Posted in Mad Tea Party, tagged Ami Worthen, Asheville, Bands, Bootleg, concert, entertainment, EP, Hancranked, Jason Krekel, Letterpress, Mad Tea Party, Music, publicity, ukulele, vinyl, Wilmington, Zombie Boogie on October 6, 2009|
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by Brian Tucker
Bootleg Magazine- Wilmington, NC
A band known for playing uke-abilly is unique in itself, but Asheville’s Mad Tea Party continue to impress with their lively retro sound in releasing a 33 rpm 7-inch vinyl of Halloween themed rock music built on rockabilly and ukulele flavors. Zombie Boogie is two originals and two obscure covers, all of them spooky and flat out rockin’ songs (the vinyl has a download code plus bonus track) inside a hand crafted letter-pressed sleeve.
Recording a Halloween album is a fun thing for them to do in this day and age. The duo’s music is a smart fit – its fun, electrified and moves like a high speed chase. ‘Spook Me’ features back and forth guitar riffs, the vibe akin to walking through Louisiana swampland in the dark. Singer Jason Krekel’s howling is reminiscent of the original ‘You Put a Spell on me’ if sung by Trent Reznor. The instrumental ‘Cemetery Stomp’ opens with a bluesy riff that quickly turns into Carl Perkins at a higher rpm and additional horn playing makes it more festive. ‘What’s the Matter’ is hard driving and Ami Worthen’s nasal and sugar coated vocals propel tongue-in-cheek lyrics like “Baby when I die please don’t wear no black”
At Halloween parties and front doors themed music is usually playing and Zombie Boogie is a fitting addition. Its fifties feel with an edge is fitting for the holiday and the only shortcoming might be that it’s just a handful of songs. Given the spirited quality of Zombie Boogie it begs the question of whether Mad Tea Party will put together a Christmas collection of songs.
-Brian Tucker
Mad Tea Party will be performing at the Soapbox in Wilmington on Saturday, October 24th as an EP release party for Zombie Boogie.
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