Goin' down South

Preacher Got A Gun is the fourth release from Chicago-based Goin’ Down South and the band continue to successfully mine the Hill Country Blues-via-Chicago vein that has worked on their previous albums. 2019’s Juke Joint Romp was warmly reviewed in Bluesblast Magazine in June of that year and, despite the arrival of new members Ricky Levi Nelson (bass) and Robert Mickey (lead guitar), the sound pioneered by original members John Liggett (guitar, harp and lead vocals) and Brian Mickey (drums, percussion and backing vocals) remains intact.

The album is relatively short, clocking in at just over half an hour, but there isn’t any filling here. Each track hits a groove and then relentlessly pursues it, often staying on the same chord throughout the song. The title track, for example, is a five-minute vamp that kicks off at pace and does not let up. “Make A Mess” slows the pace down but features the same heavily distorted guitar and insistent drive around a single electric slide riff. This is in-your-face, muscular music that openly acknowledges the obvious influences of the likes of Junior Kimbrough, R.L. Burnside and John Lee Hooker. There aren’t a lot of harmonica solos, but the instrument is used to color the textures and depth of the songs, as on the opener, “Hit The Spot”. The guitar solos, such as on the toe-tapping Canned Heat-style boogie of “Feelin’ Real Good Blues”, constantly hint at the potential to really stretch out in a live setting, but are rightly reined in on a studio recording. Mickey eschews an overdriven lead guitar tone in favour of a very clean sound which works very well in distinguishing the instrument from the heavily distorted rhythm guitar.

The gospel feel to “Shine A Little Brighter”, with its entwining guitars and harmonies offers a different, more uplifting message while the closing track, “The Blues Are Alright”, benefits from a distinctive (but nicely) discordant guitar riff. “Boomtown” manages the neat trick of hinting at the Bo Diddley beat but actually offering something different.

The focus is very much on the rhythm and the groove, rather than instrumental virtuosity or lyrical depth but this is dancing and drinking music, rather than serious, navel-gazing introspection or an exercise in musical gymnastics.

Excellently engineered by Scott Herschler at Joe Quality Studio and mastered by John McCortney at AirWave Recording, there is an enjoyable looseness-with-attitude to the performances on Preacher Got A Gun that gives successfully the impression of a live recording. No doubt, Goin’ Down South must be a treat to see live. While we wait for live music to start up again, Preacher Got A Gun is a more than acceptable alternative. - Preacher Got a Gun - Album Review

"Some good ol' grillin' music!" - Hambone's Blues Party - WDCB, Chicago

Peter Lauro - Blues Foundation Award Winning Writer
"I love, and I do mean love your music and your style - with your slide guitar work and your hard driving sound you reminded me of a cross between Delta Moon and Canned Heat" - Album Review: Juke Joint Romp

Goin’ Down South are a bare bones guitar-bass-drums-harmonica trio out of Chicago carrying on the tradition of Delta and Hill Country Blues. The main focus here is the loose grooves, with non-sophisticated lyrics. This CD clocks in at just less than thirty minutes. John Liggett provides vocals, guitar and harmonica. All songs are jointly composed by the band.

The title song is a toe tapper with repetitive lyrics that sets the climate for most of what follows. This is sh*t-kickin’ music that transports you to a broken down southern juke joint. Harmonica plays over the incessant beat. Take a stroll down Beale St. to the loose groove and melodic guitar of “Keep On Rollin'”. “Delta Rose” relies on a happy-go-lucky vibe. The Hill Country trance-like repetitive approach is taken on “Good Girl”. Shades of R.L. Burnside.

“Sweet Mama” slows things down. What’s southern blues without a visit to the watermelon patch/ “just like a watermelon fresh off the vine”. His baby is the blues to his rock and roll on “She’s The Blues”. The proceedings finish off with the nice loping beat of “Let Loose”.

This music is about having a nicely sloppy toe-tappin’ good time. John Liggett’s casual vocal delivery suits this music to a “T”. The energetic rhythm section is with him on every funky turn as he plies his magic on guitar and harmonica. A Southern Culture On The Skids hokey southern vibe hovers over this recording. This stuff is about letting go of your cares. Who needs deep lyrics when you got such a crazy rockin’ band. Throw some saw dust down on the floor and let it all hang out! - Juke Joint Romp - Album Review

Blues Blast Magazine
Young American Double Action Revolver - album review

Goin' Down South is a three-piece band from Chicago with a different approach to the blues. Instead of adapting Windy City stylings, they look to the South for their inspiration. They’re a Hill Country ensemble who get their influences from Junior Kimbrough and R. L. Burnside rather than Muddy Waters and B.B. King.

Lead singer, guitarist and rack harmonica player John Liggett and drummer/backup vocalist Brian Mickey toured the Midwest for several years in the band Voodoo Pilot. When that group disbanded, they enlisted Mark Mickey on bass. The music they produce is stripped down, much more suited to a juke joint in the Mississippi Delta than it is in the formal surroundings of a blues bar on Chicago’s North Side while still retaining some of the feel of a power blues trio.

Like many Delta recordings, this one was recorded live in only six hours without benefit of overdubs or control room gimmickry. All of the material is original. The resulting product is stripped down trance music.

John uses an open-tuned slide on dobro for “What A Night” as he recounts the life of a touring musician, compete with images of blood on the hay at a gig and hotel visits from the maid. He adds chorded harmonica accents atop a solid, straight-ahead rhythm pattern and heavy drum beat. He takes harp lead to introduce “My Lucky Day.” His technique is very basic, much closer to Bob Dylan or Neil Young than any of the greats, as the song speaks of the horror of surviving a shooting in which the bullets passed between his legs.

The singer seeks the warmth of a distant love in the uptempo shuffle “Been So Long” before “Bar Stool Blues” serves up praise for a favorite tavern. “Let Me Do That For Ya” drones about willingness to do just about anything for the object of one’s affections, while the rocker “Love Don’t Make No Sense” repeats the title as verse throughout without any explanation. The band slows down for “It’s The Thought That Counts,” which also leaves the theme to the listener’s imagination. A military drum beat introduces “Down The Road,” which vaguely refers to lightening one’s load. “Don’t Be Down,” an eight-minute boogie spirit-lifter, and “You Won’t Believe Me,” a song of desire, conclude the disc.

If you’re looking for something sophisticated, look elsewhere. But if you have a taste for Hill Country stylings and are seeking something different, it might be right up your alley.

Reviewer Marty Gunther - Blues Blast Magazine - Young American Double Action Revolver - Album Review

FIREWORKS Magazine, U.K
This trio from Chicago specializes in Lo-Fi Blues that owes more to the Blues of the Mississippi Delta than the Blues of the Windy City. There are the scuzzy riffs of Junior Kimbrough and the back porch rocking of R.L. Burnside. The addition of harmonica to their sound brings that Country Blues vibe of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGree to myuch of the music too.

The band takes a riff and drives it onwwards, giving you that Box-Car rhythm that influence a lot of early Blues. “Love Don’t Make No Sense” and “Don’t Be Down” have the measured Boogie ethic of the late, great John Lee Hooker and “You Wouldn’t Believe Me” recalls those Hooker and Canned Heat collaborations that resulted in some of the best Boogie Blues ever.

Liggett’s harmonica follows the guitar groove like CH’s late Al Wilson did so well. His voice is a rough approximation of their Blues influences but he doen’t quite have the world weary, life experience feel and depth of say Hooker or Son House though.

There are other influences that widen their sound. “Been So Long” is a decepteively simple Indie Country Blues number that brings their sound more in line with the modern trendy Blues of the Black Keys as does “Let Me Do That For Ya” which gioes for a deliberately slopppy, loose and limbre groove. The laid back drinking song “Bar Stool Blues” has the infectious swing of Jimmy Reed and lyrics that are close to that of the great Bluesman’s lifestyle. The spit and sawdust procudtion enhances rather than diminishes their sound. The electric riffs and Punk drumming are the only inidactions that this isn’t a 1940’s or 1950’s Blues Record.

Carrying the torch from America’s great Blues artists, the band does a decent job of keeping the Blues alive for the bar band audience of the U.S. and the album listening audience everywhere. - Album Review: Young American Double Action Revolver