Artscape/Exotic Hypnotic: The Electric Junk Band

The Electric Junk Band @ Artscape/Exotic Hypnotic, Langsdale Auditorium, July 20, 2007, Baltimore, MD

The Electric Junk Band is a trio of would-be one-man bands as each individual incorporates at least one drumming element. Trevor Choflet stomps with one foot on a tambourine as he plays the steel guitar and sings. Eric Franklin keeps at least one mallet in hand as he plays guitar, at times hitting a tom-tom with a cymbal on it or just drumming on the keyboard of a nasty old Realistic synthesizer. And Bob Wagner stands at a stripped down drum kit though he's just as likely to turn on a speaker with a loaded trash can lid sitting on top or play an ad-hoc bass made from a fingerboard and a kettle. Their music is the blues. And they play it with a lot of heart. The restless, "junky" quality of their sound combined with a laid back beat leaves one waiting for the wheels to come off at any moment. They're like an old, old car that leaves a trail of nuts and bolts in its wake and a small swimming pool of oil in the parking lot yet always has just enough to get where it's going.