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Volume 40, Issue 14
May 6, 2003
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May 6, 2003
Valley musicians Tramps
and Thieves reunite for shows
By Carly
Schorman
Mesa Legend
Fans who attended the performance of the recently
reunited Tramps and Thieves at Tempe’s Clubhouse were witness to
something wonderful during the show.
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BY CARLY SCHORMAN/MESA LEGEND |
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Tramps and Thieves playing at Hollywood
Alley awed fans and friends alike.
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Scott Howard, guitarist extraordinaire and vocalist, broke a guitar string
before the close of the set.
Now, strings break all the time, but it was the last song and taking time
to change it would have been more trouble then it was worth.
The solution to the problem came when Emmett Deguvera, also singer and
guitarist, turned over the guitar he was using and just sang.
And the band came to life like never before.
The dual guitars played together added depth to the music, but this one
broken string gave them character.
Every night the band plays, Emmett and Scott sit side by side at the front
of the stage each with a guitar while trading off lead vocals.
Scott and Emmett are truly a puzzle-piece musical partnership.
It is rare to see band members click completely with each other when performing.
The duo bounced back and forth like playing catch over a distance of two
feet.
Scott is a talented singer, but his voice lacks the distinction that Emmett’s
carries.
Consequently, many fans associate Emmett’s singing style with the
band and not Scott.
Emmett, conversely, is a proficient guitar player, but lacks the ease
Scott displays when playing.
He does not seem to enjoy it as he does singing. Watching him sing without
the instrument demonstrated what is possible when Emmett’s attention
is not divided.
Unlike the polished voice of Scott, Emmett replaced maturity with personality.
Emmett sings in a voice roughed up by too many cigarettes, foregoing vocal
cultivation to just rocks out.
Chris Robinson, Kurt Cobain and Shannon Hoon took a similar style by choosing
tempered over refined.
Andy Jensen, the band’s new addition on bass, was the best thing
to come out of former band American Standard.
Andy put the finishing touches on the band that is always seemingly incomplete
before they begin playing (they are without a drummer).
The bassist added the needed dimensionality with his command of the instrument.
A drummer is in no way a necessary element now.
AJ Pica, who moonlights teaching guitar at MCC when enrollment allows,
sat off to the side almost tucked away from the brighter lights changing
instruments throughout the show.
AJ takes the commonplace combination of guitars and bass to unique with
flashes of color from his darkened corner of the stage.
Tramps and Thieves created their sound just to the south of cool. Taking
the grittiness from Midwest rock which is centered in Detroit, they added
rough southern rock.
While the Detroit’s music was making a name in the global scene,
Tramps and Thieves were busy rusting that sound.
The combination led to a distinct hard rock form of folk music.
They might have placed their music just south of cool, but it is definitely
blazing. Their musical return offers those who haven’t seen Tramps
and Thieves a chance to fix that mistake.
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