CHARLiE PATTON'S WAR!

@ Bandcamp // Facebook

They look like a bunch of nice ex-AV nerds but they rock it down and out like it's goin' out of style. Bless this post-Black Keys punk/rock-infected-blues era!  The kids are singin' like they went to sleep listening to Danny Auerbach records thru an old transistor radio hidden under their pillow.  And that's ok. There is enough lost in that translation that Charlie Patton's War glows blue and bright in the hot hard baked Indiana night. Strapped with a very nice video and two fine free recordings available from Bandcamp, these boys are headed in the right direction, and to be honest what Charlie Patton's War is doing is closer to Auerbach's olde pre-BK's outfit The Barnburners than not, variety-wise. A lil' jazzy swanger like Hats Off To Duke butts up against a mysterious creeper like Black Bell then we're off on a Jim Jones Revue-y ripper in Call Me Baby. But comparisons aside, this is their thing and they sound just like Charlie Patton's War. 
Charlie Patton's War is populated by a bunch of Recording Arts students from Indiana U. Been together about a year and a half but sound like they've been together longer and like they've gigged a whole lot more than they have. Both recordings offered are live and sell what sounds like a terrificly thrilling show. They are currently in the running for a showcase at SXSW and I wish 'em the best. Do yrself a favor and go snag both albums by Charlie Patton's War for free right HERE. 
You'll be damn glad you did.

THE BARNBURNERS - The Rawboogie Ep Liner Notes

This cover is different from the one I have.

      So yeah, Dan Auerbach used to have a tightly wicked and raw boogiefied three-piece back around 2001 called The Barnburners. The put out a terrific disc called The Raw Boogie Ep. Even got a cease and desist over the band name from some olde school rock farts (and where are those dudes today?)

     Dan and I got to be acquainted via a Yahoo group called Too Bad Jim (which still lives but due to over-spamulation was moved and the name changed to Real Punk Blues). 

      Back in the olden days I had a website called Rick Saunders World, and part of that world was an early version of this Deep Blues page (which still lives as a ghost thanks to Archive.org).  Dan had a cool website called Raw Boogie, where he posted Barnburners info etc (that page also lives on in ghost form thanks to Archive.org).  

     So blahblahblahdeblah, Dan suggested that he liked what I scrawled on my Deep Blues page and asked me to write some liner notes for his bands Ep. I thought his band was frkn great and I was delighted and honored to do it. The band was happy with my spiel and that was that. Next thing ya know and a gazillion gigs and a Grammy later, Dan's a household name. Couldn't have happened to a better dude.

      A couple of friends wanted to read what I wrote about The Barnburners so many super moons ago. You'll find a scan of the cover and the notes below. Dan doesn't want the Ep spread around, and I can respect that. If you look hard enough you might find it lodged in one of the interwebs tubes somewheres. Snag it if you can find it. You'll be glad you did. I think it's kind of cool that what I wrote about Dan ten years ago still holds true today.

Interesting note: I saw the Ep mentioned on a blog recently and it listed the following tracks: Back to Georgia, Big Road Blues, Things I Used To Do, Train I Ride, Meet Me In The City, and Take Five. 

My copy has Train I Ride, Back to Georgia, Big Road Blues, Your Cheating Heart, Last Fair Deal, and Meet Me In The City but not Things I used to Do or Take Five.

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