First off, before I get into how I think the Vermont based Dirtminers have the potential to do great things for music, let me take this time to address something for the Musiqtone site that hasn’t been addressed yet: PLEASE, OH PLEASE CLICK ON THE ADS THAT ARE LITTERED ABOUT THE SITE! WE’RE ALL SUPER POOR BUMS THAT LIVE IN CARDBOARD BOXES, SO WE DESPERATELY NEED THE MONEY TO SUPPORT THIS SITE! Also…PAYPAL DONATIONS ROCK TOO! IF YOU’RE SUPER RICH AND ARE LOOKING TO NOT SUPPORT POOR HOMELESS KIDS OR A CURE FOR AIDS, THEN SUPPORT US! Ah yes, shameless plugging…it’s sort of like eating a glazed donut; it feels wrong but good all at the same time.

So now back to the Dirtminers…if I were walking around Gary, Indiana, and a mugger came at me with a gun to my head screaming, “No beating around the bush! Define what genre the Dirtminers are in now or I blow your brains straight to kingdom come!” I’d probably first pee my pants and then say, “Alright! They’re a crazy band from Vermont…from VERMONT…that’s a mix of folk, acoustic, alt-country, old fashioned rock, blues, and even a little damn jazz! Oh, and they’re from Vermont! Now please don’t shoot me…I’ve got potential kids to feed!” That’s about them in a nutshell. They’re clearly not for everyone, and since I usually prefer metal or hard rock music, these guys don’t necessarily follow my tastes either. Their blues and jazz influences can’t be ignored, though, and I happen to think they’re great at what they do and have a huge potential to make some very interesting music.

Headed by Raph Worrick (which I want to say is short for Raphael) at guitars, vocals, and music writing, the Dirtminers manage to give the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou? a huge run for its money. Scratch that, it manages to give everything in all the genres I just mentioned (except maybe blues and jazz) a run for its money. For their EP, Meat and Electricity, each song seems to borrow more specifically from each genre very nicely, making for an impressive EP even if you’re not a fan of any of the genres.

Wayne Reiss kicks off the EP with “The Day I Met You,” having the piano skills of an old Western showman. A little folksy, the pianos truly stand out in this song. “You Just Don’t Care” is the most country sounding song in the EP, and while I don’t like country music, the blues undertones make this song very different from your crappy mainstream country. Plus, Wayne provides another great piano solo here. “Addison County Clay” is old fashioned rock (“old fashioned” as in really old fashioned) starting with Raph’s opening guitar riff and solo, Mark Glavin’s moderately paced drumming, and Wayne’s always welcoming piano. As a side note, according to their MySpace and website, it looks like either Russ Lawton or Pete Bowers do the drums now.

Their mid-song “ Mississippi” is my personal favorite even though it’s the shortest. I mentioned above that they don’t generally follow my tastes, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t say I actually like this song. I highly suggest checking out their live version of “ Mississippi” at http://www.dirtminers.com with a clean pair of underwear because it’s even better than the EP’s. No joke, the live version is the best song I’ve heard from them and I look forward to hearing similar songs like this from them soon. The song is very minimalist, only featuring Raph’s guitars and Matt Rogalsky’s bass. It’s very nice and dark, and adds even more variety to an EP already filled with variety.

“Death of a Barn Cat” goes back to being upbeat, and has a very “on the road” feel. They also experiment with a lot of instruments in this one, using bongo drums, acoustic guitar, and what I think is an organ of some type. “Doctor Bag” is the most rock sounding song in the album. Raph manages to still give it that nice folk sound with his Southern blues singing talent, though, so don’t expect a mainstream rock piece here. Instead, expect the Dirtminers doing what they do best. “Clever Hans” is the most somber of the songs, and it’s also one that I like a lot. The somber organ performance wins me over with this one. Well, that, and Raph’s singing just seems perfect for something like this. As another note, the liner notes only credit Wayne Reiss on piano, but it looks like now Ron Rost currently does the organ and similar instruments. Not sure who was responsible for whoever worked on the organ with this song during recording, but I’m only assuming Wayne, given the notes.

With Meat and Electricity the Dirtminers managed to successfully make a hybrid of many music genres. There’s definitely a country-yet-blues sound throughout the whole thing, but don’t let that stop you from giving them a try. They’re currently working on a new album, and tune in to Musiqtone sometime soon to look for some songs by them…hopefully. Also, check out their website for their humorous little bios and general takes on life, or if you want to purchase their EP and sample songs, go there too.

Links
-Official website: http://www.dirtminers.com
-Sonicbids EPK: http://www.sonicbids.com/epk/epk.asp?epk_id=23589
-MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/dirtminers