Performer Magazine Southeast, July 2006
One gets the impression that this is what Nick Kane was meant to be doing. Straight-up, free-flowing rocknroll, meandering casually from style to style, the guitars voice unharnessed, uninfluenced and, most importantly, given oxygen to breathe. As a former guitarist for the pop-infused country Grammy winners the Mavericks, radio-friendly riffs were the name of the game for Kane back in the 90s. Oh, what a cryin shame.
Since then, Kane has appeared to discover a more suitable calling, teaming with bassist Rick Taylor and drummer Joe Scheibelhoffer to form the Balls, a wildly creative instrumental rock trio hailing from Nashville but miles away from the marriage of commercialism and country music.
Not hell-bent themselves on self-classification, the Balls can be safely tossed in the rock bin. The bands 2006 release, Come Out Swingin, takes instrumental music through the backroads of classic rock, country, grunge, and prog-rock with raw, intoxicating arrangements.
"Dog Eat Dog" begs to be played live and loud in some smoky bar-bouncing between hard guitars and melodic riffs while "The Last Ride" charts a long, unusual course, seemingly telling a story set in the old West.
The slow, escalating "Link" - a live piece - takes a vastly different approach than the revolving guitar on "The Ayatollah". The trio even takes a stab at Pachelbels suite, appropiately named "Pachelballs", showcasing Kanes talent for splashing a rock element on just about anything.
While Come Out Swingin may be a form of liberation for Kane, its a gift to rock fans - and not just those with a taste for instrumental rock. With this unbridled, dynamic effort, Kane is finally where he needs to be.
Peter Stuart

waddaya waitin' fer? buy the cd!!