What happens when two former members of Bang Tango decide to go all southern rock? Well, Worry Beads are the answer. They provide the latest entry into Classic Rock’s Track Of The Day field. Check out all the latest Tracks Of The Day at here.

Words: Sleazegrinder

Guitarists Mark Knight and Mark Tremalgia were both former members of Bang Tango, the funky late 80s glam metal outfit responsible for 1989’s hit single Someone Like You.

It was during their tenure with the band that Knight and Tremalgia found they had musical common ground beyond the finger-popping faux-goth-glam of Bang Tango. In particular, both men had a strong affection for The Allman Brothers. When Knight left Tango, he decided to carry on with a new, southern-fried, blues-oriented jam band.

Given all the guyliner and hoop earrings in Bang Tango, no-one really saw that coming.

The band were called Worry Beads, and Knight finally got the chance to jam, which he rarely did when he was competing with likes of Ratt and Motley Crue for teenage rocker dollars.

Worry Beads gigged around LA, but things didn’t really take off until Knight hooked back up with his old bandmate Tremalgia in 2003. Calling themselves Gravy, and adding a fat Hammond organ to the guitar-heavy mix, the band self-released Bones, an album full of funky, bell-bottomed, ’70s freedom rock jams.

Having found their groove, Gravy once again morphed into Worry Beads, and they haven’t looked back since. Their fourth album, Spittin’ Iron, has just been released, and although it bears little resemblance to anything Knight wrote in Bang Tango, fans of bare-chested 70s boogie will love it.

Part Black Crowes, part Govt. Mule, Spittin’ Iron is jam rock without all the boring bits.

Here, courtesy of the band, is Up On The Mountain.

If you dig it, the album is available directly from the band at their website: worrybeads.com