Still, their celebration of Southern culture -- banana puddin' and biscuits, mobile homes and muscle cars -- is done with such raucous joy that their shtick never gets icky. Sure, the jokes run rampant, but we're not talking Jeff Foxworthy here. The SCOTS can dish it out and rock it out too. Rick Miller is one red-hot redneck guitarist, while bouffant-topped bassist Mary Huff and stand-up drummer Dave Hartman form a rascally rhythm section that you know not to mess with.
The band's most recent album, Mojo Box (Yep Roc), marks a return to their mid-'90s glory days -- remember when MTV would play bands like the SCOTS and videos like "Camel Walk"? The band has toned down the hokum ever so slightly while turning up the raucous roots rock, resulting in tasty morsels like "Smiley Yeah Yeah Yeah," "'69 El Camino" and "Swamp Fox."
As fun as the SCOTS sound on disc, they rev it up tenfold on stage. Their live shows combine cornpone kitsch with corn-liquored-up guitar licks to create a greasy, sleazy rock-and-roll dance party that's one intoxicating Southern-fried extravaganza. Don't forget to bring some fried chicken -- an eight-piece box, if possible.
