Album Notes

Westword Review: Once a trio churning out reverb-drenched, Stray Cats-infused rockabilly, the Mighty Eighteen Wheeler has gotten progressively heavier with each album. On 2006's Charmed Life, the guys turned up the distortion and steered more into Reverend Horton Heat territory. Now a four-piece led by Halden Wofford, the band kicks up another notch on Stimulus Package and comes tearing out of the gate with the high-charged "This Is Real," a tune that could easily give the Rev a run for his money. On the chugging "Native of Nowhere" and a fueled-up take on the Stones' "Paint It Black," the players completely abandon their rockabilly roots in favor of heavy rock, with favorable results — showing just how mighty these cats can get. http://www.westword.com/2009-11-19/music/the-mighty-eighteen-wheeler/





If there were some alchemy through which the aching rock of David Lee Roth-era Van Halen and the shrieking, gnashing sounds of The Cramps could be melded, you still wouldn't have an accurate representation of the crush of styles produced by The Mighty 18 Wheeler. Gene Vincent and Nazareth? The New York Dolls and Tammy Wynette? The Living End and Led Zeppelin? Bobby Bare and Iggy Pop?

No. Maybe. The Mighty 18 Wheeler.

With their ever-evolving sound, they drive their thrashing rig' of rock and roll fast and hard. For years Bobby Smith (Guitars)--a veteran of L.A.'s metal and, later, swing scene--and longtime sidekick Jimmy Kolodziej (upright bass)--a Chicago native who stomped his way into the Colorado music world--carved out a metal-billy approach to Rock that wavered somewhere between Eddie Cochran and Motorhead. With the additions of drummer Matt Wiggins--a veteran of the Denver Music Scene--and singer Bret Bertholf--who drowned himself for a decade in country music--the band has finally morphed into one of the angriest, craziest, weirdest Rock bands ever to haunt a Denver club.

Expect anything at a Mighty 18 Wheeler show. The music is loud, the clothes are loud, and the primal energy never stops. Painkilling, soul-numbing, mind-bending, ear-splitting, uncompromising rock and roll: The Mighty 18 Wheeler.