In 1958, while playing a gig, Link Wray & His Wray Men improvised an instrumental that became so widely adored it landed them a record deal with Cadence Records. That track was “Rumble,” two minutes and twenty-five seconds of heavily distorted rock ‘n’ roll riffs. At a time when most rock music was still more or less just pop, “Rumble” rattled the public consciousness. So much so that it became one of the first and only instrumental songs to be banned from public radio, for fear that it would incite street violence; yes, really. This is where the rock ‘n’ roll spirit was born. That live fast and die young energy that defines the genre. That torch has been carried through the years by many a rocker; case in point, Des Rocs.
Des Rocs dropped his first album, “A Real Good Person In A Real Bad Place,” back in 2021. The rock community immediately caught on to what he was putting down. Des is the twenty-first-century embodiment of that 50s hard-rock style. He's a shattered coke bottle jammed in the side of a whitewall tire. A switchblade covered in grease and dried blood. A starry night at a roadside bar accompanied by nothing but a pitcher of beer and a .38 special. We may have evolved far past the need to poke holes in your amplifier's speaker to get the right amount of distortion on your power chords, but that doesn't mean we've evolved past the need for heavy-duty rock ‘n’ roll.
Des Rocs' latest single, “When The Love Is Gone,” is a shining example of what I'm talking about. Something many modern rock bands fail to realize is that it's rock AND roll, not rock or roll. It seems like anymore you get tunes that are either in your face, fast-paced go-go-go shredding, or jaunty riffs that take you for a walk; it's either Van Halen or it’s Eddie Floyd with no in-between. Des Rocs, on the other hand, can do it all. You've got your screaming lyrics, your circling riffs, your banging solos, and your driving beats; with Des Rocs, you get to have your cake, eat it too, and ask for another piece.
I can sit here all day telling you how Des Rocs lives up to the Shawnee legend Link Wray, but only his music does him justice. Go give “When The Love Is Gone” a listen and see what I mean for yourself. Preferably, you would do it behind the wheel of the largest automobile you can get your hands on while screaming down a two-lane backroad, but in a pinch, listening to it anywhere where you can crank it to max volume without pissing off your neighbors will do. Or do it somewhere you will piss off your neighbors; I don't care, I'm not your mom. After you're done dealing with the noise complaint, you can catch Des on tour, but get your tickets quick; those dates are coming up. Before you know it, he will already have blown through your town.
