Looking for something completely different musically? That’s exactly what you get with Speedbuggy USA, a country-punk band based in Los Angeles. This group, featuring members with major label pasts, decided to focus on what they love most and forget about the trends. The result is a catalog of classic songs like “Engine No. 9” and “Movin’ On” and live shows that include amped-up covers of “Take This Job and Shove It” and the Smokey and the Bandit theme song “Eastbound and Down.”
Though steeped in country music, Speedbuggy is all about the old days of Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams and other outlaw artists from the ’60s and ’70s. The group recorded a vinyl-only album of George Jones and Buck Owens covers for Man’s Ruin Records, a label by famed poster artist Frank Kozik. The band also released album of several labels, including Cargo (Blink 182, Rocket From the Crypt) and Greg Hetson’s Porterhouse Records in the United States and El Toro Records overseas. Interestingly, while popular in cowpunk circles in the US, the band is even more popular in Europe.
For people who want something different than Top 40 and country pop overkill, check out Speedbuggy for some energized fun. It’s like a Social Distortion country album played at double speed, and you gotta love that!