6 String Drag – Roots Rock ‘N’ Roll
Grant Britt
Posted On March 24, 2015
“If we’d have come out five years ago, if 6 String Drag went out today as we were back then, opening up for The Avett Brothers, we would have a career.,” Kenny Roby told Durham’s Independent Weekly a few years back. With the release of his band’s latest, Roots Rock and Roll, after an 18-year hiatus, 6 String Drag may have another shot at the big time.
“All I wanna do is drive around town/dance to rock and roll/ fog your windows down,” the band proclaims on the opening cut, “Drive Around Town,” sounding like the Grateful Dead channeling the Everly Brothers.
As anyone who frequented the bars in North Carolina’s Triangle area, which includes the cities of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, in the late ’90s can attest, 6 String Drag were the alt country kings. Kenny Roby was the frontman, with a voice and a presence that commanded attention. Vocally, he resembles Elvis Costello, as is evident on“OOOEEOOOEEOOO.”
But the resemblance stops with the voice. Instrumentally, Roby and partners Rob Keller on bass, Ray Duffey on drums, and Scotty Miller on guitars carry more twang in their bucket. “Sylvia” slithers around like Little Feat, greased by Miller’s slippery slide, Roby roaring along vocally on top like Lowell George.
The record is exactly what it says it is: roots rock and roll. Roby says he intentionally recorded the songs to reflect the sounds of ’50s and ’60s with a dab of Stonesy ’70s jangle. He accomplished that by doing the studio album mostly in live takes with few overdubs. The music sounds fresh and sparkly, reflecting past styles without being overcome by them.
“I Miss the Drive In” and “Hard Times High Times” are both hands in the air anthems that would play as well in big arenas as well as small clubs.
On “Chopping Block,” Roby and the boys again dredge up a snaky Little Feat feel, slip-sliding around some truly nasty slide from Miller and Rob Ferris’ B-3 burbling merrily throughout the mix.
Roby has a day job these days, the proud holder of a massage therapy license with specialization in sports and pain management. And as he demonstrates in the lyrics and music, pain management is something at which he excels.
Its great to have Roby and the boys back- let’s hope this time they stick around.
by Grant Britt
