Twenty years ago, the Mezcal Brothers released “Hold On Tight,†their debut album and one of the first steps on the Lincoln outfit’s climb to become one of the county's top rockabilly bands.
Touring extensively, including trips to Scandinavia and key festivals in Wisconsin and Washington, the Mezcal Brothers developed an international reputation for great live shows and saw their albums released in Europe as well as domestically.
In 2006, the quartet put out “Go Go Rhythm," its fourth record in six years. The best album of the band’s career, “Go Go Rhythm†held out a promise for more recorded rock ‘n' roll from the band.
That never happened.
“After ‘Go Go Rhythm,’ we attempted a follow-up record and didn’t have enough songs,†said bassist Charlie Johnson. “Years later, we added another bunch of songs. But it still wasn’t the right time to put it out.â€
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Enter COVID-19 and the coronavirus shutdown — and the first Mezcals album in 14 years.
In April, the quartet — acoustic guitarist and singer Gerardo Meza, electric guitarist Benjamin Kushner, drummer Shaun Theye and Johnson — had a teleconference trying to figure out what to do.
Most of the scheduled shows had been canceled and they were reluctant to take any of the offers they’d received for outdoor gigs.
“In lieu of gigs, I brought up, ‘What if we released some of the old stuff that got recorded?’†Johnson said. “Everybody chimed in with a quick, ‘Yes.’ Four hundred hours later, here they are.â€
Johnson, who’s the co-owner of Fuse Recording, spent the first portion of that 400 hours combing the archives, listening to take after take of song after song, trying to find the best recorded performances of each.
Then came working with the old tracks, adding backing vocals by a mysterious group labeled “The Ordanaires†to some of the songs and mixing the album in mono and stereo.
Johnson’s mixes were then sent to Doug Van Sloun at Omaha’s Focus Mastering, who did three separate masters of the recording — one stereo, one mono and one to be used for a lathe-cut polycarbonate disc.
The result is a 14-song album that, given that it includes a song recorded before “Go Go Rhythm,†along with those from two post-“Go Go Rhythm†sessions, comes off cohesive and intentional in its variety.
Reminiscent of a Blasters album, “Shakin Dog†includes some of the blistering rockabilly expected from the Mezcals, starting with the short pedal-to-the-metal title cut, shaking and sliding through “Trampoline†and ending with the flying “Hey Mama," which features guitar wiz Dave Biller.
Along the way, the Mezcals hit chick-a-boom country on “Being in Love,†slide into the lounge for the jazzy “Point of No Return,†slip to New Orleans via Tommy Van Den Berg’s trombone with “Outta Luck†and go to Lubbock, Texas, on “One of These Days,†a song so pure Buddy Holly his estate should demand royalties.
“Darlin’ Darlin’ Darlin'†is the album’s most Blasters-esque song, with The Paladins' Dave Gonzalez supplying a bluesy lead guitar, Josh Hoyer contributing baritone sax and Kushner on piano.
The stereo mix, which makes some songs really pop, but others sound strangely broad, will be available only in a limited edition three-disc set of 100 copies that will also include a mono CD and the lathe-cut disc.
The 12-inch clear disc is made of polycarbonate, not the usual vinyl, and each of the records is cut individually rather than mass produced. It will play on a standard turntable. But, because of the lathe cutting and the weight of the disc,the polycarbonate record is primarily an artifact for collectors and fans.Â
“Shakin’ Dog†will be released Saturday at a 4-7 p.m. Mezcal Brothers show at the Boat House Bar and Grill at the Branched Oak Lake Marina, 10005 W. Davey Road. The special three-pack will be available at the show. The mono CD will also be available on Bandcamp.