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ACL: Dax Riggs
I have a confession to make: I have a bit of a man-crush on Andy Macleod’s drumming. I wanna gay-marry the way that dude improves every band he plays with. Currently the touring drummer for Dax Riggs, I’ve seen him with obscure New York rockers Endless Boogie and with more-famous-but-more-musically-obscure guitar thinker Neil Hagerty (late of Royal Trux). And, oh, yeah, he also does time as the touring bassist for Modest Mouse. The man works hard.
You might remember Dax Riggs from the band Deadboy and the Elephantmen (or his metal band Acid Bath). While the two-person version of Dax Riggs has all sorts of fans, I’ve never seen them, so I can’t say whether Macleod improved them, frankly. But like any good rock band, 75 percent of a blues band is swing and pulse. Now, there’s not a lot subtle about Macleod’s bash and pop, at least not with Riggs, but he knows where the pocket is and he can explode out of it at will, a bit like Keith Moon, but more bald.
Riggs’ main asset is his voice, the sort of growl that passes for soulful to indie kids used to terrible singers. This isn’t a knock; Riggs’ voice is a tough and vigorous instrument, his guitar playing the sort of earthy, bluesy raunch that ACL fans just love. “Demon Tied to a Chair in My Brain” sounds both musically and lyrically like Roky Erickson (as if you couldn’t tell from the title) while “Radiation Blues” was dedicated (in a negative manner, that is) to the current administration. If bluesy guitar grime equaled votes, the administration is right to be worried.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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