Biography
The Blistering Speeds are not sunshine. The Blistering Speeds are not rainbows. The Blistering Speeds are the things you try not to see as you take that detour through the worst parts of town. They are what you worry will happen to teenagers when they stay out too late. They are that little voice that tells you “You could make that person disappear and nobody would ever know.” They are the dark things we try to pretend don’t exist, all wrapped up in a caterwaul of thundering drums, screaming guitars and inescapable melodies.
Founding members Scotty Loewen (vocals, guitar) and Al Wilkes (guitar, backing vocals) met under a Smashing Pumpkins tour poster. Their shared obsession with the guitar heavy sounds of that Chicago rock behemoth became the unifying thread in a sound that incorporates influences ranging from the jammy psychedelia of Phish to the gloomy post-punk goth of Bauhaus to the poppy fury of the Pixies.
After ditching their initial idea to start a Smashing Pumpkins tribute band, The Blistering Speeds started performing their brand of fuzzed-out, paranoid pop music in their hometown of Austin and throughout Central Texas. Their early demos and frenetic live shows caught the attention of producer/engineer Ross Ingram (The Black Angels, Paperwork) who approached the band with the idea of making a record for his label, Star Dot Star Records. The band, which now included Jimmie Lundie (Naked Empire) on bass and Stephen Bidwell (Calm Blue Sea, Hard Proof Afrobeat) on drums, began making monthly trips to The Busy Box recording studio in Dallas, hammering out what would become their debut album, “Casablanca is a State of Mind.”
“Casablanca is a State of Mind” is about paranoia and suspicion. You give this album to your crank dealer and say “I want to feel like this all the time.” Jittery, like jittery like a killer. The guitars writhe and twist. The drums beat on your door while the bass looms darkly in the window. It’s a dark night and it’s only getting darker.
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