Get Into The Act: The Unpronounceable

By Tony Sienzant

April 21, 2005

Gone are the eclectic cool cats in sharkskin suits in favor of black T-shirts, dirty
sneakers and ''spitting out single malt scotch and fire.'' Gone are the band's real
names in favor of the mythic Beefalo Brothers: Chuck, Chip, Chet & Jorge'.

But the vintage vocal mic remains: a frontline symbol for The Unpronounceable's
artistry in channeling the old time spirits of Hank Williams, Elvis & Satchmo from
some tobacco field hillbilly heaven.

''The music definitely has changed,'' says Pete Gustavson (Jorge'). ''It's more
raucous … we pour out our hearts and souls. Things got twanged up.''

The twang emanates from the 1950s brew of blues, jazz, country swing and rockabilly, a music on the cusp of morphing into modern rock 'n' roll. Dubbed ''countrifunked jazzabilly,'' it's the direction Pete thinks rock 'n' roll would have headed sans big hair.

The group's latest outing ''Viva Los Beeefalos!'' digs deeply into such pre-rock 'n'
roll Americana with its broader instrumentation. Fiddle, mandolin, ukulele, National
lap steel & Wurlitzer piano (both circa 1948) combine with the now standard banjo
picking.

The tunes display Gustavson's songwriting gift. The humorous threat of ''Kill
Myself,'' the radio-ready ''Sweet Embraceable You,'' the plaintive ''What I Desire''
and ''Red Sonja,'' with its Appalachian holler, are all primo. But ''Homesick''
alone, with the killer line ''if you lose yourself there's less to pack away,''
should earn them a spot in the songwriters hall of fame.

© 2005 The Morning Call, Allentown, PA