Good Luck Mr. Gorsky

Booze Monkey

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 25, 2003)
• Original Release Date: February 25, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: The Orchard
• ASIN: B00008NP56
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #997,349 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

Booze Monkey is a two-piece acoustic-blues band based in Winchester, VA. Former Sanity Check Musec, Inc. (SCM) solo-recording artist BLUE sings, plays guitar and a homemade stompbox. Joel "Spyder" Ludwig plays a fretless acoustic bass.

Prior to forming Booze Monkey with Joel, BLUE had released eight independent solo records, as well as, two modern rock records with the band METAL MACHINE and two industrial dance records with his multi-media creation Church Of Chaos. BLUE is also an award winning filmmaker and the composer of many soundtrack works. He has worked in many musical genres over the years, however always found himself returning to the blues. With Booze Monkey, he has decided to stay there.

Joel Ludwig was the long-time bass player for BLUE's live band "BLUE & the JADED". The JADED performed live with many different artists in support of BLUE's solo records throughout the 1990's. Joel is a graduate of West VA University, a published poet, a longtime radio broadcast personality and SCM remix artist. He has also acted in several short films produced by SCM.

The Booze Monkey bass parts are always written and arranged with great care; they are never an afterthought. They provide a very distinct and dimensional sound to Booze Monkey's music.

BLUE (his real, legal and only name) switches between resonator guitars and standard 6-string, alternating between finger-style, bottle neck and flat pick techniques. As a long-time multiinstrumentalist, his influence on Booze Monkey arrangements are diverse and often complex, but the limited number of instruments prevents the music from becoming pompous or losing its entertaining focus.

Booze Monkey's music, and in turn it's live show, combines components of jazz, rock, folk, country, americana, bluegrass and rockabilly into a package that is succinctly blues.

Booze Monkey's live set consists of songs from throughout BLUE's catalogue, a few traditional blues covers, covers of songs written by fellow artists from the region, and new songs that are specific to the band.

Their show incorporates humor, assured musicianship, a relaxed confidence gained from decades of combined experience and most importantly a sincere respect for both the music and their audience. *Review of BLUE's "Something Borrowed Something" Impact Press - Issue No. 40: August-September 2002

The roadhouse blues on this release is packed with energy and attitude in a 'balls to the wall' kinda way. On the 8th release from this one-man band, the music here sounds at times like Danzig, The Doors, Elvis Presley or any number of rockabilly and hard rock blues players of the past. This release is a bit more amped up than his previous offerings as he ventures into different elements such as using an organ, new bass line and sampled horns on a rowdy rendition of "Hound Dog." This whole thing sounds good and is a bit more edgy and experimental than your basic blues set. (JC)

Product Description

Mixing elements of rock & roll, jazz, country, rockabilly, folk, bluegrass, and Americana, Booze Monkey's music is succinctly blues.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very freaking impressive!, March 11, 2003

By	Biggus Geekus - See all my reviews

A friend of mine made me listen to this CD on a road trip. I was expecting something a lot slower and, well, boring. That is not what I got. I was very impressed w/ Booze Monkey and they've managed to turn me on to a whole new kind of music.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blues for a whole new generation !, February 25, 2003

By	Kester (Strasburg, VA United States) - See all my reviews

With "Good Luck Mr. Gorsky" , Booze Monkey forge some serious new territory, ironically enough, with a time tested musical form- the blues.
The acoustic duo morph a variety of genres into a brand new sound.
What makes this album stand out is BLUE's shimmering production style. This CD glistens! The blues never sounded so clean.
But fear not, Booze Monkey will never stand accused of being alter boys! There is a heavy dose of dirty debauchery in these tunes. With songs like "My Drinkin" and "Surely Hang" these guys apparently mean business. You'll have to decide for yourself if this is cause for concern, or just a little monkeying around.
But you are sure to enjoy the ride!
Joel Ludwig's smooth-groove-bass provides impeccable support for BLUE's six string and vocal hi-jinx.
In a perfect world, BLUE could easily be the next Roy Thomas Baker, or Babyface. "Jawbreaker", for example, has that ridiculously catchy hook that could easily make it a hit. But, it could take a bit of good luck for Mr. Gorsky to move the masses.
Booze Monkey will probably find themselves a slightly more discerning audience.
Then again, they could very well re-define the blues for a whole new generation!

4.0 out of 5 stars Do simians, blues, and alcohol mix?, December 31, 2003

By	"floating_b" (This planet) - See all my reviews

Good CD of BLUE's boozy & bluesy tunes. Hope to hear more from these guys in the future!