The Konformist Blog: Jigglewatts

Saturday, August 1, 2009

bobFisk

bobFisk
Robert Sterling, Konformist.com

Last weekend, I went to the Las Vegas Double Down Saloon to see Johnny Hootrock with The Jigglewatts. They were, of course, awesome. But the big surprise was one of the opening acts, local Vegas band bobFisk. Sonically, they were similar to Soundgarden from my ear, and the epic style of their songs reminded me of Tool. (Two good acts to be compared to in my book, though to their credit bobFisk is their own thing.) When I told this to guitarist-singer Brett Michael Houchin, he was flattered but admitted he was more of a Stevie Ray Vaughn kind of guy. In retrospect, I can hear it. Whatever the case, Houchin blows smoke on guitar, Jeremy Brenton lays down a pounding beat on drums, and bassist-singer J. Pat Warren is an enigmaticly charismatic presence. Since April, I've been saying 2009 appears to be the year pop music rearranges the chairs for the first time in a decade, and that the rise of Lady Gaga and electropop would mean that rock music and rap would have to respond if there is any desire for relevance. While it's a long way to the top if you wanna rock 'n' roll, at least bobFisk proves that there are many unknown but hungry bands who are ready to respond. If the stars are aligned right, maybe bobFisk can be the biggest Vegas rock band since The Killers...

Website: http://bobfiskband.com/

MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/bobfknfisk