Silk Stocking

On Friday, the Liquid Lounge bar didn't make a killing in drink sales, but the club certainly served up a fine blend onstage. Though Silk Stocking's opening set was shortened by sound issues, Liz McGowan howled and growled an extraordinary path while both courting and bitch-slapping Shawn Mauck's guitar lines with her piano. The audience was fixated on the group's understated onstage chemistry, and those unfamiliar with the duo were surprised by the intense--and at times masculine--vocals coming from the angel-faced McGowan. SS's set closed with a triple threat of MySpace darling "45 and Vodka," the Waits-Cave-Harvey love child "Waiving Long Distance" and a rousing, burly "Straight and Narrow" that's still notched happily in my brain. -Merritt Martin-Dallas Observer ----------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------"Intensity is a good thing; it can't be learned or faked. Here, Silk Stocking clearly has the goods"-jennifer kelly-splendid---------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------"Liz Macgowan is like Tom Waits with a sex change,as evidenced in the brutal "45 and Vodka"--Margaret Moser-Austin ChronicaL--------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ -------------"Tom Waits and PJ Harvey fans would be insane to miss SS's opening set" Sam Machkovech-Dallas Observer---------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------- "The cover art for this CD clarifies what you will find inside, drunken singing with slurred shouting. What it does not reveal is the masterful use of blues, mixed with a shot of punk and then poured over psychotic ice. The first release from the Dallas two-piece of piano player/vocalist Liz McGowan and guitarist Shawn Mauck is a 14-song journey through tales of loneliness, despair, and depression. The first song, "EveryMan" is a sad tale of how everyone has it better than this pessimistic singer and the next song, "Walk with me" follows along the same lines. "45 and vodka," has received some radio airplay with its catchy chorus and the most upbeat tempo on the album and "waving long distance," personifies the bands sound that can only be described as Tom Waits bastard daughter with a European folk band backing her. The song, "Tree Planted By the Water" is the religious/protest? song on the L.P. with somewhat more coherent lyrics like, "jesus is my captain, We shall not be moved-Just like the tree planted down by the water." The only complaint is the lack of liner notes. You will want to sing along as you listen but will have to mumble and slur mysterious words until the more recognizable bits of each song come around. -Timmy Newell-Venues Magazine-April '2005------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------Silk Stocking, a tasty Dallas duo with their own lost-at-sea/Tom Waits vibe-- Michael Chamy-Dallas Observer---------------------------------------------------- ------- Bobby Ewing Dreams Interview with Liz a href="http://www.myspace.com/silkstocking"