Austin American-Statesman Reviews White Ghost Shivers (2005)
THESE SPIRITS OF DECADES PAST WILL GIVE YOU THE SHIVERS
He was so tall... the shadow from the overhead speakers at the Continental Club eclipsed half his face. It's no surprise, really, that a 7-footer — named "Shorty," mind you — fronts smoking hot '20s & '30s revivalists White Ghost Shivers. They're zany, spooky, full of schtick. And sometimes they wear white makeup on their faces.Their music is open to interpretation. A biker likened it to Django einhardt. The old dude next to him said he thought it was more "tinny." From the Harlem Renaissance to West Egg, Transylvania to the Blue Ridge Mountains, and mighty N'Awlins on any given day, it's the sound of a bygone era. Still, Baby Boomers down to Gen-Yers swam in the nostalgia it induced, longing for a time they've never known.
But what, then, is a White Ghost Shiver? An addict? "Cocaine gonna kill my baby dead," sang lead guitarist "Smokebreak Smelenda" on "Tell It To Me." A stiff? "Working for a living, but not really alive," sang Shorty, banjo in hands, on "Everyone's Got 'Em (White Ghost Shivers)." A cigarette smoker on the first night of the ban, digging her or his nails into the bar?
"Smell that?" yelled a band member named "Death Master." He inhaled deeply through his nose and answered his own question: "That's the smell of freedom!"
Actually, White Ghost Shivers is the title of an instrumental number performed by jazz band the New Orleans Owls. They're eight Shivers, up three (flapper chanteuse "Cella Blue," class clown "Dr. Bellows," on accordion and trumpet and "Nappy Syd," on clarinet, saxophone and jug) since the release of their debut, "Hokum If You Got 'Em." It came out three years ago, then was re-released this summer. Five Shivers sing, including "Curtains," his Louis Armstrong impersonation spot on. And many switch instruments.
Their references to sex, drugs, and violence were delivered in comedic undertones and with the collective instinct of an improv troupe. It was hard to tell if their songs were mostly covers or mostly originals. But who cared?
Even if the Shivers' genre poses restrictions on their longevity (they're entering the studio in a couple weeks to prove otherwise), they're nevertheless a band who, as bearded Dr. Bellows screamed after the second set: "Rip(s) their souls out just for your entertainment."
Austin American Statesman, Michael Hoinski, September 2005
