Dryvetyme Onlyne

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is
Lost Highway; 2009

Every once in awhile, you come across some music that has both throwback and progressive tendencies. Critics and fans alike start scrambling about to attach their favorite classic act to some new band, but somehow, the music quashes the need for comparisons and allows people to appreciate how the band is pushing these old sounds into the future. It takes a special act able to indulge in a bit of musical historiography to accomplish such a task – the group is a dedicated student of the old ways, but they have the personal charisma to bring forward into a new era.

From the opening strains of Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is, I knew that Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears had created such a record, one that found me hearkening back to the black gospel music in my church roots but made me well aware that a new generation of live rock music fans would eat these sounds up ravenously. Layers of trumpets, trombones, and saxophones carry the melody, the rhythm section laid down a rollicking groove, and Black Joe Lewis himself emits such a confident swagger that it’s damn near impossible to keep still while listening to this music. Heads should be bobbing, toes a-tapping, feet a-dancing, and bodies always moving throughout the course of this album.

Calling upon healthy portions of Lightnin’ Hopkins and James Brown, the music this band creates has been referred to as “garage-soul” in some circles, but with the intensity and production values espoused here, I’d prefer to call it “punk-blues.” The blues are made more than evident by the comi-tragic lyrical content, horn bleats, and guitar riffs, but the punk is ever-present in the psyche of the band’s approach to quick, loud, and fast song construction. There is a brash, DIY ethos that runs headlong through these ten songs, as if the music would chastise you for not having fun and enjoying each moment. From the soul/funk pacing, to the strength found in the punk-style brevity of each track, there’s simply a big-time party atmosphere propelling the entire record.

It is the large personality of Black Joe Lewis that carries this project. The lyrics of tracks like “Sugarfoot,” “Big Booty Woman,” and “Get Yo Shit” bespeak of a playful sexual politics, while “Gunpowder,” “Master Sold My Baby,” and “Bobby Booshay” are soaked with tons of attitude. To put it another way, when it comes to Black Joe Lewis, women want him and men want to be him.

Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is should serve as a hallmark of new-school R&B and blues – more than willing to adore the past, but determined to carve out a place for itself in music history. There’s something to be said for the intentional lack of refinement present in these songs. Thankfully, it doesn’t matter that every note might not be perfect, but what’s important is that there’s a powerful musical force at work here compelling everyone to get out there and have a good time with the music. Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears just may have prepared the perfect record that can make stiff white hipsters dance.