Shinyribs

"There are two kinds of people in Texas - those that got West Texas Dust, and those that got East Texas Rust. You got both of 'em!" - Doug Sahm to Kevin Russell

 

 

Hey, we all know Kevin "Shinyribs" Russell is a loose cannon. How else to explain covers of R. Kelly's “Feelin’ on Yo Booty,” and Elvis Costello's "Indoor Fireworks" in the same night.

 

 

Most folks who follow such things consider his outfit, The Gourds, one of the best live bands in the land, in large part because of Russell's brazen eccentricities and creative syntax.

 

 

However, the most overlooked thing about Russell is that when he plays it straight - as he does for most of his new sophomore record Songs Of Lime Juice & Despair (April 19, Nine Mile Records) - the man can produce some of the funkiest and most beautiful roots music on the planet. It's not to say the "psycholiteranaut w/8 AA batteries-tweed facade-equal parts Waylon Jennings,Robert Rauschenberg and Harvey Korman" (to quote his Twitter feed) doesn't dig into his bag of twistedness here (witness"Bolshevik Sugarcane"). But a listen to the straight-up waltz "I Wish You Tole Somebody Else," the dusty groove of "Sweeter Than The Scars," or the funky title track, shows that even when Russell puts aside some of the tricks, he delivers grade-A Country Soul.

www.ninemilerecords.com/band_shinyribs

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Shinyribs VIDEO
East Texas Rust

Shinyribs AUDIO
Who Built the Moon