Kicking off the New year with our first CD review is the Tampa Florida band, BUSHHOUNDS. Hard-rock influenced by the 'sound' of the Southern United States, BUSHHOUNDS formed in 1995 and released their first self-titled 10 song demo.

Large events, and big crowds have been the driving force keeping the band alive, and helped get them their first nationally produced CD through Veteran producer Jimmy Devito ( Creed, Don Henley, Tom Petty, Sister Hazel, Limp Bizkit, U2,ect ect) who recruited Charlie Hargrett (Blackfoot guitarist) to come in and help arrange & produce the CD.

Taking a listen to all of their tracks at MP3.com, I found the music considerably harder than most bands I would classify as 'Southern Rock'. I also missed the distinctive 3-guitar & slide that is representative of the Southern Rock sound, but overall the songs had driving rhythm, good lyrics, and quality musicianship.

BUSHHOUNDS MP3.com site has had over 500 plays for the first 10 days of January 2002, which is a strong indicator of demand for their music. Their tour schedule of upcoming events like Bike Week has them opening for bands like Molly Hatchet, will no doubt help propell this band to a regional commodity and will give them a strong foot-hold on a larger national fan base.

I'm looking forward to their newest CD, scheduled for release winter of 2002 (now?), and expect to hear more from this band as the tour season warms up.

To find out more about BUSHHOUNDS, CLICK HERE