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Offbeat Magazine Live at Carrolton Station

Paul Sanchez -Sold Out at Carollton Station (PSM)

Jul 1, 2000
Offbeat Magazine by Missy Heckscher

The first thing you've got to realize is that this is not Cowboy Mouth. While Sanchez is a member of the college-popular, pound'em sound and shake'em rock band, his solo work is of a whole different league. In fact it's almost hard to believe these two are connected at all.

Sanchez, on his fifth CD, "Sold Out at Carrollton Station", sings his melodies in soft and gentle voice that is nothing like the let it go, let it go energy that made the Mouth famous. Recorded amidst an enthusiastic uptown crowd, most of the songs on the live CD are a folksy, slow strummed tribute to the all-night escapades, cheap liquor and crawfish stews that make New Orleans the place that it is.

A few of the songs may sound familiar like "Laughable", which Sanchez sings with CM, but when you take away the Mouth's fast and furious drumming, these songs have a much more peaceful, less intimidating feel. Sanchez breezes through the music with enough Louisiana references to satisfy most proud cajuns but retaining enough of a rock n' roll feel to reel in the college crowds.

The Sonoma Valley boys (Eddie Ecker, drums and vocals; Brendon O' Donnel, bass guitar; Skeeter Hanks, vocals and percussion; Mike Mayeux, lead guitar; and John Herbert, harmonica) add a subtle, low-key background to Sanchez' heartfelt lyrics.

My personal favorite, "I Got Drunk This Christmas", tells the tipsy tale of new Orleans holidays in a way that illustrates the gloriously lazy, perpetually festive attitude that only New Orleans understands. "I hope Santa's bringing, an icy sloe-gin fizz," Sanchez sings to the yelping delight of the audience. "It's so nice that you know the words to that line," he chuckles afterward. "Only in New Orleans ladies and gentlemen." Only in New Orleans indeed.