The Sh-Booms Tell Us All About “Leon the Hustler” (premiere)

Florida garage soul outfit the Sh-Booms will issue its debut LP, The Blurred Odyssey, on 22 March via Limited Fanfare Records. The group has a brand-new video for the song “Leon the Hustler”, which was recently named “Coolest Song in the World” by Little Steven’s Underground Garage.

Led by Brenda Radney, who appeared on Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience, Pt.2, the band has shared the stage with Budos Band, KRS-One, and the B-52’s with the latter’s Kate Pierson declaring herself a rabid fan.

The group’s Al Ruiz said this about the song and its titular character: “Leon the Hustler is a man with a plan. Hustlin’ the streets, making ends meet. The song is a story loosely written about our colored pasts, and the mistakes our parents may or may have not made… The struggles of raising kids, working ho-hum jobs and using alcohol and drugs to escape the pressures of real life.”

Listening to the track, one is struck by its powerful edge, the collectives ability to slam as hard as Black Sabbath and soul predecessors War while retaining the finesse of contemporary acts such as Budos Band. But whereas many bands of this ilk attempt to recapture a past, real or imagined, the Sh-Booms are speaking powerfully and potently about the now; this take on reality 2019 proves as hard-hitting and frenetic as Adrian Belew’s street poetry with Discipline-era King Crimson or the earliest, unpolished hip-hop. All without losing a sense of hook and groove. This isn’t someone’s idea of what soul should be, this is the soul of a new era.

TOUR DATES

3/22/2019 – WIll’s Pub – Orlando, FL
3/23/2019 – Crowbar – Tampa, FL
3/29/2019 – Las Rosas – Miami, FL – FREE SHOW
3/30/2019 – Jackrabbit’s – Jacksonville, FL w/Hurricane Party
4/19/2019 – The Merry Widow – Mobile, AL
4/20/2019 – The Wilbury – Tallahassee, FL
5/16/2019 – The Saturn – Birmingham, AL – FREE SHOW
5/17/2019 – JJ’s Bohemia – Chattanooga, TN
5/18/2019 – The Basement – Nashville,
5/19/2019 – The Ready Room – St. Louis, MO
5/20/2019 – Bokeh Lounge – Evansville, IN
5/21/2019 – Subterranean – Chicago, IL
5/22/2019 – Deluxx Fluxx – Detroit, MI
5/23/2019 – Beachland Tavern – Cleveland, OH
5/24/2019 – Chameleon Club (Lizard Lounge) – Lancaster, PA
5/25/2019 – Higher Ground (Showcase Lounge) – Burlington, VA
5/27/2019 – The Middle East (Upstairs) – Cambridge, MA w/Degreaser
5/28/2019 – The Knitting Factory – Brooklyn, NY w/Degreaser
5/29/2019 – Johnny Brenda’s – Philadelphia, PA w/Degreaser
5/30/2019 – Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House) – Richmond, VA
5/31/2019 – Cat’s Cradle (Back Room) – Carrboro, NC
6/1/2019 – Smith’s Olde Bar – Atlanta, GA