I have been a fan of Jeremy Porter and The Tucos for quite some time. I have seen the band play live only once. You can read about that HERE. I was honored to get an advance listen to their new record, Sell Their Souls. Go buy your copy right now!
ORDER JEREMY PORTER SELL THEIR SOULS HERE!
Pencil Storm’s own Jeremy Porter and his band Jeremy Porter and The Tucos have just released a new record. It is appropriately titled Sell Their Souls. I say appropriately titled, because I think they really may have met the devil at the crossroads (or whatever that story is) and signed away their afterlife. There is no other explanation for how they made a record this good. For Sell Their Souls, the band has steered toward a harder rocking sound. That direction is squarely in my wheelhouse, so I couldn’t be happier. This new record is must listen. Jeremy seems to be expanding his guitar prowess, or at least showing it off a bit more than he maybe has in the past. The rhythm section is rock solid behind Jeremy; long-time bassist Jake Riley, long-time (now former) drummer Gabriel Doman and newly-added drummer Troy Toma. Even the cover art on the album is their best yet. The juxtaposition of the red awnings over a snowy, gray, mostly black & white landscape and photo of the band is just really pleasing to the eye. Let’s take a stroll through the track list and then pose a few questions to Mr. Porter himself.
Jeremy Porter and The Tucos Sell Their Souls (GTG Records)
1. “Nutmeg” The lead track on the record fades in with a buzzing guitar and then kicks in hard. I felt excitement for the record’s potential just ten seconds in. The guitar-heavy, punk sound of this song makes it possibly my favorite track on the record. The lyrics about this oddly named girl seem to tell the story of a lost love. I particularly like the lyric “She’ll be the one who’s standing there without me by her side. Nutmeg’s doing fine.” Jeremy’s guitar work from about 1:50 to 2:20 in this song is inspiring—it’s thirty seconds of guitar bliss. I can’t say enough good things about this track.
2. “Fuss” Track number two was the first song released from the record with its accompanying video. You can check that video out below. This song keeps up the pace and is right there with track one. Great lyrics, killer guitar and rock solid rhythm. It’s pop-punk heaven—and not pop-punk like that emo crap the kids like today, I’m talking left of the dial pop-punk like The Replacements. Two tracks in and I am truly blown away.
Click to watch the video for “Fuss” by Jeremy Porter and The Tucos
3. “Rats in the Suburbs” Jesus, I guess you might as well keep your foot on the gas. Amazing hooks in this one. I’m loving the call & response at about the 1:50 mark—“There’s rats, there’s rats, there’s rats in the suburbs too!” Another stellar 4-minute blast of guitar rock. This is the best run of three songs to kick off a record that I have heard in years.
4. “Murielle” This track starts with a drum refrain and some subdued bass and then guitar soon after. It has decidedly slowed the pace from tracks 1-3. It stays fairly slow and even gets a little psychedelic at the very end. I like it, but not as much as the first three.
5. “Rosencrantz” We’re on track five and there’s another twist. The guitar in this song is crunchy and a little bluesy. It’s heavy. I hear Jack White maybe, I don’t know. And I don’t know what the song is about. Is this the character from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet?” There are parts of this song that sound a little like “Downriver Song” from the previous Tucos record, Candy Coated Cannonball. And I count that as a good thing.
6. “Change the Rules” This track gets back to being a little more like the first three, but it’s less punk and more rock. It slows and builds at times, reaching a crescendo of sorts. It is anthemic. (I think that’s a real word.)
7. “The Real McCoy” Track seven sounds almost lounge-like at the start but picks up the tempo and is a really catchy tune. It slows down and speeds up throughout. It’s decidedly slower overall, but I dig it.
8. “Strychnine Bouillabaisse” Oooooh man. Jeremy and the boys are finding some anger inside on this one. And expressing it through guitar playing, drum pounding and songwriting; much to my delight. This is a rock n’ roll song. I’ll say it again, this time with certainty— Sell Their Souls is my favorite Tucos record.
9. “Rollaway” And now we’re back to more of the power-pop side of the house. The lyrics are top notch as always: “A rollaway ain’t what I had in mind, if this ain’t the place and this ain’t the time, then maybe I’ll just let myself out / Because a rollaway ain’t what this is about.” It seems that the vast majority of songs by this band are all about love that’s not working out, but the story is always told in such a clever and catchy way. There’s always room for a little interpretation.
10. “Watchin’ Otters Play” Okay here’s a bit of a departure, a song that has clapping and bluegrass-sounding guitar. The song made me think of Jeremy Porter’s last solo record, which seemed pretty country/bluegrass to me. I don’t hate the song at all, but I’ll admit this one won’t be making my custom Tucos playlist.
11. “Murielle (Reprise)” This is instrumental and obviously revisits track four. I gotta ask Jeremy to explain this to me. It seems unnecessary. But remember, I’m not a musician.
12. “Best to Run” The final track on the record is yet another gem, ending things on another high note. I feel the power-pop in this one much like “Rollaway.” Damn, this is good record.
Before I get to the man himself, let me just say that if you read this far and you’re thinking it’s a bit of hyperbole, it’s not. I would tell my friend Jeremy if I didn’t like the record. Hell, I don’t like track ten too well and I don’t get the reprise. But this record is fan-frickin’-tastic. The lyrics are awesome and the rocking is cathartic. Way to go Jeremy, Gabriel and Jake, and welcome aboard Troy. What a banger. Go see these guys if you can. It’ll take a very long drive, but I might try to make it Pittsburgh.
INTERVIEW WITH JEREMY PORTER
Jeremy Porter, Detroit 2026 (Photo: Noreen Porter)
JCE: Jeremy, thank you for the advance listening opportunity. Congratulations on making one hell of a record. I’ve been looking forward to this one ever since I heard you say it was taking a harder rock direction. Was that just what you were feeling, or is it something you consciously set out to do for this one?
JP: Hey JCE! So glad you've been into the record and always grateful for your honest opinions! I gave up consciously setting out to do anything from a musical direction when I formed The OffRamps as a pure alt-country band in 2001, and it ended up being a straight power pop-rock band all the way! From that point on, the music will be whatever it is, and I'll just roll with it. We'll discuss things like recording approach, sound direction, all that, but the songs write themselves, and we demo, vet, and release the ones that work the best as a collective album. Maybe I listened to too much hard-rock and metal during the pandemic, I don't know!
JCE: This one took a long time to make. Any reasons why? And on that note, I am sure it was tough losing Gabe on drums, but from the outside looking in, I guess things turned out fine—did Troy play some of the drums on the record?
JP: Actually, Troy didn't sign on ‘til after the album was 98% done being mixed, so he's not on it. Gabe sorta stepped down in November/December I think, and Troy came on around then, but very much in the spirit of Tommy Ramone stepping down from playing drums with The Ramones but staying on as a producer and writer, Gabe was and still is, and will always be part of the family.
Gabriel with The Tucos in Flint, Michigan, supporting Sponge in 2018 (Photo: EonZero)
Losing Gabe behind the kit was devastating. He's been my right-hand dude and one of my best friends since Day One of this band, and it was not something I wanted to happen. That said, Troy has stepped in and given us a kick in the ass that we probably needed. He's a great drummer and a great guy, and the icing on the cake is that Gabe is still setting mics and pushing faders for us and helping on mixes and criticizing my sloppy guitar playing same as always, so we're a happy family. He ain't hittin' the skins, but he ain't off the hook!
The Tucos circa 2026 with Troy Toma (center) on drums (Photo Gabrielle Porto)
It took way too long for a couple reasons. A little bit in we learned that we wouldn't able to tour that year, so that took the fire off the project and I switched gears and finished my solo project Dynamite Alley, which was way closer to being done, and got that out in time to do about 80 shows over a year & a half to support it while we finished the record and figured out the touring situation. That change in direction and solo touring slowed Sell Their Souls way down, and that was the biggest reason. There were issues with mixing and mastering that were painful, but once I got off the road and re-focused we wrapped it up in short time.
JCE: Well since I love this thing soooo much, what about you? Where do you rank this one in your catalog?
JP: It's way too fresh for me to say, to be honest. It's my favorite thing I've ever done, which the most recent thing always is, and should be! But time is a great leveler and we'll see how I feel in a year or two. This was probably the most difficult album I’ve made, for no one's fault who was involved, it just got away from us, so I'm also a bit jaded and still too close to it. Now that it's out I don't have to listen to it for it for a while.
People seem to like Above the Sweet Tea Line and I like that one, and I think Don't Worry, It's Not Contagious (the two records with Patty) have held up well. I haven't listened to Candy Coated Cannonball in a while, so not sure where that one sits today sonically, but I think it has some really good songs and playing. Partner in Crime has some moments I really like, but I wouldn't say it's our best.
Jeremy Porter - Dynamite Alley - (GTG Records 2024)
I know it wasn't your jam, but Dynamite Alley is an album that's about as close to realizing a vision that I've ever had. Like, "I wanna do THIS." and then there it is a year later. It was really fun playing all over the place solo-acoustic and with The Wild Honey Collective supporting that. It was incredibly fulfilling for me, and while there are always things on a record I'd do differently, I feel good about that one.
JCE: Well just to be clear, I do enjoy Dynamite Alley from time-to-time. But you’re right, its not really my go-to from your catalog.
JP: Yep, I get that, and that’s kind of what a solo album is supposed to be, something different than the album, that the band wouldn’t necessarily do, and hopefully has some crossover appeal, but also has a slightly different audience. If it was material better suited for The Tucos, it would have been a Tucos record.
JCE: I do want to mention that your road blogs about touring on that record were super-fun to read. Everyone should check those out, and the ones I’m sure are coming for the Tucos tour.
JP: Thanks for that! People seem to enjoy those! I get strangers coming up to me all over the place telling me they read them. One guy in West Virginia told me once they're the perfect length for him to read when he's on the can! Haha! You may not know that they're archived online, going back to 2013 HERE. And yeah, we’re hitting it hard this fall, so keep an eye on the band Facebook page for daily road blogs!
JCE: Okay, is “Rosencrantz” about the Shakespeare/Hamlet character? If so, you must be far more cultured than me.
JP: I am not entirely sure to be honest! I had a Shakespeare class at 8 am in college but I slept through it and barely passed. So I had the name and the chorus as the song was coming together, and it kinda works with the whole "I see you're gathered to see me hang" thing. Is the singer Hamlet? Or is he Guildenstern? The beauty of lyrics is that it doesn't matter – he's both, and there's references to other things in there too. The line "I found a coin from the future in the pocket of my pants" is straight out inspired by a scene in the movie Somewhere in Time with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, filmed here in Michigan. The listener should assume and consume it however they want. I'm gonna stop while I'm ahead there, haha.
JCE: Tell me about “Rats in the Suburbs.” I grew up in the suburbs of D.C. And you’re in the Detroit suburbs, right? Put a little fidelity on that song for me.
JP: "Rats" is basically me going for an Aerosmith vibe in riffs, groove, and melody. Get Your Wings era, I guess. Lyrically, it's loosely about our little city that sits outside Detroit, I suppose. Just before the pandemic there was a big construction dig across town and word had it that it up-rooted a lot of rats. Then when COVID hit, all the restaurants shut down or went carry-out only, so their back-alley trash bin food sources were scarce, so they went into the neighborhoods. We saw a few, mostly on the trail cam, but occasionally in person, and never in the house thankfully. I've always been fascinated with vermin and wildlife that adapts to urban environments. The song basically wrote itself in an afternoon. It's probably going to the be the next video.
JCE: And while I’m on specific songs, are you the sole lyricist, or does the band contribute?
JP: I'm the songwriter in the band, music and lyrics, but we work on arrangements together, and the boys will sometimes chime in about parts or lyrics, or I'll ask for suggestions. We have a rule that there are no rules when we're writing, so anyone can suggest anything, whether it's "your" part or not. It's collaborative, but it varies. Sometimes a song just works right off as I brought it in, and sometimes we work on it together for weeks before it's ready.
Jake Riley at Black Sheep Audio recording Sell Their Souls
JCE: What is the reasoning for the “Murielle” reprise? Nothing wrong with it, but that just kind of lost me.
JP: Fair question! It accomplishes a couple things. "Murielle" was just too meandering and long when un-cut. It felt indulgent, and that's literally the LAST thing I ever want. I start getting heart palpitations when my songs approach four minutes. We didn't collectively love the song, and felt it worked a lot better shorter. But we loved the sitar/backward-guitar outro from Murielle and didn’t want to waste it either; the cut-back “Muri” felt unresolved, even though it needed it.
And side one of the vinyl was longer than side two, and it put it over that "too long for vinyl" length, so doing the reprise on side two evened the lengths of the sides out and worked better mechanically for the vinyl.
And finally, I loved how the Eagles did "Wasted Time" and then "Wasted Time (reprise)" on Hotel California – which is ultimately where the idea came from.
I think it's cool – I think it helps the flow at the end of the album, gets Murielle out without wearing out her welcome and lets Rosencrantz get his time in, puts all that sitar and backwards guitar work to good use, and gives folks like you something to ask questions about! If we do a "Second Ten Years" comp in 2030 maybe we'll include the full/uncut version because it was all from one take.
JCE: What has been the reaction to this record elsewhere? I have to believe it is being very well-received.
JP: Feedback has been really positive among friends and the few who've heard it. Press barrage will start next week now that the pre-sale is over. I hope everyone likes it as much as you seem to!
JCE: You’ve got a Midwest tour to support this record coming up. What do I need to do to convince you to hit the east coast so I don’t have to drive five hours to Pittsburgh to catch the band live? Any additional plans for early next year?
JP: First of all... COME TO PITTSBURGH, MAN! That's the last night of the tour, our first time in Pittsburgh since the before times, and a nice long set! First round for you and your lovely wife will be on me! But we'll get back out that way to see you eventually. We need to get back to Texas and the Deep South too. Those are the next two targets, with hopefully something in Europe on the horizon too. If I had it my way we'd play everywhere every year.
But yeah, this fall we’re heading out to Colorado and back, through Kansas, Missouri, and Tennessee with some other midwest stuff, then in December we’re doing Champaign and Cincy, then finishing in Pittsburgh, all three cities we don’t get to play nearly often enough!
JCE: I could ask questions all day long, but let me just leave this with you for some closing words of wisdom, and thank you, Jeremy. You just got your name very high on my list of favorite guitarists.
JP: Well, thank you so much, my friend. That means more than you can imagine. Playing guitar in a power pop-rock-roots trio has forced me to learn a style that fills in a lot of space, but I’m still a fan of guitar solos and riffs, and all the stuff I love about hard rock and metal. I'll never be Randy Rhoads, but I always try to play what's best for the song and try to push myself just over my ability. By the end of the tour, I'm usually playing things better than I was when I recorded them, so that's a sign of improvement, I guess. God knows I don't practice!
JCE, or John to his friends, was born in the Nation’s Capital. He grew up in the VA suburbs of D.C. His earliest musical memories are tied to a transistor radio with a single earphone that he carried everywhere listening to AM radio. His wife of 35 years says he’ll never grow up, and she’s exactly right.
He attributes that to his lifelong love affair with all things rock n roll.