SASSPARILLA: Press

Portland Oregon (fomerly Chicago Illinoise) recording artists Sassparilla have a "lived in" sound. This music isn't just something they put one when they hit the stage, they wear all the time like a $20 suit. And they wear it well.

The notes for Sassparilla's newest CD, "Debilitated Constitution", uses six terms to describe what they're playing. All but one include the word "blues". This shouldn't come as much of a surprise after you look through the list of the musicians that make up this talented band. You've got fiddle, washboards (twice), banjo, percussabass, national steel and A FULL TIME HARMONICA PLAYER. That you're dealing with artists dedicated to early blues should come as no surprise.

And these folks are dedicated. The sound here is so vintage you're surpised when you realize that all but two of these songs are originals. Sassparilla evoke the blues of the 20's and 30's so well you'd believe that these compositions had to be period, it's a damned neat trick. Their modern vintage sound is well brewed and aged just enough. While the band's dedication to recreating a period sound is more akin to Leon Redbone their topics of whiskey, murder, and spankings put's them closer to Tom Wait's territory (I think you can hear Tom's spirit on the track "White Shoes"). The one obvious cover is a reworking of Jane's Addiction's "Mountain Song" into a song that actually sounds like it COMES FROM THE MOUNTAINS, the Appalachian's in this case.

All of this would be meaningless if Sassparilla weren't top-shelf musicians. They've earned their chops playing on street corners and honky-tonks. They're tight but there's still room for each musician to shine. Nobody on this recording is extraneous, if one instrument were removed you'd damage the whole... you'd lose something like taking out one of the ingredients from your favorite mixed drink. It would still be potable, but it wouldn't be the same.

I am frustrated by one thing: that I'm going to have to explain to some folks that THIS is the sound of the blues. Sassparilla is reclaiming the blues from bloated yuppies slavishly retreading Eric Clapton guitar riffs. We need a blues that is provincial and spirited not over-produced and diluted. What we need is INSURGENT BLUES. It worked in the 90s with the re-invigoration of country why not with the blues?

If I have one problem with "Debilitated Constitution" is that I heard it after seeing this amazing band live. They are so crazed, so stomping, live that the CD can't help but seem reserved by comparision. At first I was a bit dissappointed but then I realized that this mellowing may not be a bad thing. This recording is like a fine sipping whiskey. You can put it on and savor it all the way through and just want a refill. Live Sassparilla is like home-made corn liquour. Just one hit will slam up against the wall and have you dancing with folks who's name you don't remember and waking up with lovers whose name you never knew.

Either way I'll take a bottle of Sassparilla.

Bringing to the table influences ranging from bluegrass to punk to blues, the lively bunch of thugs known as Sassparilla manage to defy categorization by modern standards. “Their modern vintage sound is well-brewed and aged just enough,” says Sepiachord.com. “While the band's dedication to recreating a period sound is more akin to Leon Redbone, their topics of whiskey, murder, and spankings put them closer to Tom Waits territory.”

They recently won over droves of new fans with their three high-octane performances at Pickathon Roots Music Festival, and an impromptu show with national act, Langhorne Slim. Audience members are hard-pressed to sit still once this gang gets going.

"This six piece from the great NW describes their sound as Americana,
blues, rag-blues from the 20’s and 30’s, country blues,
barrelhouse blues, jug band and trance blues. Needless to say, there's
a lot going on here, but it comes together with a finely understated
intuitiveness. While the overall sound is decidedly vintage, this
can't be shrugged off as novelty; the lyrics and the musicianship are
much too impressive. Mixing banjo, fiddle, harmonica, and percussabass
(a washtub bass contraption) to warmly conjure up the melodies, the
group produces an amazingly full yet loose sound, with members
stepping up and falling back as the song allows. Add to this the
percussive merits of washboards and even a suitcase, and you've got a
fully rounded sound that is both abstractly intelligent and
comfortably welcoming. While the majority of the album is brilliantly
penned original material, there are a few covers, one of which is a
rag blues take on Jane's Addiction's "Mountain Song." The arrangement
is well conceived, offering an unexpectedly sly reworking of the
track. If you're looking to take a trip back with some modern music,
make sure to give this one a listen."

"Sassparilla from Portland is a six piece made up of a washboard, a washtub bass, guitar and fiddle, old-timey radio and fucking fun."
Up and Coming weekly Picks in the Seattle Stranger

"Sassarilla is the best thing happening in the Pacific Northwest, I can't get enough of these guys." 2/9/07 River City Juke Joint 89.1 KMHD

Sassparilla has found themselves at the “heart of the Pohemian music movement” of Portland. “Bands embodying the latest evolution in the Portland music scene: the Pohemian fusion of turn-of-the-century musical traditions and carnivalesque performances.” St. Johns Sentinel (2006)

Sassparilla

Call it Americana with a twist, call it blues, rag-blues or country blues, barrelhouse blues or just plain ol’ jug band. I don’t care what name you slap on it, but if you were to ask me what I call it, the answer is simple - fun.

I had the good fortune a few weeks ago to bump into Sassparilla while taking the long way home. I’d been working late on a Friday night and had stopped for a beer and a bite to eat (always ice cold Hefeweizen and a bowl of good soup at this particular tavern) and saw that some sort of jug band was about to start up. Guitar, harmonica, violin, washboards, a set of drums made out of upside down plastic laundry pails and an old suitcase, and a variation on the good ol’ washtub bass, which I’d later learn was coined by the band as a “percussabass. I could tell right away this was something I just had to hear.

The album does a decent job of sharing with everyone what I heard that night, although I’ve yet to hold in my hand a piece of vinyl that can contain the energy of any live performance, and this album is no exception. While the album is certainly well done, it doesn’t come close to capturing the fun of a live Sassparilla performance, and if you ever have a chance to see them perform, you shouldn’t pass it up. Take it from me, the man whose feet hadn’t touched a dance floor in 15 years, these guys will will get you moving.

Originally from Chicago, Sassparilla now makes their home in Portland, and plays a schedule up and down the west coast. You can check out the group’s site to see if they’re playing anywhere near you.

"Do you know what a "percussabass" is? This band seems to have coined the term for a washtub bass played at the same time as a snare drum. These street musicians will have you stomping your feet, bobbing your head and wondering why you haven't heard this before." 2/2/07

"The five piece group, which is made up of musicians hailing from the blues-heavy city of Chicago, formed up in Portland two years ago and has since made a name for itself as a lively rag and blues crew up and down the West Coast...Since relocating ot the Pacific Northwest, the folksy group has made a tour of the region, playing fesitvals, bars and street corners with equal enthusiasm. Sassparilla is quickly becoming a household name..."

Sassparilla, a bluesy jug band originally from Chicago...boasts a delightful ability to nod in the direction of old blues and ragtime without mimicking artists of the past (although they do a killer version of "Ain't Nobody's Business" that fans of Billie Holiday would likely endorse)."

"Their music often has a rumpled sound to it, as though they are tucking in their shirttails as they play. Other times, their compositions come together with a sudden smoothness or elegance."

“Chicago’s own Sassparilla combines the punk mentality of their youth with traditional music; the result is a lively sonic junket.”

Hot Sassparilla
Sunday, February 4, 2007, 05:52 PM - Ukulele, Junk Music, Jug Band
Last night I trekked down the street to the Conor Byrne Pub in order to hear (and meet for the first time) Sassparilla, a Portland, OR band who are MySpace friends of mine. (Sassparilla's MySpace page)

The band consists of Sweet Pea on washboards, Marilee Hord on fiddle, Franco Frantz on Percussabass (more about this later), Pappy McDonald on harp, Augustus "Gus" Richmond on National Steel, banjo and vocals and Dr. Caffe on suitcase, snare and washboards.

Capsule Review:

They rock. Hard.

The Purcussabass is a washtub bass of the fixed neck variety. Franko moves up and down the neck fingering notes on the single string but instead of plucking the string he hits it with a snare brush. This brush is occasionally used to give a whack to the tub itself and also to a "cymbal" he has hanging nearby that is actually the lid from a small galvanized garbage can. Great sound! Franko also takes his turns on lead vocals.

Heh! Garbage can lid cymbal. I just love me some junk music!

Dr. Caffe stepped out from behind her "drum kit" at one point and played washboard with Sweet Pea. He joined her near the stage steps and then they danced through the crowd, keeping some pretty tasty boardwork going while doing so.

Dr. Caffe's drum kit consists of a snare, some brushes, some "hot rods" (which look something like a bundle of tempura skewers and are like halfway between brushes and drumsticks as far as sound goes), a couple of those big plastic utility pails, an old suitcase for a kickdrum and her washboard.

She would change the arrangement of the pieces between songs. Sometimes she'd be playing two of the buckets and her snare, sometimes it was the snare and accessible bits of the washboard (which was placed on top of one of the buckets). That last arrangement brought an actual cymbal into the mix but, in true jug band tradition, it was a rather cheap cymbal.

Did I mention that I just love me some junk music?

Pappy and Marilee handled their respective instruments in fashions that ranged from "pretty darn good" all the way up to "smokin'!" and Gus, along with his vocal duties, picked some fine rag and piedmont riffs on a couple different National Resonator guitars.

Not only were their individual skills sharp and their arrangements tight but they also had a show, they didn't just "get up and do some tunes." I'm way down with being entertaining.

After the show I introduced Gus and Pappy to my National Resonator uke, much to their delight. I also passed around some business cards to the band so we could stay in touch without necessarily going through MySpace.

There was some loose talk bandied about me coming to Portland and being part of one of their gigs. I may just have to remind them of that because that purely sounds like a good time to me.

Their calendar looks pretty busy at this time and stretches out til August and up and down the west coast. If you're anywhere near one of their gigs you owe it to yourself to go check 'em out!