Weezil Malone Band – Desert Drive-In
Independent – 2022
12 tracks: 59 minutes
Desert Drive-In, the latest album from the Weezil Malone Band, brings an eclectic mix of blues styles-funk, groove, traditional, Delta slide, and hard-pounding rock-that would bring the most hard-edged music crowd to their feet. The band is out of Grand Rapids, Michigan and Desert Drive-In is “(a) new collection of stories about the ironies of life and the people we cross on our journey.”
The band’s catchphrase is The ROCKIN’EST little band to come ROLLIN’ through town, and this latest album reaffirms that rock-n-roll and the blues are alive and well.
Larry Fitzgerald (aka Weezil Malone), who has been making music for more than 40 years, loves songwriting, telling stories and creating memorable characters. In a recent interview, Fitzgerald reflected on his own journey and the advice he received years ago from venerable blues guitarist Lonnie Brooks. Brooks told Fitzgerald, “(j)ust keep doing what you’re doing because you love it. Not for the money, not for the worship, but because you love doing it.”
“Best advice I’ve gotten in 40 years,” said Fitzgerald.
Side Note -The “Weezil Malone” moniker came from an old duet called Rathbone and Malone, featuring Fitzgerald’s long-time friend Clayton Powers as Rathbone.
Recorded live at River City Studios in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Desert Drive-In was produced by Fitzgerald and Austin Mark Ruhstorfer, who mixed and engineered the album. In addition to writing all the album’s songs, Fitzgerald handles all vocals and guitar work. The rest of the band includes: Dave Alves on bass, Karl Schantz on drums, and Dan Giacobassi on the saxophone.
On Desert Drive-In, the ROCKIN’EST little band tears it up in the funk/groove department with tracks like “Children of Night” with Schantz’s popping bass drum and Giacobassi’s brassy sax on “Easier to Steal.” The album’s title track (“Desert Drive-In”) highlights the funk with Alves’ thumping bass and Fitzgerald’s mesmerizing guitar. “Walk Away From Me” is a playful bar boogie-style number featuring a gritty guitar intro.
“Tattoo Lady” is another gritty, guitar-heavy number that showcases both Fitzgerald’s musical chops and his candid storytelling with lyrics like, A tattoo lady, I hear her cussing like a sailor at sea. “Whiskey” continues the intricate, intimate storytelling matched with Fitzgerald’s intricate lead guitar playing.
Fitzgerald and the band show off their more traditional conventional side with songs like “Take It Away,” a rambling-down-the-road number accompanied by a solid bass beat, “I Slowed Down” with its cool intro and solid refrain, and the juke-styled “Enough Is Enough” highlighted by Fitzgerald’s smooth slide guitar and finger-picking.
“The message is that there is more to all of us than just the image we portray, there’s a moral to find in every story or another layer to discover…” the band said in its coversheet about Desert Drive-In.
Those same things could be said about the Weezil Malone Band—definitely the rockin’est little band around any town.
