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It's Not Just Music : Car Bomb Driver Roars Back Into Action

posted Jun 21st 2011, 15:31

It’s June 4, 2011, and Car Bomb Driver is taking the stage at the Local 662 on Central. It’s been awhile since they’ve performed. Their longtime bass player, Joey Neill, had moved on, and a six-month hiatus would last longer than expected. But now, the void is filled with Brian Granik, already commanding the neighboring punk group Gonad Rehab, and the silence lingering in dive bars and local venues will soon be usurped by 4/4 beats and melodies straight out of ‘Rocket to Russia.’

They think and thrive locally – the mythos only expands with each performance. People know the name and, foremost, they know Car Bomb Driver’s place in St. Petersburg’s evolving artistic landscape. The Local was once the Garage; some acts that have played there have dissolved or remain overlooked, but the driving sound of this quintet exists and endures. The band delineates where throwaway recordings are weeded out by classic riffs and showmanship, the breed of rock that draws a crowd and means something to the people who hear it.
Local hardcore act Dead Cat Lounge was one of the bands opening that night. “Car Bomb Driver is the backbone of St. Pete’s punk rock,” said vocalist Tom Brumley.

Norval Alleman, who some might recognize as frontman and guitarist Billly Scam of former St. Petersburg punk rock group, The Scams, expanded on that with a sentiment that many who grew up embedded in the scene could share. “When we were kids, we were going to see Car Bomb Driver and Pink Lincolns wherever we could; we thought they were the only punk bands in the world.”

Reeder would smile at the thought. He’s more candid about what their music and presence has become. “If Pink Lincolns are the grandfathers of punk rock, Car Bomb Driver will always be the creepy, older uncle,” he remarked. But he also realizes that the blast radius of Car Bomb Driver’s sound is one that encompasses all ages and rock habitués. “We can play for the older crowd, and that’s cool, but we love playing for the younger audience. The older group can dig the music and come out, but it’s the kids who really live the music.”
And we can expect more. “We have another record of a-list songs in us before we go back to writing.”

The lyrics invoke the angst screaming from high school hallways and the living rooms of suburban homes, delivered from behind Reeder’s condemning deadpan. Shea Moxon and Joe Sonic blend retro solos and inescapable hooks – from hardcore to arena rock. This is a duo that encompasses it all. Matt Grimshaw’s drum kit is ever-consistent and brings percussive depth, teeming with solid bass notes that push the tracks forward into a frenzied anthem. Brian Granik is new to the band, but with his placement comes a unique aura of energy to the live show.

Come midnight, they had scaled the stage. I was there, a face in the crowd – a mushrooming drove of musk, tattered denim, and swaying fists. It all felt familiar: Reeder struck poses and shouted out choruses, Sonic and Moxon were in the background ripping through riffs and solos, and Grimshaw’s snares and hi-hats rattled. Everyone was glad to be a part of the cacophony, slipping on Pabst and singing songs we had known for years. Even when the set was ending, the energy remained untamed. Car Bomb Driver did what had earned them their audience all along: they brought people together under the banner of punk rock.