Dustin Arbuckle and The Damnations – Fight Like The Devil (or Run Like Hell)
Self-Released
www.dustinarbuckledamnations.com
11 tracks- 48 minutes
Dustin Arbuckle says he modeled his blues-oriented Wichita, Kansas band on Los Lobos, citing that he admired the band because they played blues but easily mixed their sound with rock & roll, country, and soul in very tasteful combinations. He is not trying to mimic their sound, just their freewheeling approach to the music.
Dustin was born on December 25, 1981. He discovered the blues as a teen which led him into playing music. He previously sang and played harmonica in the duo Moreland and Arbuckle for fifteen years. The duo were finalists at the 2005 International Blues Competition. Their 2016 album, Promised Land or Bust, was nominated for the Blues Music Award Best Blues Rock album. They traveled considerably over the years including a two- week stint in Iraq entertaining US troops. Their travels took them all over the US, Canada, and Europe. In 2018, Dustin determined that he was tired of all the touring and decided he wanted to form a more homegrown band. Thus, the Damnations were born. But the pandemic put a damper on their start and delayed their activities until after things settled down.
Brandon Hudspeth is another seasoned veteran of the music business. He was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma and moved to Kansas City to pursue his music where he formed the blues group, Levee Town. which released nine albums. More recently, he played guitar for the duo Hudspeth and Taylor. He has been nominated three times for a Blues Music Award and six times for the Blues Blast Music Award. In addition, he has played with many blues musicians including Curtis Salgado, Tommy Castro, Ana Popovic, Albert Castiglia, Mike Zito and many others.
The band is completed with bassist Caleb Drummond and drummer Colby Aiken. Both are music school graduates. Caleb has played in bands playing jazz, bluegrass and heavy rock. Similarly, Colby has experience playing rock, jazz, funk, and reggae. Their diversity in supplying the rhythm aids Dustin’s vision for a widespread approach to their music. Dustin writes most of the song lyrics, but the band comes together to develop the instrumentation for each song.
They open with a searing blues, harmonica blazing, as Dustin announces, “Heaven Forbid” “I will meet you in hell”. ” I swear by the moon and the stars above, I will bury your love.” The title song continues the driving blues rock as he warns to be ready to deal with life’s issues. He cites, ” It’s easy come and boys it’s easy go. Now, time to reap the things you have sewn. But when no one’s buyin’ what you’re tryin’ to sell, you better fight like the devil or you run like hell.” “Desperate Love” opens with a pensive moan mixed with a crying harmonica as he discusses a love that was not meant to be and says, “Life’s too short for this kind of love.”
“Must Be Travelin’On“ details a musician’s life. “I woke up in the evening, and I lay back down at dawn” and notes “My whiskey is all gone”. That story continues with “Small Branch Motel”, an energetic tale with a touch of country noting that it is a traveler’s “temporary home” and concludes “There’s a highway sound ringing in my ears. I’ve got to leave this place before it disappears.” They get things rocking with Brandon’s fiery slide guitar as troubles “Make me feel just like I’m “Out of Time”. He returns to the musician’s life on “Always Gone” as he cries “I miss my love, but I still have a mind to roam” and begs her “Keep the fire burnin’ til I find my way back home”.
A cover of Bob Dylan’s “Tombstone Blues” puts power into Dylan’s rhythmic poetry. While trying to find his audience, he shows optimism as he tells “You’re Gonna Hear Me on the Radio”, in a quieter acoustic tune. “Jumbo Frets” is a rocking instrumental. They conclude with a cover of the gospel blues driven “Didn’t I” written by Gillian Anderson and David Rawlings in 2020 that examines the things he did to try to make her happy.
This is a formidable blues alliance who certainly deserves their time to be heard on the radio.
