Sunset Strip Radio By Dan Kimpel Eileen Carey at The Gig (Hollywood) February 26, 2001 Eileen Carey: Lead vocals D. Fantree: Back-up vocals Winston Butts: Drums Phil Chen: Bass Masa Kohama: Guitar Like a Raymond Chandler mystery, a rain-soaked night in Hollywood was an ideal setting for the noir intensity of vocalist/songwriter, Eileen Carey. The singer, dressed all in black, commanded center stage from the onset, opening with the bluesy, airtight thrust of "Burning Up My Heart". She hit her stride on the second tune,"Someone By My Side", with a minimalist rock groove featuring guitarist Kohama on wah-wah guitar. "Wings", was an excursion into emo-rock, showcasing Carey's more literate side with the lines, "Then we drift a bit between the poppies and the roses/And he shows me how to trim the leaves when they're turning". Propelled by the retro-fuzztone guitar stylings of Kohama, the band set up a taut, Southside Chicago groove for "Lazy", in which Carey explained, "A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do". What the girl did on this song was to share parallel and harmony vocal lines with her back-up vocalist, the accomplished Ms. D. Santree. "That Town" seemed to possess an intriguing story line which the band italicized through their funky looseness; the tough, black leather posturing of "Bad Boy" brought the roots rock influences to the foreground and the set's closer, the intriguingly titled, "Where's Norma", was a Sixties rock anthem thrust into the future, courtesy of Winston Butts' flawless time-keeping and shotgun snare. On this outing, Carey surrounded herself with a sterling band of seasoned players, including Rod Stewart/Jeff Beck alumni Phil Chen. As strong as Carey's band was, they were probably most effective when they left the sonic windows open for her vocals. Balancing the hard-edged rockers with more reflective, acoustic textures could certainly add to the emotional possibilities. But Ms. Carey is an artist in ascension; and, as such, her ability to assemble a team of musicians and collaborators is commendable. To her credit, she has created an adventuresome project; a tightly oiled vehicle to transport her artistry and her songs. back