Tucson locals Clif Taylor and Lucas Moseley, veterans of everything
from The Pork Torta (where Moseley plays drums and sings) to Chick
Cashman (Taylor’s loungy alter-ego), have teamed up for Blackwood and
Co., a combo dedicated to putting some rock in their funk, and some
funk in their rock. And on their new CD, Bald as
Love—recorded by just the two of them, although they’ve since
fleshed out into a full band with Moseley as the front man—they
do just that, so stand back and feel the love, ya’ll.
Blackwood and Co. mean bizniz, the bizniz of having a sleazy good
time. Sometimes that means rock (“I’m Not Afraid,” “Hard-Workin’ Man”);
sometimes that means funked-up rock (“Picnic Basket,” “Leave It on the
Floor”); and sometimes that means their own twisted Tucson version of
funk. Bald as Love seriously starts to funk it up with “Summer
Lea Rose,” a shout-out to Moseley’s ladyfriend, powered by Taylor’s
wah-wah guitar. “Blackwood’s Theme” is a minimalist two-note wonder,
with Moseley’s spoken storyline (“I went to a party the other night /
In Barrio Volvo … They were playing Da-jango on the stereo”) over a
drum machine and more amazing wah-wah from Taylor, who likes his guitar
effects so much, he made a movie about them.
Even better are the groovy, organ-driven instrumental “Seeds” and
the Barry White-meets-Blackwood and Co. epic “All the Wine,” a future
classic for sure. The capper is X-rated rapper Blowfly literally
phoning in his part for “Everybody Go Crazy.”
Blackwood and Co.—a go-go!
This article appears in May 21-27, 2009.
