Atomic Blast

You know how some songs just hit you right between the eyes the first time the needle drops? That's the deal with Atomic Blast, the opener from Tony Spinner's Saturn Blues album that the Zoo Crew is spinning for all you Zoo Freaks out there on THE ZOO. This track comes charging out of the gate like a freight train full of blues-rock attitude, with Spinner's guitar snarling and his voice cutting through the mix. It's the kind of deep cut that makes you crank the volume and lean back in the chair, feeling that old freeform radio energy that built this station in the first place.

Saturn Blues landed in 1993 on Mike Varney's Blues Bureau International label, and Atomic Blast sits right up front as track one, clocking in around four minutes and fifty-one seconds. Spinner wrote the whole record himself, handling the vocals and guitar, with John Onder on bass and the legendary Aynsley Dunbar pounding the drums. They cut it at Prairie Sun Recording Studios up in Cotati, California, with Mark Rennick engineering and mixing alongside Spinner as co-producer. Varney himself produced the thing, and you can hear that Blues Bureau stamp all over it: tight, fiery, no-nonsense guitar rock with a blues backbone. Some folks who dug the album back then said it felt dedicated in spirit to the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and listening to the way Spinner bends those notes and digs into the groove, it is not hard to see why. One listener even said that when Atomic Blast exploded through the headphones, it was clear something special had just shown up.

The cover itself has that wild psychedelic swirl of colors framing Spinner holding his guitar, which fits the high-octane feel of the music. Atomic Blast sets the tone for the rest of the record, which runs through tunes like She's My Everything, Freedom, Hey Zombie, and on down to Drivin' All Night. It is blues-rock done with real bite, the kind of album that sat a little under the radar for a lot of people but still gets the blood pumping when it comes around on the dial. Spinner has kept that independent streak through his career, preferring to steer clear of the big-label compromises and just play what feels right. That spirit shows up early on this debut, where the songs come across honest and full of fire instead of polished for radio playlists.

Spinner came up in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, born Anthony Louis Spinner on June 9, 1963. Music was already in the house. His folks spun records by the fifties rockers: Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Elvis, and Ray Charles. His dad especially dug that rhythm and blues feel, and Spinner soaked it up. They watched the television music shows too, the ones with Johnny Cash, Sonny and Cher, Tom Jones. It all planted the seed. At age fourteen, after catching the Woodstock movie and seeing Hendrix and Alvin Lee from Ten Years After tear it up, he turned to his dad and said he needed a guitar. That was the turning point. He took a few lessons, enough to get the barre chords and the basics, then started figuring the rest out by ear from the records.

From there he put together early bands around town, playing the local spots and talent shows. There was not a huge scene in Cape Girardeau, so he and his buddies had to hustle for gigs, even driving across the river into Illinois to talk club owners into giving them a shot. Persistence paid off. By the early eighties he had moved down to Arkansas, landing in Jonesboro and joining up with a band called White River Monster. That is where he met his wife, who still teases him about being a Yankee from Missouri. He kept working the clubs, opening for bigger acts at times, and building his chops on the guitar while singing lead. Influences stayed rooted in the blues and rock greats: Hendrix, Duane Allman, Rory Gallagher, Robin Trower, Johnny Winter. He has said those players still sit at the top of his list.

The path led to session and touring work, including time with Pat Travers, before the Toto opportunity came along in 1999. David Paich personally picked him to join as backup guitar and backing vocals, and Spinner ended up handling lead on Stop Loving You when they played it live. He stayed with the band through their world tours until the hiatus in 2008, appearing on the live records from that stretch. After that he linked up with Paul Gilbert for some European dates. Through it all, the solo work continued. Saturn Blues was the first of those records, followed by My '64 and Crosstown Sessions on the same label, then more on his own terms later. He has talked about preferring the freedom of doing his own thing, playing the clubs in Europe where the audiences dig the blues-rock groove he brings, and keeping the focus on writing and performing without outside strings attached.

Listening to Atomic Blast now, you hear that whole journey in the notes. It is a Missouri kid who got hooked on the records and the movies, picked up the guitar, worked the clubs, and put it all into a debut album that still sounds fresh and dangerous. The Zoo Crew keeps spinning these kinds of cuts because they connect the past to the present for the Zoo Freaks, the same way Spinner's music carries those early influences forward. Crank it up and let the blast hit.