Longneck Strangler

Longneck Strangler is more than just another country band.

When Longneck Strangler overdrives Hank Williams Sr.’s “Hey Good Lookin’ ” to a swinging 140 beats per minute, is this country music? When Longneck Strangler applies steel guitar and the two-step to the Rolling Stones’ “Honky Tonk Woman”, is it only rock and roll? Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Rod Stewart, David Allan Coe, Queen, ZZ Top…it all gets Strangled.

If both their love of rock and roll and their being from Detroit may deny Longneck Strangler an invitation from the Grand Ol’ Opry, a quick inspection of Longneck Strangler in performance reveals qualities that rank them with any other country band on the market. The singer switches between acoustic guitar and fiddle when he is not demonstrating his impeccable vocal delivery, the guitarist may sling a Gibson Flying V…but he does stop moving to work the steel guitar, the drummer knows when to keep four-on-the floor (and when not to), and the bassist lays down the most solid two-feel this side of the Mason-Dixon while (occasionally) wearing a cowboy hat. These four musicians combine diverse but overlapping backgrounds into the Longneck Strangler sound, which, for the sake of simplicity, you could arguably label country…or rock and roll.

Their new CD – My First Rodeo - breaks the barriers that have grown between these estranged musical cousins. Produced by Chuck Alkazian (Sponge, Christina Aguilera, Uncle Kracker), and recorded at Pearl Sound in Canton, MI, My First Rodeo captures the rock and country mix that has those who first hear Longneck Strangler saying; “I don’t like country music, but I like what you boys do.”