The Devil Makes Three ~ Go Ahead, Try It…
It’s a phrase most of us heard more than a few times from our mothers when they put strange vegetables down in front of us at the dinner table and from friends who tried recruiting us for their Thursday night candle-making club: “Try it, you might like it!” And since those words never led to anything there was a snowball’s chance in hell I would like, I decided to ignore it (except for when it came from very select people over the years and had to do with trying, um, more enticing opportunities)…and never use it myself.
Well, I’m breaking my rule now for a very good reason, and that reason’s name is The Devil Makes Three, a Bluegrass, Folk, Country band out of Santa Cruz, CA whose cool new album Redemption & Ruin is out now (you can also check out their previous album, I’m a Stranger Here, on iTunes) and available in a bunch of formats listed at the bottom of the page. It’s no accident that we’re known primarily for our coverage of the various forms of hard rock and metal (although we’ve always included a wide range of genres) and that much of our audience is heavily into that scene (as are yours truly and my FW partner in musical crime), but…here goes…I say to them about TDM3, “Try it, you might like it!”
Chances are, in fact, that you will more than just like the band and their music, you’ll really dig them and find yourself proud to admit it (And hey, not only do they have “Devil” in their name, they also list Iron Maiden as one of their influences, so that should count for something for any of you still rolling your eyes at the thought of the bluegrass, folk, and country defiling your metal ears).
Pete Bernhard, guitarist, Lucia Turino, bassist, and Cooper McBean, guitarist ~ all of whom have a great sense of humor (one of their declared shared interests is trapping and redistribution of rats and other vermin) and contagious energy ~ are true to their genres (and especially given the current musical climate, I tip my hat to them for that) but have found a way to incorporate a lot of… something … that sucks in even the most stubborn of skeptics. They put on one hell of a live show (dare you to see one and not wind up at least tapping your feet and leaving with a big, fat smile on your face…you cannot be in a bad mood, even after the shittiest of days, after listening to this trio) and what they project from the stage they also project in the recording studio…the mark of real musicians.
@ Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre
In support of the new album, TDM3 is about to kick off a massive tour (we’ll be covering one of the earlier dates, so stay tuned for pics and a review) that lasts right through February 2017, and I’m betting that with the combination of Redemption and Ruin and the mind-boggling number of shows they’ll be playing, a major, toe-tappin’ fan base is just around the corner for them ~ and that you’ll be a member of it.
And now here’s how to “Try it…:”
Vinyl (Can I just say that the return of vinyl as a current format is awesome?)
Photo courtesy of thedevilmakesthree.com
Facebook (It’s not necessarily what you’re expecting!)