Culture Shock

Southern Culture on the Skids is too fun for its own good

Comments (0) By Andrés Solar Thursday, Feb 15 2007

"Our record collections are vast," Miller says without hesitation. He points out that, as they developed the twists on this album, he realized they were "rock-ifying the country and countrifying the rock" in equal measure. So country AM radio gems like "Oh, Lonesome Me," "Rose Garden," and "Wolverton Mountain" get revved up and surfed out, while rockers like the Who's "Happy Jack," T. Rex's "Life's a Gas," and the Kinks' "Muswell Hillbilly" get the banjo-and-drawl treatment.

By now, we shouldn't be shocked when SCOTS takes the party to another level as on Countrypolitan, because that's what audiences expect. Less-talented purveyors of rockabilly tend to push the "wildness" envelope, but Miller prefers to work on new tunes, song arrangements, or tweaking his guitar sound. His voice is tinged with the confidence of a successful artist, the humility of a father, and the humor of a man who doesn't take himself too seriously.

They dress like everyone else in South Florida.

Details

8 p.m. Tuesday, February 20. Tickets cost $12. Call 954-564-1074, or visit www.cultureroom.net.

Culture Room, 3045 N. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale

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The press release for Countrypolitancalls the album a "romantic stew," and just the fact that SCOTS is comfortable with those two words together sums it all up. Consider this: For the album's cover photo, band members donned their Sunday-best regalia, grabbed their instruments, and headed straight for the portrait studio of a nearby Wal-Mart. Now that's Southern culture on the extreme.