Jesus Loves Scott H. Biram

Alice Texas; The Swedes
@Mercury Lounge
New York, NY - September 12, 2005

There is no one like Scott H. (that's Hiram) Biram. He calls himself the Dirty Old One Man Band...but that only tells a small part of the story. Musically speaking, the unique and brash merging of styles of American music, as done by Mr. B, may be unparalleled. His two primary forms of music, live-wise, are the blues...and metal. The man sings old gospel spritiuals with a gruff voice that he frequently turns into something out of Pantera or Sepultura. In fact, his show ending tune was a thrash metal song plain and true - but still using his old blues guitars and little foot stomping device (no drum kit). I've never heard "Jesus" and "Amen" invoked with such positive Satanic fervor. He did occasionally throw bits of old timey country, including one whole honky tonk ballad, but he seems to save that more for his studio work. Biram's attitude and on-stage persona is deleciously camp but it also seems genuine. Hailing from the great city of Austin, Texas, Biram is plain-spoken, full of piss and vinegar, and probably just drunk. He is a child of all the great sounds of American music (put through a ringer crafted by Slayer), with a realism unmatched in the quality of his performance. What I like most about Scott H. Biram is his social relevance...he is a a bonafide hillbilly redneck...who loves the rock n roll culture directly from it's source: African-Americans. If this guy isn't a wonder for race relations in America, I don't know what is.
The opening acts were dull: Alice Texas is a band that tries lingering, meandering alt rock set to the occasional big Texas guitar riff. Nice effort but a little lacking. The Swedes (not from Sweden for sure, but ironic since I was last at the Merc two nights before seing a bunch of acts from Sweden) were slow, trippy indie pop and completely out of place for the night. They weren't impressive either.

To listen to more Biram go here and here.