Happy Time
Editorial Reviews Two or three times a week, Barbecue and the crew would turn a small uptown Manhattan joint called the Blue Rose into a rockin' house party. Grooving to their own brand of blues boogie woogie, the band played the tastiest, sweetest delta funk I think I've ever heard. Based on "Happy Time", the Gagan family orchestra is very likely to have the same effect. While the Gagan Brothers go farther outside the confines of the blues than the Spare Ribs--their CD features a lot of tunes that could simply be called rock--all the tunes are defined by the same kind of funky, bopping energy that made the Spare Ribs so much fun. Though the Gagans are known for swapping instruments throughout a show, the band is still able to pull off the same kind of in-the-pocket rhythm section, slanky-but-sweet guitar riffs and burning harp solos that would often lead Barbecue Bob out to the dance floor where he'd get down on his knees and, as he put it, "testify." The Gagans also have enough irreverence for traditional rock and blues forms to mess with your musical expectations, a big plus in my book. Just when you expect some straight-ahead guitar solo, you get two guys chuckling, mumbling, and mucking around with big sloppy chords and whammy bars. In fact, the CD is spiced with this kind of goofy-guy musical clowning that I find to be a refreshing detour from the kind of overly self-conscious, self-aggrandizing rock'n'roll that often comes with musicians of this caliber. That said, these guys are also really good musicians. The songs "SLB" and "Killer Joe, Part II" have some of the tastiest slide-guitar riffs I've heard in a while, while the slide-guitar leads on the song, "Rusty Airplane" could describe nothing less than a great big cosmic crossroads in the sky. All in all, a great CD from a band that I expect is also a really great bar band, worthy even of Barbecue Bob & the Spare Ribs. Yes, but what is this? Three guys on stage, drummer with a long stocking cap, bassist and guitarist holding their instruments upside-down. They're playing feverishly individually, yet the way they play together is as though they are connected internally, as though they have known each other for a long time. And they are having fun. "Hello, we're The Gagan Bros Band," they say. Ah, yes, they have known each other for a long time; they are...
<"b00000iq2b5001"> Malcolm Howard, The Colorado Springs Independent, Colorado Springs, CO June 17-23, 1998
Listening to "Happy Time," the first CD produced by New Mexico's Gagan Bros Band, I can't help thinking of my favorite band of all time: Barbecue Bob and the Spare Ribs.
<"b00000iq2b2999"> About the Artist
"These guys rock!" someone shouts. "This is it!"
<"b00000iq2b4999"> Album Description
Happy Time by the Gagan Bros Band is an aptly-titled collection of rock, blues, funk, and pop. The 13 songs written by Bros Joe & Tim have been called "get down tunes" that are "the perfect soundtrack to a party" and "guaranteed to make you smile." With lots of lead and slide guitar, great songs, and award-winning cover art, the CD puts across the joy and fun the Gagan Bros are known for having when when they play music.
Happy Time
Happy Time, Music, Gagan Bros Band
Music:
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