Southern Culture on the Skids

Over at Scenestars, Patrik posted "House of Bamboo" by Southern Culture on the Skids, a long-established mainstay of the Chapel Hill music scene -- pace Patrik, they've been around since the mid 1980s. They have one of those really appealing (to me) sounds that mashes a variety of different styles together into (in this case) a spicy southern-fried stew. (I know that's mixing food metaphors, but, really, it's appropriate with SCOTS. Check out the recipes on their web site!) They play up the white trash kitch, but it doesn't seem to come across as overly smug or ironic. The main streams of influence include rockabilly, surf rock, and garage rock, with a nice dash of horns thrown in now and then.

All Music has a more detailed bio than you'll find on their own web site. SCOTS also host an eclectic local festival called Sleazefest. Scroll down a bit here for the Independent's review of their latest, Mojo Box. And here's two tracks from that album:

MP3: "Doublewide"
MP3: "Swamp Fox"
(From Mojo Box, Kudzu Records 2004. Buy or download )
Other samples on their website, but only about a minute long.

For a taste of their live show, check out the Live Music Archive:
MP3: "Liquored Up and Lacquered Down" (love the woozy trumpet! Doesn't start till about 1 minute in)
MP3: "Greenback Fly"
(Live at Graceland -- Seattle, WA, not Memphis, TN -- May 7, 2004)
More live shows here in .shn format.