Honkeytonk Damnation plays old-school rockabilly, emphasis on billy. In songs like “Loaded Gun,” the whiskey-bent boys sing about cheatin’ hearts and the drunk lovers they leave behind. So how do you know they’re the real thing and not just cowpoke-wannabe fashionistas? One, if you’re trying to look cool, there’re easier ways to do it than lugging around a standup bass. Two, lyrics like: “Met her on my CB/Said her name was Mimi/It sounded like an angel come to earth” (from the hoedown throwdown “My Fat Baby”) and “No, I’m not cryin’/That’s whiskey in my eye” (from the lover’s lament “Whiskey in My Eye”).
This article appears in Mar 8-14, 2006.