Customer Reviews

Billy's Live Bait

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It seems like only yesterday I was trying to get into Kirby's in Moorhead, MN, to listen to the Gear Daddies. I was 19 years old, a college student who thought beer and girls were the end-all and be-all. Who knew there was a soundtrack to that life? The honest feeling that comes out of every track never fails to stir up a little something inside me from that time. If a song or songs can do that to me, it's a beautiful thing.

This album is one of the all time great overlooked classics. Rural rock'n'roll simply does not come any better. From the first song "Stupid Boy," to the closing lament "I Wanna Drive a Zamboni," there is an unfulfilled sadness permeating through the lyrics. The production and sound are first rate. Fans of such artists as Son Volt, Wilco, The Jayhawks, Blue Mountain and Cracker in particular should love it.

I was listening to the radio the other day (on a rare occasion) and heard one of my personal favorite songs from my high school days, not to mention from one of the few local bands I was into..."Stupid Boy" by Gear Daddies. I am not really into the local music scene here in Minneapolis but the few I did like (The Replacements, Husker Du/Sugar, Babes in Toyland, Zu Zu's Petals) actually broke out into mainstream music with major record labels. One of them were Gear Daddies. So after hearing "Stupid Boy" on the radio, I busted out my copy of "Billy's Live Bait" (a collection of Gear Daddies' songs). I almost forgot how much I loved this band. I guess if you were to label the Gear Daddies' music, they would be right up there on the alt-country scene with Wilco and Lucinda Williams. The music is ridiculously catchy and so bloody hummable. Martin Zellar is one of the best songwriters to come out of the frozen tundra I call Minnesota. A lot of the songs on the cd is filled with lament and regret. Martin's raw vocals also lends to each song a wave of emotion that the listener can hear. Why the Gear Daddies didn't achieve the same notoriety as Wilco is beyond me. Their music was very radio-friendly and hook-driven. How can you not love songs like "Stupid Boy" and "Color of Her Eyes" (my two personal favorite Gear Daddies songs)? "Billy's Live Bait" is a testament to Gear Daddies' legacy. Martin Zellar still performs around the Twin Cities on the weekends despite having moved to Texas a few years ago and releasing the same infectious music with his band The Hardways.

Oh, my, I'm scooting down the highway today blasting this CD, and I know it's not recent, and the band has broken up long ago, and these boys are all men by now. I'm not a kid anymore either. But I tell ya, ladies out there, this is genuine Boy Rock, all the raunchy, intense passion you only get from guys that age. Makes me want to be 20 years younger and jumping up on that stage (or into their torn jeans). Oh, they indulged in "the beat and evil things days that come to young guys in their middle twenties" (Kerouac), so we get a little self-pity, a little self-destructiveness. But I miss the rawness of those days. Martin Zeller sang like he meant it, and the rest of the band plays their guts out. Which is more than I can say for the boys that make music today. Sigh. Moan. -- from a 40-year-old wife and mother

I just saw the Gear Daddies on Dec 27th 2005 at the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis. It was the best concert I've ever seen. Sometimes it's dissappointing to see a band live...because they let you down. I never heard the Gear Daddies until about 6 months ago...they are now my favorite band and the live concert just validated that...It's just good music period...

Brad

As if all the out pouring of bad music over the years would some how make me forget about all the good Stuff, "Time Heals" lyrics come to me out of nowhere and im happy they did...
This CD is Straight with substance even though it may sound lighthearted, and that's the Beauty of it....

No, Minnesota is not the arctic wasteland everybody thinks it is. Every once in a while a song writer comes along that makes you just stop and listen.(see also Bob Dylan, the Replacements) Gear's Second best effort (Can't have nothin' nice is their best) but a must have for any COMPLETE collection.

The Gear Daddies claim to fame has always been the way their music speaks directly to the heart without an ounce of pretentiousness. If you've ever sat in a bar with your friends and ran the gamut from melancholy reflection on the Good Old Days to joyous, idiotic silliness that made you laugh until your sides hurt, you have some idea of what Gear Daddies music is all about. There is more laughter and despair and midnight clarity here than you can find any place else. Everybody who listens to the Daddies because fanatical about them. Find out why.

I finally bought my own copy of this after the friend I kept buying it from said, "Enough." The sound is classic alt-country (think Wilco, Jayhawks, Golden Smog, Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo et al), but I think these guys were doing it first. The lyrics are brilliant. Stupid Boy is without a doubt one of the best breakup songs ever written. (Well I'm sick and low-down, tired of love/And Lord, I can't believe it's true/You think after five years I would know you, but I don't/And after all this time, I've come to find/You're just another stupid boy.) And who can help but love a song about waking up next to a one-night stand? A fine addition to any alternative/alt-country collection.

A great, laid back, album that your friends probably have never heard, unless they heard "Zamboni" at a hockey game. Listen to it, it speaks for itself. Good stuff!