Gully Jumpers – Peas + Corn!
The schticky cartoon of a dune-buggy-drivin’ hillbilly moonshiner drinking and cruising past a moon-and-star-doored outhouse on this CD’s cover hints loudly that this band doesn’t take itself too seriously. A listen confirms these boys were just out to have fun, not impress anyone.
Gully Jumpers is a bluegrass side-project of Mark Pierce (formerly of Seattle punk band Zeke) and John Von Feldt (formerly of California rock band Thin White Rope). Neither has the vocals to pull off the demanding harmonies of songs such as Cousin Emmy & Roy Acuff’s “Ruby (Are You Mad)” or Buck Owens’ “Heartbreak Mountain”. What they do have going for them is the Bad Livers’ Danny Barnes, who lends his talents on banjo, fiddle and National steel, along with some adept harmonies. Barnes is the best picker of the bunch, and adds a lead vocal turn on his original, “Uncle Lucius”, a song he first recorded with the Bad Livers. It’s the disc’s best track by far.
The worst is a cover of Buddy Alan’s “Korn Liquor”, sung with a faux Southern accent and an out-of-tune shouting chorus. It’s cringe-inducing camp. And although the CD features an occasional tasty mandolin lick from Pierce, and pleasant picking on “Foggy Mountain Breakdown”, the disc’s highlights get lost for the punchline. A lot of oddball outtakes were preserved, adding to the feeling that this is mainly a bunch of friends sitting around a kitchen table playing for kicks.