New band, familiar faces: Easy Creatures at Mojo Main

Photo finish: The boys of Philadelphia's Easy Creatures.

Somewhere in the afterlife, former Minutemen leader D. Boon is looking down on the Philadelphia area and nodding in approval. Fugazi’s Ian McKaye, out on tour with The Evens, is unknowingly channeling some heavy vibes emanating from the Delaware Valley from a band he’s never heard. And Glenn Danzig, in the midst of preparing for his upcoming role in a movie about porn legend Vanessa Del Rio, is feeling his Incredible Hulk rock persona coming on and he doesn’t know why.

OK, maybe none of these things are happening.

But I’m 100 percent certain they would be if only the sounds of the Easy Creatures could reach the ears of these three rock icons.

While based in Philadelphia, Easy Creatures is distinctly Delaware in more ways than one. The most obvious is that it’s made up of Jade Tree Records alumni and dudes from hallowed First State acts from the past, including Walleye, The Kill Quota, (see vid of a recent reunion show for these two bands here) Railhed, The Bad Luck 13 Riot and Extravaganza.

D. Boon woulda loved the Creatures.

But there’s something that's more intrinsically Delaware – and maybe even regional - in their sound, which you’ll hear if you come out to see them at Mojo Main on Saturday (March 30). Singer Shane Evans can shift into a scream gear reminiscent of McKaye but he’s got a little Greg Dulli in him too, and Dulli and his Afghan Whigs were a major influence on the once-burgeoning Newark rock scene of the 1990s. The barrage of guitars unloaded by Mark McKinney and Joey Simpers definitely recalls Walleye, but there’s also a modern and melodic element to them that helps Easy Creatures fit in with the crowd and blow away what’s going on in rock now. Joe Konrad (bass) and Jeff Tirabassi (drums) form a nice beefy rhythm section that serves as a foundation for all of this heavy riffage and vocal shrapnel.

Oh, and their in-the-works first album is being produced by legendary Newark producer Nick Rotundo (formerly of Walleye, Railhed and The Kill Quota) at Clay Creek Studios.

Doesn’t get any more Delaware than that.

Easy Creatures are at Mojo Main, 270 E. Main St., Newark, on Saturday with The Frantic Heart of It, Zwanendael and Deer Gear. Tickets are $5 at TicketFly. Or visit Mojo Main’s site for more information.

Here's the band doing their tune "All Good Bastards" during a recent show: