The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
Between the Ditches
SideOneDummy Records




Combining a deep
love for Delta blues
and a hillbilly attitude,
Rev. Peyton’s
Big Damn Band might be the next best
thing to hearing Son House let loose during
the Warped Tour. The deep-throated
guitarist, Rev. J. Peyton, fronts a mighty
trio through a set of Americana hill music
drenched in reverb, stone-cold grooves,
and slinky slide guitar. Joining the Rev. is
his wife Breezy on washboards and “Cuz”
Persinger on drums, buckets, and anything
else he can get his hands on.
The lyrics cover the typical blues fare—love, death, women, and religion—but
Peyton’s group of Indiana-bred cohorts
breathes new life into the material while
retaining the integral feeling that connects
the music to the message. As a guitarist, the
Rev. has done his homework covering all the
bases from Patton to Johnson. His amped-up
technique, shown on “Shut the Screen,”
demonstrates his ability to combine slide
with fretted notes effortlessly and effectively.
On “The Money Goes” he channels John
Lee Hooker’s trance-like, one-chord boogie
with some ample harp overdubbed by the
Rev himself. Although small in size, Rev.
Peyton’s Big Damn Band makes a big damn
sound. —Jason Shadrick
Must-hear track: “Shut the Screen”