The Scat Rag Boosters
Scat Rag Boosters are a Canadian raunch trio without the bass but with a sound in the vicinity of the Gories, Oblivians and '68 Comeback. Their lo-fi grind can't conceal the raw punk energy and rock 'n' roll roots of their sound. Gritty growly guitars, moody harmonica, and Lightning Hopkins-style drums -- finally, blues punk done right!
"These guys are the best blues-punk band since the Gories", Mick Collins has been saying. But don't think this is another Gories or Oblivians rip-off band, the Boosters are purely original. Nobody has captured the broodingly bold lasciviousness of low-rent back-street carousing quite like this incorrigible band from Canada.
Edouard (drums) is also an excellent producer. He's produced (and also plays with) the Del-Gators and Les Sexareenos, and, he also orchestarted the Sympathetic Sounds of Montreal & Quebec compilation on SFTRI. His and Martin's new band's called the Royal Routes and they have their debut single out on Goodbye Boozy.
Serge (guitar/vocals) also has a one-man band called Skip Jensen & His Shakin' Feet. His sold-out debut solo single is on Solid Sex Lovie Doll and has a few more on Yakisakana, as well as a brand new one on Delta Pop!
Martin (guitar/harmonica) plays with Ed in the Royal Routes.
"I used to listen to a lot of rhythm & blues and rockabilly without knowing who the bands were," says drummer Edouard Larocque, "because they were on mixed tapes that friends gave me. Later on I started listening to the Cramps, and that really put me on the map."
"Playing the music came later, though," adds Larocque, "because the people I was playing with were into hardcore." For most punk rockers who came of age between the late '80s and now, going "retro" means dusting off your big sister's old Sex Pistols LP. But the garage punk bag is a further stretch back than the Spirit of '77. Before the British Invasion of the mid-'60s spawned the lumbering behemoth of corporate rock, rock 'n' roll was the genuinely rebellious sound of wound-up, hormone-frenzied kids playing for other wound-up, hormone-frenzied kids. Beer sponsors and tour jerseys weren't part of the equation yet.
"I find there's a lot of what one looks for in punk," concludes Larocque. "Not necessarily the attitude or the politics, but the spirit of sincerity that has always been present in rock 'n' roll." So prepare for revolution number umpteen.
* above excerpts stolen from a story in the Montreal Mirror and some Flying Bomb press.
© 2004, 2005 Delta Pop