.Freedom and Whiskey is:

.Freedom and Whiskey is a band from the Louisville Kentucky/Jeffersonville Indiana area. It is a combination of musical talents from several contributors. The music style varies from Rock to Blues and everything in between.

.Bill Goins plays guitar and sings. Mike Huettig plays drums, guitar, and sings. Griffin Torrance plays bass. Mark Hoekstra sings, plays harmonica and guitar. Other contributors on their first album were: Tina Goins, Debra Belt, Joyce Green, Rob Edwards, Todd Smith, and several others.

.Tina Goins, Bill’s wife helped the band conceptualize their first album and also helped with the creative aspects of the project. Bill Goins Sr. is currently working to help promote the band.
Bill Goins - Vocals and Guitar

.Bill Goins, lives in Jeffersonville Indiana and has played in several groups in the Louisville area. Bill co-wrote, co-produced and sang lead vocals on the first album. Some of Freedom and Whiskey’s material from the first album was recorded at Bill’s studio. The band recorded the entire second album there as well. Bill co-engineered and co-produced the majority of the material from both albums.
Mike Huettig - Drums/Guitar/Vocals

.Mike Huettig, recorded and toured with “Days of the New” from 2001 through 2003. He plays the drums and guitar on Freedom and Whiskey’s first album. On the second album, Mike plays drums, guitar, and sings. Mike co-wrote, co-produced and co-engineered the bands first and second album as well. He is from Louisville, Kentucky and has played with several groups in the area.
Griffin P. Torrance - Bass

.Griffin P. Torrance lives in Louisville, Kentucky. Griffin co-wrote and plays bass guitar on some of the first album and co-wrote a song on the second album. Griffin has played bass with many bands in the Louisville area for several years. Griffin has made several creative contributions to the band and has also helped with promotional material.
Mark Hoekstra - Harmonica/Vocals/Guitar

.Mark Hoekstra, veteran Chicago blues-man, brings his musical talents with harmonica on the first album and second album. Mark also contributed his soulful lyrics and vocals as well as some slide guitar on the second album. Mark has played and recorded with many blues artists such as: The Little Dippers, West Side Heat, and Steve Arvey. Mark also worked on the score for the “Pee Wee Reese” biography.

.© 2006 Freedom and Whiskey

FREEDOM AND WHISKEY releases their second album “THE ROAD” in september of 2006.

FREEDOM AND WHISKEY “The Road”
www.freedomandwhiskey.com
www.myspace.com/freedomandwhiskey

Ahhhh….what a name for a southern rock band : Freedom and Whiskey. Great name! And “The Road” isn’t a bad name for a southern rock album either. Freedom and Whiskey use a strange formula to conjure up a southern rock disc. First they take classic southern rock (The Road, End of My Rope, Whiskey and Water), mix in some southern fried music with a dash of alternative rock (In Your Dreams, Shine, Rearrange) and the big surprise, a little bit of thrash metal (Hollywood, Mystify). A strange combo at times, but it works.

When the band plays classic southern rock, they play it better than anyone has in at least the last ten years. “The Road”, “End of My Rope”, and “Whiskey and Water” are classic rock. Traditional rebels will love all three songs. “End of My Rope” has shades of Jim Morrison in the vocals. All three are classic.

The alternative songs work fairly well but not as effective but it does supply variety. “In My Dreams” is southern rock with just a twist of modern rock and it is a solid rock tune that could make it on modern FM radio. “One of Those Days” also effectively walks a fine line between southern rock and modern rock. It comes across as a very modern 38 Special type tune. “Shine” strikes me as what Scott Weiland and his old band Stone Temple Pilots would sound like recording a southern rock song.

The thrash metal tunes definitely show that this band can rock. “Mystify” and “Hollywood” borrow more from Metallica than Lynyrd Skynyrd. Younger rock listeners may even perfer this style over the traditional southern tunes, but the jury is still out on if southern rock purists will accept these songs. At any rate, these guys can play. The drumming is relentless. There’s a couple of hardrockking instrumentals on board as well, as these guys like to outright rock.

Freedom and Whiskey is a band of first-rate muscians. The tempo of the music definitely keeps the cd from falling into a rut. I certainly suggest checking out this Louisville, Kentucky band which includes Mike Huettig who played bass for Days of the New from 2001 to 2003. If you are a fan of southern rock or hard rock in general, you’ll like it. These guys play classic style rock but are not stuck in the past. I give it a Gatoriffic A -. Chomp on!!!

reviewed by:
Alligator Jackson