Jeramiah Red kicks up dirty blues

JERAMIAH RED: (from left) Wes Dickson, Travis Ruiz, Matt Pleskacz, Ian Cullen, Tim Miller. Photo by Austin Ruiz.

            With a soulful, charismatic swagger, Jeramiah Red is kicking up dust in the Orange County music scene with reckless abandon.

            Inspired by acts like The Black Keys and Bob Dylan, Jeramiah Red’s sound is an intoxicating blend of blues and classic rock. The bite of the group’s lyrics coupled with the warm tones of acoustic guitar and harmonica make every song go down like the whiskey in their veins, and they are picking up speed.

            Jeramiah Red rose from the ashes of several of the members’ past acts. Lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Wes Dickson, 24, played in punk band The Relentless with Jeramiah Red’s bassist Tim Miller, 24, prior to forming the group.

Vocalist and lead guitarist Ian Cullen, 21, drummer Matt Pleskacz, 25, and percussionist and harmonica player Travis Ruiz, 23, were also in a former band together. Cullen described the band, they asked not to include the name, as a “hip-hop Jack Johnson band.”

The two former bands merged into Jeramiah Red in 2008.

            “Me and Wes are from such different backgrounds that we come together between mainstream and alternative,” Cullen said.

            To watch Jeramiah Red play is to see five friends really work toward something they all feel potential in. Their energy is awesome.

            “I’m super happy to be in this band—I’ve done enough stupid stuff,” Cullen said from the band’s practice space overlooking a Diamond Bar valley.

            The group’s passion for the music they create sings out in each song they play. The boot-stomping beats of “My Baby” and “Whole Lotta Love” demand a listener to their feet, and the fiery vocals keep them there. Naturally, Jeramiah Red wants to reach out.

            “When you write a new song, you want to show the world,” Ruiz said.

            Jeramiah Red fairly recently hired manager Matt Gardner to help execute its vision.

            “Wes came to me saying he wanted to get serious, and right out of the gate they got a show at the House of Blues,” Gardner said.

            The band is releasing a self-titled EP at their headlining House of Blues Anaheim show on Oct 7. They will perform on Oct. 21 at The Continental Room in Fullerton.

They are planning a music video by spring.

            “We’re gonna play as many shows as we can,” Gardner said.

-Garrett Marshal

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club 3/17 at HOB Anaheim Review

In one of their hit songs, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club answers their own question. They ask, “Whatever happened to my rock and roll?”

This is a valid question when discussing today’s underground music. We are surrounded by electronic beats and soft folksy tunes today but when searching for raw rock and roll, listeners are forced to look to the past.

At BRMC’s Tuesday performance at the House of Blues Anaheim, they answered their question with their loud guitar and heavy drums and said, “Rock and Roll is right here.”

This was apparent in the audience. While waiting for the band to start, I was surrounded by mostly men aged 50+. Some were singing along to the Iggy Pop playing in the background, probably reminiscing about when they saw The Stooges when they were my age. Of course BRMC would have an older audience; they have the same no-nonsense raw rock that The Stooges and their contemporaries have.

The band walked out on stage without saying a word, and jumped right into their music. The first thing I noticed was their new drummer, Leah Shapiro. Her heavy drums stood out in the third song of the evening, “Stop” and “Berlin.”

The first half of their set was filled with waves of fast songs to slow songs, then slowed down signifigantly mid-set. This brought the best part of the evening.



Robert sat at the piano under the spotlight and played a most beautiful rendition of the Edgar Allen Poe poem, “Annabelle Lee”. It was haunting, it was gorgeous, just like Poe wrote it. A faithful tribute.

The mood was stopped abruptly by the sharp harmonica intro of “Ain’t No Easy Way”, and continued to step up the pace with “Spread Your Love.”

Peter Hayes brought you back down again with his great acoustic solo of “Sympathetic Noose.”

The title track off their new album “Beat the Devil’s Tattoo” was another stand out song.

They played three encore songs, and ended with “Open Invitation”, one of their slower, sad songs. They let us down gently, and walked away just as silent as they entered,

I heard an audience member asked as I was walked away, “Why would they end with that song?”

You can’t expect anything else from a band of rebels.

-Taylor Hamby