If John Lee Hooker's soul was divided into three parts and reincarnated into three tall, white suburban dudes from Ohio...well, those dudes would probably think 60 Watt Jackass was a swell name for a band.
Mr. Hooker has nothing to fear from these boys - 60 Watt Jackass specializes in a lazy, minimalist blues-rock approach, channeling simple guitar strums and backbeat-deprived 4/4 drum beats into the 10 songs on Ornery, the band's new CD. It's pretty derivative, a little smarmy, a wee bit blasphemous. But parts of it work surprisingly well.
Singer Aaron Webb definitely has his sleepy blues singer mannerisms down - the way he sings "Gonna rock a-geeen" and turns on the weepy charm on a line like "Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?" His delivery and the tunes supporting it are quiet, humble, and unforced. Half-assed, maybe. But if these guys were hee-hawin' and winkin' and grinnin' all the time, you'd hunt'em down and stomp on 'em.
Webb lays it on the line on Close Enough, Ornery's opening statement: "Close enough to Louisiana you could call me Cajun /Close enough to California you could call me Asian /Police describe as a 6'4" male caucasian/ wreckin' general havoc on the entire population." It sounds pretty snotty and disrepectful, but though wise-ass humor is central to the 60 Watt Jackass mindset, Ornery is never obnoxious enough to get, well, obnoxious.
These 10 two-minute backporch ditties land somewhere between reverent homage and screwball practical joke, but it sounds a whole hell of a lot more like the former, to our eternal benefit. These boys might not be bona fide Boogie Chillun, but somehow, they come close enough.
by Rob Harvilla
Press
Half-parody, half-assed: Meet 60 Watt Jackass
