Review of Ghost of Bonnie Parker from the UK's Logo Magazine
Quirky Texas-formed trio Slick 57 play fast, furious
tunes that blend Green Day with Hank Williams,
although they often remember to slow things down
enough to show a heartfelt side as well. Here to
promote their new CD, a punkish honkey-tonk collection
entitled The Ghost of Bonnie Parker, they.re as good a
reason as ever to mix some blow, bopping and beer..
- The Village Voice (NYC)
“We’re old school punk rock merged with old school country,
merged with chicks getting naked, rock and roll,” states Ward
Richmond, bass player for Slick 57, the latest “on the verge”
band out of Dallas. Or as the territorial band likes to publicize,
“We’re from East Dallas, Texas!” There’s a difference,” says
singer/guitarist John Pedigo, as we all enjoyed some of Dallas’s
finest beef jerky from Rudolph’s, which they brought to kick
off our interview...[more]
— Harder Beat
Slick 57 also has a new one on the way, The Ghost of Bonnie
Parker, following up 1998's Lo-Fi Lorainne and Her Bag of Tricks
and 2000's Drunk Life. We stopped by when the band was recording
it a month or so ago at Last Beat with the underrated Paul Williams
(who's worked with The Polyphonic Spree, The Burden Brothers
and Vibrolux, to name just a few), but didn't get much of a
chance to hear what they were doing, other than popping the
tops on a round of beers. But they dropped by a copy last week,
and from what we've heard from the disc so far, it reminds us
of the days when you could call the Old 97's country and weren't
too far off...[more]
— Dallas Observer
"During our interview with Slick Fifty Seven, shortly before
they took the stage, the band discussed its influences, especially
'old school' country crooners like Hank Williams, Sr. But it's
admiration on their own terms, and when their set began, I remember
being surprised, and more than a little amused, at the band's
fusion of traditional country instruments (stand-up bass, steel
guitar) and their unabashed 'what the fuck' punk sensibilities."
— Substance TV
"Opening for Slobberbone friday at the Ridglea, Slick 57 will
toast the arrival of there latest disc, the Ghost of Bonnie
Parker, kind of its coming out party as more than a rockabilly
band. For the past year or so the area trio has been tinkering
more with country & roots stuff and less with Reverend Horton
Heat's back catalog. They've got some great stuff on this disc,
like 'Ex-Girlfriend's Wedding', 'Nervous Wreck' & 'I Won't Beg'."
— Ft. Worth Star Telegram
"Ex-girlfriends, beer and honky tonk music — Slick 57 concerns
itself with the important things in life. The Ghost of Bonnie
Parker is the band’s first release since Drunk Life in 1999.
John Pedigo and Ward Richmond, guitar and bass respectively,
started the country-punk band in 1998 while still in college.
After playing summer and winter breaks for a few years, the
two guys came back to Dallas after graduating from their East
Coast colleges in 2001. Soon after, Slick 57 became a Dallas
fixture.
Together with drummer Trey Pendergrass, the group produces an
energetic melange of punk, rock and country.
Good-natured and slightly eclectic, Slick 57 sings of smoky
bars, wild nights and heartache. The Ghost of Bonnie Parker’s
11 tracks are no exception."
— Denton Record Chronicle
These guys play alt country/rock literally oozing with booze,
fast trucks and bad women. Needless to say, we love 'em!
— Laughing Outlaw Records, Australia
I first saw Slick 57 last January (2001). I was blown away by
the magnetism between John and Ward, which was phenomenal. They
remind me of a Texas version of Tenacious D.
— NuWax.com
Texas Trash takes many forms: a tasty Chex-based holiday
snack, the Fort Worth and Galveston episodes of Cops, and now
this weekend wingding at the Hole in the Wall. Bebop 'til you
drop and iron an extra crease or two in those dress-up Dickies
at Friday's program topped by E. Dallas standup bass-slappers
Slick 57...
— Austin Chronicle
... Rockabilly ain't their shtick, it's their lifestyle. Country
hopped in bed with punk rock cheated on the blues and had themselves
a bastard child named Slick 57. Pedigo keeps up with the whole
shebang, hootin' and hollerin' about some chick who wasted all
his time and the rest of the gals who won't sleep with him,
poor fella. Not to worry, though, since 57 spends the rest of
the time getting drunk at Adair's, cruising Lovers Lane for
some betties, throwing back some Wild Turkey for a little extra
pep, and spending six days and five nights trying to get over
the one who got away -- the subject matter of all the great
rock and roll…Consider that perhaps the true revolutionary is
the one who crafts art from a culture's refuse. Fact is, this
record's a kick from start to finish!
— Dallas Observer
I had the opportunity to hear these guys perform live and it
was a great show... Took me weeks to find out who they were,
but it was well worth it... Live, these guys sounded like Primus
Part 2, though on the disc, they come across somewhat softer.
The lyrics are a riot provided you're not easily offended...
it is filed here under "punk", don't be so ready to pidgeonhole
them... they're true to their Texan (East Dallas, to be precise)
roots and proud of it... and yet manage to maintain a punk sensibility…if
you're ever in Dallas, see if they're playing anywhere and get
a ticket...
— Amazon.com
The New Music Festival came to a close Saturday night and once
again, many braved the crappy weather to go out and see some
of Dallas' rising musicians. Included in the line-up was East
Dallas country punk band Slick 57. When the crowd wasn't doing
the hoe-down chicken dance, they were cracking up at the hilarious
comments being thrown out by Ward Richmond (upright bass) and
John Pedigo (frontman/guitar/vocals). … They will get you stomping
your feet and shaking your hips. They were born to perform,
this group packs more stamina than a toddler let loose in a
toy store.
— DallasMusic.com
Hard drinkin’, high livin’, rootin’ tootin’, rockin’ rollin’
honkey tonk bastards!!!
— CD World, Dallas, TX
The East Dallas trio, Slick 57, has out done themselves with
their sophomore release, “Drunk Life.” This band is pure Texan.
The Texas flavor defined by this band is their ability to blend
rock ‘n roll and country in a style which is all their own yet
distinctly familiar. Slick 57 has been influenced by music from
their predecessors and used that as fuel for their own creativity.
I can relate to the whole album. Slick blends southern culture,
honkey tonk and punk rock to make something truly Texan. East
Dallas, Texan that is, if you ask them of course.
— North Texas Daily
While I usually don't like to send folks to the same place twice
in one week (yet, this week, it seems to be a motif), Slick
57 is not to be missed. Hard-charging punk country from the
Lone Star State.
— Metro Pulse, Knoxville, TN
.Based in E. Dallas, Slick 57 are a three-piece band
formed in 1998 by John Pedigo (vocals and guitars),
Ward Richmond (bass and vocals) and drummer Trey
Pendergrass. This is their third album, following on
from 1998.s .Lo-Fi Lorraine and her Bag Of Tricks. and
1999.s .Drunk Life..
Coming across like The Clash fronted by Billie Joe
from Green Day singing the songs of Hank Williams
played on an old speeded up Dansette they are best
summed up by the words of Ward Richmond. He reckons
.We.re old school punk rock merged with old school
country, merged with chicks getting naked and rock and
roll.. [more]
-Penny Black Magazine (UK)
"Slick 57 makes Slobberbone and Jason & the Scorchers
look as if they were no more than a bunch of wedding
singers. They will conquer the world, soon! With what?
With the most inventive, exciting and exploding
Texas-country punk ever made. Be warned!"
-Oor Magazine (Holland)
"Since my preferred genre is Texas Music, I thought
I'd kick this thing off by picking one out of the pile
that my beloved wife leaves on my desk on a regular
basis. She saw these cats one night while out doing
her promotion thing, and fell for them. Of course,
they gave her some CDs, and I ended up with one.
To get an initial feel for them, I threw them in the
CD player [more]
— BlogCritics.com
Texan three piece Slick Fifty Seven according to bass
player Ward Richmond are all about: .old school punk
rock merged with old school country, merged with
chicks getting naked, rock and roll. On this their
third album following 1998's .Lo-Fi Lorainne and Her
Bag of Tricks. and 2000's .Drunk Life. they pursue
their bloodlust for honky tonk, punk and rockabilly
country with enthusiasm and style. The sneering vocals
and instrumental performances are full of
characteristic youthful Texan exuberance, like the Old
97.s on speed. The music is fast and furious, powerful
without being overwrought. We get treated to some
absolute killer drumming, cool guitar, award winning
(no less) stand up bass and the obligatory lonesome
pedal steel bringing an authentic country tone to
proceeding.s just when you thought the band was about
to spontaneously combust.
One song is a cover of Killbilly.s .heavy metal
bluegrass. [more]
-AltCountryTab.com
"Slick 57 take a staggering kick at the nethers of
country then dance around the moonshine bottle. This
is their third CD with the band being based on the
core members, John Pedigo, Ward Richmond and Trey
Pendergrass. Slick 57 are best described as Texan
honky tonk punk with a bit of indie mixed in and of
course some rock'n'roll."
-Net Rhythms UK
"After forming in 1998 in East Texas and
self-releasing "Lo-Fi Lorraine & Her Bag Of Tricks"
(98) and "Drunk Life" (99) this is their first for
Laughing Outlaw since signing with the label last
year. Vocalist and guitarist John Pendigo, bassist
Ward Richmond and drummer Trey Pendergrass create a
fine blend of country and rock n' roll with a touch of
punk thrash thrown in for good measure. The band are
described in one review as "hard drinkin', high
livin', rootin' tootin', rockin' rollin' honky tonk
bastards". But being British and more reserved by
nature and since I'm not privy to their rootin' or
tootin' habits I would say if you imagine Green Day
with a twang you wouldn't be too far wide of the mark.
Opening track "Nervous Wreck", "Hemenway" and
"Holiday" all belt along at breakneck speed, as do
most of the others to be honest. Nothing really wrong
with that and live, they probably tear the place up,
but personally I would have preferred a little more
variety. Because, on the few occasions they do slow
it down, songs such as the wonderful "I Won't Beg"
(very Old 97's) and "Heading To My Ex-Girlfriends
Wedding" are up there with the best of the genre.
All in all a fine album and a worthy addition to the
Laughing Outlaw catalogue."
- Americana UK
HANK ON SPEED
Interview w/ Ward Richmond
Your cd will be reviewed in Heaven, a dutch national
music magazine. What about that?
"Good stuff!! Thanks".
Seems like your 3rd cd is somewhat of a breakthrough.
Any idea how that is possible?
'John (Pedigo) and I have been playing in bands and
writing songs together for 7+ years... I
think we just finally found our nitch."
[more]
-Alt. Country NL,
"If you miss the old Old 97's, the original version,
the one that was just this side of country, then
you're not alone. (Chances are, you'll miss the new
Old 97's soon enough, if Rhett Miller's solo career
takes off, and judging by a few listens to his
forthcoming The Instigator, it just might.) Slick 57
clearly misses them, too; their latest, The Ghost of
Bonnie Parker, released on Australia's Laughing Outlaw
Records, could just as well have been titled The Ghost
of Hitchhike to Rhome. That said, the 11 tracks on
Slick 57's third outing don't come off as thinly
veiled cover versions (except for their take on
Killbilly's "Cheatin' Side of Town," which isn't
veiled at all), because they merely remind listeners
of songs the 97's might have written, not tunes they
already did. The result is a disc that already feels
familiar 30 seconds in, but in the best way possible.
Helps that Todd Deatherage, Eleven Hundred Springs'
Aaron Wynne and Sparrows' Carter Albrecht are along
for the ride..."
-Dallas Observer
"John Pedigo (zang, gitaar) en Ward Richmond (zang,
bas) startten Slick Fifty Seven mei 1998 in een
oefenhok aan Lowest GREENVILLE Road in Dallas. Zoals
dat bij bandjes gaat: wat wisselingen en dat de tijd
rijp voor een demo, en een cd'tje. Twee om precies te
zijn: Lo-Fi Lorraine & Her Bag of Tricks (1998) and
Drunk Life (1999) The Ghost Of Bonnie Parker (Laughing
Outlaw Records) is de nieuwe van dit
countryrcock-punktrio dat van de herfst met
Slobberbone zal rondtouren en ook Nederland zal
aandoen (onder andere Maloe Melo in Amsterdam en Tom
Tom in Heythuysen). Dat beloven wilde avonden te
worden. Slick Fifty Seven zit nog meer dan Slobberbone
geworteld in country. Daar wordt net als bij het
gezelschap uit buurdorpje Denton punk en rock aan
gekoppeld. Met als resultaat elf denderende liedjes
boordevol drank, verdriet en lol en muzikaal avontuur,
met als specialiteit tempo- en geluidswissslingen
(mede dankzij Trey Pendergrass, the drummer boy) die
werken als een Ajax-tornado in een smerige keuken. De
gitaren knallen, de ritmesectie dendert en daar
overheen op tijd een jankende pedal steel. Nu
Slobberbone meer gaat opschuiven richting rock, kan
Slick Fifty Seven het ontstane gat opvullen. De tijd
is rijp. Geweldige plaat."
-Alt. Country NL
Prior to this new album Slick 57 (or Slick Fifty
Seven) self released the records Lo-Fi Lorraine & Her
Bag Of Trucks in 1998 and Drunk Life in 1999. Produced
by themselves and The Big Purps, Slick 57.s latest and
third effort, The Ghost Of Bonnie Parker, is a pure
punk resurrection of Appalachian culture and honky
tonk music.
It even looks like this new record from Dallas-based
Slick 57 is somewhat of a breakthrough, especially in
the Netherlands and other European countries. The
Ghost Of Bonnie Parker sounds like an album that could
definitely win a lot of new fans (especially with
those people who think that Slobberbone is just dumb
rock .n. roll music and Ryan Adams is too much pop for
them). Still, these Dallas boys don.t stray far from
the path that other twang-minded bands, such as
Slobberbone, The Bottle Rockets, Uncle Tupelo or even
The Pogues, set before them.
The Ghost Of Bonnie Parker is here to haunt you with
its hard drinking cow punk songs and some really
catchy and rootin. tootin. melodies from the old days.
Slick 57.s music is as raw and simple as it can be,
but what else is there to expect from a band that used
to work with members of Reverend Horton Heat, The
Queers, Ronnie Dawson and other rock .n. roll
champions? This is punk music with a southern accent.
-KindaMuzik (NL)
Texas punk rock treated as a hoedown: shit yeah.
Makes me wanna party more than puke.
- The True Report
"Slick 57 = Texas love in a music format."
— Bilvox.com
Here's a band from East Dallas TX whose album is
released on an Australian label. Strange, as I would
expect American record companies to be falling over
each other in the race to sign this band. Slick Fifty
Seven brews up country and punk in equal measures,
coming across as the bastard offspring of Johnny Cash
and Green Day. In fact, John Pedigo.s vocals are so
much like Billie Joe Armstrong.s at times that I.d
advise Green Day haters to stay away!
Nonetheless, there.s a rollicking good time to be had
by all. The songs are fast and memorable, with catchy
choruses and funny verses throughout. I.m especially
fond of Cheatin. Side of Town, a real standout track
about wickedness and hypocrisy in a small town. John.s
noisy guitar is augmented throughout by fiddles and
the occasional pedal steel, adding another dimension
to the punky two-step. There are the occasional tender
moments too, when dealing with a painful break-up in
Jessica and the bizarre ambivalence of Heading to My
Girlfriend.s Wedding. A definite grower.
-Cow Punk Quarterly (AUS)
In these days of excessive musical specialization, it
makes sense that there would be more than one brand of
country-punk. The music of Slick Fifty Seven is twangy
and rollicking, sort of like the Mekons, but its punky
side is more akin to Green Day. The trio's third album
opens with "Nervous Wreck," a country shuffle a Blink
182 fan could love, and peaks with "Heading to My
Ex-Girlfriend's Wedding," whose steel-guitar licks
yield to a pure-pop vocal chorale. "Swashbuckler, TX"
suggests the band has closely studied "The Notorious
Byrd Brothers."
Slick Fifty Seven is based in Dallas, but its sound
isn't all that Texified. That may be because founders
John Pedigo and Ward Richmond were attending college
in New England for the first three years of the band's
career. Although there's plenty of pedal-steel on this
album, it's all played by sidemen. Should the
threesome ever decide to divest its rootsy routine to
pursue the pop-punk of songs like "Jessica," it won't
even have to fire anybody.
-Washington Post
"These are some of them jams that the County could get
into. Just some good 'ol country influenced jams about
country things. Lots of pedal steel and some fiddling
to top off these honky tonk jams. Mix up what has been
mentioned with some rock n roll styled punk rock and
you got you some sweet melodies. This is what the down
home boys asked Santa Claus for for Christmas."
-InvisibleYouth.com
"God bless the subgenre of alt.country. Tis truely a
glorious thing to behold. The '90s were an amazing
time for really good country and country-punk hybrids.
Last year the party startled to fizzle a bit. But,
buddy, don't put away your shitkickers yet!
Slick Fifty Seven's The Ghost Of Bonnie Parker is a
swift boot in the ass of honky tonk and punk, without
being kitschy or silly. Fans of the Waco Brothers will
dig this, and if you happen to be new to alt.country,
this ain't a bad place to start.
The stand out tracks are the opener "Nervous Wreck"
and the weeper "I Won't Beg." "Swashbuckler, TX"
brings to mind the Malakas.
Slick Fifty Seven ought to be tearing up the next
SXSW, hopefully they won't drink themselves to death
before they make it."
-Sponic Magazine
If there's a more appropriate band to be on a label
named Laughing Outlaw than the outsider punk-country
outfit Slick Fifty Seven, I'm not sure who it is.
Maybe the name is what attracted a group from East
Dallas, Texas to a label based out of Australia, who
knows? In any case, Slick Fifty Seven's The Ghost of
Bonnie Parker has a distinctly outlaw side to it, as
it seems equally inspired by Hank Williams and punk
rock. Slick Fifty Seven are the type of band that'll
play rockabilly-esque rock rough and fast, and then
switch to a late night cowboy's lonely ballad. And in
both cases, the song'll be about heartbreak and hard
drinking, about escaping to the open road without
realizing you can't out-run a broken heart. Heartache
after heartbreak run through The Ghost in a very real
way. Take a song like "Jessica." Nominally a call for
a longed-for companion to come back, the song also
touches on the struggles of everyday life and what we
do to survive, like drinking to forget the fact that
you got laid off from your job. What makes Slick Fifty
Seven's music feel more triumphant than sad is the way
that they sing about these hard facts of life with
confidence and swagger, over rev-ed up guitars, bass,
and drums. Sounding often like a wilder, tougher
version of Wreck Your Life-era Old 97s and at times
like a less gimmicky version of early Reverend Horton
Heat, Slick Fifty Seven transcend the fact that
they're traversing well-covered musical territory by
injecting their songs with so much passion and energy.
The Ghost of Bonnie Parker is one of those albums that
flies past and just begs you to press play again. It's
also one an album you can imagine singing aloud to in
the best and worst of times, a party record that would
also give you comfort during the hardest of times."
-Erasing Clouds
Sounding somewhat like the union of Jason & the
Scorchers and Green Day, this E. Dallas, TX trio
slings out cowpunk with a twang and a sneer. The usual
beer-soaked topics of cheatin', drinkin' and carousin'
sound just great hopped up on their jittery twang
steroids.
-Creative Loafing (HOTlanta, GA)
It's not often I ask myself questions like, why
didnt we ever square-dance to this in highschool?
I'm unsure if that's a positive thing, but
nevertheless, Slick 57 have invoked the ghosts of
Clyde Burrows and my adolescent atrocities with their
third full-length, a collection of toe-tapping,
bear-swilling, hoot-a-nanny'ing howlers that revive,
if not totally rework, the notion of cowpunk.
The more I listed to The Ghost..., the more I figured
I was listening to The Pogues fronted by Waylon
Jennings. Track 3, 'Cheatin' Side of Town. reminds us
how long the road is we all go down, in under two
minutes warning us how far we can sink along with with
a bastard fiddle to skip in time with. If at times
vocalist John Pedigo can sound more like a San
Franciscan Green Day crooner than a direct descendant,
albeit bastard times 10, of Kinky Friedman, there.s
enough of a hoe-down created by Trey Pendergrass and
Ward Richmond to forget about comparisons and just
have fun. Except on .Heading to my ex-girlfriend.s
wedding., the penultimate and, to my mind, most
affecting track, other musos kicking in some pedal
steel and organs that add just that much more weight
to the melancholy.
In the end, Slick 57 are best played loud, preferably
in altered states. It's not music that Dubya would
claim as the best of his state, but you can bet your
Texan flag his daughters are cranking up the crack
pipe to this one.
-Logged Off (AUS)
Let's face it, folks, a degree from a respected
college is rarely a good credential in a punk's
risumi. The fact that members of the Strokes attended
tony Manhattan prep schools is the loudest false note
underneath their hype. And the diplomas from Emerson
College and Brown University held by cowpunk band
Slick 57's John Pedigo and Ward Richmond,
respectively, don't exactly reek of street cred
either.
But then Pedigo points out that after getting his
parchment, he "moved back to Dallas to be in band, so
it was a pretty pointless four years, needless to
say." And Richmond did his senior project in urban
studies on entertainment districts across America, a
subject he continues to research firsthand, albeit
less formally, today.
College did help Slick 57 in one important way: It
gave them breathing room. The two high school buddies
spent their summer vacations and winter breaks playing
with the band in Dallas (as well as the occasional gig
in the Northeast, such as opening for Wilco in
Providence, Rhode Island). "We were lucky, because it
was an easy way to start playing, because we didn't
really have to take it totally seriously for four
years," explains Pedigo.
In the two years since graduating and going full-time
as a band, the two have proved their DIY moxie by
signing with an indie label on the other side of the
planet and barnstorming Australia and Europe for the
better part of this fall. In the end, credibility is
in the grooves, and Slick 57's third recording, The
Ghost of Bonnie Parker, is one feisty and snotty lil'
sucker.
On the more energetic numbers, they barrel along like
a crank freak doing 90 miles an hour to the meth lab
to cop another fix. The more relaxed tracks have the
soft-stepping wooziness of a stoner wandering home
from his dealer's place after scoring a fat sack. The
lyrics dwell on such subjects as ex-girlfriends and
inebriants, the latter of which Slick 57 explored on a
previous album (Drunk Life, their take on It's a
Wonderful Life, which Pedigo now calls "a good idea
that went too far"). Listening to these tales makes it
evident that these guys know what it is to be pissed,
in both the American and English usage.
Musically, Slick 57 is a "hybrid of punk rock and
country," as Pedigo describes it. The twang and train
beats fly past the listener with reckless abandon. One
can hear the band's resemblance at times to such other
Dallas acts as the Reverend Horton Heat and early Old
97's. But where the young 97's seemed as eager to
please as a tail- wagging Labrador retriever, Slick
57's countrified jams show that frankly, my dear, they
couldn't give a damn. True punk ennui.
And don't mistake their name for an homage to the
97's. Instead, it's taken from a motor oil and is
reflective of their affection for grease and
lubricants. "We get flak about our name. People
thinking we're copying them," says Richmond. "We just
thought it sounded kind of rockabilly."
Pedigo and Richmond both teethed musically on Guns N'
Roses and cock rock followed by grunge, but the Pixies
changed Pedigo's perspective in his early teens.
Richmond was fired up by the first live club show he
attended, which starred the Lone Star Trio, the
rockabilly band that has since mutated into 1100
Springs. The experience led him to set aside his
electric bass for an acoustic. "I told my mom I'd quit
smoking cigarettes if she bought me an upright bass,
and now I owe her $1,000," he notes.
He may be able to pay her back fairly soon. Prior to
playing South By Southwest last March, Pedigo and
Richmond sent out to a handful of labels six of the
tracks they had recorded for the new album. Executives
at one of them, Australia's Laughing Outlaw Records,
liked what they heard, caught Slick 57 and signed them
up. Suddenly, the band has leaped from east Dallas
onto the international stage. After coming home for
the holidays and a few gigs, they head back across the
pond and down under once again in early 2003.
Although the most immediately striking appeal of Slick
57 is the piss and vinegar of their musical attack
(which is still country enough to have once shared a
stage with Waylon Jennings), to Pedigo and Richmond
what matters more is what they say. Richmond sees
their mitier as exploring "angst and heartbreak."
"And remaining optimistic when there's no hope,"
Pedigo adds.
"It revolves more around the subject matter of what
we're singing about rather than what the music is
actually like," Richmond insists. "That's just kind of
how I write songs."
One can hear in their attitude and distinctive, if not
quite original, sound that Slick 57 is on to
something, and that those four college years of
extracurricular study helped them develop into a
genuine and promising entity. Over the years, they've
even coined their own lexicon, explained word- by-term
in their "Slictionary" on their Web site -- a telltale
sign of a real band or a delinquent street gang (is
there a difference?).
So with their code of -- and you'll just have to look
these up at www.slick57.com -- "millies," "Chompskys,"
"cobbler" and "reeb," Slick 57 truly proves itself a
band, right?
"Or we must be jackasses," answers Pedigo.
-Houston Press
This East Dallas trio sound like the offspring of a
forced marriage between rockabilly rebels and a punk
band, with the baby's head christened by a bottle of
Wild Turkey. Useful reference points are Rev Horton
Heat, truck-drivin' man Wayne Hancock and the Clash
motoring in their Brand New Cadillac.
It's a fairly familiar formula, however, and one which
doubtless sounds a whole lot better in a Texas booze
barn than it does on disc. But it's not without its
rowdy, drunken, country-punk charm, and disaffected
urban cowboys across the South are doubtless putting
bullet holes in the saloon ceiling right now.
-The New Zealand Herald
"If you're looking for a knock-down blowout night to
kick your holiday party season into high gear (or the
gutter), Dallas-based honky-tonk punk trio Slick 57
has the musical boots to do it. Granted, the band
isn't doing anything that Dash Rip Rock wasn't doing
in the '80s, but these guys can still rip up a program
of high-speed twang filled with Ramones attitude.
Their new CD, The Ghost of Bonnie Parker, features
such shot-and-beer fare as "Heading to My
Ex-Girlfriend's Wedding" and "Cheatin' Side of Town,"
where guitarist/vocalist John Pedigo and the rhythm
section of bassist Ward Richmond and drummer Trey
Pendergrass show that alt-country doesn't all have to
be sensitive weepers."
-Gambit Weekly (New Orleans)
"What do you get when honky tonk and Texas punk rock
jump between the sheets one drunken night and have a
bastard love child? According to Slick 57, that's how
their brand of music came to be. With a definite
country swagger and the vocals and energy of good old
fashioned punk rock, Slick 57 fills their third
release, "The Ghost of Bonnie Parker", with a
combination of fast and fun rollicking tunes and slow,
two-stepping ballads about life, love, whiskey, and
ex-girlfriends. The album is twelve tracks of songs
that make you want to sit at home drinking yourself to
oblivion one minute, then jump out of your seat and go
raise hell in town the next. They managed to encompass
everything that is irreverent about both country music
and punk rock and cram them into this spirited album.
If I were a drinking woman, I'd raise my glass to
these Texas rockers."
- Candy For Bad Children
"Sometimes good things do come to those who wait.
Finally, after procrastinating for ages, I began
listening to Slick 57's latest disc about 3 weeks ago.
Problem is, now there isn.t an easy way to remove the
damn disc from my player. .The Ghost Of Bonnie Parker
finds this power/punk alt-country outfit from Dallas
swinging with reckless and spirited abandon in a way
that is not dissimilar from Too Far To Care era Old
97's. That's hardly a bad thing.
The opening track, Nervous Wreck, is a furiously
paced and panic-stricken yearning that rocks mightily
as the protagonist's hard luck rolls. And so it goes,
Amanda Harris, you don't wanna be with me. Despite
all the things that I told friends, I was nervous
wreck around you. If I sold my soul for you, would
that be wrong to do for one night with you? Whether
they're hanging out on the cheatin' side of town,
attending an ex-girlfriend's wedding or downing a
fifth of whiskey at Muddy Waters (or while parked in
front of some girl's house), somewhere in the thick of
Slick 57's schnockered haze is a concerted focus on
lost love or maybe just an apt inability find it in
the first place.
While comparisons to their Texas brethren like
Slobberbone, Grand Champeen and the aforementioned Old
97's exist, overall there is a more authoritative
sneer and punk punch radiating from Slick 57.
Sometimes their sound is more akin to Cracker, as is
evident via the entertainingly twangy Swashbuckler,
TX. They also make very nice occasional usage of
traditional countrified tools, like lap steel, fiddle,
etc. As Slick 57 attempts to sort out their issues,
such as falling in love with the idea of being in
love, the rest of us are left to gain some
pleasurable listening experiences as we play the songs
they wrote while drinking themselves into total
oblivion."
-Swizzle-Stick.com (Mike Sweeney)
"Slick 57 were late getting into town, and our names
weren’t yet on the list. Or, rather, the list hadn’t
yet arrived. The boys, en route to Chicago the very
next day, had just left their home of Dallas that
morning and were due into town any minute.
Never mind that; we arrived just in time to catch a
rare solo act by expatriate and MU330 frontman Dan
Potthast. Playing to a very young, very enthusiastic
crowd, Potthast played songs from his new solo album
as well as MU330 faves. He spoke extensively before
each song, explaining where it came from, how it’s
supposed to sound with a full band: “OK, here’s where
the really funky guitar comes in, like this—” And then
he’d vocalize the really funky guitar. For such a cold
night, the crowd quickly heated up. “You bet it’s
getting hot in here,” Potthast exclaimed. “You’re at a
Dan P. show.”
Midway through his set, three strangers took up a post
in the back of the room. They weren’t from around
these parts; that much was obvious. They were our
headliners.
A country-flavored threesome if ever there was one,
Slick 57 is fronted by John Pedigo (vocals, guitar)
and Ward Richmond (stand-up bass, vocals); they were
joined just days before the show by a new drummer whom
they affectionately called “Kelly the Librarian.”
While the band describes their music as “Texas love in
a music format,” I’m more inclined to dub them
“high-energy country punk.”
Slick 57 took that small stage and owned it; they were
all over it, they were twanging and stomping and
beating and braying. Their set was heavy on songs from
their latest release, The Ghost of Bonnie Parker
(released on Laughing Outlaw January 21), songs about
drinking, songs about women, songs about dead-end jobs
and bleak prospects. With all these depressing
subjects, you’d expect them to be downbeat, but Slick
57 were anything but; their music’s so upbeat, you
forget your troubles and dance.
Pedigo explained they were late because they’d gotten
lost in Oklahoma. “As Kelly pointed out, the reason
Oklahoma is OK is because they can’t spell mediocre.”
He went on to tease the state further, describing its
populace as “having bumper stickers that say, ‘The
devil is a nerd.’”
The band’s cover of the Johnny Cash standard “Daddy
Sang Bass” was both humorous and true; Richmond sang
the high part—“Mama sang tenor”—in a falsetto voice,
all the while plucking away at his behemoth of a bass.
Toward the end of the show, they asked for requests,
prompting someone to call out, “One Piece at a Time.”
Said Richmond, “Man, that song’s got a lot of words.”
They valiantly attempted to remember the lyrics,
getting through two verses before having to give up.
An encore and two songs later, and they were mingling
with the crowd, shaking hands and signing autographs
before climbing back into their van and driving some
more."
-Playback St. Louis
"A power cow-punk trio with a big broken heart,
country roots, hog poop on their boots and tongue
firmly in cheek. Slick Fifty Seven takes the piss out
of Americana pop on this worldly collection of hard
knocks and dirty socks. Sharing the pathos of Hank
Williams meshed with the bar room psychobilly of Jason
& the Scorchers, Slick Fifty Seven hold universal
appeal for city slickers and cosmic cowboys alike.
Every cut is a movie script of dreams gone awry and
love lost. Weepy hobo blues (.I Won.t Beg.),
bluegrass screamers (.Cheatin. Side of Town.),
Southern rock revival (.Still Waitin..) and
steam-rolling dirges (.Jessica.) all coalesce under
the spectrum of pedal steel, bells and whistles,
fiddle fiddlin. and hoots and hollers driven by a bare
bones rhythm section hell bent on finishing the song
and heading for the open highway. Rebels without a
pause, Slick Fifty Seven burn hard and fast on The
Ghost of Bonnie Parker."
- AMPLIFIER
"Alexis Petridis's story ("Sing ... and maybe they
won't sue", Herald, April 30) reminded me of a gig by
Texan punk/rock/country band Slick 57. They were
constantly downing shots of whisky and at one stage
tackled an audience member to the ground to
(successfully) steal his beer. They also enticed
another audience member to stand on stage in his
underpants for much of the show. It rocked!"
-This was a letter to the editor in some Australian
newspaper.
There’s a strong case to be made that you’ll have more
fun in a Texas roadhouse watching a band you’ve never
heard of than you will in a stadium watching a band
that everybody has heard of, a case underlined by just
one listen to Dallas, Texas’ Slick Fifty Seven’s third
outing. There’s no high concept here, and no attempt
at breaking any moulds, just an intent to cut loose
and dodge the flying glass as bottles break on the
chicken wire strategically placed in front of the
stage. They sound like they learned their chops
playing along to Hank Williams, The Pogues and Green
Day, and decided that the results were a good template
to follow. It’s impossible to argue with them, I’ve
been to parties where this stuff is playing in the
main room, and everyone is having a ball; trust me,
there’s nobody wasting their time in the kitchen. It’s
all about drinkin’, dancin’, smokin’ and ballin’, a
design for life.
- Logo Magazine
