Reckoning Productions

Sunday, December 03, 2006

By Jenny Fancy ...

Category: Music

Last night at Chocolate Park, Reckoning rocked the sleepy little town of Cascade, Maryland and Chocolate Park rocked them right back. From the very first song, the fans were on the dance floor shaking their groove things, banging their heads and waving horns. It was a show to remember.

A polished metal band, Tammy (singer), Mark (guitar), Paul (bass) and Keith (drums) play favorites from Judas Priest, Godsmack, Puddle of Mudd and more and even throw in some originals. They transition smoothly from song to song blending one to the next. It is obvious they intend to thrill the audience and keep them moving.

With a raw hard metal edge, Tammy sings songs that are predominately male and still manages to keep a sexy feminine air about her performance. Guitar riffs that will peal your skin, bass lines that bust a gut and drum rolls that rattle your skin all support her vocals with the masculinity to keep Reckoning's renditions balanced so as not to loose the original feelings in the songs the perform. Toward the end of the evening, Tammy stated that she has been asked, " When is she going to sing some 'girl shit?' " At that, Reckoning burned out Heart's Barracuda with a fire that that would have made the Wilson girls proud. With Tammy's infectious smile and an occasional holler of "Social!", the band keeps the tone playful.

My favorites of the evening were Nickleback's Figure You Out and Ozzie's War Pigs. During Figure You Out, Paul made his rounds through the crowd on his wireless bass getting up in people's faces for a one on one rock out while Tammy wandered the dance floor to dance with others. Ozzie's maniacal laugh at the beginning of War Pigs was perfectly duplicated and later in the song, Tammy prompted the fans to sing along. It is always an awesome show when the fans feel as if they are a part of what is happening.

Reckoning has been supporters of various benevolent causes in the past and this night, they were collecting money for a person who suffered a bike accident and they wanted to help this person have a merrier Christmas. A jar for collecting change was stationed at the bar and periodically, Tammy reminded people to drop their change.

Always the gracious hosts, Reckoning greeted fans between songs, made sure everyone had something to drink and believe it or not, emptied ashtrays. A menial task some might see as humbling, but in this writer's opinion, it just shows how much this band cares for those who come to listen. Sometimes the small things mean even more.

    As Bette Davis said in All About Eve, “Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.” Reckoning is a force of nature. They are gonna grab you by the balls and not let you up until they’re done.

    Reckoning is a four piece band out of Maryland that have been together now for three years. Tammy Keith on vocals is just a power house. Mark Bateman lays down the mean heavily distorted guitar. Steve Kuhn keeps the beat pounding hard. And Steve Nace puts down the bottom line. They are tight and as Bowie once said, “…band was all together…” (It is always a pleasure to review a bandt hat actually has musical ability!

    Reckoning’s new CD, Drink Me, is twelve songs with just a tear-it-up attitude. They are heavy, akin to Ozzy, Heart, Metallica,etc. You get the picture. Tammy’s voice reminds me in a lot of ways of the sexy sultry voice of Shirley Manson of Garbage. Just very emotive. Another comparison would be Lita Ford. She is one of those heavy alto female singers with a lot of power in their voices.

    Drink Me is a collection of twelve tunes that range in style from power ballad to straight balls-to-the-wall screamers. It is a roller coaster ride that is both thrilling and exhilarating. All the tunes on this disc were written by the band. It is indeed a collaborative effort.

    I really liked “Rhyme or Reason”, a chunky full-bodied peon to the “…fairy tale from hell…” Incorporating many familiar nursery rhymes it is an interesting artistic concept in telling the tale of a dysfunctional family.

    Another treat was “Dead Zone”, a slow tempo tune that utilizes Tammy’s voice in its full range. And the rest of the band backs her masterfully. A song of lament for a relationship.

    If this is your kind of music, run don’t walk to get your copy which is available at every live gig. And Reckoning puts on a hell of a wild live show.
Don’t be late, you never know what you’ll miss!!

Reckoning is a band that can deliver almost any sound a true rock fan desires. From the guttural and throaty vocal depths of Tammy Keith (lead vocals) to the almost spiritual yet driving and heavy guitar riffs from Mark Bateman (lead guitar), the ability to sing anything from Joan Jett to Metallica, this band has a huge rock range that is sure to please everyone in the crowd. Steve Kuhn, (drums) who briefly left the band is back, and he and Steve Nace (bass) create the pulse that jumpstarts the engine that drives Reckoning.

Although Reckoning has been known to be mostly a cover band, they are in the process of remaking the band with more originals, and new venues. Having recently taken on new management, they have added the new venues, such as The Vault in Baltimore, and are releasing 6 new songs. Some of their new venues require all original music, so there is more opportunity to see and hear what this band has to offer.

Tammy says that they have been in the studio, working furiously to create and fine-tune all of the new material. Reckoning has released one CD, Day of Reckoning, and a new cd is tentatively scheduled for release sometime in the next couple of months.

The band was formed after Mark and Tammy's previous band split up. They met with and added both Steve Kuhn and Steve Nace. Kuhn had just come from another band break up and Nace was looking for a change of pace. Nace had background in country/classic rock, but fit well with the other three and Reckoning was formed.

The shows themselves are highly entertaining. One can see a great combination of stage presence, personality in the artists, and enjoy favorite tunes while hearing some great originals.

Fearing Mind opened up early at the Tourist Inn Saturday night. Just caught the end of their show wanted to hear more of them, next time. Reckoning came on next and took everyone by surprise. They have a female lead singer with a strong voice and a spunky attitude. Most of the crowd was there to see Sinner the Judas Priest tribute band. But Tammy won this crowd over quick. With a "Rock Hard" voice and excellent stage performance. Doing covers from "Ozzy", "Disturbed" and "Godsmack" booming out the vocals with a well seasoned band with her. The Tourist Inn crowd just loved this band "Reckoning" from Maryland, up dancing and having a great party. Getting the crowd to party with chorizema and a powerful voice. Adding a couple of songs from their Cd "Drink Me" to make you just want more of "Reckoning". Hopefully they come back up north again soon. If not then they play the Baltimore and surrounding areas quite often. Check out their schedule on our search page.

Sinner from New York came on next to an already hyped up crowd .This is one of the best Judas Priest tribute bands I have ever seen. Everyone had a great time and the Tourist Inn people had a blast that they won't forget for awhile. Thanks to three really good bands "Fear MIND ", "Reckoning" and "Sinner".

Mike from Homegrownbands team
Musicians for musicians entertaining the world, what starts as a dream can
live in reality.