The Slooches at Donn Paulk's Birthday Bash at Darrells 3-2-13

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.

I had passed on The Slooches twice and against the advice of a trusted source. Scott, my friend and Sonic Wizard had told me of the amazing show The Slooches perform. I had a chance, I passed twice. I wasn't going to miss this performance.

This was a cool occasion too. Donn Paulk was turning 55, he invited all his friends to a 2 day party. Both days were hosted at Darrells Tavern. Scott is the sound-tech and co-booking agent at this venerable institution. He worked with Donn on the bill and it was killer.

I love Darrells. http://www.darrellstavern.com/

Friday night they had The Outlaw, The Jelly Roller and a duo; Robb Benson with Perry Morgan playing covers. Saturday night they hosted The Slooches, The Elelctric Landladies, and The Green Meanies. The last two of those are bands formed to play some of Donn's favorite music.

Here is Donn enjoying the show.

I can imagine he was pleased. This was some awesome music performed by some talented artists.

Here is a little info passed on from Scott: Donn is an absolute music nut who grew up in the Bay Area (wild story too why he is living in Seattle). He has seen just about everyrock/blues/surf band alive play multiple times. He has the most amazing vinyl, CD, and band poster collection. You can't even imagine - and many are autographed. Donn is a walking music encyclopedia in his areas of interest.

Donn...used to be a major skateboarder when he lived in SF. He invented the move called "The Fakie" that all boarders use to this day. It is a move where you roll up the wall of the swimming pool (they didn't have skatepark bowls in those days) and then just "put it into reverse" and roll back down the same way. It is a move used to ramp yourself up higher and higher across the pool until you reach the top and are able to start doing turns off the coping.

The Slooches came on first. Three young fellows from Walla Walla, in the far southeast corner of Washington State. Once a forgotten part of the state, the Walla Walla area is now teaming with wineries and upscale restaurants. You can see beautiful Walla Walla here: http://www.wallawalla.org/

I mentioned they were young. I saw Dillin, the lead singer and guitarist head to the bar for liquid refreshments. He got 3 glasses of water and two whiskeys. The drummer got the water only. These were kids but man they played like seasoned pros.

Scott had this to say about them: Dillin must have prehistoric dinosaur genes for playing guitar and singing or something. He is completely wired to be a front man and guitarist - yet he didn't even take up the guitar until 16! He's already got the tone and attitude of a seasoned British Invasion rocker - that is hard to believe!
Reed the drummer is this close " " to turning 21. We'll all get to have a shot and beer backer with him sometime after April. That's why I had to set him up on the front stoop outside with the door cracked so he could listen to the later bands, and arranged with Ed to let Reed stand inside the Sound Bite food truck if he got cold.

Hilarious, I hope he didn't catch his death...

I found the line-up on Facebook. The Slooches are: Franky Jo Dillin Stiffler: Guitar and Vocals Michael Tyler "Ty" Hill: Bass and Reed Harwood: Drums. They have a monster sound It is an incredible bluesy/psychedelic/punk/rockabilly/rock mix that is original and awesome.

You can connect with them here: https://www.facebook.com/TheSlooches

Dillin is a phenomenal musician. He plays rhythm and lead guitar and sings all the vocals. I am willing to bet he drives the car to the gigs too.

He and his mates put on a hell of a show. Reed was absolutely blazing on the skins. He and the rest of the band met while skating together in little town. They all loved The Ramones and made a pack to make music before they even knew how to play. Truly an amazing transformation.

Here is how Scott described them: fantastic original blues rock trio from Walla Walla! These young guys kick ass, take numbers, and come at you again and again with their great music! Imagine the quality, look, and tones of Stevie Ray Vaughan, George Thorogood, Bob Seger and Jerry Lee Lewis all placed in a blender on high...

They took the peach-fuzz right off your chin if it wasn't already gone. High energy rock and/or roll.

Michael rocked a gorgeous bass guitar. They performed an awesome version of Tobacco Road.

The crowd roared with massive applause after every song. They were an amazing opening act.

They did the sweetest version of Lou Reed's I'm waiting for my man. Incredible driving beat with a punk attitude. I loved The Slooches.

Donn loved them so much he asked them to stay for an encore. In fact, the whole place was crazy for The Slooches, we were all up and hollering for more. They closed with Lucille, screaming primitive rock.

You can hear some of their music here: http://www.reverbnation.com/theslooches

Franky Jo said that they had not performed since New Years eve. You would never had known it. They were fantastic.

Thanks to The Slooches for making the long drive over from BF Washington.  I can't wait to see them again.

Donn came on-stage and thanked all for coming. He also said that his favorite guitarist was Jimi Hendrix. The next band was a collection of his buddies that played some killer Hendrix tunes.

Here is the line-up as listed on the event Facebook page: THE ELECTRIC LANDLADIES - Jimi Hendrix tribute band featuring stellar players: Jeff Fielder - blazin' electric guitar & vocals, Ian Moore - flamin' electric guitar & vocals, Andy Stoller - whumpin' electric bass & vocals and Mike Musburger - whoppin' drums.

They shredded the Hendrix, totally amazing guitar work. The vocals were great too. They really captured the Hendrix feel but in a total original way.

Jeff was blazing on the guitar.

Ian was the other half of this powerful guitar based band.

The Electric Landladies did a great version of Jimi's song Angel.

Mike was in back keeping the band going, driving them with the killer beat.

The guitars were screaming, my ears are still buzzing.

I left early, I got my fix of great music tonight though. Thanks to The Electric Landladies for the screaming music and a trip back to the 60's. I was lucky enough to see Jimi in 1967 in Spokane. This took me back.

Thanks to Donn and Darrells for allowing me to come and enjoy some stellar musicians doing what they love. There were still a lot of peeps in the house when I left.