Roberta Faceplant Brisket & Cigarettes
Roberta Faceplant, the roots rock and honky tonk band hailing from Philadelphia, has a new EP Brisket & Cigarettes, and it’s 6 songs that deliver a helluva good musical time. Fast paced and fun packed with moments of irreverence and more serious observations, Brisket & Cigarettes sounds a kick-up-your heels celebration with a few moments of more serious reflection along the way.
Opener “Big Dark Town” is about the metal ‘rivers’ running through the city and into yards and the folks who mine the metal in railroad yards and construction sites: “there’s a river made of metal and it’s running through the yard, there’s a river in the city and it’s running high and hard.” Fast paced electric guitar work carries this song to its heights as the metaphors turn into a tale of addiction.
On the title track, Southern rock style organ and driving rhythms set the stage in this rocker about getting ready for the show, outrunning the cops, having too much fun, all the while dreaming of brisket: “brisket and cigarettes will just have to wait.” The electric guitar riffs are fast and wild. “Eat ‘Em” showcases the band’s ability to perform more of a hillbilly country rock with the fun electric guitar solos whipping up the excitement as the topic turns to derision and eating the rich.
“Lizard in a Bar” is the unexpected tale of a barfighter who, well, owns lizards as it turns out. Whimsical, fun, and wholly unique among song topics. “Bottle It /Smash It” brings things down a notch, in a reflective song about the passage of time and wishing the good days would last forever: “Bottle it, smash it – good times don’t last / Bottle it, smash it – good times don’t last / Drink’ em while you got ‘em / ‘Cause one day you’re top shelf, next day you’re bottom.”
This is an outlaw’s rootsy honky tonk EP. You can find the music and more details about the band here: https://robertafaceplant.bandcamp.com/album/brisket-cigarettes
Musicians on Brisket & Cigarettes are Katie Feeney on vocals; Drew Parker on guitar, and vocals on “Big Dark Town,” “Brisket & Cigarettes,” and “In a Can”; Mykk Hoffman on guitar; Nick Anastasi on bass; Aaron Boczkowski on drums and aux percussion; and Frankie Pedano on keys on “Big Dark Town”, “Brisket & Cigarettes,” and “Bottle It, Smash It.”
Basic tracks were recorded by Todd Mecaughey at Cambridge Sound Studios in Philadelphia, PA. The EP was mixed and mastered by Ron DiSilvestro at Studio 4 in Conshohocken, PA. “Eat Em” was written by former You Do You bandmate Crills Wilson. “Big Dark Town” was written by Nick Anastasi and “Brisket & Cigarettes” was written by both Anastasi and the band’s main lyricist Katie Feeney, who wrote the remaining songs.
