The Wages

Chronique

The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band are actually a trio -- the Reverend Josh Peyton on primitive slide guitar, harmonica, and vocals; his wife, Breezy Peyton, on washboard and backing vocals; and Aaron "Cuz" Persinger on percussion (often buckets and trash cans) and background vocals -- but the sound is big indeed, a boozy, uncontained noise in which jug band, country, blues, and down-home boogie tumble around in a joyous, uplifting cacophony. There's no bass, but the bedrock rhythms are full and rounded with Peyton's slashing rhythm guitar work pushing the tunes into overdrive. "Just Getting By" is a thumping country blues and the lyrics are mostly the hook line repeated over and over, but Persinger's thumping bass drum and Peyton's propulsive slide guitar and devil-may-care vocal make the tune work. "What Go Around Come Around" scolds a local badass with a dose of sardonic humor as the Rev. sings "You can't help stupid, but you can help mean/Is acting bad a habit, is it part of your routine?" "Born Bred Corn Fed" celebrates redneck country living with Peyton's wild swooping slide guitar shooting off sparks, but several songs address the hard time most working people are facing. "Everything's Raising" is a timely protest song that sounds funny -- but the jokes have a bitter taste to them as the Rev. sings about bailouts and crooked lawmakers -- as is "In a Holler Over There," a country blues that Peyton sings in a warbling voice that calls to mind Dave Von Ronk at his crustiest. Peyton's original songs may sound like the laments you'd hear coming from a Depression-era 78, but they are all recent compositions, and in the new Depression of 2010 they couldn't be more timely.
© j. poet /TiVo