Burrito Deluxe

Genre: Country Hometown: Nashville TN
www.burritodeluxe.com

Friday, March 18   1:00 a.m.
Opal Divine's Freehouse   (700 W 6th St)

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Burrito Deluxe

The best music—and the best musicians—defies easy categorization. While promoters scramble for words to describe the flavor-of-the-month, the men and women with music in their souls just keep playing, without a thought about labels or catchy marketing phrases. It might be tough on the A & R crews, but it’s good news for people who love a song that says more than “I just wanna get some airplay.” Upbeat contemporary, Alt-country, “Hat Band,” who really cares what it’s called, as long as it speaks to you? And that’s the way it is with Burrito Deluxe.

What can you say about the guys in this band? Sneaky Pete Kleinow is a legend on the pedal steel—from his days in the 60s with The Flying Burrito Brothers, to session work with The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Brown, Sneaky’s sound is a subtle cornerstone of the laid-back California-country style. But his reputation as a musician’s musician doesn’t stop there; listen carefully and you can hear him backing everyone from Stevie Wonder to Frank Zappa.

Garth Hudson is another player with a rep that stretches way, way back. Best known for his soulful keyboard playing in The Band, Garth hasn’t (been resting on his laurels,) recording with The Dixie Hummingbirds on 2003’s phenomenal breakout Diamond Jubilation, and gracing Nora Jones’ latest release with his earthy tones. Equally at home on keyboards, sax and accordion, Garth is a master craftsman, and every song he plays is just a little bit richer for his touch.

Then there’s “The New Guy.” Carlton Moody may be a few years younger than Garth and Sneaky, but he sings with the conviction of the ages. With a voice that ranges from clear as a bell to gritty as a pair of old work boots, Carlton makes every song his own, and every lyric a narrative that makes the listener feel like he’s sittin’ on the porch, swapping stories with a dear friend. Not just another guy standing behind a microphone, Carlton backs his pure-as-spring-water, Hill Country voice on both guitar and mandolin.

Everybody always seems to forget the rhythm section, but without drums’n’bass, it just don’t rock. Jeff “Stick” Davis played with The Amazing Rhythm Aces back in the day, and he hasn’t dropped a beat since then. His work on both electric and upright bass drives Burrito Deluxe forward, and his sweet backing vocals give lie to the myth of the silent bassist. Finally, but by no means least, Rick Lonow keeps the beat on drums and percussion. Recording with everyone from Johnny Cash to Tommy Tutone, Rick knows that it’s about more than keeping on the quarter notes—it’s about moving the music and the listener. And, like Stick, he can sing, and how many drummers can you say that about?

The emotions played out on this album range from the sweet simple love song, to poignant tales of mournful regret, to good-time down-home rockin’, but they never fail to reach the listener, and they never bend themselves to fit into a convenient niche. This is New American music for people who love a good story well told, and a melody that sticks around for more than three minutes on the radio. This is music for The Heartland, played from the heart.