When so much of the world is trying to pigeon hole everything, whether it be style of clothing, types of movies, or even the coffee you drink, it is always so refreshing to see a band like Mickey and the Motorcars. They play what they feel, keep an ear to the ground of what their fans what, and make it happen. And that, my friends, is the golden ticket for a traveling band.
Upon transplanting from Idaho back in the early 2000’s, Mickey and one of his brothers Gary (the other two make up part of Reckless Kelly) hit the road hard and haven’t looked back. The guys finally put their road tested material to the test and recorded Which Way from Here in 2003 and quickly followed it up with 2004’s Ain’t in it for the Money. It was along these times that “Texas Country” was being recognized as much more than a passing fad and Mickey and the Motorcars were right there at the doorsteps with all the other headliners—one step away from national exposure. With 2006’s Careless and certainly 2008’s Naïve, they were there.
A place like the Firehouse Saloon is perfect for Mickey and company as it is raucous enough to rock along to a Warren Zevon cover of “Lawyers, Guns, and Money”, bluesy enough to sway to a newer single like “How Far I’ll Go”, and sing along to a song that help make them; “Carolina Morning”. The guys seem adaptable enough to fit in any type of market and get along just fine with whatever the crowd may throw at them.
The guys have been on several East Coast trips such as the run they just returned from with support from Reckless Kelly and Stoney LaRue, and also made time to make a West Coast run that is starting to become a more common practice. Everywhere they go they find more and more fans who partake in, what seems like their theory: that music is the common ground and doesn’t need to be confined to borders.
When asked about how the songs come together and the way that most previous albums seem to come along in a back to back nature, Mickey says “the music just kind of comes to us and we test it out, see if we, and most importantly the fans, like it and that seems to be the nature of how the music has happened.” This time, after 2011’s Raise My Glass album, “with a new guitar and bass player we’re going to play around a little bit and find our groove and hopefully have an album out before the end of 2012 if not early 2013.” Pretty sure that will make Christmas shopping pretty easy for many fans from Texas to Idaho and anywhere in between.
The band has a confidence that years of adoring fans will build but are still more than accommodating to giving their time and thoughts to a music fan turned writer. We here at LoneStar Outlaw Review could not do anything but wish these road warriors the best.
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