Scissormen profile picture

Scissormen

Cauterwaulin' Juke Joint Blues 'n' Roll

About Me

“This isn’t just a band — it’s a mission,” says Scissormen’s slide guitar demon Ted Drozdowski. “We believe the blues is as blood and guts vital and relevant as it was when the music’s giants walked the Earth, if it’s played right. So that’s how we play it — respecting the music’s roots, but not at the expense of its future.” If that sounds audacious, you haven’t seen one of the Nashville-based group’s live shows, where just a guitarist and drummer harness up the spirit of the Mississippi hills and make it sound like a juke joint armada. That approach has won Scissormen fans across the US and Europe, where they’ve played everything from jukes to coffeehouses to blues, rock and punk clubs to major festivals including Bonnaroo 2008 and France’s prestigious Cognac Blues Passions Festival. “Our gigs prove that the blues can reach everybody — including people who think its music only their parents or grandparents would like,” says Ted. “Of course,” he adds, “our music also reaches their parents and grandparents.” And Scissormen’s live audiences reach back, challenging Ted’s unique, fiery slide guitar approach by passing him, well, just about anything to play with: shoes, straws, martini glasses, keys, a lit blowtorch, full dinner plates, a machete, a 9-mm pistol. Critic Anthony DeCurtis (Rolling Stone, VH-1, etc) has proclaimed Ted “a guitarist of spellbinding invention and intelligence. His slide playing shears the skin off your bones, and he can unleash roaring gales of sound. But lyricism and musicality lie at the heart of even his wildest moments. I have never listened to him and not been transported to a strange, beautiful place I'd never been before.” Now that place has a name: Luck in a Hurry. Scissormen’s first nationally distributed album packs the band’s inventive and exciting energy into 11 slide-powered songs including nine originals. The music knits the inspiration of Ted’s musical mentors and friends like R.L. Burnside, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Junior Kimbrough and Sonny Sharrock together with his experience as a rock-based improviser and songwriter. Scissormen’s guests on Luck in a Hurry include Morphine drummer Billy Conway, the late veteran blues pianist Teo Leyasmeyer (who was a sideman with Freddie King, Buddy Guy, Luther Allison, Johnny Copeland and G. Love), and Dicky Barrett, the powerhouse frontman for the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Dicky applies a layer of vocal gravel to the defiant anti-anthem “Whiskey and Maryjane,” which also guests Ted’s former psychedelic rock band Devil Gods. Ted’s longtime musical foil Rob Hulsman, a vet of cow punk renegades 9 Pound Hammer, and Larry Dersch play drums. And Dan Kellar adds violin to two songs, including the guitar-violin-drums trio “Mattie Sweet Mattie.” Luck in a Hurry expands the sound of Scissormen’s previous albums, their all-duo debut EP Jinx Breakers and the solo acoustic When the Devil Calls…. “What these songs have in common are deep roots, great big guitar tones, and a lotta soul,” says Ted. “They were performed live in the studio so we could keep things raw and spontaneous — the way we like ’em. ” And that’s just one more reason why Luck in a Hurry captures the heartbeat of modern blues — and the pulse of its future. But the band’s story begins back in 1991. Ted was already a rock guitarist/songwriter and an internationally respected music journalist with a passion for blues when he was introduced to the sounds of North Mississippi’s juke joints by one of his mentors, the late musicologist Robert Palmer. “As a guitar player in punk, psychedelic rock and improv bands, I’d digested a lot of music by then, but when I heard R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough and Jessie Mae Hemphill — thanks to Robert — they totally blew my mind,” Ted recounts. “Their music had the deepest spirit of blues as well as the transporting qualities of psychedelic rock. It was a sound I’d wanted to hear my whole life, without even knowing it still existed. “I’m just a guy whose family crawled out of the coal mines in Pennsylvania,” Ted continues. “I still can’t believe how lucky I was to meet and to be befriended by R.L., Junior and Jessie Mae, and to have R.L. talk me into trying to play his music. I resisted for three years, because I revered R.L. and his sound. But eventually I caved and after the first time I played with him on stage I guess I had the fever. It just took a while to spread.” Once it did, Scissormen began — with just two rules. “The first,” Ted says, “ is to always move ahead and blaze our own musical trail while honoring the musicians who’ve touched our lives and inspired us. And the second is to pack every gig we play with all the heart, soul and energy we can muster. Playing the blues for keeps is not a job for slackers.”

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 2/13/2006
Band Website: scissormen.com
Band Members: Ted D., slide guitar and vocals, and some mean-butt drummer - and that's it!
Influences: R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Sonny Sharrock, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Johnny Ramone, Richard Lloyd, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Sonic Youth, Kenny Brown, John Lee Hooker, Fred McDowell, Robert Quine, Fred Frith, Hubert Sumlin, Ronnie Earl, Tom Waits and a whole lot more
Sounds Like: Fried chicken, barbecue, neckbones, black-eyed peas, collards — and R.L. Burnside, Black Keys, North Mississippi All Stars, Jessie Mae Hemphill, John Lee Hooker and a lotta stompin', hollerin' and wicked guitar blastin'
Record Label: VizzTone
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Deep Blues Festival and, later, there will be blood!

Playing Bonnaroo earlier this year was an awesome experience, but there was something extra special about the Deep Blues Festival last month. To be in a place where nobody asks "who's that" when you m...
Posted by Scissormen on Wed, 06 Aug 2008 07:21:00 PST

What Scissormen’s up to, plus Easter Island and Johnny Cash

Well, I’ve been a pretty damn lame blogger since the end of last year, but a lot’s been going on. I got through it all - so far - with my nose clean, so on we rock.Mainly I’ve been t...
Posted by Scissormen on Tue, 01 Apr 2008 02:55:00 PST

Introducing, the Devil Gods

So I'm on a slow drive to get all of my earlier bands, at least the semi-notable ones, up on myspace. First up is my most recent group before Scissormen, Devil Gods. It's a psychedelic guitar band I f...
Posted by Scissormen on Tue, 23 Oct 2007 10:57:00 PST

Ted’s Butt-Spankin’ Top Five

Hell, since I get to hear a lot of new music early, I figure I may as well give all my friends a heads-up on this stuff from time to time. So, if you get a chance, check all this out over the next cou...
Posted by Scissormen on Thu, 20 Sep 2007 12:43:00 PST

Just got a fresh dose of Mississippi

It's been five years since I've logged any quality time in Mississippi, getting back to the heart of the music, for a bunch of reasons that were all no good. This weekend I got back down to the Sunflo...
Posted by Scissormen on Mon, 13 Aug 2007 09:25:00 PST

Scissormen in France!

Sometimes you've got to go far away to make some great new friends. It's worked that way for me and my guitar in Nashville, and now it happened again in France where Scissormen just played our first E...
Posted by Scissormen on Mon, 13 Aug 2007 09:05:00 PST

From Nashville to New England this month

Hey Everybody - In case you haven't noticed, we've moved to Nashville where the river runs with music and the Mexican food is second only to Cancun (or Cabo)  and two-for-one tequila nights still hap...
Posted by Scissormen on Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:29:00 PST

JUST SAY NO TO FRUITCAKE, YES TO SCISSORMEN CDs and Ts

Sorry for the shameless commercial pitch, but..Do you want to be remembered as a geek who gives ties, gloves and mummified baked goods for holiday presents .. or loved and admired for your savoir fair...
Posted by Scissormen on Tue, 28 Nov 2006 01:07:00 PST

Blame It On Bass Pro Shops

Usually I..m a pretty stand-up blogger when I..m on tour, but this time I got wicked .. as we say in Boston .. derailed. Blame it on Bass Pro Shops. I..ve always wanted to explore one. Hey, who isn..t...
Posted by Scissormen on Fri, 20 Oct 2006 12:07:00 PST

Dispatch from Jackson, MS&

Playing down south in short bursts is always a trip.. The first two days, all driving. We slept at the Isle of Capri casino in Lula, MS, on Wednesday, the night before the Arkansas Blues and Heritage ...
Posted by Scissormen on Fri, 06 Oct 2006 03:45:00 PST