Spreadin’ the word The Revival Preachers roar; plus, Frankie RIptide BY BOB GULLA

Fresh off the presses, it’s the first handful of tracks from the Revival Preachers, that marauding band of high-tailin’ rocker-billies: Jason, Damian, Zack, and Shaun. As the latest in a long line of torrid, punk-seared rockabilly bands borne of the city’s fertile roots scene, they come fully formed, as if they’d done their maturing before coming together. (I also wonder why so much of the rockabilly scenesters around town spring from the loins of punk . . . at least around these parts. Are all punks destined to play rockabilly when they grow up? I guess that’s another story altogether.)

Anyway, these four unmixed and unmastered tunes from the upcoming Revival Preachers set features a band fast-approaching an early peak; it’s full of high-octane performances a la the good ol’ Reverend Heat, and some really good hooky tunes. Singer Jason (Berndt) has a formidable set of pipes that a guy like Mark Lanegan would envy, a superbly fiendish brimstone-baritone. Damian Puerini, a former Haymaker, is a one-man stampede of galloping chops, especially on the insanely fast chug of "Hellhounds." Zack Shedd (upright bass) and Shaun Chevalier (snare drum) embrace that vintage rhythm section approach to rockabilly, only with a touch of steroids to amp it up. That’s a necessity considering the pace they keep.

"Mama, Why You Gotta Treat Me So Mean?" kicks things off with a whip-snapping tempo and some trad-rockabilly sizzle to set the pace. "Women and Whiskey," a honky-tonk ballad done in double time, is a nice change of pace. "Wastin’ My Time" closes the sampler on more of a strummy Bakersfield note, with an acoustic guitar underlying Puerini’s winding, non-stop leads.

While it’s not exactly a revelation in terms of originality, it’s truly promising stuff performed with a load of verve. The boys have clearly been working their asses off to get it right. And with talent like this, it won’t take long for the Revival Preachers to make converts out of all who care to listen.

The Revival Preachers play Jake’s Bar and Grill on Saturday, April 16. Admission is free.

UNITY. This Friday (the 15th), the Green Room prepares for a boatload of beats and rhymes with the CD release party for local rap boy made good Frankie RIptide. A slew of top-notch local and regional acts hit the stage before Riptide, which will make it a marquee event for the hip-hop-inclined.

With the release of his newest installment of mix-tape style CDs, Music Is My B!tch, B!tch (blended By Dusty Frazier), RIptide steps away from the freestyle battle circuit, where he’s made a name for himself, for a big CD celebration. RIptide is most recently noted for his not-too-long-ago appearances on BET’s Friday battles, having represented for the Rhode Island area for three straight weeks. Given his national rep, you can expect some surprise guests — RIptide has some friends in pretty high places. "I started battling with my brother when I was 11," Frankie says in his bio, "just freestyling. I was writing rhymes by the time I turned 12. I grew more and more serious and kept it up on the low till I knew I was ready to bring it to the public." He made his debut on the local scene at 18, and since then claims he has never lost a freestyle battle. OK, maybe one, but that includes local and national competitions. He has since retired from freestyling in favor of crafting songs designed to rival his spontaneous hardcore riffing. In 2001 he released an indie disc and followed that with The Bootleg in 2002 and another in 2003. His new EP features tracks produced by Domingo (Fat Joe, Big Punisher) and rhymes by Apathy and Chino XL. "Once people wake up and decide they’re tired of all these cookie cutter wanna-be rappers [on the national scene] thinking they’re ill, they’ll make a move towards someone original, then it’s over for real."

Hosted by CasUno and with music provided by DJ Dusty Frazier and DJ JoeyWonk, the 18-plus night costs only $7, the doors open at 9 p.m.

Herbal’s Return. If you haven’t noticed, Herbal Nation has been gone for a while, off to remote corners of the globe and other destinations unknown. Well, kind of. Anyway, the pro-cannabis funk brothers will be returning for their first show in Providence in two years this Wednesday (the 20th) at the Living Room. Here’s the rundown/rap-up of what the Herb-n jammers have been up to. In 2002 they made their first appearance at the High Times Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam (a best herb competition), and in ’03 they headlined the MassCann/NORML Freedom Festival in front of 40,000 people on Boston Common. They celebrated the release of their first full-length disc, the eponymous Herbal Nation (421 Records), in November by headlining two nights at the 2004 Cannabis Cup. No local CD release parties for them, it seems. The disc features special guest performances by Jeff Watkins, the saxophonist for the Godfather of Soul himself, James Brown, and includes three new versions of their anthem "We Love the Herb," a tune that was featured in the December 2004 issue of High Times. (Incidentally, Steve Bloom from that magazine will be the guest emcee at the Living Room show, which should give you some indication of the evening’s diversions.)

"We Love the Herb" has been getting significant airplay on college and commercial radio throughout the Northeast and the band has opened shows for the likes of Maceo Parker, Bernie Worrell, Cypress Hill, De La Soul, Fred Wesley, and Toots and the Maytals, Most recently, they rang in 2005 by bringing their jams to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to open for George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic at the club Revolution for a super funk New Year’s Eve show. Not bad for a band that celebrates its tenth anniversary this very year. Catch ’em for a toke and a smile.

Wandering Eye. Greg Hodde’s Blues Miracles are busy yet again this weekend, with a Friday gig at Cady’s Tavern in Chepachet and on Saturday at the 133 Club in East Providence. Torn and Audiocentrix play a big show at Rocky Point Pub on Friday. And you can dance all night Saturday and into Sunday at Club Therapy, where Jonathan Peters returns to spin the deep dance grooves, with an opening set by Mike Whalen. The place closes at 10 a.m., so get some rest beforehand so as not to destroy yo’ bad self. Dave Howard and the High Rollers play on Saturday night at the Bon Vue down in Narragansett, where the salty mist of the Atlantic rolls and rolls.

Record geek alert . . . Record geek alert . . . AS220 will be holding its Rock and Roll Yard Sale on Sunday (the 17th) from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free and you can be sure there’ll be lots of discs and other cool stuff to grab. In fact, the place will be chock-full of sellers with new and used vinyl, CDs, posters, etc. — both rarities and cheapos. The parking is free on Sunday, and the Bloody Marys will hit the spot.

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