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microwave dave & the nukes : atomic electric
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Atomic Electric's performances offer tradition and voltage from a tight, experienced ensemble labeled a "cult blues band" by Bo Diddley and leading Bobby Blue Bland to comment, "Microwave Dave---he's a blues MAN."
Genre: Blues: Electric Blues
Release Date: 2003
atomic electric Record Label: distant farmer
  • Buy CD - $15.00
Preview Song Name Time Format Price Select
Shady Muscadine 3:19 Album Only
Shot Gun Slim 4:42 Album Only
It's All Right Now 4:25 Album Only
Trail of Tears 5:16 Album Only
Mary Ann 4:11 Album Only
Moon Winx 3:35 Album Only
Courtin' in a Cadillac 3:50 Album Only
Anna Lee 5:59 Album Only
The River's Invitation 4:34 Album Only
Night Train 5:01 Album Only
Sleep Walk 4:38 Album Only
Highway 49 6:16 Album Only
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Album Notes

ATOMIC ELECTRIC FEATURES THE ORIGINAL STUDIO RECORDING OF "TRAIL OF TEARS'--THE LOWEBOW (CIGAR-BOX GUITAR) INSTRUMENTAL PERFORMED BY MICROWAVE DAVE ON NPR'S "MICHAEL FELDMAN'S WHAD'YA KNOW?" ON NOVEMBER 18, 2006.

NOW AVAILABLE ON CD BABY: MICROWAVE DAVE & THE NUKES' NEW LIVE ALBUM, DOWN SOUTH NUKIN'--WHICH CONTAINS THE SECOND SELECTION FROM THE SHOW, BODY AND FENDER MAN. TYPE DOWN SOUTH NUKIN' IN THE SEARCH BOX ABOVE TO ACCESS ALBUM INFO.


Wander up on one of the hundreds of venues where Microwave Dave & the Nukes are playing one of their thousands of gigs. ATOMIC ELECTRIC will document the encounter well, providing a texture of selections from various eras joined at the hip in tight arrangements that frame Microwave Dave's very identifiable voice, style and exuberance within the Nukes' intuitive grooves.

Unwinding like a late-night last set, ATOMIC ELECTRIC's modern originals such as Microwave Dave's sleazy-scungy Moon Winx and Shady Muscadine (co-written by Billy C. Farlow and Dave) rock toward the dance floor while Jerry 'Boogie' McCain's Courtin' In A Cadillac swings the shuffle and James 'Icepick' Harman's It's All Right Now 's barely-controlled jump threatens to spin out of control, propelled by Rick Godfrey's Telecaster bass in tight, upright articulation.

Dyke & the Blazers' seldom-heard Shot Gun Slim boogaloos, bumps and drives aboard the punchy drumming of Skip Skipworth, supplying irrevocable evidence of his Muscle Shoals birthright. Night Train is one tune that truly earns the ATOMIC ELECTRIC designation as Microwave Dave's amplifier risks detonation under the duress of triple-stops that shag right up the tracks only to twist back down.

Two-fisted jazz piano chords emerge from the guitar on Percy Mayfield's The River's Invitation while original solo Trail Of Tears with it's present-tense primitivity displays Dave's amplified diddley bow praying the fear and desolation of the forced march.

Ensemble dynamics play on Robert Nighthawk's Anna Lee , rising and falling with each nuance of the lead as if conducted from a classic film score, and in the detail of Ray Charles' orchestration on Mary Ann , a six-handed assimilation of the sounds of a dozen-plus musicians.

The sweetness of Santo & Johnny's venerable Sleep Walk seduces a last-dance embrace, but things get rough as the Nukes stomp Howlin' Wolf's Highway 49 well past closing time with slide guitar hollering like the drunk that won't go home.

Captured in vintage analog with minimal overdubs by producer/engineer Tom Gallaher, ATOMIC ELECTRIC is fission, tradition---and voltage.

Please spin responsibly.

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REVIEWS

the kind of unwritten understanding of what the Blues is meant to be
author: Steve Langhauser - Mississippi Valley Blues Society
Sometimes you get the wrong impression when you make a snap judgement. When my editor told me to review this offering from Microwave Dave & The Nukes I made some initial impressions without even listening to the CD. I thought, local guy and his band, independent label and maybe just some hack trying to squeeze out some notoriety by slogging through some Blues. I think I might have rushed to judgement. Dave and his crew pound out the Blues as it was meant to be on their latest offering, Atomic Electric. As I said, my impression and the first spin of the disc did not quite impress me because of my predisposed bias. I have always reviewed offerings with a hope that the first play will knock me off my feet and never let go. I have come to learn that the Blues are not meant to be in that vein. The Blues are something that takes patience. The Blues are a cerebral and soulful understanding and something that cannot be rushed. Microwave Dave and the Nukes display the kind of unwritten understanding of what the Blues is meant to be. Atomic Electric is a mix of original music and cover tunes blended in a style and a bump and grind that a true aficionado of the true meaning of the Blues can come to appreciate. These guys mix a boogie beat and sound that initially reminds me of Canned Heat. They then pick up the pace with some southern up-tempo on a few cuts. They then slow it down again with Dave's talented picking on the Lowebow, which is a homemade slide with a cool distinctive twang. They have across-the-board talent with a subtle, "we've got the goods" swagger. That swagger really flies on "Moon Winx", a Gallaher original. Microwave Dave Gallaher is backed by Rick Godfrey on bass and Skip Skipworth on drums and these dudes roll out the Blues like the Blues are supposed to be rolled out. They can pick it up and shake it around or they can pick it slow and grind it down. "Anna Lee" fits the grind down category quite well. Don't rush to judgement. Let Microwave Dave & The Nukes take you through the Blues. Play it once, play it twice and then play it again. I think you will end up thanking me. Until next time, Keep your Mojo workin'
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damn near vaporizes his strings
author: Dave Rubin - GUITAR ONE magazine
"Microwave" Dave Gallaher damn near vaporizes his strings on this selection of hip covers which includes "Night Train" and "Sleepwalk." HOT LICK: "It's All Right Now." To quote Frank Barone, "Holy crap!"
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author: Andria Lisle - LIVING BLUES Issue # 169 (Fall 2003):
Thanks to folks like guitarist Willie King and harp player Jerry McCain,the Alabama blues scene is alive and well. Barroom faves Microwave Dave & the Nukes have certainly pulled their share of the weight, dominating rough-and-tumble northern Alabama roadhouses since 1989. Led by Dave Gallaher, this trio pulls no punches on Atomic Electric, their third full-length disc. Opening with the shuffling roots rocker Shady Muscadine---penned by Gallaher and one-time Commander Cody sideman Billy Farlow---the Nukes get the party off to a good start. Skip Skipworth lays down a steady drumbeat, while bassist Rick Godfrey anticipates Gallaher's every move. Next, the gruff-voiced guitarist tears through a handful of well-picked covers, including Dyke & the Blazers' Shot Gun Slim, James Harman's It's All Right Now, and Percy Mayfield's The River's Invitation. The trio strips down on Jimmy Forrest's bump-and-grind instrumental Night Train, staying in check long enough for an ethereal take on Santo and Johnny's Sleep Walk. Fellow Alabamian Jerry McCain gets a nod on an over-the-top rendition of Courtin' In A Cadillac, while Big Joe Williams (who lived just across the border in Crawford, Mississippi) gets his due when the Nukes rock his Highway 49 for Atomic Electric 's six-minute closer. The best moments on Atomic Electric , however, belong to the Nukes alone. Gallaher picks up a LoweBow (John Lowe's diddley bow-inspired electric one-string) for the searing, plaintive Trail Of Tears , then plays hydro-percussion (whatever that is) on the swampy, rhythmic Moon Winx , which owes as much to Goo Goo Muck -era Cramps as it does ZZ Top.
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Train of Tears on the LoweBow is AWESOME!!!
author: George Erdel
The whole album is great but I especially love the delta sound of the LoweBow Cigar Box guitar on Trail of Tears, Cut #4. There is a lot of new material which I have not heard him do on this album. I think you will like it as much as I do.
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