BY PETER "BLEWZZMAN" LAURO, © June 2009
The Double Barrel Blues Band bills themselves as an intense, exciting, rocking blues band that plays "In Your Face Blues". If that's true, then I'm sure to have a good, good feeling about "Bad, Bad Feeling" - the second release from this Syracuse, NY based band.
Members of Double Barrel include: Mark Cloutier on Lead Guitar & Vocals, John Hart on Vocals & Slide Guitar, Bill Satterly on Bass, and Garnett Grimm on Drums. The disc contains ten tracks of which six are band originals.
Everyone's partying hard on the opening track, that ya gotta wonder if the guys aren't just singing about it but sucking on some of that "Wine, Wine, Wine", as well. This is an all out jam on which the band immediately lives up to their self description. This one rocks! It's highlighted by intense rhythm from Bill and Garnett and lots of smokin' guitar leads by Mark. Real good stuff.
Things slow down a bit on the title track, an original called "Bad, Bad, Feeling". This is a real blues burner that has everyone in a mellow groove behind lots of smoking blues guitar highlights from Mark.
Somewhere between the opening track and here, the guys must have switched over to the hard stuff, because they now have the "Whiskey Blues". It's stuff like this that gives the Double Barrel Blues Band the right to say they're blues is in your face. It doesn't get any more straight up than this. John's vocals and Mark's guitar work on this track are what the blues is all about. Discs best, right here.
The name of this track - "B Flat Bone Boogie" - pretty much describes it. It's a smokin' instrumental that will have you boogieing down to your bones. If you can sit still through this one, then you gotta be in a body cast.
"Tin Pan Alley" is another slow and low down blues burner.....the kind of stuff I can listen to all night long. Although he's pretty hot on all tracks, this one may feature some of Mark's best guitar work. In addition to getting down in the alley on vocals, this one has John sounding very impressive on slide guitar as well.
Other tracks on "Bad, Bad Feeling" include: "Matchbox", "Voodoo Thing", "Restless One", "If You Find I'm Gone" and "Flipping And Flapping".
This is quite an impressive effort by the Double Barrel Blues Band, and I've got to admit that they've certainly lived up to their reputation. "Bad, Bad Feeling" was exciting, rocking and in your face kinda blues. Great work guys!
Check the guys out by going to www.doublebarrelbluesband.com. Feel free to tell them you stopped by to pick up a copy of their "Blewzz Approved" CD.
Peter "Blewzzman" Lauro
Blues editor @ www.Mary4Music.com
 PREMIUM NEWS ARCHIVE
Article from: The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY) Article date: January 25, 2009
Byline: MARK BIALCZAK MUSIC CRITIC
Here's my Post-Standard review of the Double Barrel Blues Band's 2009 CD "Bad Bad Feeling."
Listen to "Bad Bad Feeling" and you'll get the urge to sit in a bar and sweat with the Double Barrel Blues Band.
The Syracuse foursome lays down the sound with an obvious love for and equally apparent talent for blues the way it oughta be.
Guitarist Mark Cloutier can play it fast and hot or slow and tense.
Singer John Hart can add the grit or spread the honey.
Bassist Bill Satterly and drummer Garnett Grimm Sr. keep it real.
Satterly wrote the title cut, and Cloutier's guitar work will send shivers down your spine as Hart sings, "Sometimes it feels like a black cat crossed my path. Sometimes it feels like I got a target on my back."
Yet they know that the blues can celebrate good times, too. In Cloutier's original "Flipping and Flapping, " they see what can come from romancing their high-heeled baby. "I'm gonna buy you a shoe store, so you don't have to wear old shoes no more, " Hart sings.
The well-picked covers start with a tasty "Wine Wine Wine" and finish with an anguished "Tin Pan Alley." "All the people down there, well they're living for the whiskey, wine and gin, " Hart sings. Hoist one for the blues.
Vincent Zumel of La Hora Del Blues writes of Bad Bad Feeling!!
"Here comes an exciting, joyful and lively blues band, which base his work on Mark Cloutier’s guitar work..These fellows have done a good repertoire selection and all you know the importance of the songs selection to complete a successful cd, because many times it is a determinant reason to do a totally boring or a lovely album. This time, The Double Barrel Blues Band combine a varied bright and rolling selection which, besides personal tastes, is really important when you decide to buy some cds. They define themselves as a blues and blues-rock quartet and this is really true. I personally think they are more a blues-rock band because they base all the expressive potential on the guitar work of their leader Mark Cloutier, who has a terrific flaming sound and technique, full of rocky passionate riffs. The band also play some jump passages in a more Texas blues style, together with other slow blues such as “Tin Pan Alley” that ends this “Bad Bad Feeling” album, but, in general, the cd clearly shows blues-rock is the music they feel at ease with. In short words, there is unpretentious blues-rock, effective, restrained and savoury, if I can use these words to define their music!!!" Very good stuff!
audio samples here http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=620172&content=widgets
http://www.nadeaumusic.net/MarkCloutier.html
http://www.nadeaumusic.net/DoubleBarrelBluesBand.html
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