Whiskey Daredevils blend together what members like
By John Benson
Watch out, Youngstown, The Whiskey Daredevils — Ken Miller (bass), Greg Miller (vocals), Leo P. Love (drums) and Gary Siperko (guitar) — are back with a new batch of tunes on its latest CD, “The Very Best of The Whiskey Daredevils.”
“Well, I don’t think it’s a new direction so much as we’re bringing together all of the elements that make up what our band is,” said Ken Miller, who, with brother Greg, previously spent a decade in the popular act The Cowslingers. “We’re not some paint-by-numbers rockabilly band or some like droopy alt-country band. We’re taking our favorite pieces from punk rock, rockabilly, country and even from blues and putting them together in a blender into something we like.”
Miller points to new songs such as the honky tonk, bluesy-sounding “Friend in Jesus” and the rocking “Gary Says [expletive]” as defining the new project, which the Whiskey Daredevils are taking to Europe to support this spring. Even though the foursome is Cleveland-based, its touring schedule belies that of an average local band.
“Yeah, we’ve been fighting that for years,” Miller said. “The Cowslingers had to fight that, too, and I’m sure there are other bands in Northeast Ohio that fight that label. You kind of have a choice to be a big fish in a little pond and stay local and really cultivate a local thing or you can get in a van and start driving around.
“And we chose a long time ago to get in the van and drive around. So there’s going to be a common negative consequence that maybe in town people might not be as aware of you, but I’ll take that trade-off because I like traveling.”
Considering the act’s previous albums — 2004’s “The Whiskey Daredevils Greatest Hits,” 2006’s “The Essential Whiskey Daredevils” and 2007’s “Whiskey Daredevils Old Favorites” — have been well received around the nation and overseas, perhaps the band is ready to make the jump to the next level?
“I don’t know what’s the next step,” Miller said. “I really haven’t thought about ditching the day job in a long time. Part of that is because if you’re going to do this 24/7, it becomes your job and doesn’t become your interest or your passion anymore. I want to take gigs because they’re cool gigs, not because I need $200 this night so I can make a mortgage payment.”
He added, “Frankly, playing Fridays and Saturdays is what makes sense anyway, because playing Sunday through Thursdays, those shows suck unless you’re Reverend Horton Heat. So why kill yourself driving around the central part of the country playing on Wednesday to eight disinterested people?”
The Whiskey Daredevils — known to kick out a few covers (Circle Jerks, Dead Kennedys, Link Wray, et al.) for some fun — will return to Youngstown on Saturday for a show at Cedars Lounge. Whatever material the band has planned for the evening, you better believe Ken and company will be happy to be playing in the Mahoning Valley.
“Youngstown has been pretty good over the years,” Miller said. “We had a really good run there [with The Cowslingers] in the mid- to late ’90s where we’d have some really great shows at Cedars. And then things leveled off for a while, but now things have picked up again in the last couple of years. So Youngstown turned out to be a really fun place to play.
“I like those smaller towns, the more depressing towns. I like playing those because people seem to have a lot more fun in places like that. If you go play in Chicago, it’s like 35 to 105 guys with their arms folded sort of judging you, whereas if you go to Youngstown, people are more interested in knocking back a bunch of beers and having a good time, which to me, seems a better priority.”