My name's Josh. Anyway, on with the review. As you can see, I live in Fredericksburg, VA. Dave Smalley works for my paper that I get every day. I have had the pleasure of meeting Dave numerous times. One of my friends' brother actually started a band with Dave to perform at the very first The Big One here and I could hear them play in his basement when I went over. It was amazing. Dave is an extremely nice guy. He cares about his fans, his band, and his music. It seems like he was never in it for the money. All he cared about was seeing the crowd have fun at his shows. He doesn't own a huge house or 20 cars like most major musicians. He's not even considered a celebrity here. We all respect him as a person and as a songwriter. I've seen him walking through some stores that I go to, and while I might say hello to him, I don't bother him. He's a normal guy, just like every one else. That's what makes him and his band so appealing. They play a kick ass show and it's always a memorable experience. Now to the record. This is not the best Down By Law record out there. I'm not saying it isn't any good because it certainly is. But it just can't hold up to some of their best songs like Gruesome Gary or Punk As Fuck. While I like the tribute to AC/DC since they influenced tons of bands I listen to today, I can't say as much for Sublime. I never cared for them and I never saw the appeal that others did. But nonetheless, overall this is a great album. I would pick up punkrockacademyfightsong or Punkrockdays, since the latter is their greatest hits, if you are a newbie to Down By Law. Down By Law is one of the few great, down to earth bands that are solely in it for the music and the fans. If that isn't enough to get you to check them out, then just remember that they're actually one of those few that are truly great.
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