Genre: Rock, Hip Hop / Rap, Blues
Compared To: Cake, Outkast, The Roots, Big Audio Dynamite
Influenced By: The Roots, Prince, Outkast, Big Audio Dynamite, Roxy Music, Method Man, Soulive, Robert Randolph
Bio: While steel guitar and hip hop might seem an unlikely union, Slo-Mo Featuring Mic Wrecka has managed to make it their own little niche. The band combines the elastic grooves of Philadelphia steel guitarist Mike “Slo-Mo” Brenner (Magnolia Electric, Badly Drawn Boy, Marah) and the hip hop poetry of front man Mic Wrecka to create not just uniquely funky tracks, but a rocking live show that has been impressing an ever-growing number of fans.
Slo-Mo is the brainchild of Philadelphia steel guitarist Mike “Slo-Mo” Brenner. Brenner has recorded and played on the road with such artists as Badly Drawn Boy, Magnolia Electric Company, Marah, Melody Gardot, G Love and more, but Slo-Mo is something totally different. Mixing Brenner’s steel guitar grooves with frontman Mic Wrecka’s rhymes and hip hop poetry, Slo-Mo Featuring Mic Wrecka has become a Philly favorite, winning over fans with a slamming live show and uniquely funky tunes backed by a tight 8-piece band.
Slo-Mo’s first disc, “Novelty,” (Bong Load, 2000) was produced by Tom Rothrock (Beck, Foo Fighters, James Blunt) and Beale Dabbs (R.L. Burnside, Lute sk) and combined electronic beats and samples with Brenner’s dobro playing. Weighing in on “Novelty,” none other than Bruce Springsteen recently said: “a lot of really great stuff on it…certainly worth checking out.” The follow-up was “My Buzz Comes Back,”(PHIdelity, 2005) the rst disc to feature Mic Wrecka as a collaborator. The Brenner/Wrecka co-written songs “My Buzz Comes Back” and “Shackamaxon” received heavy airplay from Philly station WXPN and the band, now augmented by singers Susan Rosetti and Steph Hayes (of Philly’s Stargazer Lily), set to work impressing audiences with their highly energetic live gigs. The next disc “Smokey Mountain” (PHIdelity, 2007) continued the evolution of the band and further established Mic Wrecka as the frontman and main lyricist. Songs such as “Shine As You Are” and “Aramingo Takeout” immediately became live show staples.
With their newest, “Gimme What You Got,” (Authentic Records, 2009) the band has created a disc that matches the excitement of their live shows as well as showcasing the increased confidence of the unit itself. With the addition of keyboardist Daryl Hirsch, the line-up has solidified and bloomed into a band that consistently delivers the goods, night after night.
Slo-Mo featuring Mic Wrecka has opened for Robert Randolph, India Aire, Arrested Development and more and has become a crowd favorite at the Great Blue Heron Music Festival in Jamestown, NY.
My Review: “Rural Rap”?, “Country Hip-Hop”?, “Rockin’ R&B”? It’s really hard to figure out what exactly to call this! Instead of the Bass dominated sound of Urban music you have the smooth twang and slide that only Slo Mo’s Dobro steel guitar can deliver, the R&B touch of the female vocalist and all through this Mic Wrecka be rappin’!
Strange as this may sound, these songs have some mighty big “hooks” that keep sinking in deeper every time you listen to them.
To me, at least, innovation is one of the main things that determines the success of a new artist. Almost anyone can be an imitator, but it takes some real talent to come up with something that is totally unique.
I particularly like “County” as the hapless criminal is being marched off to the County Jail, probably for a major crime like walking down the wrong side of the sidewalk or being in the wrong neighborhood! This reminds me so much of the “small town South” its hard to believe this group is from Philly!
All in all, “Gimme What You Got” finds a unique blend of just the correct amount of several unlikely musical styles in a way which should appeal to any eclectic listener looking for something that “breaks the mold” of conventional music. Personally, I give it a 10 out of 10 for uniqueness and innovation and a big “thumbs up”!
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Here is a video filmed at Chaplin’s in 2008, of Slo Mo and Mic Wreka performing Shackamaxon. Enjoy!
Is available as MP3 Download for $8.99 for all 11 tracks or 99 Cents per track in our sidebar carousal.
