Chester – Tranquilicious, Wake Up

A mix of heavily distorted and wah wah flavored guitars along with a rock-picked bassline and vocals and lyrics simliar Edward Kowalczyk (of Live) create a sound not unlike Velvet Revolver. This is Chester.  They play rock music, not screamo, not hardcore, just straight up, whiskey with ice and a splash of water, mid 90’s alternative rock.  The slow stomping, electrified rhythms surely propel their audiences into a jumping and fist pumping frenzy at their live show – and having played more than their fair share of shows at the dingy Elbo Room, I don’t deny it. The vocals and the lead guitar usually follow one another, snaking around the song, really belting when appropriate and shutting down where appropriate as well.  The recordings are really good quality and the band is tight together, which is more than can be said for ALOT of the rock bands out there these days.  Although there are some political overtones (Wake Up) , the message does not disrupt the music and you are never overpowered by the heaviness of the lyrics.

If you are ready to pump the volume up and start elevating that blood pressure a little, stop by one of Chester’s shows and bounce off a few bodies.

Chester

Big Wig Mechanic – Tropiko and World in a Box

White-boy reggae group Big Wig Mechanic is a slave to tropical rhythm and big, fat, sloppy, upstrummed, reverb-laden guitars.  Tropiko had me bobbing my head throughout. A constant, James Jamerson-ish walking bassline holds the song down until the chorus comes rolling in and receding out without screaming out “Hey! I’m the CHORUS! I’m CATCHY!” – it really sneaks up on you and leaves a lasting impression.   It was nice to hear a little falsetto ringing out from lead singer Brian Lamarca, who peppered the tune with enough “yeah!’s” and “ugh’s” – that I can hear a little bit of the King of Falsetto (and awkward white-man dance), Chris Martin sneaking up in there.  Fortunately for us, the music grooves much too hard to be a soft rocker.

At the beginning of “World in a Box” I was a put off a bit by the unbalanced bass riff, but quickly got into the groove as the song moved along.  This sounds to me like a bit of a throwback to some “vintage” DMB, back in the real jam band days.  For those in the area – it’s a dead ringer for sitting in the sticky August heat at Alpine Valley, hippies twirling all around, while the frat boys spy the girls up and down.  Now I’m not sure if the heat is indicitive of the music or the other way around, but either way, this song fits the bill for sure.  As for the recording, I could use a little less buzz from the guitars/bass, but a polished engineer could surely rid you of those bugs.  The thing that stands out the most to me about this song is the dynamics.  These guys know how to quiet down and let the music take care of itself.  Its a testament to true musicianship, so great job fellas – and keep up the good work.

Although there are plenty of reggae bands out there and the lyrical content leaves something to be desired, overall these guys present quality music for half the price.  Fans of OAR, Dispatch and DMB will be sure to enjoy their jam-band friendly sound.

www.myspace.com/bigwigmechanic