Strung Out and Riverboat Gamblers

If The Riverboat Gamblers had had the good sense to die young, they’d be famous by now. Hailing from Austin by way of Denton, the Texas Power Punk 5 piece are almost an institution. Their fiery garage punk has spanned nearly two decades and has spread the world over. People from countries worldwide, aliens from universe-wide, spirit entities from dimensions unknown, would all come to whatever dirty dive club The Gamblers were playing to watch the band collectively impale themselves on the sharpened stake of Rock and Roll. Raucous and unpredictable live shows have become the stuff of legend as injury and blood took center stage, sometimes overshadowing the absolute brilliance of the songs themselves. With iron clad bubble gum pop, emotionally and philosophically informed by trucker speed and free clinic waiting rooms, Riverboat Gamblers have the rare ability to combine a Cheap Trick-ian love of hooks, gang vocals that would make a good skinhead weep, and a pathos and self-lacerating with that, if one was able to look beyond the band literally kicking the holes in a venue ceiling, was on par with any more congratulated “smart” band.

But God is fickle. The Gamblers didn’t die as advertised. Everybody wanted them to be the Johnny Thunders Party Bus or whatever cliche narrative was most desired deep in the fair-weather fan’s heart. But the Gamblers, a bunch of Misfit toys formed in the Denton house show scene, recognize no master or silly pit boss. When they were expected to stay fast, they slowed down, got real odd and sad. Now they’re expected to mature and they’re saying, “actually, no thanks.”

The new stuff is as raw and speed driven as right when they were expected to expire in the first place.

THE MUSIC TIM STEWART AND JONNY GOOOD CREATE AS DAMNAGE DEFIES SIMPLE CATEGORIZATION. HAVING FORMED WHILE WORKING AS SUPPORT ARTIST ON A TOUR, THESE MUSICIANS AND SONGWRITERS ARE NOW STEPPING OUT FROM THE SHADOWS TO TAKE CENTER STAGE AND DELIVER A SOUND THAT IS ALL THEIR OWN.
TIM GREW UP A BAY AREA PUNK KID WITH SPACE IN HIS HEART FOR NEW WAVE AND SOUL; FOR PITTSBURGH-BORN JONNY, MUSIC WAS A FOREIGN WORD OUTSIDE OF PLAYING DRUMS IN CHURCH BEFORE HE DISCOVERED THE WORLDS OF ROCK, PUNK AND HIP HOP THAT LAY BEYOND.

MARRYING THESE MUSICAL INFLUENCES, THE FORTHCOMING TRACKS REFERENCE ELEMENTS OF PUNK, POST-PUNK, ALTERNATIVE, ELECTRONIC AND NEW WAVE WITH AN URBAN THROUGH-LINE AND AN UNDENIABLE POP SENSIBILITY.

TRADING OFF SINGING DUTIES, JONNY DELIVERS LYRICS WITH THE IMPASSIONED IMMEDIACY OF HR FROM BAD BRAINS (“AS A BLACK MAN IN AMERICA, SOMETIMES I JUST NEED TO SCREAM!”) WHILE TIM’S VOCALS RANGE A PENETRATING RASP TO THE COLD THROB OF DARKWAVE. ENCOMPASSING ALL SECTIONS OF LIFE, LISTENING TO DAMNAGE ALLOWS YOU TO FEEL THE HOT AND THE COLD ALL AT ONCE.

ALONG WITH HIS OWN PREVIOUS PROJECTS (THEBANDKNIVES, 4TH AVENUE JONES), TIM STEWART HAS BUILT A STELLAR CAREER AS A GO-TO STUDIO AND TOURING GUITARIST FOR MANY ARTISTS
TIM MET JONNY WHILE HE WAS LIVING AS A NOMAD, HAVING HUNG UP HIS LAW ENFORCEMENT BADGE BACK IN SAVANNAH, GEORGIA (HE COMES FROM A LONG LINE OF POLICE OFFICERS) TO PURSUE MUSIC FULL-TIME IN LA. EVENTUALLY JONNY GOT GIGS WORKING WITH MANY BANDS BEFORE HE MET TIM AFTER BACKING OTHERS, AND NOW PUTTING THEIR OWN STORIES INTO SONG, DAMNAGE DELIVERS A BLOODLETTING OF ENERGY AND EMOTION.
DAMNAGE WILL OFFICIALLY INTRODUCE THEMSELVES TO THE WORLD WITH A FIRST BATCH OF SONGS THIS YEAR.