Welcome to BluesRow

The SKBB is a hardworking local (to me: Chambersburg, PA) blues band. Skyla is a triple threat musician — she sings, plays the Telecaster, and writes. In fact, this CD consists of all original material, written by Skyla and her bandmate and co-guitarist, Mark Tomlinson. They’ve taken the less safe path of all original material and no standards, something they should be commended for.

Their music both swings and rocks. Not rocks in a blues-rock sense, but rocks in a hard-driving blues sense. In fact, if you’re a fan of blues-rock, this album probably won’t work for you. Their songs tend to the “straight blues” end of the spectrum, a refreshing approach nowadays. The guitars have a bit of a retro 50’s feel, light on the distortion and overdrive, some reverb, adding up to a nice clean old-school Fender sound. The rhythm section, Tony Snyder on bass and Ezell Jones on drums, is rock solid without getting in the way.

I’ve never seen the SKBB live, and I have a feeling from listening to this CD that they would put on a great show. Perhaps for production reasons, the CD doesn’t have that feel. You get the impression that the band can really cut loose, and Skyla’s vocals, which are reminiscent of the the best of Bonnie Raitt, could even get into Janis Joplin territory. I’m not a recording engineer, so I couldn’t tell you what’s missing. But it seems true of many blues recordings that they just don’t match the warmth and vibe of a live show.

My personal faves on the album include “Fat Cat Daddy”, a jazzy blues with some nice sax playing, “I’m Going Down”, a slow blues cooker, “Livin’ Day to Day”, a rockin’ boogie with some great understated drumming, and “Don’t Let Me Go”, a minor-key gut wrencher with some of Skyla’s patented blues moans.

If you like traditional blues in a wide mix of styles, you’ll like this album. And let’s hope that the next CD helps that warmth and soul they have get through even better.