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PREVIEWS AND REVIEWS
By Steve Chess
February 22, 2008
Every now and again, you stumble upon a gem performing in an out-of-the-way venue far from the beaten path. I had just such an experience Saturday, February the 16th. The venue was the Ambridge Eagles club and the gem was The Sidewinder Band.
Their repertoire is essentially Country (old and new), but they seem to comfortably navigate between the Rock, Blues, Rockabilly and Country genres. You might easily hear them perform material from the catalogues of George Jones, Trace Adkins, Johnny Cash, Brian Setzer, Elvis Presley or even, Jefferson Airplane.
The Sidewinder Band is instrumentally a power trio (at least in the configuration that night) with the addition of an attractive female vocalist fronting the band. The rhythmic foundation is lain by drummer, Jimi Miller. The other two instrumentalists are bass player, Donny Plum and guitarist, Kim wall. Vocal duties are shared by Dena Miller(lead vocals), bassman Plum(lead and backup vocals) and guitarist Wall(backup vocals).
By its very nature, the instrumentation of a power trio has to maintain a fundamental musical structure to hold the whole thing together. Any whimsical excursion by an individual musician can threaten the cohesion of the band and, ultimately, the song being performed. The musicians of The Sidewinder Band maintain these fundamentals. That being said, guitarist Kim Wall does a good job providing interesting guitar fills, flourishes and occasionally, quotes and paraphrases of classic guitar riffs and licks in his solo passages. Donny Plum’s bass playing primarily maintains its essential role as half of the rhythm section in conjunction with Jimi Miller’s rock-steady beat on his drum kit.
It could be argued that it is the vocals that really sell this band and many bands like it. Sidewinder is not lacking in that department. Dena Miller (incidentally, drummer Jimi’s wife) revealed a powerfully resonant vocal instrument whether singing lead or backup. Her rendition of “Fever”(the Peggy Lee hit) grabbed the attention of every male in the room. Donny Plum is a study in incongruity. A physically imposing figure, Donny could easily be cast as a bouncer in a biker bar. Whether singing the deep rich baritone of a Trace Adkins cover or exploring tenor territory with a Roy Orbison song, Plum seemed to perform with equal facility in either vocal range. There was also a subtlety and sensitivity in his vocals that seemed to contrast with the big guy’s physical presence. Throw in the ample backup vocals of Kim Wall and you have a pretty versatile vocal ensemble. Certainly, The Sidewinder Band is worth a listen if one were to find them performing at a venue within a reasonable traveling distance.
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