Tuesday Tune: "3 Chords" by Fools & Horses

And now, one of the best rock bands you've never heard of: Fools & Horses.  They're the next big thing coming to rock and roll.  (Actually, they've already arrived--they're just waiting for you to show up and listen.)

I'll talk about their latest hit "3 Chords" in a minute.  But first, a personal flashback.

Three years ago, a hot summer night.  Ram's Head tavern in Baltimore.  Smell of dried beer and active sweat.  My wife and I were early to the Cowboy Mouth concert, forced to stand around for hours at those impossibly-small and uncomfortably-tall toadstool tables.  We were sucking back brews and already bemoaning our tired, throbbing feet.  The place was practically empty when we showed up, but we'd staked out a spot and didn't want to leave.  We wanted to be front-row center when Cowboy Mouth took the stage.

The concert crowd gradually shuffled in, the beers made us feel logy rather than buzzed, and we talked about stopping on the way home to pick up an Icy/Hot patch for our lower backs.

Then the lights dimmed for the opening act, sticks started beating a low jungle rhythm on drums, and a guitar snarled.  Lights up, cue the lead singer, and away we go!

In a matter of minutes, we forgot about our feet, ignored the two bitchy couples next to us arguing over possession of one of the toadstool tables, and even pushed back some of our jazzy-blood excitement over seeing Cowboy Mouth for the first time.  Something very wild and thrilling was happening before our very ears.

At the time, we'd never heard of these young kids who were leaping and wailing and flailing around the stage, but we were caught up in the energy and their obvious love for singing power ballads.  In that moment we became instant groupies of Fools & Horses.  Ever since that day, we've followed the band's progress (they've cranked out two major albums since that night in Baltimore): we've subscribed to their email updates, we've voted for them in best-band competitions online, and we've had them on constant iPod playback.  Now that we've moved out of Maryland (F & H's homebase), we feel like we're carrying around this really cool secret.  Very few people outside the Northeastern Seaboard have ever heard of Fools & Horses and we keep waiting for the day they'll finally catch a lucky break and make it big.  Until then, we're happy just as long as they keep going back to the recording studio every nine months and emerge with a new album of fresh tunes.

"3 Chords" is one of the better tracks off their latest release, the self-titled Fools & Horses.  The video is a little gooey for my tastes, but it gives you a good idea of the band's style and physical energy it brings to live shows.  Lead singer Matt Hutchison drives the band forward and he's powered by the big sound of his brother Tim on drums, Kent Warren on bass and Steve Herrera on guitar.  Fools & Horses sings about love--winning the girl, losing the girl, standing in the rain holding a boombox above your head to win the girl back, etc.--and it's probably nothing that you haven't already heard on Adult Contemporary stations.  But there's a sincerity to F & H's voltage and in a matter of a few songs, if you're anything like me, you'll agree this is ear candy of the finest kind.




If you'd like to purchase "3 Chords" from Amazon, CLICK HERE.