There is a very sound reason why Snit's Dog & Pony Show was just voted Best New Band by the readership of the Houston Press. While it may seem passé to some for a 21st century band to have a repertoire that mainly includes old-timey three chord rockers by the likes of Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters and Dave Edmunds, Houston audiences have been swarming into local clubs to catch this hot new band doing old-timey three chord rockers. Snit's Dog & Pony Show is a fun band that knows how to rock hard and have a good time. Please note I said "rock hard", not "hard rock." This tight 5-piece combo puts down a vibe that says Snit's Dog & Pony Show is the band you want at your next party or your next sock hop. They just turn it on, turn it up, and let it rip. Imagine a band doing that. What could they be thinking?

Led by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Kevin Fitzpatrick, former drummer for another frequent winner of Houston Press readership awards, The Hollisters, Pony Show is comprised of Houston music scene stalwarts: lead guitarist Adam Burchfield (Sonny Boy Terry Band), drummer J.D. DiTullio (Sisters Morales, Bert Wills, Hadden Sayers), pianist Scott Sumner (Hightailers), and bassist Jessica Buchheit (Best Bass Player in this year's Houston Press voting). Originally just a minor side project for Fitzpatrick, after the Hollisters departed for Austin and Fitzpatrick departed from the Hollisters the Dog & Pony Show began to develop a following through a weekly gig at Rudyard's British Pub. The band was working in the studio cutting some demos when the Continental Club offered Fitzpatrick a regular Tuesday night gig. Shortly afterwards, the band was offered a slot at the Continental opening for Joe Ely. With a packed house (which included ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons) on hand, Pony Show took full advantage of their opportunity and gave a knock-down-the-walls performance. Word spread quickly around the local music scene and suddenly the band was getting some major buzz in club land and better gigs began to be offered.

I saw Snit's Dog & Pony Show for the first time at their showcase performance at the Houston Press Music Awards. For a bunch of late-night animals unused to playing before sundown, they were on fire. They got more audience reaction than any other act I saw that day. They showed lots of muscle and plenty of loud, just what Houston likes in a bar band. I saw them again a week later opening for Scott Miller and the Commonwealth at Rudyard's. When Miller walked on stage after Pony Show's rocking opening set, he said, "Well, I guess they threw down the gauntlet, didn't they?" And they certainly had.

Three Chords and a Cloud of Dust, recorded in Houston at Mark Shannon's Bungalow Studios which is quickly gaining a reputation among Houston bands for great sound on a limited budget, closely mirrors the band's live shows ­ turn up the radio, put the car in gear, step on the accelerator, blast down the road, and never look in the rearview. I recently heard Jesse Dayton tell a crowd, "We don't do covers, folks, these are classics." That description certainly fits the songs selected for the Pony Show's first album well. They open the record with a fresh and blistering version of Stonewall Jackson's giant 60's country hit, "I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water" that just jumps out of the speakers. Fitzpatrick and the rhythm section hit a tight, hard groove and Sumner and Burchfield work out. This is tight, tail shakin' rock the way it has always been played and a great opening cut.

Pony Show has included two Dave Edmunds standards on the album, "Standing at the Crossroads" and "Generation Rumble." There can be little doubt after hearing both cuts that Edmunds has a major influence on the Pony Show sound. In another fine nod to the British rock tradition, they cover Scotsman Frankie Miller's bluesy "A Woman to Love." Burchfield gets off an incendiary guitar solo.

The band also covers two Chuck Berry numbers, the lesser-known "Let It Rock" and the always popular "School Days." Fitzpatrick's voice is perfect for the Berry numbers and the band handles them with the smoothness of a well-oiled rocking machine. There is a sense of joy and fun that is unstoppable. Hail, hail rock and roll.

Fitzpatrick wrote three songs for the album and they prove that he is a firm believer in the "3 chords and a cloud of dust" theory that the rest of the album exhibits. "Acceptance and Respect" shows Fitzpatrick's love of hard-edged British rock, with its rugged rhythm and fuzzy leads. Burchfield shows his Elmore James slide guitar skills on Fitzpatrick's "Bad Situation," a rocking blues reminiscent of Lonesome Dave Peverett during his Savoy Brown stint. "Detroit" is an uptempo Chicago-style big-city blues that takes its cue from the style of legendary Chicago bluesman Jimmy Rogers.

Burchfield gets plenty of room to show his blues chops on an obscure Muddy Waters tune, "I Want You to Love Me," that sounds more like Savoy Brown than Muddy. And Burchfield, formerly of Knoxville, Tennessee, really shows off on his own jazzy guitar swing composition, "Kingston Pike." Let the jitterbuggin' begin.

Snit's Dog and Pony Show aren't out to win any contest for seeing who can play the most complicated, sophisticated, nose-in-the-air, pinky-held-out pieces. Their music isn't about showing off their music degrees or pedigrees. Their music isn't about the head, it's about the body. It's full of rhythm and soul and fun. In fact, it's so simple and so easy to understand, Three Chords and a Cloud of Dust perfectly describes it.

* Tired of the pretentious little pretty boys who look like they are afraid to get any sweat on their guitars? F'get about 'em. What you need is Three Chords and a Cloud of Dust, available at www.snitshow.com




Contact William Michael Smith at: wms-at-rockzilla.net

 
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