Eddy Bear and the Cubs - demo CD

I've raved about Eddy Bear and the Cubs (though I guess I kept spelling it "Eddie") quite a number of

times here as Las Vegas' premier country/honky-tonk band. While some of the members may change, the quality is consistently high and they continue to keep gettin' better'n'better. They have now gotten around to recording a few tracks and are selling these demos at their shows until some record label is smart enough to pick them up and put out an "official" release. In the meantime, be sure to get this, as it is a high quality memento of their live shows!

For this session, they have Lucky Cheats string-wrangler-supreme, Wade Braggs, on lead guitar, along with stalwarts Erik & Larry on guitars and vocals, Davis on bass and their mysterious drummer, who is terrific, but whose name I can never remember (although, to be fair, I believe that there has been more than one). They pull some of the best tunes from their live show and all of the performances are smokin' and tasty!

The opener is George Jones' "You're Still on My Mind", with Erik singing lead and with some inventive C&W licks from Wade, fine harmonies from Larry and a swingin' backbeat. What follows is a unusual, slower, minor-key number that I do not remember from their live shows - Wayne Hancock's "Thunderstorms and Neon Signs", given the Cubs treatment and sung in Larry's catchy baritone. They pick up the pace in Merle Haggard's short'n'sweet "Somebody Else You've Known" (Erik on lead, with more great harmonies from Larry and Wade impressing me yet again) and raise the energy once more for Gram Parsons' country-rock tune "Ooh Las Vegas". Larry returns on lead vox for their unique mash-up of Freddie King's fantastic "Goin' Down" and Jimi Hendrix' "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)", with plenty of their own touches, and then they wrap everything up with Larry's rendition of the Saddle Tramps' lewd and crude "I'm the Bulge in Satan's Pants" - goofy but rockin' cow-punk.

These cats are always a blast live and this is a high-quality souvenir of their gigs. Catch 'em at a honky-tonk near you and slap down the measly 5 bux for this disc! You won't regret it!