Is there a rock song that could be a more perfect fit for the BourbonAndVinyl ethos than one entitled, “Always Time For One More Beer”? I think not… Check this tune out:

It seems in these dark and divisive times that rock is receding as a cultural force. Radio and the charts have seemingly turned their back on guitar-oriented rock and roll. Gone are those 70s heyday of squealing guitar and rocking tunes. As if it were an answer to a call to battle, four men have emerged from America’s heartland, prepared to make a stand for rock ‘n’ roll. These four men, Tony Bowell (lead vocals/rhythm guitar), Chris Brungardt (lead guitar), Brad Johnson (bass) and Blake Blackim (drums), call themselves the Sunset Sinners. And as faithful readers of B&V know, we like to support local music around here, B&V Goes Out Drinking, Supports Live Music: Kansas City’s Amanda Fish. I can tell you, I really dig this band.

As it turns out, this past weekend was Kansas City’s vaunted Plaza Art Fair. Friday night is usually the big party night, and this year was no exception. The Rock Chick and I went down into the mayhem, if only for a few hours, to check out art and “party arty.” On Saturday, after brunch, she dropped me off back on the Plaza for one of my drinking walkabouts… a small vestige of the old days. You can drink beer on the streets, and who doesn’t love that? It’s harmless as during the day it’s more of a strollers and dogs vibe…I seem to remember trying to explain “My Old School” by Steely Dan to some kid who just graduated from William and Mary, but I digress. As it so happens, a friend of mine Drummer Blake was in town from Salina for the Greta Van Fleet concert (Concert Review: Greta Van Fleet, Kansas City’s Starlight Theater, Sept 21, 2019). I met up with him at the Fair and we dropped into a local tavern to talk rock and roll. It just so happens, Drummer Blake is the one and only Blake Blackim from the Sunset Sinners. I met Blake, originally, in the Drum Room (a bar downtown) before a Black Sabbath concert, which is pretty auspicious when you think about it (Black Sabbath Live & The Four Horsemen of the Salinapocalypse).

The Sunset Sinners are formed around some pretty straightforward and important principles. First and foremost, these cats are focused on the music. They came together out of a sheer love of rock and roll. I can’t stress enough, it’s all about the music for these guys. With America divided the Sunset Sinners founding principle that partying and rock ‘n’ roll is something that can bring us all together seems to have crystalized in their first single, “Always Time For One More Beer.’ These guys are all about fun and you can hear that when they play. I advise everyone who can – see these guys live, you will thank me.

The Sinners describe their music as a new genre, one they call “Whiskey Barrel Rock.” It contains elements of a Southern Rock Revival and Red Dirt Country. It can almost be described as a crossover between rock and country, a perfect mix on a Saturday night. It’s as if Lynyrd Skynyrd, Chris Stapleton and Blackstone Cherry had a baby and they named it, Sunset Sinners. There’s a heavy dose of 70s rock and roll here. Nasty guitar with a bite, big drums, it’s all good. You can tell these guys grew up listening to the Outlaws, Molly Hatchet and the aforementioned Skynyrd. Although I must admit, their sound on the new single is much more muscular than pure Southern Rock… courtesy of that great lead guitar from Chris Brungardt.

The new track starts off with a sweet little slide guitar part but then the drums kick in and it’s off to the races. I can hear the Southern Rock and the Black Crowes influence almost immediately. Tony Bowell’s impassioned vocals are right up front and spot on. The guitars soar over the bedrock rhythm section. This song is the perfect, Saturday night, honky-tonk, and (obviously) beer drinking song. They’ve even got a great video out on YouTube…

https://youtu.be/k0VjeSh3co8

Actually there are a bunch of great video clips of Sinners’ concerts out on YouTube as well, with my particular favorite being a cover of ZZTop’s “Just Got Paid.” Search YouTube on the Sunset Sinners and behold the rock ‘n’ roll.

One of the cooler things abut the Sunset Sinners, is that they have a strong following and close relationship with Veterans, first responders, cops, current troops, and oddly, bikers. You likely noticed the biker part of that in the video… I think it’s great that local and national heroes have been drawn to the music these guys play. And frankly, I dig the whole biker vibe too. Not every biker is an outlaw folks, and not every outlaw is a biker.

Asked what’s next for the Sunset Sinners, Blake tells me there’s more new music on the horizon. He and the rest of the band are writing and putting together new tunes as I type this. I think we can be hopeful that we’ll see at least an EP, Greta Van Fleet style, sometime soon. The band doesn’t seem to be caught up in a bunch of aspirational bullshit, they’re playing merely for the love of rock ‘n’ roll, which is music of the purest form. I think everyone should crack a cold one and put on “Always Time For One More Beer.”!!!

Keep your eyes on this band, they just might single-handedly revive rock and roll!!