Getting busy Becky Chace and Blues Bastard BY BOB GULLA

Let’s take a close look at a couple of discs by two outfits who are busy busy busy taking it to the next level.

The Becky Chace Band: Rescue

You know it’s not right that Becky Chace is still putting out records on her own. I mean, what does a performer have to prove to get a reasonable record deal? Hello? Becky’s got the goods, people. She can write, sing, play, and arrange. She can do it electric or acoustic. She can yell and she can whisper and get her message across both ways. She can speak from her heart, and she can see things through the more sober prism of her head.

Fortunately, Rescue, her new disc, proves all of this. So she doesn’t have to bust her ass convincing everyone — the music magically does the talking. It’s a quantum leap better than her last recording and a gratifying demonstration of her true potential as a performer. The opening title cut is perhaps her best tune yet, with gorgeous acoustic guitar serving as a bed underlying her substantive wordsmithing: "Broken like a puzzle, pieces on the floor / You can’t put us back together like before." There’s great stuff on the 14 tunes, all the way through the romping "You Get Wet" and the closer, a full version of "I Believe," a song the band stretches out live that features Chace cuttin’ loose.

Though she’s had some line-up shake-ups recently, word has it that the band is better and crisper than ever. Perhaps it was the change she needed to take her act to the next level. One thing’s for sure — Rescue, recorded with Joe Moody at Danger, won’t hurt her chances. As one of the better local discs of the year, it just might do the trick.

Blues Bastard (Six-song EP)

OK, so maybe they’re not as busy as they could be. But hell, if you played this kind of music night in and night out, you’d be askin’ for trouble. Blues Bastard’s blitzkrieg bop is a mix of MC5 and AC/DC without the Angus factor, merged with something newer, like the Mooney Suzuki. Led by Mitch Winston on vox — and, boy, does he have a set of pipes, kinda like Kiss’ Paul Stanley when he really had it — the band lurches through a set of primitive rockers full of messy power chords and potent performances. The set kicks off with the self-celebratory "The Bastard," then cruises into "She’s Faster Than My Hot Rod" and "Scumbag." A quick skim through the lyrics reveals the band is into the simple things: slutty girls, partying hard, and that classic archetypal rock attitude: love ’em and leave ’em. Though it ain’t PC or nuthin’, it suits this band just fine. Blues Bastard can really throw it down.

WHAT A LOAD O’ . . . The world premiere of Load Records’ Pick a Winner DVD goes down this weekend at an event that doubles as a political benefit. The Load folks are introducing candidate Jeff Toste (running for senator in District 5) to unwitting constituents at the same time, which happens to be Friday (the 29th) at 7:30 p.m. at the Columbus Theatre on Broadway.

I haven’t seen it yet, but Pick a Winner is being touted as "an animated musical spectacular DVD/CD." The DVD brings some of the freshest animation talents on the planet to feast on the project. Possibly even better, though, is what follows the flick: Load bands. And we all know what kind of havoc that means. We’re talkin’ White Mice, Necronomitron, Metalux, and Lightning Bolt.

It’s almost more color and sound than the West Side can likely handle, all together in one epic evening! Admission is just $8. Check it out on the web: www.loadrecords.com/pickawinner.html

WANDERING EYE. Scott over at the Rocky Point Pub is always looking for original bands for its Thursdays Live Music Showcase, trying to keep the local scene alive in Warwick. He’s currently booking dates in December. Contact Scott at skeletongigs@cox.net if you’re interested.

Tomorrow’s Remedy plays Cats in Pawtucket on Saturday (the 30th) with the Departed Stoic and UnScarred. Check ’em out; they’re a new and inspired bunch eager to get the word out.

Routine 8 just finished mastering their as yet untitled new eight-track CD. They report: "We recorded and mixed the tracks at Studio 2 Kingston, and then brought it over to up-and-coming Rhino Studios to master it. It’s got just enough of a raw sound that a digitally recorded/mixed/mastered CD can have, which is what we like." Samples should be up on their website this week (routine8band.tripod.com/). The CD is scheduled to drop on December 18 at Cats, just in time to stuff a few stockings!

The horn-fueled, jumping, swinging, award-winning band — our own beloved Roomful of Blues — is touring in support of their Alligator Records debut, the Grammy-nominated That’s Right!, and will be onstage at Chan’s in Woonsocket on Friday at 8 and 10 p.m. Roomful recently won the coveted 2004 W.C. Handy Blues Award for Band of the Year and the award for Blues Instrumentalist — Horns.

There’s a big Halloween party on Friday over at Cady’s Tavern in the dark woods of Gloucester. It’s a free show with the fabulously rockin’ Jeri and the Jeepsters playing all night. So throw on your best sheet and get psyched for a scary good time. On Saturday, there’s another fantastic Halloween show on tap at the Blackstone, with the Lingo (those wacky Rock Hunt winners) opening, and Headroom, a new band self-described as "rockin’ jazz heady disco trance funk" — which is to say it’s at least eclectic. It’s a costume party, with cash prizes for the best get-ups.

Johnny Carlevale and the Broken Rhythm Boys also have a big Halloween-type party going at Jake’s this Saturday. Carlevale’s band, in their first local appearance, opens the night, with Johnny Maguire’s new band the Cobra-Matics to follow and Randy Pinto & Galactic Boots closing the show. The fun starts at 9 p.m. with the Evilive DJs spinning spooky tunes, R&B, rockabilly, and dirty rock ’n’ roll between sets!

NYC rock outfit Demander visits the Green Room on Saturday, with Providence’s own Sweet Thieves and newcomers Badman. The Sweet Thieves have a sort of angular dissonance, while Badman carries dark and labyrinthine melody atop a two-drummer attack.

E-mail me at big.daddy1@cox.net if you want news of your gig or recording in this here column.