"Just received your CD in the mail the other day...........and
it rocks! Some really great stuff on there. One man bands are
all the rage these days, and you are certainly one of the best
that I've heard. I'm going to spin "Cool Clad Daddy"
on next week's show."
-Michelle, GO
KAT GO!, WNHU 88.7FM, West Haven, CT
"BOMB had the audiences tapping their toes last Saturday.
Don't miss this fun and unique act!"
-DFW LIVE (Dallas-Fort Worth and in reference to the Out
of the Loop Festival))
"This CD makes you wonder how one person
can play every instrument and still be a red hot rockabilly band."
- Evan Emerson, Route 66 Radio, KJHK 90.7
"In recent years, the term one-man band has
been used to describe artist (such as Trent Reznor) who record
albums in solitary recording sessions using computers and the
like, then recruit a band to recreat the tunes on the road. But
Bruce Humphries is a throwback one-man band, the type who straps
a drum to his foot, a guitar across his chest, and various other
instruments to all available extremities. The resulting album
is a collection of tight, two-minutes-or-less romps with a ferocious
rockabilly feel. Several of the tracks are smoldering instrumentals,
reminiscent of the work of the excellent local ensemble Buddy
Lush Phenomenon, while others, such as "This Durn Band Ain't
Getting Me Laid," display Humphries' sharp lyrical wit. Unlike
the electronically inclined one-man bands, B.O.M.B. stays solo
when he plays live, making his shows must-see events. And with
its unbridled energy, Giddy-Up Go! is the kind of undeniably fun
record that many bands with three, four, or more members still
haven't found a way to produce."
- Andrew Miller, Pitch Weekly, Kansas City, MO.
"While I was spinning
this disc in the car stereo, the rarest of things happened. I
started to sing along. Bruce Humphries (yup, a real one-man band)
has released a fun CD of breakneck psychobilly. All of the songs
and instrumentals are incredibly catchy, as I discovered after
just one listen. Order
a copy and you’ll be singing along with “This Durn Band Ain’t
Getting Me Laid” and “Peer Pressure” and “Giddy-Up Go!”. And a
finale note: be sure to stick around at the end of the CD for
the several uncredited bonus tracks - especially the last one,
which explains why he is now a solo act instead of playing in
a full band (“Well I used to play with other people/But now I
just play with myself/I found it’s easier this way”).
- Allen Clark, Cool and Strange Music! Magazine
"Since Jesse Fuller I've been fascinated with the one man
band concept and have sorta been one myself with guitar, harmonica,
kazoo and foot stomping plus vocals and a bass/rhythm/lead guitar
approach. This guy Bruce Humphries plays a Gretsch with a drumstick
on a spring attached to the peghead for hitting a cymbal, and
foot pedals a bass drum with one foot plus a nnare with the other
foot, with what looks like a tambourine attached. And then there's
the drumstick on top of his head that he hits a cowbell on a boom
stand with. Musically, he's kinda punky, rockabillyish garage
band. A couple songs appear to be sarcasctic put downs of teenage
drug use: "Peer Pressure" and "Coming down hard".
I'm guessing that the visual aspect of watching him make all this
noise all by himself is a big part of the enjoyment. It's particularly
hard to imagine how he manages to hit that cymbal as much as he
does, or keeps the guitar together while moving it that much.
Another selling point to the cd: inside are pictures you can cut
out and paste into a notebook to make a flip book so you can see
him while listening. He doesnt suggest it, so i will: maybe you
should photocopy these pictures so you dont have to cut up your
cd booklet."
- Marc Bristol, Blue Suede News
.....................AND NOW FOR THE CORPORATE REVIEW
"What happens when you take a mildly interesting gimmick
and turn it into a full-blown career? B.O.M.B. The One Man Band,
aka Bruce Humphries, explores this possibility at length on his
latest opus, "Giddy-Up Go!" The Lawrence resident tries
earnestly to live up to the one-man schtick -- simultaneously
playing guitar and drums while crooning in a voice that sounds
not unlike Weird Al Yankovich taking a crack at "Fresh-Fruit"-era
Dead Kennedys. While this is either a wonderful concept or the
ninth circle of musical hell, depending upon your taste, Humphries
never breaks character for a second. You'll have to take it or
leave it. I'm gonna leave this one. Most of "Giddy-Up's"
songs are short -- less than half manage to last more than two
minutes. That's probably not a bad thing because most of the tunes
seem to lose steam after about 90 seconds or so anyway. Lyrically,
B.O.M.B. trods over the well-worn country lane of Nashville clich*s.
Truckin', pluckin' and corn shuckin', Humphries bends over backward
trying to win your affection. Don't get me wrong. This kind of
stuff can be done to wonderful effect. Musicians like Junior Brown
have carved a hard-core niche for themselves playing an arched-brow
concoction of hellfire country and twangy Texas blues, but Humphries
doesn't have Brown's conviction, pickin' skills or wry humor.
The question isn't whether Humphries is an interesting musical
conversation piece, but whether his songs can stand on their own,
sans gimmick. The answer, sadly, is no. While B.O.M.B's amphetamine
hellbilly and cocaine blues are certainly hyperkinetic and knee-slapping
fun, they ultimately prove toxic after a few spins around the
CD player. Sure, he's got chops galore and the gimmick is admittedly,
um, neat, but songs like "Peer Pressure" would only
be improved were B.O.M.B. a no-man band."
-Geoff Harkness, Lawrence Journal-World
