The Subdudes are a bit of a throwback. A group of older gentleman that grew up in the 60’s when America was at war with Communism and the words “love” and “peace” had the power to change the world. Yeah, you got it. They’re hippies.

To me, The Subdudes represent a refreshing departure from a lot of contemporary bands that play as loud and aggressive as possible. Instead of preaching dissent and using sex to sell albums, The Subdudes are masters of the soft-sell. They sing about love, tolerance, and friendships. “One Word (Peace)” is a prime example of their writing style.

This songs appears on Behind the Levee, an album produced by Keb’ Mo’. Just like many Keb’ Mo’ albums, Behind the Levee features well-recorded audio that is realistic and polished without feeling over-produced. I recommend picking up the entire album in the best-quality format available to you. If you like high-quality audio, Behind the Levee will not dissapoint.

The guitar playing on this cut is very good and epitomizes the band’s bare-bones approach. Tommy Malone’s lead guitar playing has a bluesy heritage and it fits right in within the cajun-rock vibe.

I know this is a guitar blog, but I find the drums particularly interesting in this band. If you listen closely, the drums are performed a bit differently than you might expect. Instead of using a hi-hat and a snare drum like most drummers, The Subdudes’ drummer Steve Amedée uses a tambourine. Steve’s drum kit includes just a tambourine (which he holds in his left hand), a kick drum, a cymbal and occasionally a snare drum. Since Steve holds the tambourine in this left hand, he only uses his right hand to strike the instruments. Essentially, Steve plays one-handed.

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