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Nashville Overdrive The Southern-fried rock band tore it up at the Usual By Sarah Quelland LIKE THE HOUSE BAND in some rough-and-tumble Southern biker bar, Nashville Pussy seems about as lawless as a rock band can get. Last Thursday (Aug. 30), the tattooed outlaws in black leather hit the Usual supporting the Reverend Horton Heat. I can't remember the last time I've seen the club so packed--it may well have been that special A Perfect Circle show a couple years ago. The Reverend has quite a following, and Nashville Pussy only added to the excitement. Fronted by the scary-looking Blaine Cartwright, a man I wouldn't want to run into at a truck stop after sundown, the main attraction here is his wife and lead guitarist, Ruyter Suys. Stepping onstage in a T-shirt that read, "Keep on Fuckin'," Suys stripped down to a red bra before the night was over and taunted all the guys in the front row. The band's new bassist, Tracy Almazan, is a tough-looking, stringy-haired brunette with attitude. Nashville Pussy has built its reputation more on its live shows than on its music. With full-on blasts of Southern fury influenced by bands like AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet and Motorhead, Nashville Pussy plays songs like "Struttin' Cock," "Shoot First and Run Like Hell" and the Grammy-nominated "Fried Chicken and Coffee" with conviction, but the songs do tend to get monotonous after a while. That can't be said for the stage show, though. Rude, crude and out of control, the night wasn't over until Cartwright poured beer all over his wife's breasts and gruffly prompted her to give head to the bottle while she shredded on her guitar. There were no real losers among the five finalists at the grand finals of Ultravibe.com's Sound Off 2001 last Friday (Aug. 31) at the Cactus Club. Still, with music that exists somewhere between Mortiis and Cannibal Corpse, first-place winner Lords of the Manor was the overwhelming favorite and is the most intriguing band I've seen all year. Naughty Barnyard came in second, with Monkey taking third. The Finger Bangerz are playing an artists' reception and exhibition Friday (Sept. 7) at the warehouse studio of Two Fish Design Group (150 S. Montgomery St., Unit B, San Jose). The exhibit is in conjunction with rotgut, the debut gallery showing of Fosik and KGBE presented by Anno Domini. The event kicks off at 8pm (www.galleryad.com). The lineup has been announced for the 10th and final SoFA Street Fair, which will be held Sept. 16 along South First Street in downtown San Jose. On the outdoor stages, Zero magazine hosts X, No Use for a Name, the Odd Numbers, dredg and the Shitkickers at Gore Park, while Atomic Mint, Squeeze the Dog, Hot Town Jubilee, Pansy Division and Stunt Monkey perform on the San Carlos Stage. Opening band-contest winners will kick off both stages at 11am. Inside the Cactus Club catch Krenshaw, Soul Circle, Divided, Trapt, Element of Surprise, Tenfold, HBA, Movement, Reaction 31, Floppy Rods, Utopian Pipedream, Woodshed, Salmon, Fill in the Blank and Shortie. The Secrets, Crack, the Skirts, Ones and Zeros, downside, the Blind, Wrekhouse and Horchata play inside the Usual. Agenda, Polly Esther's and the B-Hive offer DJ dancing all day. Highlights include a special Squeeze the Dog reunion and the return of Crack. ... Krenshaw and Soul Circle will also be performing with Motiv, Kronic, Cadence and Hogwash Monday (Sept. 10) at Giuseppe's in Campbell. Established local rock bands Krenshaw and Los Bastardos de Amor are auditioning new bass players. For Krenshaw slot, call R.J. at 408.210.3018; for Los Bastardos, call Steve at 408.981.6785. Los Bastardos is currently playing with a temporary bassist and has a show coming up Tuesday (Sept. 11) at the Cactus Club opening for Harlow from VH1's Bands on the Run. Doors open at 5pm. PLAN AHEAD: G. Love and Special Sauce, Sept. 6 at the Usual; Stub, Abuse of Power and Argyle, Sept. 6 at the Cactus; Nevermore and Savatage at the Backbeat; L.A. Guns, the Secrets and FYG, Sept. 7 at the Cactus; Pinehurst Kids, Fighting Jacks, Muckruckers and Last Friday's Generation, Sept. 7 at the Los Gatos Outhouse; Moodfrye, Lords of the Manor, Code:47 and Dexter Danger, Sept. 7 at the Gaslighter Theater in Campbell; Floppy Rods, Sept. 7 at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz; Uzi Suicide, Local ODdity and Stalin's War, Sept. 7 at Gaslighter's Music Hall in Gilroy; Sift, Sept. 7 at the Paradise Lounge in San Francisco; Soul Circle, downside, Emotion Sickness, Red Asfault and Angels Dream, Sept. 8 at the Cactus; Kidd-X, Sept. 9 at the Cactus. [ San Jose | Metroactive Central | Archives ]