Good Hellbilly on the Cheap
The music of Scott H. Biram, the self-described Dirty Old One Man Band, is a frantic mishmash of blues, punk, metal, and honky tonk that should be a comfortable fit for anyone who has acquired a taste for Hank III (and some who haven’t). Biram’s albums tend to alternate bluesy punk/metal ravers and bluesy country ballads, the latter set probably being of more interest to readers here. His sound relies heavily on distortion, often creating the impression of a crazed preacher battling the Devil inside a soup can.
Here are a couple choice press quotes from his website:
“His barbarous exorcism of Depression-era blues—with a bedrock of frantic flatpicking, foot stomps into a floor mike, and gutteral growls through a distortion mike—has made Biram a rising star in Austin.” – Brian T. Atkinson, No Depression
“Biram is the kind of guy you don’t laugh at all the way just in case he really is crazy. We all wanna be entertained, but nobody wants to get stabbed in the head with a screwdriver.” – Frank de Blase, Rochester City News
Anyway, this is just an announcement: Two of Biram’s albums, The Dirty Old One Man Band and Graveyard Shift, are available from Amazon MP3 for $6 apiece, so there’s never been a better time to get hip to one of the most distinctive fringe artists you’re likely to find. He isn’t for everyone, but if you can get past some coarse language and the CB-style sound, the guy’s just full of talent. For six bucks, he’s well worth a listen.
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You would have had me sold on him if you hadn’t mentioned Hank III.
Ha. I figured that might happen. The Hank III comparison was just to give people a general idea of what to expect. Biram does his own thing, which is less self-involved and more blues-based. If it helps, feel free to disregard whatever nonsense I say and just listen to the clips. ;-)
Hank III’s sound is pretty cool; it’s just the lyrics that trip me up at times.