Chris Duarte and Bluestone Co.
396
By Sam Parvin
Chris Duarte’s latest album, 396, is funky from the first guitar lick. This guy can really wail, both instrumentally and vocally, and his band, Bluestone Co., rocks so hard you’d think they were a bunch of bayou boys with blues in their blood. There are obvious jazz, rock 'n' roll, blues, and even zydeco influences in his music; the subjects of his songs combine classic blues ideas like drivin’ fast down a dirt road with Chris’s life experiences, with lyrics like “I’m going back Chattahoochee side.”
While blues music can be the most simple genre to play (three chord, B-side Blues style) or the most difficult, Duarte chooses the latter. The opening track, “Back In Town,” hits you like a tequila hangover and really does say “HEY! I’m BAAACK!” Duarte’s energy is impressive, and it makes me anxious to see if he can keep that up throughout a live show. “396,” the album’s title track, could only be sung by a justifiable bad-ass, with lyrics like “running wide open, flyin’ on the track, nothing’s gonna stop me in my 396.”
“Give It Back To Me” opens with a funky jam, complete with a danceable bass line and electrifying guitar riffs. We get a little of Duarte’s San Antonio roots with the Texas twang in “Angelina,” and the album’s finale, “H2k3,” sounds like the final level of an impossible-to-beat videogame - crazy fast bass moves and several tempo changes later.
Duarte has been playing music since an extremely early age, and he jump-started his music career at 15. Now decades down the road, Chris Duarte Group continues to play nearly 200 shows a year. His guitar inventory is impressive, from his 1963 Stratocaster (Chris was born the same year) to his Les Paul Emperor, but the equipment is just a bonus; the man could play a bowl rigged with fishing line and still rock hard.
Final note: If you don’t cut loose to this music, I’m afraid there’s no hope for you.
Chris Duarte plays Smith's Olde Bar on February 18. Tickets are on sale now at Ticket Alternative.
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