The doesn’t make things complicated. It doesn’t take much more than a washboard and a water jug to get them all fired up. Photos by .
The moment The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band marched up to the stage at the Bluebird Theater on March 13, the audience was taken on a wild ride with delta blues-based, jug-band music that never let up until the band put down their instruments. Their contagious energy shone relentlessly from the stage onto the packed house for just over an hour, and could have gone on for another, as far as we were concerned.
Peyton’s band is from Indiana, and they’ve spent the last few years touring across the U.S. and preaching the simplicity and honesty of their brand of bluesy, slide-guitar/washboard/plastic bucket rock to an ever-growing congregation that includes hipsters and old school punks, and about everything in-between.
The trio features his wife, “Washboard” Breezy Peyton on the washboard and his brother, Jayme Peyton, on the drums – including an upside-down 5-gallon plastic bucket in place of a floor tom.
They started the show with an explosive entrance from the lobby, with Jayme banging the hell out of a bass drum as they marched down the aisle and up on stage. After Breezy and the Reverend strapped on their instruments, they flipped a switch, and their faces transformed into furious, toothy and maniacal grins, eyes bulging from super-widened sockets.
The Reverend belted out song after raging song in giant baritone, while constantly wailing on one of his three, effects-free yet dirty and gritty-sounding guitars. Breezy mesmerized us with her furious washboard, at one time setting it on fire and playing it, Hendrix-like, as Jayme pounded relentlessly on the drums. Each one was a brilliant piece of Americana in the finger-picking style of blues legends like Charlie Patton.
Their comfort onstage was well-met. As they readied to play “DTs or the Devil,” the Reverend told us the video for their hit “Mama’s Fried Potatoes” is now on MTV Latino, obviously because no one told the Hispanic network that MTV “don’t put big ugly guys with huge beards on.”
Later, he spent some time explaining his guitar-playing style. He told us “The reason I ain’t got no bass player is because my thumb plays the bass!” When people point out to him that he “must be playing with some messed-up tuning to make it easier, after I take my finger out of their face, I explain that my flat-top is always in standard tune!” And then there was the story about how their song “Wal-Mart Killed the Local Store” got the band’s CD banned from the nation’s largest retail chain.
He said it best toward the end of the show, when talking to the crowd about what he writes, and why he plays: “I only write about things I know – my family, my friends, things I see, things I like and things that piss me off!” Why spend any time or energy making things any more complicated? I couldn’t agree more.
Billy Thieme is a Denver-based writer, an old-school punk and a huge follower of Denver’s vibrant local music scene. Follow Billy’s giglist at
Jason Claypool is a digital photographer from Lakewood. He specializes in concert, music and event photography. His work is available as large-format prints. His complete profile, with contact information, is , and his collections are here. Track his show calendar on
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NICK SULLIVAN
