Video Review: BERDOO Colors by Heather Dawson

BERDOO

Colors

To call Berdoo a band would be a misrepresentation of the facts. Berdoo is actually the thirty-plus year project of JC Berdoo. Biker, guitarist, soundtrack composer and all round hard core kickass renaissance man, JC Berdoo continues to create art worthy of praise in this current overall ‘passion drought’ we are experiencing. The track I'm reviewing today, Colors, was published April of this year on Youtube in connection with Berdoo's masterfully planned Summer 2016 tour. This excursion titled the 'Military Vets Rolling Concert Tour' was billed by Berdoo as a 'one of a kind rolling concert tour that puts Vets to work and 100% of the raised funds...' going directly to our American veterans and their families. A noble endeavor and one that I think even middle Americans can get behind despite Berdoo’s biker status. This video seemed to be sort of a call to arms to musicians to load up on guitars rather than guns and put their talent to work to support our warriors. (I have to tell you I know AD would have jumped on this had we heard about it earlier).

Berdoo has a way of banding people together with his words of positivity and enthusiasm. The song 'Colors' is droning but in that hypnotic, energizing way like a good chant. You want to get involved ... you want to sway... you want to be inside this song. The video is so simple it's genius: just a grainy, b/w photo of the man himself with a dancing, rippling and waving Stars and Stripes overlay. The flag seems to be undulating to the sound of the heavy, groove guitars Berdoo is laying down. It;s, again, hypnotic, even trance inducing and once the distorted vocals come in you’re hooked. It’s a thing of beauty really. The track clocks in at 6 minutes 18 seconds but put it on a loop for a yoga class and you would have a beautiful astral plane conduit. Let’s remember Berdoo has been doing this since the early 80s yet this tune is as fresh as daisies. You gotta hand it to a musician who can ebb and flow without sounding forced or like a mimic. We get a lovely bit of alright in this embracing warm sound.

I want to get back to the idea of the community Berdoo has built. There are many scenes out there and they all come together for causes locally and on a broader catchment. But what we have here is a leader who can pull together the citizenry to push forward those among us who are most deserving but greatly ignored. We like our way of life but many of us don’t want to think about the way we are able to sustain it. We don’t want to know how the sausage is made we just want to eat it. Berdoo has taken a bold step in bringing us together to help without being self-aggrandizing or precious about it. Get out here help these folks and rock out. Sentiments we could all get behind these days. -Heather Dawson