DVD

  Anime 
  DVD's
  Soundtracks
  Graphic Novels
  System Video
  Interviews
  All Features

Areas

  3DS
  Android
  iPad
  iPhone
  Mac
  PC
  PlayStation 3
  PlayStation 4
  Switch
  Vita
  Wii U
  Xbox 360
  Xbox One
  Media
  Archives
  Search
  Contests

 

Eric Sardinas - And Big Motor Live

Score: 85%
Rating: Not Rated
Publisher: MVD Entertainment Group
Region: A
Media: DVD/1
Running Time: 45 Mins.
Genre: Live Performance/Musical/Independent
Audio: Stereo Sound

Eric Sardinas is a no-funnin' bluesman who doesn't look old enough to have shined B.B. King's shoes, but who plays like a reincarnation of Stevie Ray Vaughn. Sardinas is distinctive and bigger than life as a character on stage, but the interludes in this collection, Eric Sardinas - And Big Motor Live on DVD, show him as a pretty regular guy. The Big Motor backing band features Levell Price on bass guitar and Pat Caccia on drums. Price is solid and dependable, while Caccia is just explosive. They both fade into the background when Sardinas starts thrumming on his guitar and shouting like a man on the other side of a fifth of Jim Beam, and we mean that in the best possible way... Eric Sardinas - And Big Motor Live on DVD is presented in the format of a television show ("MAV Music Live"), with transitions you might associate with a commercial break; thankfully there are no commercials here...

Eric Sardinas achieves an impressive musical range, considering his small ensemble. His instrument-of-choice is the resonator guitar, a strange beast that was purpose-built for projecting sound through a series of built-in metal resonators. Sardinas has his guitar hooked into effects and amplification, but he's clearly devoted to the heritage of the instrument. He talks in the interludes about his love for blues roots, his first concert (Elvis), and his admiration for players like Vaughn that introduced a new generation to the power of traditional music. Songs like "Love Me" and "I'm Worried" come directly from the electric blues playbook, complete with loping bass repetition, strumming guitar, and a strong back-beat from Caccia. Sardinas shows off his acoustic playing on one track, bringing his superb rhythmic skills to the forefront. A solo guitar in lesser hands is coffee-house fare, but Eric Sardinas is a virtual one-man rock show. Using a slide with his left hand while pulling out percussive notes with his right, Sardinas blends that great slide-guitar sound with the heavy amplification and driving backing band one might expect from a stadium rock show.

This convergence of new and old perfectly captures the musical space Sardinas occupies, as a relatively young guy devoting his creative energies to continuing an art form that stretches back almost 100 years. Where he innovates is in his rhythmic variation and creative use of the resonator guitar in a space it was never designed to occupy. This is a bare-bones DVD release, with less than 10 tracks and some chat from Eric and the band. We would have liked more included in the way of a discography or videos from the group, but what's here is high quality.



-Fridtjof, GameVortex Communications
AKA Matt Paddock

Related Links:



Blu-ray Movie Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam: Extended Edition DVD Movies Olivia: Merry Christmas, Olivia

 
Game Vortex :: PSIllustrated