GOOBER & THE PEAS

It's hard to describe the music of Goober & The Peas, unless you've had the pleasure of experiencing it for yourself. It's most often referred to as "cowpunk", and I guess that's about as accurate as you can get.

The band, led by Dan John "Goober" Miller, formed in Detroit in the late eighties. They pretty quickly became local favorites, thanks not only to the great music, but also their humorous, energetic, and messy, stage show.

While they obviously aped Hank Williams' fashion sense, they also had a bit of a Spinal Tap thing going with their drummer, "Doc". I can't really say how many Docs there were over the years, but the one most often mentioned is a guy who was only a Pea briefly, but would later change his name to Jack White and form The White Stripes.

During their time together, the band put out two full length albums, and a couple of EPs. Although everything is out of print at the moment, I'm not going to put anything up from the albums. Those can still be found in the used record stores.

The first EP was only available on vinyl for a short time, and is now downloadable for free from their website (or, now, from mine). All of the songs on the EP were later re-recorded and put on the debut album.

They also had a total of two songs on compilations. Between those two, and the six tracks from the first EP, here's nearly all the Goober rarities I've come across:

(files expired)

Goober & The Peas - "Dear Grandpa" (EP version)
Goober & The Peas - "Funky Cowboy" (EP version) - one of their biggest hits
Goober & The Peas - "Druthers" (EP version) - one of my personal favorites
Goober & The Peas - "Consider Me" (EP version)
Goober & The Peas - "Hot Women (Cold Beer)" (EP version) - another big hit
Goober & The Peas - "Dear Grandpa (Reprise)" (EP version)

Goober & The Peas - "MacArthur Park" (Richard Harris cover) From 20 More Explosive Fantastic Rockin' Mega Smash Hit Explosions! compilation.
Goober & The Peas - "Consider Me" (live) From the Live at the Hamtramck Pub compilation.

Here's the video for "Funky Cowboy", so you can get an idea of what the live show was like:



Keep an eye out for these:

The Complete Works of Goober & The Peas, 1990 (EP)
The Complete Works of Goober & The Peas, 1992
A Christmas Eve Get Together with Goober & The Peas, 1992 (EP)
The Jet-Age Genius of Goober & The Peas, 1995

These days Goober is fronting a new band, Blanche, along side his wife, Tracee. He has also appeared in a handfull of movies, most notably as Luther Perkins in Walk The Line.

For more info on the band, check out their website.

Cactus World News / Workhorse

Please forgive the lack of poetic text. I never fancied myself a writer. the purpose is to introduce some bands you may not have heard. I promise they write better than I do. . .

Let's start with something from the 80's. Cactus World News were one of the first bands signed to Bono's (the guy from U2, and global politics) baby, Mother Records. With his help, they released "The Bridge", which got them some buzz in their native Ireland. Enough buzz to get them signed to MCA, on which they released the absolutely brilliant full length "Urban Beaches" in 1986.

Then, as is typically the story, they toured for ages, and gained a descent following.

After their second album, "No Shelter", was shelved, they stuck around for a bit, then went their separate ways.

However, that's not the end of the story. A couple years back, some of the fellas went back and remastered "Urban Beaches", threw some bonus tracks on it, and reissued it. Better yet, they finally issued "No Shelter" on their own label.

So, enough with the talking. Try out some music. Firstly comes "Years Later". It was one of the singles off "Urban Beaches". This is the un-remastered version. If you like it, buy the much better sounding remaster. Remember they're getting the money now, not the big label.

Secondly, a live cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "America", recorded at the Whiskey in L.A., and issued on the promotional-only Spin Concert Series LP.

Cactus World News - "Years Later"
Cactus World News - "America" (Live at the Whiskey)

If you like the music, buy their Cd's HERE

For more information on them, look Here (official page), or Here (wiki).



Now for something from the 90s.

The Workhorse Movement came out of Detroit (Rock City) in the late nineties. Can't say I know huge amounts about them, but they put out 3 releases while they were together, the albums "Dopamine" and "Sons of the Pioneers", and between those, the EP "Rhythm and Soul Cartel", which is the best of the lot, if you ask me. Though "Pioneers" is certainly no slouch.

The music is thick and heavy. Submitted for your approval are the tracks "Motown" (from the EP), and "Mother Earth" (from "Sons of the Pioneers").

The Workhorse Movement - "Motown" (EP version)
The Workhorse Movement - "Mother Earth"

If you like the music, search for them at Amazon or EBay.

For more info, check them out here.

From what I understand, some of the guys are now in the band Dirty Americans. You can check them out here.