Biography
TOMMY MACK & THE LIFTERS are TOMMY MACK (vox/guitar) BILLY CHAINSAW (bass/vox) LANCE FARLEY (drums) ROB BENTLEY (Guitar). Together they have crafted a sound that has been called "Rock, Punk, Country and Texas all in one " but, THE LIFTERS are a hard one to peg. With obvious rock, country and americana influences they successfully blend the three seamlessly and are still able to stick to the essential ingredients for all genres …songs about girls, cars, guns, Texas and …hotel rooms?!.
THE LIFTERS started out in 2001 and have since released three CD's, two on Austin label Killingbird records and the latest "Rolas Para Gringos" on TOMMYPLANET RECORDS . THE LIFTERS released their second CD "Texas Trash" in 2005 to positive reviews in the USA and abroad. The single "She's A Devil" was in heavy rotation in Brazil, Argentina and the UK prompting plans for a future tours. Included on the new CD are two country standards 'Make Believe' by Conway Twitty and "Mama Tried' by Merle Haggard. Both songs have a refreshing rock edge that is synonymous with the bands 'Big Texas Sound'. Mama Tried was actually played (once!) on Austin's biggest hardcore country radio station KVET much to the delight of the band and the dismay of the regular KVET audience.
In 2011 they released their third CD "Rolas Para Gringos" on the newly formed Tommyplanet Records label in september 2011. Having adopted the new moniker "Tommy Mack And The Lifters" due to the constant rotation of band members has led to speculation that the sound had shifted away from the original format showcased on the first two CD's "Engine Music" and "Texas Trash". "Nothing could be further from the truth" says Tommy Mack " We finally have a CD that was recorded all in one studio with one engineer and produced by our ears exclusively. The songs are a mix of old un recorded material and new stuff I wrote just for this project, and believe me, it's all LIFTERS all the way. The name change might take a while to stick and cause some confusion but, it was a chance I had to take to let people know I was in this for the long haul no matter who else was in the band at any given time." Be sure to Check out ROLAS PARA GRINGOS on iTunes and soon in your local record stores.
REVIEWS OF TEXAS TRASH 2005/06
Review of Texas Trash 2005 in The Austin Chronicle:
"Combining the sneering no-futurism of Social Distortion with the balls-out Southern rock affectations of Black Oak Arkansas ain't blazing new trails, but Austin's Lifters manage to make the formula come alive in all its skyward-fisted glory. The quartet pays homage to classic country with a cowpunk cover of Merle Haggard's "Mama Tried," but they head straight for the garage to celebrate the alluringly dangerous mythos of Roller Derby culture on "Roller Queen." ***:
-AUSTIN CHRONICLE -
"THE LIFTER$ prove to be the perfect soundtrack for wrenchin' on yer ride or beatin down that snotty neighbor kid and takin his lunch money"-RANK AND REVIEW MAGAZINE-
"If these dudes had different guitars (don't ask me what kind, man, I'm a rock writer, I don't know anything about anything), they'd be Junkyard, because the whole honky-tonk biker-metal-motherfucker-with-a-heart-of-brass vibe is here, and it's shining like new chrome. But they don't have those guitars – I believe they were discontinued in 1989 – so they sound sorta like the Supersuckers drinking manly liquor with the Pogues*. And that's cool too, just not as loud or as greasy. The songs are all classic shitkicker laments, lotsa talk about women with the devil in 'em ("She's a Devil"), sometimes on wheels ("Roller Queen"), sometimes in New York City (um, "NYC"); the guitars slip and slide like old friends on the backporch, drinking the weekend away, T Mack's vocals are ragged and honest, and often joined by the fellas for the choruses, and the whole thing just reeks of dive bars with chickenwire fences, and long-gone Saturday nights. Oh, and there's an Elvis cover, too. Same one that Danzig did, 'cept the Lifters are little more authentic, as Elvis didn't lift a lotta weights or worship Satan. Anyway, "Texas Trash" is a very good record for people who drink beer. Or people who used to drink beer. Or people who often clean up after people who drink too much beer, and puke all over the floor. Anybody beer related, really.*Minus the accordions of course, as we are talking about Texans here.. -SLEEZEGRINDER.COM-
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