Sharla June & the Mayhaws play an eclectic mix of blues, folk, bluegrass and rock and roll that makes Bessie Smith sound like Iggy Pop, and the Ramones sound like Hank Williams. They innovate, but with a respect for tradition, walking a line between the sunny sounds of old-time folk and bluegrass and the gritty darkness of old blues and hardcore gospel and country songs.
The band has featured a number of journeyman players over time, constantly evolving and exploring new musical terrain. Smoky-voiced lead singer Sharla June has been a mainstay on the Tallahassee music scene since the punk-rock 1980’s, writing and performing in a dizzying number of genre-spanning projects. Mandolinist Dave Leporati came to The Mayhaws via a traditional bluegrass background and a nontraditional affection for rockabilly, honky-tonk, and the edgier arts and literatures. Drummer Deb Berlinger has been banging on things and syncopating the blues since childhood, and bassist Chelsea Chason studied jazz performance and music therapy is now giving vent to her long-standing desire to rock out.
Together they create soul-feeding music: smart, dynamic, sassy and telling of the truth.
It’s the sound that wafts out of green-lit dashboards in big old 50s cars as they rocket through the soft, black summer night. It’s an after-hours jam session in the kitchen of that juke joint off the highway, the one your mama told you to stay out of.
But of course you don’t stay out. How could you? Not when the Mayhaws are in town.
Read more...