review from Punk Planet #73:
by myths mistold
Lots of Folks know Salinas, California for its place in literature, where John Steinbeck culled narratives of the working class quietly wrestling with the American dream. Migrant workers, a darker shade of brown, continue to settle in that town in the tradiation of pursuing happiness through hard labor. It's a new narrative of immigrants, ones who have come to this country carrying with them the inalienable right to raise families against a culture who have deemed them illegal aliens. Rum & Rebellion was born from this history and hypocrisy, describing their music as "straight from the heart and a bit from the hips." George Sanchez, guitarist and vocalist, spins stories so honest and sincere you feel like you're listening to a friend while perched on a barstool under amber lights. With bassist Joe Hunt and drummer Scott MacDonald, Rum & Rebellion (R & R) churn out country-inspired folk-esque music that is reminiscent of Fifteen and Against Me!, with seething ferocity and deeply personal odes. R & R offers us a type of socio-political commentary that is missing from our collective music collection, shedding light on a community built by migrant workers and their daily plight. Sanchez's voice strains, course and rough, like the words to his songs, wrapping us in stories of death and the living who are slowly dying ("Oh Salinas," "El Corrido de Oscar") and bittersweet tales of the heart ("Bye Bye Anne," "This Sin"). This DIY record is free from any pretense or illusions of grandeur, put out by the band itself. There's humility in their songs, where you feel like they're trying the best they can, and that's all we really want. The reality of revolution is that it's a slow upheaval, a marathon -- not a sprint. R & R knows that it takes one step at a time: "Used to be a socialist and I used to carry a card / I used to sell our paper to the students in the yard / Wondered why no one bought it / then I walked into the street. / Realized no one bought it ‘cause they need something to eat." ("Turning Point").
-- Amy Adoyzie
