D A V E P E R K I N S
P i s t o l C i t y H o l i n e s s
. . . high-velocity, southern blues-rock . . . a seismic mixed-breed of tradition and post-mod . . .
Dave Perkins is an artist whose musical journey crisscrosses the map of American music. Perkins’ work as a guitarist includes playing bluegrass and swing with fiddle-great Vassar Clements, Texas renegade-country with Jerry Jeff Walker, singer-songwriter pop with Carole King, alternative rock with Chagall Guevara, Americana with Guy Clark, blues and jazz with violinist Papa John Creach, reggae with Mystic Meditations, alt-pop with Over the Rhine, and industrial hard-core with Passafist. Then, there were the occasional odd jobs, such as accompanying Ray Charles on his “3/4 Time” video. If there is a style of American music that calls for guitar, chances are Dave Perkins has played it, and played it with passion and skill.
With Pistol City Holiness, Perkins comes full circle to his first love—the blues. “The blues was the first music to capture my imagination,” says Perkins. “It grabbed me because it was something other—alien—and, yet, at the same time, deeply familiar. I’ve never gotten over it. I’ve worked in a lot of different styles of music, but my approach to each one was and will always be shaped by the blues.”
Reflecting on the creation of Pistol City Holiness, Perkins says, “I wanted to make an album that brought back the excitement I felt when I first heard Muddy Waters, Cream, Fred McDowell, and Peter Green. And, I wanted to record with the musicians I shared the most history with.” Featured on the album are three of his longest running musical relationships—Richard “Hombre” Price, Reese Wynans, and Mel Watts. Their musical association is decades deep. Like Perkins, each of these players has a significant performance pedigree with ties to artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Lucinda Williams.
Pistol City Holiness builds on the model of the traditional Chicago blues band, where guitar, piano, and harmonica play important roles as solo instruments. Along with Perkins’ guitar and Wynans’ piano and organ, TJ Klay fills out the section on blues harp. Around those foundational elements, aspects of techno, southern and alternative rock are interwoven to create a bracing, muscular take on blues-inflected American music.
Much like his sound, Perkins’ lyrics are simultaneously traditional and innovative. He brings a contemporary poetic sense to his treatment of the blues even when dealing with age-old themes. “Long Eleven Road” is the story of a blue-collar family’s forced dislocation in pursuit of illusive employment. In “Break,” he speaks for the frustrated, hard working person denied their piece of the American dream; Perkins sings,
“Hard luck days have caught me in a corner for a kill / why does the road seem to always run up hill? / I WANT A BREAK THAT I DON’T HAVE TO MAKE!”
Two of the album’s songs revisit a topic that has been present in the blues since the beginning—religion and spirituality. With “Preacher Blues,” the womanizing, cult-of-personality preacher is Perkins’ target. On a more positive note, “Revival” speaks to the healing power of community for the prodigal son. His songs, “Flown” and “Bottles and Knives” give fresh perspectives on the difficulties of relationships. Here, Perkins anchors the album by working with what has traditionally been the first topic of the blues—love, or, the lack of it.
A brew of musical energies, Pistol City Holiness blurs boundary lines between styles, and makes an artistic statement that speaks to the variety and depth of Perkins’ experience—musical and otherwise—all while keeping the blues as the emotional, musical, and spiritual center.
What critics and fans are saying about Pistol City Holiness:
“Top 25 Favorites of 2009”
Paste Magazine (Andy Whitman)
“May be the best rock record of the year. Pistol City Holiness could top plenty of year-end lists.”
Vintage Guitar Magazine
“Perkins has created a masterpiece that fuses Mississippi Delta and Chicago blues tradition with a hard-rocking, guitar-driven blues-rock sound that fans haven't heard since Stevie Ray Vaughan burst onto the scene. Nothing could prepare the listener for the nuclear-strength fall-out of Pistol City Holiness that cascades from your speakers. “
About.com:Blues (Reverend Keith Gordon)
“ . . . a mesmerizing piece of work . . . stuns and pleases at every turn. Dave Perkins has created one of the freshest sounding recordings of the year by taking the blues and roughing it up without mercy.”
Elmore Magazine (Mark Uricheck)
“This is easily the surprise disc of 2009 so far. If you’re a blues/rock fan at all, you absolutely need to have this disc. You will play it over and over again and it will still knock you for a loop every time. Blues/rock at its most manic and primal. ”
Blues Bytes (Graham Clarke)
“I give this CD my highest rating—5 Stars. Great blues-rock at its very best—highly recommended.”
Blues Underground Network (John Vermilyea)
“The best album of the year you never heard of.” NoDepression.com
“Inspired. Fierce. Fresh. I know of no real analogue. I mean, R.L. did Come On In, Tony Joe did Deep Cuts and the Black Keys did Attack and Release, all of ‘em lacing some strain of blues-rock with loops. But ain’t none of them like P.C.H.”
Jewly Hight
“Wow! Smoking hot, hard-driving blues—gritty power and intensity to spare—the real blues deal!”
Washington Blues Society Bluesletter (Malcolm Kennedy)
“ . . . one of the best roots rock records I’ve heard in years.”
Billy Block (The Billy Block Show)
“In these twelve songs, Perkins has crafted concrete musical narratives so sharply focused that the particular overflows into the universal, prompting an empathy that reveals the paradoxical secret of the blues: sharing these tales of suffering forges solidarity, and in this solidarity is a hope that makes the blues bearable. “ ImageUpdate.com
“I really enjoy how many of the themes of blues, folk, gospel, and rock music are blended to make a coherent whole. Which, again, speaks to how good the lyrics and the delivery are here.”
Squeezemylemon.blogspot (Fitzgerald)
“It only happens two or three times a year for me that I put a new disc in the CD player and out of the speakers comes something so good that I can’t put it away. Sure there have been some really good records this year, but this one is about as perfect as I can imagine. 5 / 5 Stars (easily).“
Phantom Tollbooth (Gar Saeger)
"Pistol City Holiness could very well, at least in my opinion, be one of the best rock n roll records ever produced. I say this as someone who has been listening to rock music for well over fifty years and I take my music very, very seriously.”
Chris MacIntosh a.k.a. “Grandfather Rock” 88.1fm WCWP (Long Island, NY)
"Loud and proud, Dave takes Route One to the kingdom of blues-rock. If you like big, blasting, blues-rock, track this album down---it repays the effort!"
Blues Matters (UK) (Norman Darween)
“Pistol City Holiness" is a fearless, scorching blues-rock confessional. Not for the faint of heart. Perkins bleeding mercy via his vocals & guitar. A masterpiece.”
Pam Mark Hall (blog) lugnutmusic@gmail.com
D A V E P E R K I N S
P i s t o l C i t y H o l i n e s s
. . . high-velocity, southern blues-rock . . . a seismic mixed-breed of tradition and post-mod . . .
Dave Perkins is an artist whose musical journey crisscrosses the map of American music. Perkins’ work as a guitarist includes playing bluegrass and swing with fiddle-great Vassar Clements, Texas renegade-country with Jerry Jeff Walker, singer-songwriter pop with Carole King, alternative rock with Chagall Guevara, Americana with Guy Clark, blues and jazz with violinist Papa John Creach, reggae with Mystic Meditations, alt-pop with Over the Rhine, and industrial hard-core with Passafist. Then, there were the occasional odd jobs, such as accompanying Ray Charles on his “3/4 Time” video. If there is a style of American music that calls for guitar, chances are Dave Perkins has played it, and played it with passion and skill.
With Pistol City Holiness, Perkins comes full circle to his first love—the blues. “The blues was the first music to capture my imagination,” says Perkins. “It grabbed me because it was something other—alien—and, yet, at the same time, deeply familiar. I’ve never gotten over it. I’ve worked in a lot of different styles of music, but my approach to each one was and will always be shaped by the blues.”
Reflecting on the creation of Pistol City Holiness, Perkins says, “I wanted to make an album that brought back the excitement I felt when I first heard Muddy Waters, Cream, Fred McDowell, and Peter Green. And, I wanted to record with the musicians I shared the most history with.” Featured on the album are three of his longest running musical relationships—Richard “Hombre” Price, Reese Wynans, and Mel Watts. Their musical association is decades deep. Like Perkins, each of these players has a significant performance pedigree with ties to artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Lucinda Williams.
Pistol City Holiness builds on the model of the traditional Chicago blues band, where guitar, piano, and harmonica play important roles as solo instruments. Along with Perkins’ guitar and Wynans’ piano and organ, TJ Klay fills out the section on blues harp. Around those foundational elements, aspects of techno, southern and alternative rock are interwoven to create a bracing, muscular take on blues-inflected American music.
Much like his sound, Perkins’ lyrics are simultaneously traditional and innovative. He brings a contemporary poetic sense to his treatment of the blues even when dealing with age-old themes. “Long Eleven Road” is the story of a blue-collar family’s forced dislocation in pursuit of illusive employment. In “Break,” he speaks for the frustrated, hard working person denied their piece of the American dream; Perkins sings,
“Hard luck days have caught me in a corner for a kill / why does the road seem to always run up hill? / I WANT A BREAK THAT I DON’T HAVE TO MAKE!”
Two of the album’s songs revisit a topic that has been present in the blues since the beginning—religion and spirituality. With “Preacher Blues,” the womanizing, cult-of-personality preacher is Perkins’ target. On a more positive note, “Revival” speaks to the healing power of community for the prodigal son. His songs, “Flown” and “Bottles and Knives” give fresh perspectives on the difficulties of relationships. Here, Perkins anchors the album by working with what has traditionally been the first topic of the blues—love, or, the lack of it.
A brew of musical energies, Pistol City Holiness blurs boundary lines between styles, and makes an artistic statement that speaks to the variety and depth of Perkins’ experience—musical and otherwise—all while keeping the blues as the emotional, musical, and spiritual center.
Dave Perkins' musical journey crisscrosses the map of American music. As guitarist, he played bluegrass and swing with
Vassar Clements, renegade-country with Jerry Jeff Walker, singer-songwriter pop with Carole King, Americana with Guy Clark, blues-jazz with violinist Papa John Creach, alt-rock with Chagall Guevara, industrial hard-core with Passafist, and a video performance with Ray
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