Bob Wayne and the Outlaw Carnies and Big Wheel Stunt Show at Slim’s Last Chance 7/13

Bob Wayne and the Outlaw Carnies, Big Wheel Stunt Show @ Slim’s Last Chance Chili Shack | 7/13 | Doors at 9pm | 21+ | Facebook Event

Photo via facebook

Bearded, tattooed and clad in his patch-covered leather vest and bandanna, Bob Wayne plays the role of the hell-raising outlaw country singer to the hilt. However, if that’s all there was to Bob Wayne and the Outlaw Carnies, he’d be a lot less popular (and we wouldn’t be recommending his show). The truth of the matter is Bob Wayne is a tremendously entertaining performer with a great band and lots of good songs.

While Bob Wayne currently makes his home in Nashville (judging from his touring schedule, a more accurate statement might be that he lives on the road) he’s actually a Washington native who got his musical start playing metal in Seattle. An interest in Johnny Cash and other classic outlaw country performers inspired him both to try writing some country songs, and landed him a job as guitar tech for Hank Williams III. He continued to create songs, and his playing of them during soundchecks drew the attention of Hank III and other musicians on tour, and his song “Workin’ Man” ended up being recorded by Hank III. This led to tours with with an ever-changing backup band including playing with performers such as David Allan Coe, the .357 String Band, and Hank III. He recored several albums (which at first were sold at shows out of Bob’s car). In 2011, he was signed to metal label Century Media to produce his first widely distributed album, Outlaw Carnie. The 13 songs on the album run the gamut from high energy crowd-pleasing foot-stompers to more serious numbers.

In this video, recorded at El Corazon, Bob Wayne tells a tall tale about being saved from a bad situation by a very famous ghost:

As a live act, they make the most of Bob’s storytelling ability and good humor combined with his band’s high energy playing on fiddle, banjo, guitar, upright bass and drums. The often fast tempos mean that a Bob Wayne show is as likely to have people moshing as it is country two-stepping.

Photo from facebook

Also playing tonight, and not to be missed, are Tacoma’s Big Wheel Stunt Show, whose loud high-energy music draws on a wide range of classic and blues rock influences. You can stream their most recent album, Cheetah Milque, here.