I'll start with C-Leb and The Kettle Black because I caught them live first in August at the Summer Meltdown festival in Darrington Washington. Yeah...that's how much I love these guys - took the ferry over to the mainland, crossed the border, drove 3 hours there and back in one day to catch these rockers blow up the fucking stage! And of course they didn't disappoint!
Let me refresh your memory, C-Leb and The Kettle Black are an urban blues band from Seattle Washington. The first time I heard one of their songs, I fucking couldn't run fast enough to buy their album. Between C-Leb and Jesse's writing talents, C-Leb's strong vocals, Jesse's slide guitar, Sandy's bass lines and Jazz keeping the beat on his skins, these guys have got it fucking goin on!! Not to mention they are all fucking sexy as hell!
The boys weren't headlining the festival and being Indie artists they are still making a name for themselves. I watched them start out performing to a fairly small crowd, but as their set progressed I wasn't surprised to turn and see the crowd had substantially grown and were calling out for more! And more is what C-Leb and the Kettle Black gave to us! They surprised us by performing a new song for their encore - Flat Black will be on their next album....(rumor has it, they're working on it now! I can't fucking wait!!) Holy fucking shit! I thought I couldn't love these boys more but this song blew me the fuck away! Needless to say, I was very happy I made the trip!
The boys were great too! Though they were busy with putting away their equipment, and they had their families there, they were still kind enough to take a few minutes to talk to me... and oh yeah, I got hugs too - score! Every one of their songs is a favorite of mine, so it's hard to pick and choose one to share... I'm gonna share Guilty with you, but be sure to head over to their website at c-lebsounds.com to check out more! You won't be fucking disappointed!
The second band that I had the opportunity to check out was Cupla! I couldn't wait to ferry over to catch their show in September in Vancouver at the Princeton Pub. And again, I was not disappointed! Like C-Leb and The Kettle Black, I've been a fan of Cupla from the first time I heard them. Everybody who knows me, knows I love all music but my heart lives in hard rock and blues. Another thing that attracts me is originality... well, Cupla has originality all wrapped up with a fucking bow and their blues riffs drive me wild!
I was curious to see how Cupla would sound live.... Tricia McAloney has that sultry low voice and I wondered if the music would overpower her in a live show. Turns out that I had nothing to be fucking concerned about. They sounded even better live than on their CD (which I love, by the way). And this was in a small pub with not so great acoustics. What I wouldn't fucking give to hear them perform in a Theater Arts center, such as the Esplanade in Medicine Hat. I bet they would blow that fucking place up!
Not only do I love Cupla's music... I love Cupla. Bobby and Billy McAloney could possibly be two of my favorite people alive. These are a couple of the sweetest guys I've ever met and considering the life these two young men have lived so far, it is surprising. Just another argument for how expressing yourself through music is healing and therapeutic. Tricia is beautiful and cool, Brando is a sweetheart and Andrew is sexy time!
Another thing to love about Cupla is how they are willing to stand up to bullies! My Stand, the song they wrote and performed to shine a light an age old problem that has been tormenting our children for as long as I can remember is touching, beautiful and relevant. It means more to me than they can possibly know. I moved around a lot as a kid and almost every year I was the new kid. The new kid gets bullied a lot, believe me! If you haven't heard it, please check it out now...
To get more information and links to all their music, please visit Cupla at www.supernova.com/cupla1. Not only are they my heroes, they are a hell of a lot of fun to do Tequila shots with too! I can't wait for the next time.........; )
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