New York City-based band Firewater features the vocals and songwriting of ex-Cop Shoot Cop frontman Tod Ashley. The group's second release to date, The Ponzi Scheme, blends elements of humor and mystique into a highly listenable bag of pop rock. "We weren't drinking as much when we recorded this album," Ashley commented, comparing the CD to debut release Get Off the Cross, We Need the Wood for the Fire. The new CD The Ponzi Scheme (named after the turn-of-the-century Italian immigrant credited for inventing the get-rich-quick pyramid schemes of today) is a bit bizarre. It contains a couple of oddball instrumentals and is housed in a CD sleeve whose mix of religious and monetary symbols had me in a slight state of consternation, if not epilepsy, upon first glance. Ashley's songs are interesting enough and offer up a respectable inventory of lyrical nuggets. I particularly liked the line, "The brain is making promises the body cannot keep," (from the tune "Green Light"). All in all, a close listen to Firewater and it becomes apparent that it's no accident the band is signed to a major label and that one of their songs, "Another Perfect Catastrophe" is included in the Clay Pigeons soundtrack (also an enjoyable CD, by the way, which includes other gems such as "1229 Sheffield" from the Verve Pipe).

If you're looking for finely crafted compositions and keenly adept musicianship, you'll definitely be barking up the wrong CD should you throw Scandal, Controversy & Romance on the changer. However, if you like good-time, infectious rock'n'roll, the New York City-based band, The Prissteens deliver it like few other bimbos can. This three-quarters all-girl group (drummer Joe Vincent is decidedly male) cranks out Ronettes-like ditties that leave you wanting more candy with each bubble-gum vignette they pump out. The Prissteens can't really play, per se, but that is their charm -- their songs are so damn fun, it doesn't matter. Lori Yorkman, Leslie Day, Tina Canellas, and Vincent have the perfect formula -- no heavy lifting to the umpteenth degree. Excuse me now, I feel like getting up and doing the mashed potatoes.

St. Huckleberry have come a long way since their beginnings some five years ago. On their recent debut release, Long Way Home, which is already garnering label interest for the band, St. Huckleberry sound polished and focused. Michael Gallucci's sandpaper vocals, clearly the band's main highlight, stride confidently above the rising and ebbing electric folk music. This is not to take away from the fine showing from back-up musicians which include wife Laura on "mucho violatudes, keys, and all critical band tunings." Hailing from Middle Island, New York, St. Huckleberry bring the Bob Dylan school of singer-songwriting into the late 1990s with a nice blend of humor and heart. Take my suggestion and catch the band live. You can check their Web site for upcoming gigs or to purchase their recent work-of-art, Long Way Home.

Here in New York, the best that local bands can often hope for, when gigging around town, is to receive an occasional free drink ticket. I've come to learn that out west, bands gig at ski lodges to receive free lift tickets. Either way, I imagine, one gets that long sought-after "high." Nevertheless, the String Cheese Incident deserve far more than a few free runs on the expert trail and, in fact, they appear to be on their way to getting their due. Intricately weaving in and out of progressive sounds from bluegrass to jazz and funk, this five-man band's music is anything but cheesy. It's serious hip-moving grooves and toe-tapping jams along with an occasional perfectly blended harmony. The Colorado-based band has recently come down from the Rockies to tour the country from coast to coast, so watch for them. Their three-hour long concerts have already garnered them a fanatical fan base who, I've been told, follow them as far as the Caribbean (but then who couldn't use a good excuse to take trip down to Jamaica).