Pawnshop Classic-17 Candle Californ IA

One of my biggest hobby is going to see what I can find in the used bins and I have good luck finding the obscure to the ridiculous. And plenty of bands that toiled in the obscure.  Maybe they were a local band that made up 100 cds and sold 5 and dumped the rest into charity stores.  Most of the time what's in the dollar bins are crap (the I AM WAR Cd is one of them) sometimes we find a classic that never was (The Randy Cliffs, The Pull Tops).  Today We offer up 17 Candle.

17 Candle reminds me a lot of The Refreshments, a band that stoops into enough novelty and 80s rock and roll but even 2009 when they were still around, I have no idea or inkling of this band anywhere.  The main leader is Ben LaFleur who sounds a bit like David Bellamy with Roger Clyne on the side. Californ IA, the album title is a play on words of a band moving out to the west coast to make it big but high tails it back home after everything is said and done.  Produced by Tom Tatman (Dangtrippers, Blue Band) who adds a bit of that 80s sound to the album, anything Tatman produces or records is worth seeking out.

You can hear their music at their My Space site including a bonus track of Cubs Win, which surprises me that Tom Ricketts doesn't use this more often. For their album, standouts includes a homage to the 80s (Called The 80s) and LeFleur's tribute to Jim Morrison on Lizard King which is where The Refreshments influence comes in.  Lights Out, a bit of The Wallflowers comes to mind and one of these songs the lead guitars takes the guitar lead of Don't Stop Believing as well.  Probably that late 80 early 90 alt pop rock made have 17 Candle late to the party but overall Californ-IA is a fun listen from a band that loves that buzz bin sounds, and so do I.

Since then Ben Lafleur has moved on to the country circuit and formed Crawford County, a better than average country band that wouldn't sound out of place on new country.  Ben's voice is perfect for country although while Stone Cold Country is fun, the other song that they have on reverbnation is country corn.  But they might have a better future than say, the Lost Trailers.  But it still pales next to 17 Candle's only album.