Jump The Crutch FREE

About Jump The Crutch

New York Newsday Revue
DEBUT ALBUM GROOVES TO A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE
BY RAFER GUZMAN

November 21, 2003
The debut CD by Gordo Gringo, the tough-to-pigeonhole band led by former Wheatus member and producer Phil Jimenez, starts out with the faint crackle of a stylus on vinyl, segues into a groovy banjo riff, then proceeds to run through nearly an hour's worth of infectious, danceable rock.

It's easily the year's peppiest, sunniest disc, though Jimenez says it has serious undertones. The title, "Jump the Crutch," calls for society to get rid of its myriad hang-ups. The cover shows two crutches plastered with symbols: A dollar bill, various flags, the Star of David, several pills. If you look carefully, you can even spot the blue-and-gold checked cover of the self-titled Wheatus album.

"Had I gone on in Wheatus, then I would have been leaning on it, leaning on a past success," Jimenez explains.

Instead, Jimenez formed his current multiculti music troupe, whose members range from Hispanic to Haitian to plain ol' Caucasian. That may explain why they can veer from Jamaican ska to Latin rhythms, and also feel free to crack jokes such as "Lost, like a Mexican in China/Like a Greek without a diner" (from the tune "Diva With No Hair").

"It's a politically incorrect record," says Jimenez. "We're completely diverse and we come from lots of different backgrounds, but we're not going to pretend that there aren't differences. We dig in."