Dynamite!

The Itchies return with a fabulous EP

by Bob Gulla

What would we do without rock and roll? I'm not talkin' about the kind of arrow-straight prefab gloop that comes out of a meat grinder somewhere in midtown Manhattan. I'm talking about the kind of music that makes you lose your mind, the kind of music that makes you feel like you're sitting trackside at a drag race, with that exhilarating mix of speed and danger. Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Haley had it early. James Brown, Sly Stone, the Temptations had it in the late '60s. Blue Cheer, the Stooges, and MC5, of course, had it in the early '70s, while the punks piped up later in the decade. (For the sake of discussion, we'll carry this through to the present.) Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, early Pixies, Husker Du, Butthole Surfers, Big Black, the Scientists, and that post-punk ilk had it in the '80s. In the '90s, Nirvana and some of their Seattle cohorts (Mudhoney, Screaming Trees) enjoyed it. Today, sadly, our true rock and rollers are more marginalized than ever. Korn and Limp Bizkit are pretenders to that throne, their abandon too calculated to achieve any momentousness. Deftones come close.

Fortunately, we have a small pool of noisemakers here in Providence, including the Sinners Club, Tokyo Texas, Double Nuthins, the L.U.V.s, and a few others who are proud call a garage their home. These are bands on the heels of being unhinged, hawking a raucous sound that's never too far from musicianship and melody. One of those bands, the Fabulous Itchies, drop a new slab this week -- an EP, actually -- that like many of their manic predecessors, virtually defines that wild and crazy sound.

"It's definitely back to raw," says new-ish member-guitarist Dennis Kelly. "We fought the good fight in the studio, keeping it simple, going for bigger guitar sounds. Everything sounds pretty fresh."

Recorded over two nights at Sound Station Seven with Bruce Bennett from the A-Bones assisting, TNT EP features the Itchies -- Kelly and Brian Dardeen on guitars, Ty Jesso on bass, and new drummer Andy Tokarz -- on five select tracks, inspired by the kind of hot-wired rock and roll the band has always admired.

"We had some songs that we had been working on," says Jesso, "a lot of different stuff, that we liked a lot. Recently, we'd been listening to a lot of great rock and roll and wrote some stuff quickly. We took those and put 'em out."

True to its name, TNT is the kind of explosive, hard-driving nitro the band leans into at its gigs, with songs like the rollicking, distorto-vox of "You One Upped Me," the Bo Diddley-motivated "You Make It Work," and Chuck Berry blast "Teenie Weenie." True to the band's music-loving spirit, there's an unmistakable vintage feel, characterized by soulful rock grooves and classic, revved-up guitar riffs. "To us," says Jesso, "it's just another version of American rock and roll.

"All of us have been going out and buying old, gritty soul and R&B stuff," Jesso admits, "like early James Brown. Everyone in the band -- except for Andy -- has been listening to music for quite a while, all different styles of rock and roll. We spend a lot of time going back and learning about all kinds of stuff."

That casual study makes the Itchies a serious band to be reckoned with. And who knows? Perhaps there's a break in store. The band plans a summer trip to Vegas for the upstart monster garage rock bash, the Las Vegas Grind, and Corduroy Records in Australia wants the rights to release TNT Down Under on vinyl.

This Saturday night, the Itchies take the stage at their home venue, the Green Room, to celebrate the release of TNT. As is their custom, the band will bring one of their favorite national acts to support them. This week it's the Forty-Fives from Atlanta; next month it'll be Mooney Suzuki from New York City. So not only are they keeping the spirit of recklesss rock alive in Providence, they're helping to perpetuate the kinship of a scene nationally.

BIGGISH NEWS. 1) Perhaps you've noticed. The Living Room is currently making strides to beef up Wednesday nights. Booked by Mike Maresca, the venue is bringing in local and national acts. Maresca and the Living Room folks are looking for bands that fit the musicianly type, that play skillful blends of instrumental-savvy genres like jazz, funk, bluegrass and jam-band. It could be a promising outlet for those of you who have found a hard time fitting into the sturm und drang punk and indie pop scene in Providence. Here's your chance: if you fit the vibe, get your stuff into Maresca and follow up. If you're a fan, well, there's always paid admission.

2) Craig Roberts writes in from a talented local band called Toledo Skye. Seems he and his band members have established an ambitious project for Providence and southeastern Mass. First and foremost there's the record label, Sunset Venue Music. There will be a publishing company and video production service. It'll be an internet based biz -- to skirt the major label rigmarole -- with all kinds of resources for local bands, so keep an eye out for Roberts and company. Get a good word in and have a demo handy. Their first product happens to be Toledo Skye's debut disc.

WANDERING EYE. On Saturday, April 29, AS220 and Aaronaut Recordings present a night of music and film. Blasting off at 10 is Boston's SPACEJUNC. Next up is Jeff Drury's film One Man's Castle, a documentary on the Castle Cinema. Closing out the show is Providence's own pop heroes Jimmy Jack Stark.

That same night, notable Canadian singer-songwriter James Keelaghan makes his first, and long-awaited, appearance at Stone Soup. Not only is he a major figure in our recent folk lexicon, local favorite Mary Ann Rossoni will be playing some of her originals in the opening slot.

The new Grüvis Malt disc, Backout Smiling, will be available at all the busy band's upcoming shows. The new CD will also be available in stores, so pick it up there if you miss it this weekend. Only $6. GM will be leaving for a tour to the West Coast after this week, so feel free to come through for the band and supply them with pick-me-ups, care packages and, uh, soap. Check the Website for any other info and possible tour stories: www.gruvismalt.com.

Bob Gulla can be reached at b_gulla@yahoo.com.