Rod Hamdallah Crawls Back with New Single

I realize they’re still not havin’ shows at your usual rock ‘n’ roll hangouts, but local blues joints Blind Willie’s and the Northside Tavern ain’t scared’a no Wu-Tang Flu, having opened their stages back to stompin’ a month back or more. And local workhorse Rod Hamdallah’s been gettin’ busy on both of ‘em. I caught his Oct. 2nd gig with his compact combo at the Northside, and man, what a colossal fun time! Clenched in a groove with drummer Jordan Manley and bassist/saxophonist Shane Pringle, Rod – on vocals and vicious electric/slide guitar – busted out a boisterous torrent of dirty, jumpin’ blues and garage rock, jumbling top-shelf originals with smartly chosen covers of blues and R&B greats and garage-punk progenitors like The Sonics, inciting the breakout of ample dancing up front. They’ll be back at Northside Tavern on Saturday, Nov. 14, and I highly recommend joining the party!

It’s possible that he may have copies of his latest 7-inch single in tow that night. Either way, the official street date is Friday, Nov. 27, and you need to get your paws on it. “Crawling Back” is a brawny garage-rockin’ bullseye with Rod howling in harmony with his electric guitar. B-side “Mali Jam” is an unruly instrumental rumble inspired by West African Tuareg/Sahara Desert blues, which makes it sound super-exotic but it’s really just a raw ripper that’d hypnotize a cheetah. Manley hammers the drums on both tracks, while Hamdallah does double duty on guitar and bass, and if you’d like to pre-order a copy direct, you can do so from Hound Gawd! Records.