Dave Kalz: Relish Review
Dave Kalz is a veteran artist formerly from Devon Allman’s Honeytribe and Anthology, an Allman Brothers Tribute Band. Originally hailing from St. Louis, Kalz was a staple on the local music scene for decades and has just released his first solo record, Relish, on Mike Zito’s Gulf Coast Records. Mike and Dave met over thirty years ago while Mike was working at Metro Guitar Shop, and became fast friends due to their common interest in music and guitars.
Relish was also produced by Mike Zito and also features him on the tracks “Werewolf Blues” and “Playing the Blues with my Friends”. Mike and Dave’s long friendship and history made it an easy decision for Dave as to who he wanted to work with on his debut release. “I knew if I was going to put out this record, I wanted to do it with Mike. It was never a question of ‘if,’ just a question of ‘when’ ” states Kalz.
Being a lover of music from a very early age, Kalz has a range of influences spanning from Led Zeppelin and B.B. King to The Allman Brothers. Kalz pulls from these influences on Relish while mixing his own style of playing and singing.
Relish starts off with a nod to all things TX with tracks inspired by Arc Angels and classic ZZ Top. The first track “Mexico” was inspired by Kalz seeing Arc Angels perform live back in the early ’90s. Kalz wanted to capture the essence of their big open sound and the song seemed to write itself. Kalz had long since dismissed the song because it was written so long ago, but it was Zito’s encouragement that led to Kalz putting it on the release.
One of the early records that changed Kalz’s, life was Deguello by ZZ Top. This influence is apparent on the title track “Relish”. Kalz likes to leave the interpretation of the song up to the listener and hopefully, it will bring a smile to their face as it does his. “She’s Got a Hemi” is a surf influenced song that showcases Kalz’s love for cars, while “Route 666” is a nod to the nostalgia of Route 66 mixed with themes that seem to come out of a Twin Peaks episode. The song “Playing the Blues with My Friends” showcases Kalz’s guitar playing and showcases what he loves doing best…playing music.
Relish is a diverse release with musical styles from Blues Rock, Surf Rock, and Rockabilly. It’s is a solid debut release from Kalz, who is definitely trying to bring something different to the blues/rock genre.
The Review: 7.5/10
Can’t Miss Tracks
– Mexico
– Relish
– Stone Cold Stuck
– She’s Got a Hemi
– Playing the Blues with My Friends
The Big Hit
– Playing the Blues with My Friends