![]() Rodriguez, aka Dave Tejas, has been a close friend and frequent tourmate of the Casualties since the late Nineties. I think that's also the Casualties' feel, so we're going to have a real good time doing that." ![]() "I'm a huge Austin and Austin is a very incestuous, in-your-face kind of city with music, so when I sing, I like to play with the crowd and make it a whole family affair. "That's the thing about the Casualties they're a band with the crowd," says Rodriguez. Rodriguez, a kinetic presence compared to the stoic Herrera, thinks his performance style will mesh with NYC's street punk heroes. The Casualties have called upon Austin's David Rodriguez, the mohawked frontman who spent the last 17 years stage-diving in local punk cornerstones Krum Bums and now the Starving Wolves, to handle vocal duties following the departure of their original singer Jorge Herrera. On Saturday, Whiskey Shivers kick off their shoes at Mohawk's outside stage with the Deer and Sour Bridges. They obliged, swaying in unison before then tearing into a bluegrass-averse version of the Cure's "Friday I'm in Love," followed by torrential traditional "Rollin' in My Sweet Baby's Arms," commonplace covers, but never ones performed back-to-back by the same musician – unless you're the Whiskey Shivers. In the spirit, "Playback" screamed "Fuck You!" at the band during their set, garnering disapproving looks from those who didn't realize it was a request for the Bookert-sung breakup song that constitutes the new album's most gleeful pop nugget. A group comprised of genuinely individualistic characters here coalesces its strongest track list over the course of five albums. As such, it's a versatile work spanning pop, punk, folk, country, modern covers, and old-timey tunes that divides out the highlights amongst four lead singers. While traces of their trademark "thrashgrass" remain, the Chris " Frenchie" Smith-produced disc breaks Whiskey Shivers out of their mold. "It's never been more clear that we're not a bluegrass band," shrugged banjoist James Bookert, moments before taking the stage at Waterloo. ![]() The opening cut, a teardown of traditional mountain song "Cluck Ol' Hen," rides a pounding beat that flagrantly violates bluegrass' cardinal rule: no drums. Of course, the band's most momentous manifestation of late is Some Part of Something, their first album in three years. They've landed significant roles in the third installment of the lucrative Pitch Perfect film series, now scheduled for the holidays, and just last week, the Shivers spent several nights tracking with rapper Trinidad James, famous for co-conspiring megahit "Uptown Funk." Meanwhile, the unconventional string band, reminding old-school Austinites of local punkgrass legacies the Bad Livers, have secured a tour with guitar phenom Billy Strings, one of the hottest names in bluegrass. That's not the local quintet's only splash, either. So much for their plan of "maximum music, no banter." Whiskey Shivers' in-store performance last Thursday at Waterloo Records instead delivered the usual boisterous, stink-footed revelry that makes them a mainstay Austin live act.īlame guitarist Jeff " Horti" Hortillosa, who falsely claimed that new anthem "Livin' on the Run" was written by Solange Knowles before prefacing a tender cover of "True Love Will Find You in the End" with a crack about them being a Daniel Johnston cover band named How High Are You? Fiddler Bobby Fitzgerald, ever sleeveless, mulleted, and outfitted in a pair of painted-on Wranglers, also proved guilty, interrupting the proceedings to invite a 100-strong afternoon crowd – which included dancing children, hippies, punks, normals, and at least one twitchy dog – to all come swimming at Barton Springs after the show. Whiskey Shivers: (l-r) James Bookert, Bobby Fitzgerald, James Gwyn, Andrew VanVoorhees, and Jeff Hortillosa (Photos by John Anderson)
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