If you can't say somethin' nice...
The Bloody Tears
Downhanded (Licorice Tree)
The Bloody Tears are new refreshment and big surprise on Licorice Tree Records, Austin, Texas. Licorice Tree Records is new label and all they releases so far were really top stuff, including this CD. OK, now few words about The Bloody Tears. It's some kind of garage punk with strong r'n'b roots, songs are fast played really dirty with great r'n'b garage guitar sound, harp, organ and great vocal. If you expect pure neo 60s sound maybe you will be disappointed, they go more into direction of UK pub rock bands like Dr. Feelgood, early 9 Below Zero improved with great American souly garage sound. Fantastic band for smoky clubs where you can get drunk from gallons of beer. 12 songs, here and there some covers. All great. Get this CD as soon as possible and have real good time with The Bloody Tears!
Austin Chronicle - April 2006
Margaret Moser
Saturday night at the annual Lone Star Rod & Kustom Roundup, the Continental Club revs up with the Bloody Tears, those Pharaohs of Nouveau Soul by way of garage rock. Things that make you go vroooom include the racy, arresting, hip-grinding girls of Red Light Burlesque. Round midnight, Gary Clark Jr. parks his Texas blues onstage, shifting into the smokin’ groove that just won him his second Austin Music Awards for Best Blues Band. Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!
Austin 360.com - November 2005
(Bloody) Tears of Joy
The pantheon of my musical religion is guided by a holy trinity of artists, Johnny Cash, Mitch Ryder and Lou Reed — so talented and innovative, it’s rare for me to compare any modern act to their legendary ones. So it’s with great gravity that I say The Bloody Tears is the closest I’ll ever come to seeing Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels circa 1965. These guys are trouble; all sharkskin soul with a powder keg punch that’ll knock you out and leave your tail feather shaking long after the set is done. Their next show is at Maggie Mae’s on Dec. 17 and I highly recommend it.
That being said I feel it’s my journalistic duty to reveal The Bloody Tears’ harmonica player Randall “Freaklip?? Stockton has given me beer. In fact, he gave me my first beer.
Back to the days of yore (2002) a wide-eyed blogger set out one Saturday night and made her first excursion to the happiest place on Earth: Beerland, Texas. Back then I was but a foolish creature who did silly things like arrive at places before midnight and wear open-toed shoes in the presence of drunken guys in boots. The bar was nearly empty and armed with nothing but a charge card, and naïveté, I sidled up to the bar and asked for “a beer.??
“What sort of beer??? asked Randall.
I didn’t know. I had been put off by beer since I was 16 and did a tour of duty in a house full of German physics students who brewed their own stout in the tiny shared kitchen and filled the house with awful smells.
Back to Beerland. Randall set out a dozen little cups and proceeded to fill them with anonymous beers while I chose my favorite from each group. After several minutes of sipping (and one outburst of “why?! why would you give that to someone?!) I decided on the one I liked the best; a creamy Guinness stout, thick as sin and twice as heavy. I ordered a pint and thanks to Randall, started what I hope to be a long and glorious career in the imbibing arts on the right, albeit inappropriately shod foot.
None of this has anything to do with his performance as part of the Bloody Tears, but I’d like to think it speaks to Randall’s nature and exactly how far he’s willing to go to ensure folks have a good time; a passion the entire Bloody Tears ensemble seems to share.
I-94 Bar - September, 2005
Patrick Emery
The Bloody Tears
Downhanded (Licorice Tree)
Everything is big in Texas – or so Texan residents will tell anyone who wants to listen. Texas has certainly produced its fair share of good psych-garage music (look no further than the 13th Floor Elevators and the Butthole Surfers). Austin, the capital city (and, by way of irrelevant trivia, the sister city of Adelaide) has long boasted a vibrant local scene centered around the bars of 6th Street.
The Bloody Tears (I'd like to know the origin of that name – at first glance it sounds like it should be the name of a down-on-the-skids blues cover band in rural Arkansas) hail from Austin, Texas, and play music that is guaranteed to make you boogie in a rock'n'roll sort of a way.
The opening track, "C'mon Up", is a hip shakin', ass wigglin' tune that evokes everything good about the late 60s garage soul scene that bridged the gap between James Brown's seminal soul and the Sly Stone/George Clinton funkness of the early 1970s, but with a garage sensibility that brings to mind the Detroit Cobras and early Deep Purple. "Missing" is dominated by a flourishing keyboard garage march that puts further pressure on your lower body to dance like a mad person; the lead break is indulgent – in the way lead breaks must be to achieve their purpose – but not gratuitous. "How Can This Be" sees the emergence of the harmonica, which is probably the high light of the song – it lacks the danceable intensity of the previous two tracks.
"Talking With Your Baby" starts with a spoken word lament, backed by some cymbal shimmering that reminded me of the best Detroit Cobras' "she done me wrong" covers; the result track is a catchy, 50s country rock meet garage themed high school dance sonic aesthetic. "C'mon and Swim" is a cover of the Bobby Freeman sorta-novelty tune (first released in 1964) but performed here with a dedicated intensity not generally associated with the original.
"Glad You're Gone" drops down a gear in its quest to narrate some adolescent emotional drama, but without any obvious loss of momentum. "Snooks' Thing" (note the correct use of the possessive apostrophe) is an instrumental jam that's all over the place – in a good way – like some acid deranged freak trying to make breakfast after a night in Stanley Owsley's company. "Listen to Me" is the closest thing to a romantic lament on the album, a narrative of dysfunctional communication between teenage lovers set to a soundtrack that's on the bubble gum edge of 60s garage pop.
"Treat Her Like a Lady" has that slightly patronising gender specific theme that'd be perfect subject matter for some wannabe academic searching for material to include in a collection of critical essays on gender relationships in rock'n'roll ... but here it's just perfect subject matter for a spin on the dance floor, a neat marriage between The Come Ons and Detroit Cobras. The album finishes on a nice, happy note – if almost garage on prozac – with the Brady Bunch meets Hitsville USA in a Jim Diamond produced ball of fun "I Got a Good Thing Going".
For a band with a name that suggests turgid, pretentious observations of life, love, bitterness and death, The Bloody Tears can certainly create a good time atmosphere. With a sound like this, surely they're not far from being the next overseas signing to Bruce Milne's Infidelity Records?
For you German fans....
OX-FANZINE - July, 2005
Joachim Hiller
The Bloody Tears
Downhanded (Licorice Tree)
Auf dem kürzlich durch den Release des STEPBROTHERS-Albums positiv aufgefallenen Label Licorice Tree ist jetzt ein weiteres erstklassiges Garage-R'n'R-Album erschienen. Die BLOODY TEARS sind wie ihr Label in Austin, TX ansässig und werden von jenem als "Supergroup" tituliert, basierend auf der Tatsache, dass sich hier (Ex-)Mitglieder von SONS OF HERCULES, THE CRACK PIPES und TRANSGRESSORS zusammengefunden haben, um aus Punk, Garage, Rock, Soul und R&B ein ganz eigenes, leckeres Süppchen zu kochen, das unweigerlich gute Laune verbreitet, das aus depressiven Nachmittagen sonnige macht, aus einsamen Abenden One-Man-Partys, ja, es sollen sogar der Katholischen Kirche zur Heiligsprechung als hinreichender Grund genügende Fälle beobachtet worden sein, wo Lahme mit dem Hören dieser Platte zu tanzen anfingen.
Hallelujah, möchte man da jauchzen! Eric Makowski ist der Kopf dieser Formation, ein aus Lansing, Michigan stammender Bursche, der einst mit seinem alten Kumpel Jim Diamond nach Austin gezogen war, mit dem zusammen die BEAT-O-SONICS gründete und sich irgendwie durchschlug.
Diamond ging dann irgendwann nach Michigan zurück, baute das legendäre Ghetto Recorders-Studio auf, und der Rest ist Geschichte.
Dass sein Buddy Eric aber mindestens genauso talentiert ist, beweist "Downhanded", das man im heimischen Sweat Box-Studio einspielte, aber mit Jim Diamond hinterm Mischpult, und so schließe ich die Besprechung des Albums dieser enorm Spaß machenden, sechsköpfigen Kapelle (neben den Basics gibt's noch Mundharmonika und Tasten) mit dem dezenten Hinweis, dass man doch auch mal links und rechts der DIRTBOMBS einen Blick riskieren sollte.
Ja, das war billiges Namedropping und auch ein Wink mit dem Zaunpfahl. Geheimtip!
Thanks Cheryl M for this English translation.....
After the recently released STEPBROTHERS album, the positively outstanding label, Licorice Tree, now makes another first-class garage/rock-n-roll album.
The BLOODY TEARS, like their label, are based in Austin. They are known as a super-group, based on the fact that members of the SONS OF HERCULES, THE CRACK PIPES and TRANSGRESSORS have found themselves together, making their own thing out of punk, garage, rock, soul, and R&B. Without fail their music spreads a good mood that makes depressing afternoons sunny and turns a boring evening into a party.
Yes, it should even give the Catholic Church sufficient reason to canonize the band, since it has been observed many times that even those who are crippled will find themselves dancing when they hear this record. “Hallelujah,” one would like to cheer!
Eric Makowski, from Lansing, Michigan, is the head of this group. He originally moved to Austin with his old friend Jim Diamond and founded the BEAT-O-SONICS. Diamond then went back to Michigan and established the legendary Ghetto Recorders Studio, and the rest is history. “Downhanded” demonstrates that his buddy Eric is every bit as talented. The album was recorded in Sweat Box Studio in Austin, and mixed with Jim Diamond.
And so I conclude the discussion of this enormously fun album from the six-piece band (aside from the basics, there’s also a harmonica and keyboards) with the discreet reference that one should also take a risk in checking out the DIRTBOMBS.
Yeah, that was cheap name-dropping and also ‘a wink with the fencepost’ (=not so subtle hint). Insider’s tip!
Mohair Sweets - Summer 2005
The Bloody Tears
Downhanded (Licorice Tree)
Sounds like scorching 70s Mitch Ryder! But it ain't! It's a host of Austin garage rockers (including some Michigan ex-pats) blasting dirty amped-up R&B for bar-room ne'r-do-wells. Thank god they chose the right path coz the last thing the world needs right now is another punk or indie band. Recorded by Jim Diamond. Nuff said?
x2RR.com - June, 2005
MG
The Bloody Tears
Downhanded (Licorice Tree)
Good punchy organ driven Booker T inspired rockers. Really good mix of musical talent, raw energy, blues blues harp and dance dance dance inspiration. Most songs are really up tempo, with the exception of a couple slower ballads.
Shindig! - June, 2005
Phil Suggitt
The Bloody Tears
Downhanded (Licorice Tree)
On the CD cover a girl is putting on her lipstick ready to go out. Open the booklet and she has discarded her shoes so she can Swim, Watusi and Boogaloo across the dance floor! This is an 'Austin dance party' from a six-piece band of experienced local musicians from several other bands, a really swingin' mix of classic '60s style soul, R&B and pop. This is easily the most impressive release so far from local Austin label Licorice Tree records. The Tears sound like a storming live outfit, as they immediately set feet tapping and hips shaking. The band immediately set their party cards on the table with a raucous cover of 'C'mon Up'. There is a very strong mix of energetic soul and pop covers, such as 'C'mon and Swim', mixed with originals by lead singer and leader Eric Makowski. Some of his tunes, such as 'Talkin' With Your Baby' sound like obscure Arthur Alexander numbers, but aren't! The playing is really assured, with generous helpings of organ and harmonica as well as two guitars. What, you still aren't out on the floor?
Slug Mag - June, 2005
Jared Soper
The Bloody Tears
Downhanded (Licorice Tree)
The Bloody Tears = 68 Comeback + The Deadly Snakes + The Lyres
I’m usually quite suspicious of any record sporting some porn-star-looking broad on the cover. It makes me think I’m about to listen to some ultra-tough jock rock like Drowning Pool or Saliva (remember them?). But as it turns out, The Bloody Tears are nothing of the kind (thankfully). As evident from the first track onwards, this Texas outfit have listened to their fair share of barnstormin’ 50s and 60s R&B. This is a good Saturday night party record very much in the tradition of fine platters by Don Covay, Richard Berry, and Les Sexareenos. There is some fine instrumentation on here complete with a Hammond organ, which definitely adds to things, along with some fine Yardbirds-style harp-blowing. So aside from the awful cover and stupid name, The Bloody Tears offer up a pretty decent album here with Downhanded. (Oh, yeah, it was produced by Jim Diamond, too.)
Ear Candy - www.earcandymag.com - May, 2005
J.R. Oliver
The Bloody Tears
Downhanded (Licorice Tree)
This is a big fat-ass Rawk n' Soul album! It's just what the doctor ordered. I've played the hell out of this disc ever since it came in the mail. The Bloody Tears mix sixties and seventies soul with the sweaty garage intensity of the Standells, Count Five and Chocolate Watchband then throw in a proper amount of punk bravado to boot. This is a party album, plain and simple. Even if you're alone with a six-pack I guarantee you'll be shakin' your ass and singing along before the third song. Highly recommended!
Razorcake - www.razorcake.com - May, 2005
Rotgut Roger Moser
The Bloody Tears
Downhanded (Licorice Tree)
If I didn't have the press release telling me differently, I would've sworn up and down that Downhanded was recorded for the Stax label, circa 1966, by a bunch of greasy-haired swamp rats fuelled on filter-less cigarettes, 180-proof homemade hooch, and lots of lowdown dirty desires. Yep, The Bloody Tears sound like they were born in a dilapidated, tin-roofed shotgun shack in the backwaters of the Mississippi Delta and raised in a smoky pool hall on the wrong side of the tracks in Memphis. They raucously invoke a musical form steeped deep in Southern-boogie Garage, hellfire-and-brimstone Gospel, and sleazy sex-sweaty R&B. With Downhanded loudly blaring throughout the Moser household, I can't help but wanna shimmy and shake between the sheets with my gal all night long. The Bloody Tears have grandly brought out the beast in me!
The Next Big Thing - http://nextbigthing.blogspot.com - May 21, 2005
Lindsay Hutton
The Bloody Tears
Downhanded (Licorice Tree)
Licorice Tree continues their reign of supplying prime rock and roll by releasing this full-length of "Texan Power Soul" combo, The Bloody Tears. Like Jake and Elwood Blues given a transfusion of Fleshtone blood, a live show must be a pretty life-affirming experience but Downhanded lays out their stall to pretty grand effect.
The BT's solid, frug-off repertoire has a tight, rough undercarriage and Jim Diamond has come up with a great live sound to make it sparkle. This brightness will have you relishing the familiarity of the material even although you never heard most of these songs before. The y feel like old friends you want to get re-aquainted with. Nothing new, but sometimes, like in this case, that pays dividends. "Glad You're Gone" reminds me of one of the first times I saw Eddie and the Hot Rods. A band that was more punk rock than many of the bandwaggoneers that would follow the trail they blazed. But anyway, these guys will have you greetin' with pure ferkin' joy. Their "Snooks' Thing" is Buck's Boogie for the 21st Centu-bleedin'-ry. Pure unabashed fun with no airs and graces, just the chops - cut the way I like 'em .
Maximum Rock 'n' Roll - May, 2005
Jeff Heermann
The Bloody Tears
Downhanded (Licorice Tree)
Painful name, catchy music. Starts off with a cover of "C'mon Up" and then lurches into a punchy CD of sorta-borderline 60-ish Hammond organ rock with the requisite punkliness in place. Original it ain't, but I have a weakness for such things.
Maximum Rock 'n' Roll Top Ten, May 2005
1. The Bloody Tears - Downhanded......
Austin American Statesman- XL CD Reviews- April 21, 2005
Michael Corcoran
The Bloody Tears
Downhanded (Licorice Tree)
It's Saturday night and you don't feel like going out. Put on this new CD by Austin's teen canteen soul champs and you'll soon find yourself primping in front of a mirror like the "Downhanded" cover girl, ready for handstamped liberation. The Bloody Tears yank you back to the sweaty frug of Mitch Ryder, when "Double Shot of My Baby's Love" and "Nobody But Me" ruled the airwaves. But the way Randall Stockton turns his harmonica into a steamy sax monster gives this workout a whole 'nother layer of bluesy tension.
Musically, lyrically, philosophically, there's not much new going on here. Ain't nothing but a garage party, as singer/guitarist Eric Makowski sounds like he's in the middle of a bobbing crowd and guitarist Billy Steve Korpi slapfights with organ man Big Jeff like they're showing off for a pretty girl in white boots.
Your cab has arrived.
Austin Chronicle - Texas Platters - April 7, 2005
Darcie Stevens
The Bloody Tears
Downhanded (Licorice Tree)
When Sixties soul bleeds into the millennium by way of Austin's Bloody Tears, add Lone Star and whiskey to the sequins, fringe, and greasers. The Bloody Tears lead us down to the basement on debut LP Downhanded , a playful mix of Southern blues, rock & roll, and down-home soul. Led by Casino el Camino's bass thump and Eric Makowski's squishy vox, Downhanded blasts like old-school gangsters got a hold of vintage mics and a tube of pomade, beginning with Rascals cover/opener "C'mon Up," a righteous blend of Big Jeff's rockin' organ and Randall Stockton's crazy harp. From that point on, the Tears rip through originals and covers alike (Bobby Freeman's "C'mon and Swim," the Cornelius Brothers' "Treat Her Like a Lady"), but nothing leaves its brand like "Talkin' With Your Baby," the album title's genesis and a call-and-response reflection of Southern sentiment. Truly a product of all six bandmates, staples of the Austin scene in one way or another, Downhanded doesn't take itself too seriously while still sticking to its garage rock roots. No surprises here, just good, unadulterated rock & soul.
Austin Chronicle- TCB - August 8, 2004
Christopher Gray
Maybe it was drinking beer from plastic cups, but Sunday's benefit for Longbranch Inn co-owner Kevin " Kumbala " Crutchfield felt more like a party. The sight of numerous bathing-suited Texas Rollergirls – recently featured alongside their Lone Star rivals in both Spin and The New York Times , and who raised around $250 at their charity car wash next door – certainly didn't hurt. Musically, the crowded Eastside watering hole hosted some of the sharpest sets "TCB" had seen in a while. There was whimsical Tin Pan Alley bluegrass from Shorty Long , blistering butt-rock courtesy of the New Disciples , the Bloody Tears ' skillet-fried soul, and the incomparable Pong...
Austin-American Statesman - Best Bets - July 2, 2004
Courtney Sebesta
Rock and Raise Cash
The Brain Injury Association of Texas is throwing a cleverly named benefit, the Headbanger's Call, to raise money and awareness for the association. Taking the stage are local bands such as the explosive Transgressors and The Bloody Tears, a band that combines '60's and '70's rhythm-and-blues influences with rock.
www.x2rr.com - November, 2003
Record Record Review by Mark Giddens
Costa Mesa, CA
The Bloody Tears - s/t
Suprema Records
Soul Stutters get on board!! This is grooving shit and should have you dancing in no time. Mike Mariconda should be a household name for those Raunch Hands fans out there, and he lays down some great organ tracks on this 4 song cd. That should be reason alone to pick it up. If you need further proof, pray to God these guys play outside of Austin, cause it will be a party non stop if and when they do!
MG.
Rank and Revue
- 5/2/2003
Review by Kerry Payne
Sometimes everything just comes together. It's as if some great Divine Plan gathers all the right elements, puts them in one place and says, "It's time to rock!" Friday night found me at Beerland standing before the Bloody Tears. These five experienced musicians take the audience back to classic soul school and leave you wanting more. They opened with a scorching cover of the Aldo Ray classic "My Heart is in Danger," and then proceeded to burn the place down with a mixture of deftly-chosen covers and well-penned originals. Beerland owner Randall Stockton and his harp were summoned to the stage to help the Tears finish up with a clenched teeth version of " Nothing but a House Party." If you haven't seen the Bloody Tears or heard their heartbreak-mending, if all too short, self-titled debut CD, it's time you got religion. Shoorah!
Rank and Revue
- 3/28/2003
Review by Jaffe
Let me start off by saying these guys rock. Not only do these cats have the accumulated knowledge of the music Library of Congress, but they put it to good use. Kory is one of the most solid percussionists I have heard in years. Casino (bass) plays like he has the "soul" purpose of moving the music along and works well with Kory in doing so. Now Billy Steve. I can honestly say I have not heard a more amazing guitar player in this city. Eric, the lead singer... his voice is a mixture of gasoline and orange juice. It is powerful, good for you and most of all, infectious. If you haven't heard The Bloody Tears yet, you're missing out on one of the best shows around.
Austin American
Statesman XL - 3/14/2003
"SXSW 10 to Watch" by Michael Corcoran
With the garage rock revival dying out, apparently a few weeks after the SXSW 2003 submission deadline, this year's fest is overstuffed with bands who've rewritten "Search & Destroy" enough times to fill a CD. Forget the fire marshal: There should be officers to see how many Sonics' covers are played this weekend. Credit Austin's Bloody Tears, then, with being a step ahead of the nouveau moptops, by exploring a more soulful side of '60s fuzz. A rag tag collection of Crack Pipes and Sons of Hercules members, with producer Mike Mariconda on organ, the Tears kick out versions of (I Wanna Testify)_ (The Parliaments), "Shoorah, Shoorah," (Allen Toussaint) and other funky chestnuts like the Swingin' Black Archies.
Austin Chronicle
- 3/14/2003
SXSW Music Supplement by Greg Beets
The Bloody Tears deliver amped-up versions of R&B nuggets from the Sixties in a manner that makes like Mr. Chesterfield and satisfies. The quintet's tasteful repertoire includes such hits at the Parliaments' "(I Wanna) Testify" and the Allen Toussaint-penned Betty Wright tune, "Shoorah, Shoorah."
Austin American
Statesman - 1/11/2003
" Best Bets" by Jeremy Egner
...The Austin Bloody Tears are a garage rock supergroup that favors rough-and-ready covers of vintage R&B tunes (Parliament's "(I Wanna) Testify" & Gamble and Huff's "Pool of Bad Luck") and just put out an eponymous four-song EP of same. Anchored by local garage guru and organist Mike Mariconda, the band brings a cleaner, but no less potent sound than do some of its members' regular gigs, such as the Crack Pipes and Sons of Hercules. But expect tonight's CD release party to be the same sort of sonic assault that fans of those acts have come to expect.
Austin-American
Statesman - 9/12/2002
XL column by Michael Corcoran
Best local record of the year so far? Austin Soul Uprising by the Bloody Tears. But don't look for it in stores, it's just an EP sampler to get gigs for the new project featuring members of the Crackpipes and Sons of Hercules grooving Raiders-style over Mike Mariconda's anaconda organ.