I’m hearing the voice of Chris Cornell with the riffs of Yngwie. That was sick, Nick!

    It Won’t Last. Part Led Zeppelin/part Aerosmith with the dirty, sexy guitar of Jimmy Page and a wail only like my boy Steven (Tallarico) Tyler can do, I think it WILL last. That freakin’ guitar is unreal!

    Ronnie James dancing on the black keys with My Girl while Blackmore does some kind of magic with his guitar. And was that a violin I heard? Was this the reimagining of The Temptations by Blacktop Mojo or was it really Rainbow?

    Get the fire pit going, Nicky; it’s time! Damn! 🔥 😎 🤘🏼

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Oh, damn straight the fire pit is going to overdrive, Nancy!🔥🤘

      You said it all! Nothing more to add … except… that if I was to win the lottery I would gather all you fine people and fly down to Palestine, Texas and just burn the house down as Blacktop Mojo do their magic.

      (Big smile…big smile on this bearded face)

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  8. Of the three, I like “It Won’t Last”. I immediately thought of Guns & Roses when I heard the first song. Given a choice, I go with Estas Tonne every time. I’m still enjoying his voice on my playlist.

    Liked by 1 person

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  10. Excellent article, Nick! Damned if you didn’t get me all kinds of fired up!

    Thanks for putting in the bonus vids. Stumbled across these guys when I clicked on “It Won’t Last” a few years ago. Good to know they’re still around.

    P.S. Volume at 11 😎

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Mission accomplished, Denise! 🔥

      I am glad you approved; you’re welcome.
      If I remember correctly, you also used a video clip of theirs to accompany a Six Sentence Story a few years ago.

      PS: That’s the way! Let’er rip !😎

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. You know what I love about your engagement, Chris?
      Every time you do, you do it with complete attention, you go through every little or big thing… but it comes as no surprise to me, since I have witnessed the deep and magic resonance of your ink.

      Damn straight you are getting it back!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

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