Thick Records to release Holy Shakes’ debut LP

cover-holy-shakesUnsurprising news, really, when it all comes down to it. However, it is with great happiness that we report the forthcoming full-length from the Holy Shakes. Winners of the 2012 Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase and (more pertinently to you, my readers) the band for whom former Blue Meanies frontman Billy Spunke currently sings, the Holy Shakes are a band which Rock Star Journalist has wholeheartedly embraced.

Like the Cougars after they lost the horns, or the Blue Meanies without the ska and polka, this is a lean, mean rock and roll machine. If you’re a fan of Hot Snakes or Drive Like Jehu, their sinuous rock music will leave your girlfriends without undergarments and cause you to question whether or not you’re 100% certain of your heterosexuality.

The first release on Thick Records in five years, the Holy Shakes’ Feast or Famine LP will available for download May 25 and on 180-gram clear or black vinyl on July 10. We posted the title track back in January. Download “Pieces” below.

MP3: The Holy Shakes, “Pieces”

Holy Shakes, “Feast or Famine”

holy-shakes
We’ve been siting on this mp3 for a while, and I can’t think of a valid reason. For those not in the know (or who don’t listen to the podcast), the Holy Shakes are a band based out of Hot Springs, Arkansas. They also happen to feature on vocals one Mr. Billy Spunke, former vocalist and frontman for long-running Chicago ska-punk-core-whatever-jazz band, the Blue Meanies. The band recorded a demo, and it is amazing.

Think the ebb-and-flow throbbing anger of early ’90s Amphetimine Reptile bands mixed with the snotty, focused energy of Rocket From the Crypt, Cougars or (yes) the Blue Meanies, minus the horns. It’s lean, focused rock and roll, and I hope to god some label has the good sense to pick this up and release it. If I had the money, I’d fucking release it myself. Keep an eye out for their upcoming shows at their Facebook page.

Holy Shakes, “Feast or Famine”