Somewhere in the annals of pop music history there was this “nice” little act that was “a little bit country, a little bit rock n roll”. If you know who this was, great, you’re old; if you don’t, trust me, you don’t need to know. Well, fast forward to 2009 and you have Easy Street, who take “a little bit country, a little bit rock n roll” to a whole new, glorious level. I will admit right off the bat I’m predominantly a rocker and don’t claim to be an expert on country music. However, there’s lots of country I do like (along with lots of other genres), and I’d like to think I have a trained ear (I hope all my hearing loss is doing the world some good), otherwise I wouldn’t be doing what I do. So I can tell you three things: I had a great time, the crowd had a great time and boy, can these guys play (and sing). 

The event was also the CD release party for “The Bullitt County Sessions”, Easy Street’s new 5-track release. There’s a teaser stream of some of their music myspace.com/easystreet4“>on myspace.com/easystreet4, as well as the self-titled track “Easy Street”. So they played some of the new, and some of the old, which includes originals and covers.

Lead singer/guitarist Brent Rupard’s singing is crisp and clear, and versatile enough to cover the new country, rock and roll, and ballad styles of vocals. And he provides rhythm guitar solidly on an amped acoustic guitar. I was extremely impressed with lead guitarist/vocalist Anthony Olympia’s playing. His guitar style has that classic country twang to it while still providing the cutting edge required for country rock and straight-on rock and roll. And talk about feel, the man just intersperses it all over the place. Bassist Matt Rich provides a solid, energetic, and prominent bass to the rhythm section, along with drummer Steve Jones, who provides not just the beats but the attitude as well. The overall energy level that this band puts out is simply electric. As for songwriting, Rupard and Olympia create the bulk of the original material.

Just to hit a little on the specifics, I could honestly raise my hand when Rupard asked the crowd who was familiar with Buck Owens (see, told you I cross genres), and really enjoyed their rendition of “Tiger by the Tail”. As for the rock n roll side of Easy Street, two standouts were Steve Miller’s “The Joker”, which rocked, but ever so interestingly, with Olympia’s country-tinged twang on the lead guitar, and Free’s “All Right Now” with a little bit of Foghat’s “Slow Ride” injected in the middle, played more in a straight-up, hard rock style. I think the key word here is versatility, and that translates into crowd pleasing.

Easy Street has many dates coming up in May and beyond in Bowling Green (too many to list here), so just hit their MySpace and go check them out. Your ears will thank you for it.   

Easy Street @ Froggy’s, Bowling Green, KY 4/18/2009

Pennman bought his first 45 at age nine and has been hooked on rock ever since. He has spent much of his disposable income on music, especially live performances. He writes reviews of the shows he sees and keeps a keen lookout for upcoming shows in or near Bowling Green. He has a BA in Communications, specializing in journalism, and has dabbled in music himself, both as a player and instructor. Find more of Pennman’s work at www.associatedcontent.com/user/165511/pennman.html or visit him at www.myspace.com/pennman_bg