This song dives in immediately with a striking guitar riff that hints at strong and exciting vibes. The energy is palpable as the song starts to push forward with a driving groove. The vocals carry tones reminiscent of punk rock, yet there are subtle influences of country music. This eclectic mixture is evident primarily in the timbre of the singing.
During the verse, the intensity dips, allowing space for emotional resonance to build. This strategic emptiness then explodes in the chorus, unleashing a surge of energy. Background vocals support the lead singer, creating a communal feel that encourages listeners to sing along. The infectious nature of this section adds to the overall experience.
A brief but intense guitar solo connects back to another engaging verse, maintaining the momentum of the song. After the third minute, the bridge offers a moment of calm. The song empties momentarily, creating anticipation for what comes next. This pause enhances the eventual climax of the track, allowing for a powerful finish.
Mud Butt – Sound and Atmosphere
The production of “Mud Butt” employs innovative tools that still manage to sound authentic and heartfelt. It’s a well-crafted song that highlights the band’s versatility. The combination of distinctive riffs, dynamic vocal delivery, and thoughtful arrangement showcases their artistic vision.
The blend of punk and country influences enriches the musical experience. The layered instrumentation and backing vocals deepen the connection created in each section.
For those who appreciate a mix of raw energy and melodic hooks, “Mud Butt” delivers on both fronts. The thoughtful dynamics keep the listener engaged, providing intensity and moments of reflection. The choice of production techniques highlights the band’s desire to maintain a genuine sound.
Mud Butt – Performance and Production
The instrumental sections, particularly the guitar riffs, capture attention instantly. They create a powerful foundation that supports the vocal lines throughout. Each component of the song enhances the overall impact, creating an enjoyable listening experience.
“Mud Butt” is an exciting single that showcases the band’s unique approach to songwriting. It demonstrates their ability to blend genres while retaining a fresh sound. This single serves as a strong addition to their discography and ensures that fans will be eager for more.
The conclusion of “Mud Butt” proves to be as electrifying as its beginning. The song, through its innovative use of instruments and vocal arrangements, ultimately stands as a strong representation of the band’s capabilities.
In May 1965, at the end of a two-month solo tour of the UK, Bob Dylan was considering giving up performing. “I was drained,” he said afterwards. “I was playing a lot of songs I didn’t want to play. I was singing words I really didn’t want to sing.”
On his flight home, Dylan wrote something that would change his mind. It was a 20-page stream-of-consciousness poem, which he jokingly called “a long piece of vomit.” A few days later, in his Greenwich Village apartment, while looking it over, he hit on what he called the “slow motion phrase” of “How does it feel?” and that brought the song into focus.
He edited the verses, setting them to a simple three-chord progression nicked from La Bamba by Ritchie Valens. While Dylan’s interviews of the time are notoriously unreliable sources of information, one thing that he couldn’t camouflage was his delight with Like A Rolling Stone, calling it the “best song he’d ever written.”
On June 15, 1965, he brought it into Columbia Studio A in New York, running through it with producer Tom Wilson and a band led by prodigal blues guitarist Mike Bloomfield. Dylan had handpicked Bloomfield for the session, though strangely insisted he not play “any of that B.B. King shit.”
Early takes of the song were in waltz time, moody and a bit unfocused. Then the next day, a catalyst arrived in the form of Al Kooper. Bloomfield’s presence denied the guitarist his usual spot, so Kooper played the Hammond B-3 organ instead. In one of rock’s happiest accidents, he ignited the band to a once-in-a-lifetime groove.
But Like A Rolling Stone is first and foremost about words. Rhymes dovetail with rhymes, lines bend meter, images startle (‘Napoleon in rags’). It’s like proto-rap. And it’s all delivered with a sneering attitude.
Even the six-minute length was a middle finger to the three-minute rule of the day, with Columbia initially hesitant to release the single until an acetate was leaked to Arthur, a newly opened, high-profile discotheque in Midtown Manhattan, by the label’s new-releases coordinator, Shaun Considine.
It all fell into place. The club DJs played the song on repeat, the crowd loved it, and several watching DJs called Columbia the following morning to request their own copies. Like A Rolling Stone was then released as a single on July 20, reaching No. 2 in the US Billboard charts (No. 1 in Cashbox) and becoming a worldwide hit.
The song was the pivot point where he stopped being a folkie and started being a rocker, and he rubber-stamped the deal five days later at the Newport Folk Festival, when Dylan famously played the first “plugged-in” set of his career. After kicking off with a fiery version of Maggie’s Farm, he followed it with the new song, much to the apparent chagrin of festival organiser and folk legend Pete Seeger, who told the sound crew, “If I had an axe, I’d cut the cable.”
Decades later, Seeger wrote a postcard to Dylan clarifying his stance, claiming that his fury was not directed at Dylan’s choice to go electric, but at the “distorted sound” of the PA system he was obliged to play through.
“My mistake was not challenging from the stage the foolish few who booed,” Seeger wrote. “I shoulda said, Howling Wolf goes electric, why can’t Bob?”
“I’d never written anything like …Rolling Stone before,” Dylan later said. “And it suddenly came to me that that was what I should do. After writing that, I wasn’t interested in writing a novel or a play. I wanted to just write songs.”
Def Leppard’s journey to becoming one of the most influential rock bands of all time began in Sheffield, England, in 1977, amidst the city’s industrial backdrop. The band was formed by Joe Elliott, who envisioned a group that combined hard rock’s energy with a melodic sensibility. He joined forces with Rick Savage (bass), Tony Kenning (drums), and Pete Willis (guitar), with their first rehearsals taking place in a local spoon factory. Early in their career, the addition of guitarist Steve Clark elevated the group’s sound, cementing a lineup that would go on to define 1980s rock. The band released their
The call of New Orleans set the stage for the name and the eclectic versatility and musical catalogue of one of the hottest Canadian bands touring today.
Bywater Call is set to head out on an extensive tour to support the release of their new album, Broken Souvenirs and lead singer/co-writer Meghan Parnell sat down with Blue Rock Review (BRR) to talk about those milestones amidst their exploding popularity.
The seven-piece band is based in Toronto, Canada, but Parnell explained their name comes from her experiences, along with partner Dave Barnes, after spending a lot of time in New Orleans.
“Bywater is a neighbourhood in New Orleans, right next to the French Quarter. And we needed a name. Dave and I’ve spent a lot of time in New Orleans. We really, really love that city. We kind of fell in love with it, the first time we were there and heard how music just permeates everything that’s going on there. So yeah, we thought “Bywater” was just a cool name that meant something to us. And then the “Call” is just the call to go back and visit, but also to incorporate kind of the feeling that we get from that city into the music that we’re making.”
With their rising popularity, BRR asked Parnell how they’re handling the new fame and hectic schedule that goes with it.
She admitted, “It’s hard to get perspective when you’re in the middle of it, but, you know, we’ve certainly seen some really nice growth since our inception. We just got back from a European tour where we’re seeing the turnouts increase every time we’re there and we’re working on the same thing in Canada and the U.S. as well.”
The band includes Parnell; Dave Barnes (guitarist, writer, producer); Bruce McCarthy (drums), Mike Meusel (bass), Andrew Moljgun (keys), Stephen Dyte (trumpet) and Julian Nalli (tenor sax). And Parnell said the growth from the core of herself and Barnes grew organically.
“Dave and I started putting this band together; we never really imagined what that would be. We were just trying to, you know, get into the small local clubs in Toronto and work on writing,” she said. “But touring all over Europe and Canada and the U.S., we just knew the kind of the sound that we wanted, and part of that sound was going to be a horn section.”
The size of the band is rare these days and Parnell remarked, “It’s definitely a challenge, but we’ve established what the sound is for the band and the dynamics on stage and we can’t change it now.”
Bywater Call just finished 25 European dates. And after a brief 10-day break they’re doing 23 more dates in the U.S. and Canada, which presents its own problems in terms of allowing time to rest, record and write.
“Yeah, absolutely. Finding a balance is always a struggle,” she said. “We’re doing our best to kind of carve out some space so everybody can have some personal time. You know, we have to consider mental health.”
Parnell is often compared to Susan Tedeschi and she says that’s just fine with her.
“She’s fantastic. Dave hearing what Derek (Trucks) was doing with the slide guitar and me hearing Susan and really feeling connected with that. Here’s a singer who has a beautiful tone and is, in my opinion, a simple, but gorgeous and incredibly talented singer. While I don’t think what we’re putting out there is the same as the Tedeschi-Trucks Band, I definitely welcome and understand the comparisons with the slide guitar and the raspy female vocal. I mean, it’s an honor to have those names in the same sentence as ours.”
But Bywater Call incorporates a very wide variety of influences, and Parnell says that it’s intentional and has something to do with the size of the band and the contributions from each member.
She explained, “We definitely look to influences where you’re hearing the same kind of instrumentation to get inspiration. So we look at bigger bands like Sly and the Family Stone, and James Brown, or even Amy Winehouse, who had the Dap-Kings behind her, so that definitely plays a part in it. Knowing that we have this instrumentation to incorporate into a song, you know, what do we want the horns to sound like? Well, let’s check out some tunes that have a horn section that maybe reflects the style that we’re going for in a particular song.”
There’s no doubt that the sound of the band has a lot to do with the voice of Meghan Parnell, and she acknowledged the added pressure that brings.
“That (the pressure) is something Dave and I talk about a lot when we’re writing tunes, and how to utilize that. I want emotion to come through in the vocals, you know, emotion and quality and, not necessarily a perfect vocal line or executed perfectly, but something honest. Sometimes we’ll write stuff that we think sits in a place where it sounds really pretty. But other times we don’t want it to sound pretty. So just figuring out how to use my voice is a tool for what we’re trying to get across. And then on the road it’s important that I try to maintain my vocal chords and make sure that I’m performing to the best of my ability every night, because it is a big part of the sound, for sure.”
The new album Broken Souvenirs is due out on July 29th and Blues Rock Review readers are already well aware of it with the release of several singles from the 11-track offering. The latest single, “Is This Thing On?”, was released June 24 following the previous releases of “Only,”“How Long,” and “No One Else.”
She said that pre-releasing singles is an important strategy, noting, “I think it’s part of the music landscape these days, especially a band at our level where you struggle to stay relevant. It’s a scene where monsters like Bruno Mars will put out a tune on a digital platform that’ll eclipse everything. So we’re just trying to stay relevant and keep people interested, leading up to a release.”
She added, “We didn’t write and record it all in one go. We kind of wrote it and recorded it as we had ideas ready and time in our schedule to go into the studio and do it. So, we kind of wanted to release the album in the same way where we don’t want to create a bunch of silence from the band. We want to consistently put things out there.”
Bywater Call made the unusual choice to tour Europe instead of competing in the International Blues Challenge for which they had qualified.
And that gamble paid off as the band has now been nominated for three consecutive years as “International Act of The Year” by the UK Blues Awards.
Pernell recounted that decision. “That competition is pretty awesome, and we’ve seen how it’s helped a lot of people in the scene. But we were going to be going to the UK for the first time that year as a full band. Previously we had an opportunity to introduce ourselves to the UK market as a duo supporting Robert Jon and the Wreck, ahead of bringing the whole band out there. And we thought in terms of bang for our buck and how that would benefit us. We thought that was the right move.”
But now the band is headed out to tour the U.S. and Canada, and Blues Rock Review readers can experience the live show. Parnell says she understands the importance of presenting high-energy, visually-engaging performances to match their tremendous musical talent.
“I think there’s something very real in the music that we offer. Emotion in the music is really, really important to us – very important to me, as a singer, and I make a very big effort to connect with the audience while I’m on stage. And then afterwards I’m always out there talking to people after the show. And I think a lot of that helps create steadfast relationships between you and your fans.”
Bywater Call’s new album Broken Souvenirs is released July 29th. They tour the UK from January 27 – February 7, 2027.
It’s been longer than a decade since the world last heard fresh cuts from Mike D’Abo, and while the songs he wrote – such as “Handbags & Gladrags” and “Build Me Up Buttercup” – or performed alongside – including “Fox … Continue reading →
EVA UNDER FIRE‘s music is, quite literally, hard rock therapy. As a licensed therapist and powerhouse vocalist/songwriter, Amanda Lyberg blends emotional insight with powerful songwriting and undeniable hooks, delivering lyrics and performances that connect deeply and hit listeners right in the feels. The Detroit quintet is thrilled to unleash its new album VILLAINOUS via Better […]
Not since Woodstock had the United States witnessed such a wild, momentous and ultimately deadly showcase of pure rock’n’roll excess.
July 28, 1979, began as a glorious summer day, with some of the biggest bands on the planet assembling for a day-long rock festival in Cleveland, Ohio. By the day’s end, however, the stadium grounds lay in shambles, the headliners ripped at each other’s throats, and two people lay dead.
Hatched in Cleveland in 1974, the World Series of Rock (“WSOR”) was a series of day-long festivals spread throughout the summer. Talent-wise, it was a very big deal. Held in Cleveland Stadium – home to the Cleveland Indians – the event adopted a baseball theme, with each festival day representing one inning.
1978 featured three innings, with headliners Rolling Stones, E.L.O. and Fleetwood Mac, respectively. The 1979 season kicked off on July 28, boasting an absolutely mouthwatering feast of powerhouse bands, all of whom were enjoying considerable radio play at the time: Boston’s legendary Aerosmith would headline, supported by Ted Nugent, Journey, Thin Lizzy and a heat-seeking act from Australia called AC/DC.
The sirens of chaos sounded long before the first band took to the stage. On the eve of the festival, surging throngs of concertgoers amassed outside of the stadium with an eye towards claiming prime real estate when the doors opened in the morning.
Unsurprisingly, Bacchanalian revelry ensued throughout the night, and as the hours wore on, local criminal gangs targeted many of the fans who lined the stadium perimeter, unguarded and unprotected. Reports flooded in of gang violence, robberies and theft. In separate incidents, a jaw-dropping five people were shot – one fatally – imbuing the scene with bad vibes and chaotic urgency. It would not be the day’s only fatality.
Over at local station WMMS, Aerosmith turned up for an interview with DJ Denny Sanders. The band were in damage control mode, having cancelled a number of Cleveland gigs in the past (including the cancellation of a make-up gig for a previous cancellation). Aerosmith were badly behind schedule with the release of their forthcoming album, Night In The Ruts and the tour was plagued with arguments and petty squabbles — troubles which were only amplified by the band’s prodigious appetite for booze and drugs.
Renowned Cleveland DJ John Gorman was in the studio that evening and recalled, “As I walked by the newsroom, I heard an unusual commotion. Looking in I found Steven Tyler on top of a table and on all fours, snorting a line of cocaine that looked long enough to be a mile marker, extending from one end of the table to another.”
From a talent perspective, the WSOR delivered a stunning roster of heavyweights. When the festival opened, perhaps the biggest shock of the day occurred at the very outset, when none other than the Scorpions took the stage as unbilled surprise openers. Supporting Lovedrive — their sixth studio outing and first featuring the now-classic lineup — this historic set marked the Scorpions’ United States debut.
Angus Young in the World Series of Rock concert at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, 1979. pic.twitter.com/Isx3tkPfWYJune 27, 2017
No matter how big the band, at one point in their career, every band plays early, mid-day sets way at the bottom of the bill and in 1979, AC/DC were at that very juncture. At least in the States.
They were, however, in rapid ascent on the back of the Highway To Hell album, and the Aussie rockers followed the Germans with an utterly scorching set that remains one of the WSOR’s all-time highlights. Thin Lizzy also emerged as one of the day’s highlights, unleashing a ferocious set of dual-fretted bangers, peaking with Jailbreak. Despite its rocky start, 1979’s first inning was shaping up to be one for the ages.
Over in the Aerosmith camp, however, years of stress, bickering and drug-fuelled resentments had reached a tipping point. Backstage, Tom Hamilton’s wife Terry took a verbal swipe at Joe Perry’s wife Elyssa, who responded by hurling a glass of milk at Terry, launching the two into a fight.
As Tom and Joe attempted to separate the two, Steven railed at the men to rein in their wives. Similar blowouts among band members were not particularly out of the ordinary for Aerosmith. Guitarist Brad Whitford would later describe that period by saying, “Being in Aerosmith was like walking into a dog fight, and both dogs bite you.”
Meanwhile, inside the stadium, Journey were finishing up a spectacular set. They had released Evolution in the spring, and the single, Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’ had infiltrated the US top 20 – a first for the band. This was their second album with Steve Perry, and it would go on to sell over three million copies.
Ted Nugent had released State Of Shock earlier that year, but he was still riding on the strength of 1978’s sizzling Double Live Gonzo and by all accounts, the Nuge turned in an electric show.
Finally it was time for the headliners. If they had hoped to earn back the goodwill of the people of Cleveland after their previously-cancelled shows, their efforts fell well short, with a set that was widely panned. Many reported that Steven couldn’t seem to remember lyrics and that Joe appeared wholly disinterested in the entire affair. For the band, it was an unqualified disaster.
When they finished, Steven, admittedly very drunk, started back in on Joe. In his biography Walk This Way, Tom recalls, “We came offstage and went right into the trailer, and we were freaked at Joe and started yelling at him. And then Joe’s answer finally was, ‘Well, maybe I should leave the band then.’ And Steven said, ‘Yeah, well, maybe you fuckin’ should.’ And the rest of us stood there, basically agreeing with Steven. And then Joe stormed out.”
He would not play with Aerosmith again until 1984.
Despite the ragtag performance, fans filing out had little idea that they had just witnessed the end of the classic Aerosmith lineup — for several years, anyway. Adding to the misfortunes, areas of the stadium had been badly vandalised and local news would later report that another fatality had occurred when a fan fell to his death after trying to scale the stadium wall.
The WSOR promoter rescheduled and eventually cancelled the second inning that year, amid concerns for safety. Grimly, on December 3, 1979, eleven people would be trampled to death at a Who concert only a few hours away in Cincinnati. The WSOR held its swan song the next year, with headliner Bob Seger supported by the J. Geils Band, Eddie Money and an up-and-coming outfit from England called Def Leppard.
9. World Series of Rock (1979) #10KonserMusikRockBerdarahDiDunia pic.twitter.com/aVg5FnCmG9August 9, 2014
Just look away From her cold smile I walk away from The one I admire
Border Goth trio The Slashes stare into the flames with their latest single, I Started A Fire, a song that carries the charge of a band stepping into the room with the lights dimmed yet every nerve twitching awake. From the first seconds, melodic guitars carve out its bleak horizon, while the bass pushes forward with purpose and Esteban Rene’s deep vocals pull the song into a place where desire feels dangerous because it knows exactly what it wants.
The San Diego trio has always drawn from more than one map. The Slashes are shaped by the crosscurrents of border-town air, cold-wave chill, rock en español romance, and the kind of nocturnal rock music that seems to find you when the rest of the city has gone quiet. On I Started A Fire, that blend feels especially sharp. Beto Bautista’s bass gives the track its engine, Carlos Robles keeps the drums upbeat and restless, and the production folds in synth and cello touches that widen the frame without softening the bite.
I Started A Fire follows the collapse into destructive infatuation. The beloved remains emotionally distant, yet the speaker keeps moving closer, surrendering to obsession as both trap and purpose. Love becomes a self-inflicted wound, sparked by the singer’s own hand, until escape begins to lose its appeal. By the end, devotion has taken on the shape of an eclipse: permanent, darkly romantic, and strangely peaceful in its damage.
The rhythm keeps pressing ahead, but the atmosphere around it carries a wound. The guitars have a clean, melodic sting, never overplaying their hand, while the low end gives the track its strut through the darkened streets. Esteban Rene sings like someone who has learned that romance and ruin can walk through the same door. His delivery never sounds detached from the drama. He sounds caught inside it, watching the flames rise and deciding, perhaps too late, that the fire is part of the attraction.
That is the strange charm of The Slashes. They make music for the restless, for the doomed romantics, for the people who discover a band at 2 a.m. and wake up still thinking about them. “I Started A Fire” is sleek, dramatic, and alive with border-goth voltage, a song that turns the ache of wanting someone harmful into something you can dance through before the smoke catches up.
Listen to I STARTED A FIRE below and order the single here.
The Slashes play Soda Bar in San Diego on July 28th.
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EVA UNDER FIRE‘s music is, quite literally, hard rock therapy. As a licensed therapist and powerhouse vocalist/songwriter, Amanda Lyberg blends emotional insight with powerful songwriting and undeniable hooks, delivering lyrics and performances that connect deeply and hit listeners right in the feels. The Detroit quintet is thrilled to unleash its new album VILLAINOUS via Better […]