Zack Rosicka: A Real Guitar Hero

By Chris Manson May 1, 2008 Issue

It’s Thursday night at the Village of Baytowne Wharf’s Funky Blues Shack, and “Howlin’” Jack Lowe is raving about Zack Rosicka. “He plays guitar with the speed of John McLaughlin and does that upside-down Jeff Healey lick,” says Lowe. (Healey, for those not mired in All Things ‘80s, is the recently deceased blues guitarist who had a big hit with “Angel Eyes” and appeared in the seminal Patrick Swayze film Road House.)

Rosicka, a native of Fort Walton Beach, moved back here a year and half ago to start his own group after paying his dues in Carolina bands like Charlotte’s Contagious and Columbia’s Mojo Blues Band. “It was a great experience, opening up for big name acts like Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Joe Bonamassa,” says Rosicka of his sideman days.

Drummer Joe Lajter and seven-string bass player E.C. Kuntz round out the power trio. Lajter’s father Gary has been an ardent follower of the band since his son started goofing around with Rosicka. “I’ve been a fan of live music by good professionals all my life,” says Gary. “They’re strong in every respect. Being from Chicago I’ve seen a lot of good groups. I saw Muddy Waters when Johnny Winter showed up to jam with him. And these guys are good!!!”

Rosicka says his band focuses on harder-edged blues-rock, funky pop originals, and “hard, hard-rocking originals.” There are ballsy Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix covers, and selections from “Bayou Soul” singer Marc Broussard’s catalog. “We’re trying to fit more and more originals in. We can pretty much play whatever we want wherever we go.”

The first set begins a little before 10 p.m. Ferocious riffs and fluid lead playing hail the arrival of a new guitar hero. Lajter’s heavy drumming is straight out of the John Bonham trick bag, while Kuntz’ bass rhythms keep the S.S. Rosicka afloat on a sea of funk. This is one of the hardest rocking bands I’ve seen in ages. Rosicka’s solos never bore; vocally, the guy wails like his life depended on it. Even the most casual listeners will detect a southern rock boogie influence and an unabashed appreciation for heavy metal crunch.

The Zack Rosicka Band is a challenging but crowd pleasing outfit, especially for those who love Led Zeppelin’s take of the blues. And just when you think a song has run its course, Rosicka tacks on a great breakneck guitar outro.

After some first-rate originals—there is an album in the works, Rosicka tells me—the kid nails the Stevie Ray cover. Rosicka is more than a skilled student of the blues. It’s obvious that he’s in it soul deep

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 The Beat’s Record Roundup:
- The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live at Monterey (Universal). The latest upgrade of the guitar god’s quintessential concert performance.

- Melody Gardot: Worrisome Heart (Verve). Devastating vocalist would slay you with her original compositions even if you didn’t know the behind-the-music story of her near-fatal automobile accident. Musically it’s perfect, and Gardot can out-sing Diana Krall, Norah Jones, and the rest of the jazz singer wannabes.

- Hayes Carll: Trouble in Mind (UMG). Country music at its most badass.

- All Music Guide’s Album of the Day (www.allmusic.com). Occasionally they pick something that’s been gathering dust in my collection (the Gap Band, Paul Simon), but most of the time these dedicated music geeks turn me on to something new. Recent picks include ‘90s has-beens, a prepubescent Japanese pop princess, and a classical pianist plunking out Haydn concertos.
- P.O.D.: When Angels & Serpents Dance (INO/Columbia). If there’s a harder-rocking Christian band around, please let me know about them.

- Robert Plant: Now and Zen (Rhino). One of Plant’s best solo recordings finds the Golden God confronting his Zep past and emerging with what was—in 1988—a fresh sound. Three live recordings sweeten the package.

- Chingo Bling: They Can’t Deport Us All (Chile/Asylum). With illegal immigration such a hot-button issue, this is one of most enlightening recordings of recent months. The skits are funny as hell, too, no matter what side of the, um, fence you’re on.

- Rihanna: Good Girl Gone Bad (Def Jam). I prefer her “Rehab” to Amy Winehouse’s, and the hit singles still resonate after months of radio overexposure.

- Cyrus Chestnut: Cyrus Plays Elvis (Koch). The best kind of pop-leaning jazz. Chestnut is a pianist in the Vince Guaraldi tradition, and his takes on Presley favorites tend to swing even on the slow numbers.

- Genesis: 1983-1988 (Atlantic/Rhino). The latest set of CD-plus-DVD reissues includes the Phil Collins-fronted trio’s commercial triumphs plus the post-Phil Calling All Stations with Peter Gabriel sound-alike Ray Wilson. The latter doesn’t sound too bad after the passage of time, while the band’s eponymous 1983 disc, once my favorite, now suffers for the badly dated (and racist) Illegal Alien. Best of all is 1992’s We Can’t Dance, particularly the DVD documentary on the song-crafting process of Collins, Tony Banks, and Mike Rutherford. Also included is the band’s huge-selling (and still listenable) Invisible Touch, plenty of music videos and concert footage, and an entire disc of B-sides even die-hards won’t play more than once.

- Asia: Phoenix (EMI). The original supergroup returns. 40-year-old virgins aside, it’s hard to believe anyone would care.

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