Down South Nukin' by Microwave Dave & The Nukes

Venues vary from French soccer stadiums to Bike Week in Daytona Beach, from blues cruises on the Big Red Boat to neighborhood saloons, but the thousands of shows delivered by the band all reflect once core element: the heritage blues music enjoys as a lifter of spirits. As Microwave Dave puts it: “Blues is America’s first, and still best, self-help program.

While major-label stars gauge success by sales figures and chart positions, the predominate barometer for traditional blues artists is simpler: repeat bookings. Microwave Dave & the Nukes’ annual itinerary features music festivals and holiday engagements that have billed the act for fifteen consecutive years; motorcycle events for more than a dozen; and a considerable list of major hotels, international deep water fishing tournaments, schools and social organizations that re-acquire the group’s services year after year.

Formed in 1989, Microwave Dave & the Nukes’ blues apprenticeship included a three-year stint as Jerry “Boogie” McCain’s back-up band, interspersed with shows backing Bo Diddley, whose styles are integral flavors in the band’s recipe. Microwave Dave produced “Gotta Get A Cadillac” as a cassette release in 1991; the albun was re-released and promoted world-wide on compact disc by Australia’s Full Moon Records in 1999.

Producer Johnny Sandlin, legendary in his work with the Allman Brothers Band, Delbert McClinton, and Widespread Panic, among others, recorded the group’s next release, “Goodnight, Dear, for the Ice House (Blues Works) Records. The 1995 release propelled the band to Europe when their cover of Bo Diddleys “Road Runner” became a soccer stadium smash in Paris and subsequently a solid dance hit across America. “Goodnight, Dear” was re-released in Europe as “Nothin’ But The Blues” on the Dixie Frog label. Two other selections from the album appeared in the film soundtrack of “The Poor & Hungry”, broadcast on the Independent Film Channel, but “Road Runner” has remained the top seller and most leased record in the Icehouse catalog to date.

Johnny Sandlin returned to produce 2000’s “Wouldn’t Lay My Guitar Down” for Duck Tape Records, on which Microwave Dave fronted an all-star band of veteran players from the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, The Amazing Rhythm Aces, Cowboy, and Little Richard’s band. The title cut and a swampy cover of Roosevelt Skye’s “Don’t Care Blues” became a staple on XM Satellite Radio’s “Bluesville” channel, and “Hat” was later covered by Little Milton.

“Atomic Electric” was released in the Distant Farmer label in 2003. Producer/ engineer, Tom Gallaher, returned to the band’s own players and, utilizing vintage analog methodology and gear, garnered the best critical responses for the band’s music to date and “Atomic Electric” found a home on many blues program playlists. The album scored well at Canada’s REAL BLUES Awards, gathering wins in the 2003 Southern Blues Release and Southern Blues Band categories, and naming Microwave Dave “2003 Southern Blues Guitarist of the Year/Modern”. “Trail of Tears”, the LoweBow instrumental composed by Dave for the album, received a nomination in the “Best Other Instrument” category from Nashville’s Music City Blues Society in the fall of 2004.

“American Peasant” is Microwave Dave’s fifth cd, a love recording documenting the groundbreaking solo electric blues style Dave has developed utilizing real-time loop accompaniment. The Distant Farmer release, also produced by Tom Gallaher, received excellent notices internationally and is the premier release showcasing live looping in the traditional blues idiom.

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