One-Man Band Series, #25: The Blues Against Youth
by James Carlson, One-Man Band Examiner
photo by Gonçalo Duarte |
True to the typical one-man band practice, Gianni works all of the instrumentation simultaneously, strumming, picking, stompin', and singing. Certainly not the easiest way to play music, the one-man band approach isn't for every artist, mostly since only a select group of songcrafters and multi-instrumentalists can do it, and do it exeedingly well. With his Blues Against Youth endeavor, Gianni Serusi has proved time and again that he is one of those select individuals, indeed that he is among the other noteworthy blues punk and roots rock artists in the scene, such as Pete Yorko, Lonesome Joseph, Birds Are Alive, Scott H. Biram, Reverend Deadeye, Honkeyfinger, and the like.
In addition to a 7-inch release and a split with The Ribeye Brothers, Serusi has a full-length studio album out titled Pure at Heart Blues. Although its ten songs wouldn't exactly appeal to blues or country purists, they are undeniably "pure at heart." That is, The Blues Against Youth's sound, though a wild jumble of styles, is pure in both its conception and delivery. And with such great originals as the title track "Pure at Heart Blues," "When the City is Dead," "It Must Have Been the Devil," "Miss Another Train," "Tevere Delta Blues," and "Just Don't Call My Name," Pure at Heart Blues is a remarkably solid full-length release which suggests the very real possibility of even better material in the future.
read the interview here