The West Side Winders

Oh, wow! What is it? Retro? Rockabilly? Souped-up lounge music? Hot blues? Crispy-fried country-rock? Or, hell, just plain Americana? Yeah! I don't care what you call it. Spin it and get yourself out on the dance floor with whoever you like to swing with, these three guys can rock it in an old-style roots fashion that transcends time and space. You don't need to do anything but enjoy it, so forget about what you wanna tag it - the band themselves call it "surfabilly." Say what you will. It's hot.

Take three guys - Dan Peters on a smokin' lead guitar and shining vocals, Greg Marsh pounding the hell out of the drums, and Derek Brand on a steady bass, and apparently that's all you need to really entertain. The only guest joining the guys is Randy Riley's vocals on "Slick Black Cadillac Daddy," which features some awesome screaming guitar work, as well. Not to overuse a phrase, but Dan Peters plays the heck out of that guitar. He's one of those guitarists you can just sit back and be in awe of, his steady pulse all the music that's needed with his drum-and-bass line; he positively shines on "Your Love Is Evil," a showcase for his fingers' skills, and like all great guitarists, he has to show off with a cover of "Little Sister," a song that was never really meant for the vocalist (even if Elvis and Dwight Yoakam both did it, it was always for the guitarist), as is the self-penned instrumental "Little Doggies," one of the standout tracks on the disc. Peters wrote most of the music on Snaken Not Stirred, except for Arthur Crudup's "That's All Right," the aforementioned "Little Sister," and "My Baby," written by Leroy Kirkland and R. Luke.
Now, the West Side Winders started life in Chicago as "The Sidewinders," with their first album Come and Get It (also available at their website, through CD Baby), but changed their name in the spring of 2006 as explained on their My Space page for no other reason than to avoid possible trademark infringement as "Sidewinder" was already in use by other bands. I actually like the new name better, since it not only shows where they come from, it's more distinctive. As they said, there's other groups using the term "Sidewinder." They still have the snake in their trademark, and as an Arizonan, I certainly know what it means when I see it, so knowing they're 'winders from the west side, it works for me. I'm thinking they've come through Phoenix once or twice, I think I've seen their name in the little live music dives I frequent. If not, I'd love to see 'em trek down here and rock the Yucca Tap Room. The dancers there would sure love 'em! And I always love to bask in the glow of a great guitarist in a nice, intimate setting like the Tap Room offers. In any case, live or otherwise, this is the disc for anyone who likes their roots music to ROCK. Take a little country, a little blues, a little jazz, and a lot of spice, and you get the West Side Winders.
- January 2007
Reviewed by Kathy Coleman
www.countrymusic.about.com
- About: Country Music

Rockabilly. Hard!

With inspirations ranging from Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Black Sabbath, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bob Marley, The Beatles, Brad Paisley, Elvis Presley and Joe Satriani plus ‘Jazz’ this band promise a great deal. Kicking off with a powering version of ‘That’s All Right’ they chuck in some mean guitar licks and you can see where the heavy rock influences have taken them. They’re really guitar gods underneath it all. Eddie Van Halen has a lot to answer to.

‘Keep It In The Family’ brings it back to what’s stated on the tin. Rockabilly and swing. That big Gretsch pumps out an awesome sound. Keeping the Van Halen momentum going on the intro ‘Slick Black Cadillac Daddy’ these rockabillies then introduce shades of Brian Setzer, particularly during his full on rock years.

This album has it all. Swing, surf, country & western, rock’n’roll, jazz and blues all packed into one titchy cd and often in the same song - primarily on their cover of ‘Little Sister’’. ‘Little Doggies’, ‘500 Miles’ and ‘Can’t Get A Break’ go back to Rockabilly/rock’roll whilst the instrumental ‘Scary Harry’ finishes the album with their trademark guitar solo’s and verges on hard rock again; like Dick Dale’s ‘Misirlou’ in ‘Pulp Fiction’.

Play loud. Quiet ain’t no good.
- January, 2007
Reviewed by Phil Edwards
www.americana-uk.com - Americana UK

How can you take seriously a man who sings ("Keep It in the Family") about expanding his love circle to include not only girlfriend, but her exhibitionist mama, flirtatious little sister and halter-and-thong-worthy (presumably) grandma? But lead singer/guitarist/song writer Dan Peters is serious - about his musical ambitions, anyway.

Interspersing a couple of Elvis hits ("Little Sister," "That's All Right") with an impressive batch of originals, the West Side Winders (formerly the Sidewinders) make clear their reverence for tradition with a sound rich in rockabilly, surf and good ol' rock and roll. But Peters and company are intent on carving out their own identity. A tight, heavily percussive sound that also features Greg Marsh on drums and Derek Brand on bass is abetted by Peters' clever lyrics and lively guitar, which occasionally veers toward Hendrix. A dark edge shows through on "Your Love Is Evil" and a mellow sides sneaks in on a third cover tune, "My Baby."

But it's all about fun on this confident disc by the Chicago natives. The originality clusters in the execution, but this is an homage, not a chestnut.
- January, 2007
Reviewed by Don Armstrong
www.countrystandardtime.com

- Country Standard Time

Also on CDBaby.com is The West Side Winders (formerly The Sidewinders) with their latest release “Snaken Not Stirred”. This is mostly Rockabilly and is one of the best I have heard since Alvin Lee’s “In Tennessee” which included Elvis backups Scotty Moore and D.J. Fontana. The West Side Winders are really hot!!
- January, 2007
Reviewed by Jerry Henry
www.theplanetweekly.com - The Planet Weekly