Specializing in a raw hillbilly punk-blues style that roars like a tweaking modal chain saw, Fort Wayne, Indiana’s Left Lane Cruiser is a band led by slide guitarist Frederick “Joe” Evans IV. and Brenn “Sausage Paw” Beck on drums/washboard/trash kit. Their music has the swampy feel of North Mississippi hill country blues à la Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside, with a good dose of snarling garage punk tossed into the mix. While the band would sometimes expand into a trio, they record the bulk of their work as a two-piece, and the tough, funky roar of their music arrives fully formed on their 2006 self-released debut album, “Gettin’ Down on It”, on the group’s own Hillgrass Bluebilly Records, and the following year they signed to Alive Naturalsound Records, which is their current home. The new studio album by Indiana’s favorite blues duo, “Bayport BBQ Blues” blends Freddy’s commanding, gritty vocal rasp and positively nasty hoodoo slide guitar work with Sausage Paw’s rhythmic stomp to make for a heady firestarter for your house party, backyard barbecue or juke joint get-down. The album is dedicated to the memory of the late Chris Jonson, creator of the Deep Blues Festival.
I had the chance to catch up with Freddy J IV of Left Lane Cruiser ahead of their May 15th event in Madison at the High Noon Saloon. We talk about the event and being on tour supporting John Garcia and Telekinetic Yeti specifically citing bands like Kyuss as shaping their musical ear. What an event Madison! We dive ear first into the soon to be released record “Bayport BBQ Blues” (late Spring 2024) and we both share our stories that the new track “Turkey Vulture’ inspired and have in common. For those heading to any of their shows and dig their sound, they also do covers of tunes that work for their sound, so you may also hear something familiar differently. Let me tell you, if I was having a backyard BBQ kinda party, these two would be high on my list of being on the bill – they sure do bring a rockin’ raw fun that I feel inside from memories of times long aGo.
