The Mighty Grasshoppers – s/t (Vital Gesture)

For those wondering what genius guitarist/songwriter Tony Fate is up to after his departure from the BellRays (outside of making casual instrumental solo albums), here’s your answer. Fate hooked up with his singer/songwriter buddy Chris LeRoy to form the roots-rocking Mighty Grasshoppers. Working a sort of sweet spot located between Doug Sahm and Rockpile, the Grasshoppers eschew trendy production/arrangement tricks for simple, straightforward writing and performances. Moving between romantic travails like “Breakdown,” “Too Late Too Soon” and “Think About Me” and more philosophical rants like “Caravan,” “Big Pile O’ Rocks” and “Let It Drown,” the four-piece rocks, roll and rambles through 14 tightly-written tunes with a shred of inefficiency or pretention. Why waste time with gimmicks or stylemongering when there’s good tunes to play? There isn’t an ounce of fat on The Mighty Grasshoppers, which leads to a most satisfying rock & roll experience.

http://myspace.com/grasshoppercentral