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Doktor Dave
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The Doktor is in!
Here is his Diagnosis on Spud Davenport and The Messy Necessities

I'm pleased to announce I was witness to a brilliant premier performance of fresh, real rock and roll from Spud Davenport and The Messy Necessities!

This power trio is fronted by Mr. Davenport, one of our many local singer/songwriters...but different. For one thing, while he plays many instruments, he is primarily a drummer. A rock drummer. A rock drummer that sings. A rock drummer that sings while playing a full set of drums...standing up. A rock drummer that sings while playing a full set of drums, standing up...up front.

The first thing you notice, as the band sets up their equipment...the drums are NOT behind everyone else where they should be, The drums are parked center stage, right out in front of God and everybody. What the...?!?

Well,Spud IS the leader, the lead singer and writes most of the songs the band plays. It does stand to reason that he should be the front guy. Nevertheless, it's an unusual yet striking visual to see a whole band across the front of the stage and to see a drummer standing up, playing a full kit.

The proof of a band, regardless of their visual appeal, is in it's music. This premier performance of Spud Davenport and The Messy Necessities certainly proved they can rock with the best of them!

The intensity hits you on the first hit of a drum. They may have fun with band and/or member names and maybe some lyrics...but when it comes down to the music - they ain't foolin' around.

The full line-up is Spud on drums, Billy Gruff (aka Dave Howard) on guitar and Jerry Rig (aka Jerry Rig) on bass. I could spend untold amounts of time and effort trying to relay the vastness of each man's musical resume. But this is about Spud Davenport and The Messy Necessities very first public performance...so please take my word that each band member is very good at what they do.

So yeah...back to the intensity thing. The band rocks solidly on the firm foundation of the Spud man's beatery. The first song is high energy and pure rock n roll. Surprisingly, there's no guitar god soloing or drum god interludes. It's a straight ahead rock song with intelligent lyrics, played with flair and style...but very little (if any) flash. How odd.

Throughout the 45-60 minute set, the band rocks hard and solid. Through three original songs and three covers, as are the rules for this particular performance - the second round of the Rockstar San Diego contest, held at 710 Beach Club, Pacific Beach.

The initial visual impression is amped-up as Spud really does play that whole, big drum set while standing and singing out loud and proud. And Spud can sing! He doesn't scream, as so many rock singers think you should. Spud actually sings the lyrics, and the words too. He sings like he really wants you to hear and understand the lyrics. Again, how odd.

Earlier, I mentioned there were no "guitar god" solos. While they weren't so self-indulgent, ethereal and crazed as a guitar god might play...Dave Howard's, I mean Billy Gruff's relatively few solos were where and when they were supposed to be and executed as a "benevolent" guitar god might. One without the need to prove they were godlike in their guitaring abilities. For me, taste and style win out over tricks, flash and speed every time.

Rock bass players are generally underrated, in my opinion. Often overlooked...except by all the hot babes in the audience. Rock bassists get noticed by how they dress and how they move on stage, not so much by their playing of the bass. The best bass players are only really noticed when they're gone. Jerry Rig is such a bass player. On this night, he played solidly. Locked on to the beat, kept the groove and laid down the terra firma that let the others know would be there if they strayed. Not a flashy job, but necessary. The bassist is the super glue of the band, especially in a rock band. And Jerry was very sticky this night!

The interesting thing about performing for this contest, is the requirement to cover three songs from a chosen supergroup, yet make them your own. Your performance is, in large part, judged by how *little* the covers sound like the original. Spud and the boys chose to cover The Rolling Stones and took a very interesting and unique approach to this requirement...they *mashed*.

Mashing is when you take two or more songs and mash them together. For their first cover, SMN sang the lyrics of Playing With Fire by The Stones, while playing Fire by Jimi Hendrix. Second, they sang Bring Me Dead Flowers over Anarchy In The USA by The Sex Pistols. And for their third cover, Get Off Of My Cloud to the tune of Stranglehold by Ted Nugent.

Wacky or ingenious? Decide for yourself...I decided it was BOTH!

To be honest, while the crowd (and I) loved the covers...many didn't get the mashing part. They thought it was just a different arrangement of the song, and it was...just not by expected means. So it worked on both levels! It worked well enough for second place...only one or two points away from first, according to judge's comments. It should be noted that first, second and third place bands go in to the finals as equals, none preferred over another.

Spud's original songs went over as well, or better than the covers! Everyone, including me, was doing that rock and roll head bob dance, throwing the horns, sneering with the groove kinda stuff that rock fans do. It's an imperative to good rock music. We certainly had good reason to bob, throw and sneer.

Before this show, I'd only heard Spud's music from his solo acoustic performances and his CD. He is a fine songwriter and the CD is filled with powerful rock songs and some softer, more ballad type songs. It's also full of the best and brightest musicians in the San Diego area! So to hear his songs as they were meant to be played...live and loud...was amazing.

Yes America...the rock and roll band, Spud Davenport and The Messy Necessities, has lost it's virginity. they are out of the garage and on a stage near you. If you love rock and roll as much as Joan Jett and I do, get up off your couch, put your fries down, find a Spud Davenport and The Messy Necessities show near you and march your butt down there...watch you don't step in any messy necessities along the way...and have a head bobbin', horn throwin', sneering great time!

Visit them on MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/themessynecessities

Doktor Dave Sawyer
Guitar player
Webmaster of Musicjammers.Com
Columnist for My Week In Music Online Magazine

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