It’s a special moment in one’s life when a band “changes the game” for a listener. By “changing the game,” of course, I mean opening their ears to a new genre. Drag The River did this for me and country music approximately eight years ago when I first heard them. Being a stubborn punk at that age, I refused to listen to anything but punk rock. It took a band of Drag The River’s pedigree (since they contain members flavored in ALL and Armchair Martian) for me to give the genre a chance, and I haven’t looked back since. It’s happened many times since (The Avett Brothers and bluegrass; Otis Redding and soul), and the event has surprised me every time. Through Drag The River came Lucero and other such good bands, and even today whenever I feel hesitant to give a band a chance due to their style I think to myself, “Remember what Drag The River did for you.”
-Ollie Mikse
Drag The River
Under The Influence Volume 5
(Vinyl Collective, 2009)
1. “Havin’ a Party”
2. “I Know”
Availability: From the kind folks at Vinyl Collective among others.
Covers records are always a bad idea but cover 7-inches, on the other hand, are an entirely different animal. Here, on a short slab of vinyl, an artist is able to tip their hat to artists who have influenced them in a maximum play time of ten minutes. Anything longer than that and you’re wasting a listener’s time; no one wants to hear an entire record worth of covers, after all.
On Vinyl Collective’s fifth volume of cover records, Drag The River gets a complete monopoly. Side A has their cover of Sam Cooke’s “Havin’ a Party” which, without a doubt, has become one of my favorite songs of the year; finding its place on many a mix CD I’ve prepared. Side B dishes out a respectable cover of Jeff Black’s “I Know” – a short and bittersweet number that closes off a perfect presentation of covers by a perfectly underrated band. Highly recommended.
Drag The River
A Way With Women
(Wallride Records, 2006)
1. "This Star"
2. "Strange"
3. "A Way With Women"
Availability: Again, from Vinyl Collective .
You know what the best part is about 7-inch releases? The B-sides, of course. You know why? Because a band’s perfect one-off song can often be found on the flipside; a personal zenith accomplished in three minutes or less. Yes, it’s true. The song “A Way with Women” might be my favorite Drag The River song, and – guess what? – it’s a B-side. While this gem is collected on the second side, side A is contrasting enough with its solitary Chad Price and Jon Snodgrass numbers. And, while “This Star” and “Strange” are formidable in themselves, seeing the band stripped down to their two front men jamming econo, it’s almost unfair to put these songs in the same mix as “A Way with Women.” Want the perfect Drag The River song? Look no further.
Drag The River
Third World Industries
(Third World Industries, 2006)
1. "A Shame"
2. "Beautiful and Damned"
Availability: Out of print, but available on the Bad at Breaking Up collection LP from, you guessed it, Vinyl Collective.
A band like Drag The River has many 7-inch releases in their catalogue and, startlingly, they’re almost all in print….almost. Digging this album up from my archives was difficult, because I was as surprised as anybody else that I even had it. I proudly pat my back at this personal achievement.
One thing Drag The River is known for is re-workings of their album songs (just look at the “Can’t Leave These Strays” and “Garage Rock” releases), and the Third World Industries 7” (as the kids call it) isn’t exempt from this phenomenon; a veritably spooky and haunting rendition of “Beautiful and Damned” graces the second side. This time it’s just Price with a distant voice and a heavily reverbed slide guitar, with the most significant reworking they’ve done so far.
It’s a shame this record is unavailable, because the entire package is so charmingly lo-fi. Even the songs sound a bit raw, which in all honestly, most bands can benefit from these days. Drag The River knows this, and it suits them just fine.
Ollie Mikse is a Turkish-Aruban-Dutchman, who in between bouts of writing, socializing, and household cleaning, is reminded that he is also a graduate student. Heralding in the news that unbeknownst to him there is a light at the end of a tunnel, he spends his time with Red Sound Records (www.redsoundrecords.net) and the Ottomans (www.myspace.com/theottomansmusic) as a viable alternative to drinking-to-forget. He lives in Big Sur, with his two cocker spaniels Duke and Shempy.
