After 16 albums and more than 25 years conquering rock fans in the US and abroad, The Fleshtones have remained amazingly true to their danceable, crowd-pleasing, shindiggin’ rock ethic. And there have been rewards: they even have their own “republic,” Fleshtonia, founded in Gijon by a grateful Spanish fan. These days, they wear the mantle of “world’s best party band” with pride; in fact, they’ve issued a standing challenge to any band out there to a live showdown. Says Zaremba: “The Garage thing … A lot of people take it and it’s almost like archeology—very dry, keeping it the same as it was – they’re too much in awe of it. We look at it as an approach … we see it as a living thing. We’ll cover stuff like Sylvester’s ‘Do You Wanna Funk’ and people accuse us of not being pure. We’re working with the essence of rock and roll—the thing that gives you the buzz from the music.” Their new long-player, Do You Swing?, delivers 13 revved-up tracks of the band’s patented sound, recorded with Rick Miller (Southern Culture on the Skids) at Miller’s retro-gear filled NC studio, The Kudzu Ranch. With tracks like “Hard Lovin’ Man,” Double Dippin’” and a version of Led Zep’s “Communication Breakdown” that has to be heard to be believed, “it’s what the world has come to expect from The Fleshtones but more so,” cracks Zaremba. It’s raw, it’s raunchy, and most importantly, it SWINGS.
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