G. Love & Special Sauce wsg Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad
The Intersection, Grand Rapids
March 11, 8:30 p.m.
$20 advance, $25 day of
(616) 451-8232, sectionlive.com

Garrett Dutton III — a.k.a. G. Love, front man of the alternative hip-hop band G. Love & Special Sauce — put out a new album, Long Way Down, in 2009. Haven't heard of it? That's because it was only released in Australia.

In 2009, the band released Superhero Brother on Jack Johnson's record label Brushfire Records and traveled the U.S. to promote it-complete with a stop in Grand Rapids. Quickly after, the band released Long Way Down. The Australia-only CD is actually a modified version of Superhero Brother and features some of the same tracks but, according to G, "it's a different mix of tunes."

What's popular and varying taste in music motivated the special release, which was created to please Aussie ears.

"Country to country, certain things we do go over different in different territories," G. Love said. "It's true even within the U.S."

This won't be the first CD strictly for Aussie fans, and according to G. Love, it won't be the last.

"We're gonna start doing that, kind of releasing different records independently down in Australia, just because we can."

For the time being, Love and gang are back stateside, bringing with them their signature, southern-inspired, sloppy blues and beats and are gearing to hit Grand Rapids in less than two weeks.

"We have 10 albums out, so we try to touch on most of our records and play a lot of the favorites."

Tunes like "Cold Beverage," "Baby's Got Sauce" and "Who's Got the Weed?" (also a frequent line on his Twitter updates) have made this Philadelphia-born-and-raised band popular with fans who appreciate tongue-in-cheek humor.

"There's a very serious side to me but I'm also in touch with light-hearted side of life," G said. "I like to write about s**t that other people are afraid to or take themselves too seriously to write about."

Serious issues like falling in love, having a cold beer, smoking a good joint, and munching down on some milk and cereal are all topics G. Love has successfully tackled.

His song "Booty Call" was inspired by his desire to write a love song about something that everyone can relate to.

"I like to have something to balance between a laugh and sentimental, heart-felt moment," he said.

A typical G. Love show is what he describes as "an emotional roller coaster," a "gospel choir meet frat party" that relies heavily on improvisation and new, unreleased and unrecorded material-in addition to the G. Love classics.

"We like to play things different and let the music take a life of its own," said G. "We like to party down loose but really return to the music and become inspired, and hope others become inspired, too."

Credit: Ruby Sky Photography

The Steel Wheels
Billy's Lounge, Eastown
March 17, 2010, 9 p.m.
$5
billyslounge.com, (616) 459-5757

Riding 300 miles through the mountains of Virginia may seem reasonable to avid bikers, but completing the task with a number of guitars strapped to your bike and a trailer of band equipment pulled behind is another story.

That story belongs to Trent Wagler and Jay Lapp of the Virginia-based band, The Steel Wheels.

Being environmentally conscious, Wagler was aware of the toll touring on the ecosystem and joked that throwing all of their equipment onto the back of bicycles would be a healthy solution. After looking into the idea, Wagler found his "joke," wasn't too uncommon. So, as a trial run, Wagler and Lapp strapped up a special long-tail bicycle. The bike had a rack hitched on the back of one, and a trailer to the other. Once the two were setup, they took off for a tour through the terrain of Virginia.

"Spending all that energy getting [to the concert locations] made you feel like you accomplished something, but then you still had to go out and perform. It was exhausting but an overall great experience" Wagler said.

Even before Lapp and Wagler's epic adventure, The Steel Wheels has always been a band of a "go big or go home" mentality. In the early stages, Lapp's pre-Steel Wheels band had asked Wagler to open for its show. Although a strong solo musician, Wagler invited Lapp to join him onstage. It didn't take long to see the two's spark as Lapp's improvisational skills complimented Wagler's playing.

Just a mere four days after the show, Wagler and Lapp had completed their first recording together.

From there, The Steel Wheels has grown and produced multiple albums with one goal in mind: to tell stories through music that will be able to connect to other people's stories.

"Even a melody can transport you to another place" Wagler said. "That is what I really love about the work of being a musician; the ability to change a room with the stories that you tell."

Wagler's songs reveal the storyteller in him as he composes lyrics about stories from his personal life and of matters that are really important to him.

"If I'm not out there getting into fights in bars and jail I'm not going to write about being in the jailhouse. It seems dishonest to me. Instead I want to write songs that are honest and that is something we strive to do," he said.

The sound of the band also has a story of its own, as three of the four members have a background in genres of music outside the group's primary folk Americana identification. Wagler started out performing in the punk and rock genres, as did Lapp and upright bass player Brian Dickel. With this history, The Steel Wheels bring an intensity and energy to traditional music that has grasped the ability to walk the fine line between a new energy and the raw flavor of an old medium.

"We take traditional music, start there and end up with something original," Wagler said. "We play original Americana music that truly is pulling out the deep roots of the blues, old gospel music and Irish tunes, but we definitely spin it, play with it and twist it into our own new style."

As the group continues to grow in album numbers and fans, the bars of expectation are not set too high.

"Nothing seems to explode like in the movies" Wagler said. "But who knows. We'll see, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised and one of those big shots will call us up and give us a great deal that will change our lives. But I'm happy with the way things are growing in a manageable way ... and we will hopefully be in this business for a long time."

Although The Steel Wheels will not be riding bikes to its' St. Patrick's Day show at Billy's Lounge, Wagler and Lapp are planning a duo bike tour through Michigan in May.

Copper Box
Bell's Eccentric Café, Kalamazoo
March 4, 9:30 p.m.
$7
Must be 21 or over
(269) 382-2332

The accordion usually brings to mind old-fashioned folk music, washed-up buskers, and grandpa with his red suspenders-all things well past their expiration date. It doesn't connote an eclectic and upcoming rock/Tex-Mex/polka/country/jazz/blues/Zydeco band. Well, now it does.

Copper Box, a husband-and-wife leading duo backed by Drummer Jason Van Ryzin and Bassist Kevin Junemann, carves out a unique sound by exposing the accordion to an array of musical styles.

Danny Jerabek and his wife, Michelle, founded Copper Box in 2002 soon after they were married. The name Copper Box comes from copper's ability to conduct electricity, as music does for them, and the alternative word for the accordion, button-box.

Both from musical families in the same small Wisconsin farming community, Danny and Michelle grew up proficient in numerous instruments.

"The question wasn't if you were going to join the school band, but which instrument you were going to play," Michelle said.

In Copper Box, the couple covers vocals and everything besides drums and bass-boasting skills on the accordion, keys, cornet, saxophone, guitar, flute, washboard, etc.

Danny-the band's skilled, self-taught accordionist-received his first accordion at the age of nine and played traditional Czech and German tunes at his grandpa's request. His passion for the instrument developed after he listened to Mexican accordion players, like Steve "Esteban" Jordan, who exposed him to the instrument's true potential.

Copper Box's aim is to realize this potential and "evolve the accordion into different styles of music," pushing it outside of the instrument's typical genre-polka. The band's distinctive and eclectic sound has developed as its members have expanded their musical repertoire, listening to ‘70s rock, Aretha Franklin, Little Feet, Los Lobos, Texas Tornados, and the father of Zydeco-Clifton Chenier.

The Tejano, Chicano rock, and Zydeco sounds of the band's musical inspirations have filtered into its music and led to fun, one-of-a-kind songs like "The Pink Floyd Polka."
However, not everyone was receptive to Copper Box's hip new take on the accordion at first.

"Starting out, it was hard to get booked at a rock or music club," Michelle said. "The accordion was like a curse."

But through persistence and a positive attitude, the band has surmounted the opposition and won over fans, who often remark, "I don't normally like the accordion, but you guys play it cool."

"Now the accordion works for us, makes us different than every other band," Michelle said.

Copper Box performs more than 140 shows per year nationwide at everything from Oktoberfests to music festivals to community concerts. The band's latest album, In the Summertime, was nominated for Best Contemporary Polka CD of 2009 by the Polka America Corporation.

In the future, the band hopes to continue playing in different venues and developing audiences around the country, in addition to evolving its sound. The Tejano and Chicano flavor of the music has especially piqued the interest of the Hispanic population, so Danny and Michelle hope to pen more songs in Spanish.

To check out Copper Box's modern take on the accordion, drop by Bell's Eccentric Café in Kalamazoo on March 4 and see why this instrument is not just for grandpas.

Monte Montgomery was always captivated by music, but it wasn't until he got hold of his mom's guitar that he knew acoustic strumming would be how he'd spend his life.

"I started playing music when I was 13 with my mom; she was a folk singer and played guitar," he said. "I pretty much always knew music is what I wanted to be involved with."

Dubbed a "guitar hero" and "shred master," and named one of the Top 50 All-Time Greatest Guitar Players by Guitar Player Magazine, Montgomery has a way with the acoustic guitar that others only dream of attaining on the electric. His gift of finger picking wasn't something that he felt pressure to do, it simply felt right.

"Even before I played an instrument, I was fascinated with music in general and the radio; anything I could get my hands on. I was always so driven to do that."

Dropping out of high school, Montgomery has been performing for a career for almost his entire life. And though he had the talent and opportunity to take the high road - living an easy, well-off life as a lead guitarist for several bands - he chose with his gut.

"Over the years, people would hire me to play lead guitar, usually electric. I'd usually play for about a year with these bands and that's all I could take," he said. "I just really missed the acoustic and wanted to get back. I just wanted more of a close relationship with it again. To me, is just a bit more expressive for what I do. So, I just ended up using that. Plus, I don't have to carry both guitars and more amps. I just simplified things and it really works."

And what Montgomery actually "does" ends up sounding like a melting pot of genres and styles all powered by his six-string. His eight studio albums, including his latest self-titled album released in 2008, offer smooth voice and lyrics his fans can ground themselves to.

"My music is acoustic based pop/rock with elements of folk, jazz and reggae; a little bit of everything. If you like a good pop song that's really guitar driven, then you're getting close to what you'll get if you hear me."

But, if you really want to experience Monte Montgomery, the only place to do it is at his live shows.

"It's a lot of in-your-face acoustic guitar; it's kind of an electrifying thing. And, the live show really speaks for what I do more than anything I've recorded because it's an experience."