Music, Words, and Yoga

From the pages of Slamm Magazine, September 2001

_GT350 “Cherry” From a band named after a Ford Mustang, you know what you’re gonna get- hot-rod guitar rock. This San Diego band originated in 1995 with singer/ guitarist Zachary Hitckcock, but the current roster, with Matt Woolery on bass/vocals and Andrew Harvey on drums, came about in 1998.

___For “Cherry”, GT350 enlisted the help of big-time engineer Bill Cooper (Iron Butterfly, Steppenwolf, Frank Black) and producer Richie Podolor (a hot-rod guitarist who played on the Beach Boys “LIttle Honda”). This production team helps- what would have been an average album in the hand of lesser studio rats is here wrung for all its worth. The band’s music combines the epic guitar crying of psychedelic rockers like Moby Grape and Jimi Hendrix with the gutsie boogie of the Thunderbirds. Hitchcock has a road-rash voice that gets better as he screams to curdle it. His repetitve, circling guitar work centers on one motif at a time and burns it into the listener’s psyche.

___The first few of the seven songs are the best. The Dandy Warhol-ish “Downtown” has a sharp, driving bass line, backing “ooohhhs, aahhs,” and Hitchcock’s raspy, attitude-laden vocals. “Send Me” proves the band pays as much attention to heavy metal balladry as Afghan Whigs did early in their career; an introspective vocal bridge and moody guitars abruptly crumble under a blistering chorus. “Just A call” proves Hitchcock great heavy metal howl, with moaning, slow-skid guitars, and a constant haze of background harmony.

___Some of the poppier tunes are pedestrian, including “Don’t Dare” and “Sit Down”. But anyone with a love of hard rock ballads that don’t pussyfoot around too much will find GT350 a good bet.