When a band’s square-shaped business card has a photographic image of a saltine on one side and the two types of tunes available on the other – Country and Western – that’s an instant clue something unique is on this musical menu. 

With a goal to bring back the “classics,” The Soda Crackers – a five-piece band whose average age barely cracks the 30-something barrier – are in full swing these days. Make that – full Bakersfield Sound with a nice helping of Western Swing thrown in as a side dish of sorts. 

What started as a group of Southern Californian musicians – all with other “day jobs” – gathering in garage jam sessions turned into their first paid performance in April 2021 for a slot at the “Western Swing Out Weekender” in Tehachapi, Calif., a mountain community just east of the home to The Bakersfield Sound. 

Bakersfield is also “home base” for two of the Crackers – brothers Zane and Felix Cooper Adamo – so booking additional gigs in Kern County seemed like a natural next step for the band. 

The Soda Crackers have brought their honky-tonk playlist to multiple venues throughout Taft and Bakersfield, including performances at Oildorado Days, the Taft Moose Lodge anniversary event, the opening of The Bakersfield Sound exhibit at the Kern County Museum, the Kern-tucky event in the Kern River Valley, special events at The Cuyama Buckhorn and, as a bucket-list highlight in April, gracing the stage at Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace. 

“I was born and raised in Bakersfield and grew up on Western Swing music,” says Zane Adamo, 29, who serves as the band’s rhythm guitarist, lead vocalist and second fiddler. “My brother, Cooper and I started taking fiddle lessons when we were 6 and 5, then played locally with a group of musicians who knew and loved The Bakersfield Sound and Western Swing genres when that was THE music of the time.” 

Back when the Adamo brothers were too young to drive themselves to the local senior centers where they once performed, the little fiddlers served up what their older audience craved – a chance to turn back time. 

And now, The Soda Crackers introduce The Bakersfield Sound and Western Swing to concertgoers closer to their ages as well. Among the band’s most popular musical renditions are: “Faded Love,” “Folsom Prison Blues, Lone Star Beer & Bob Wills Music,” “Swingin’ Doors,” “Love’s Gonna Live Here,” and “Mind Your Own Business.” 

And just for a dash more “local ingredients,” lead fiddler Felix Cooper Adamo adds his own vocals and a crowd-pleasing Kern County-fied verse to “I’ve Been Everywhere, Man” that mentions just about every little local town, including Arvin, Lamont, Shafter, Wasco and Porterville.

“We knew there could be an audience for these songs being played by a new generation of musicians,” Zane Adamo says. “It’s been great to see the music live on with original fans of it and then find some new fans along the way.” 

Western Swing is the unmistakably Texas-style sound popularized by fiddle legend Bob Wills in the 1930-40s dance halls. It traveled through Texas, Oklahoma and the lower Great Plains, combining country string bands with old-time fiddle traditions and big-band jazz. 

Dust Bowl migrants brought the music with them as they headed west for better prospects, which directly influenced Bakersfield greats, Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, who would each contribute to the twangier, edgier Bakersfield Sound. 

What the two musical styles have in common – and where The Soda Crackers happily pick up the baton with their own stamp – is getting people out on to the dance floor. Sometimes, even when there isn’t room for one! 

“Nothing makes us happier than to watch people move around tables and chairs and make space for dancing – that’s what this music is meant for,” Adamo says. 

In addition to the Adamo brothers, The Soda Crackers also include Nick Green on pedal steel; Jesus “Chuy” Holguin on stand-up bass; and, when he has availability, much in-demand Bakersfield drummer, Cesareo Garaza. Other “local guest Crackers” have been known to add to this musical recipe as well. 

Although available for hire, The Soda Crackers don’t charge people to attend their concerts. Tips, of course, are always welcomed – especially since most of the band members drive over the Grapevine for the opportunity to serve up their special dish of The Bakersfield Sound and Western Swing. 

Soda crackers (the food version) might be cheap, but gas sure isn’t!

Tipping the Stetson hat that covers his scruffy hair, Lasers Lasers Birmingham carries on the legacy of hard living, left of center country music from the city of angels.

Owen says he is inspired by classic country but with themes that are very “un-country”.  Explaining further he said, “I believe the job of the artist is to report on their time, place and experience.  So, it would be inauthentic of me to attempt to sound exactly like my country music heroes.” With a knack for lyrics, phrasing and songwriting, Owen accomplishes what he sets out to do and The Daily Country has described his music as, “…awash in modern day storytelling that retains true, traditional country sensibilities.”  

You can tell it will be an atypical night just by scanning the crowd at a Lasers Lasers Birmingham show.  Mohawked fans mingled with unironic cowboy hats, and some country-loving fans bring their kids along. Every show has a few guarantees:  Self-aware cowboy songs ranging from sarcastic to tender, an engaging performance where the audience is encouraged to shout out or sing along, and at some point, you will witness something simultaneously familiar and absolutely brand new.