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Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Kevin Blackwell of Sassparilla

Sassparilla is a Portland, Oregon–based “punk-Americana” / roots-rock band that plays like a bar fight with a backbeat—in the best possible way. Led by singer-songwriter Kevin “Gus” Blackwell, the band blends the stomp of old American traditions with the bite and speed of punk, creating a sound that feels like hill country blues and old-time string-band music dragged into a loud, modern room and turned loose.

At the center of Sassparilla is Gus: a frontman with a storyteller’s eye and a punk’s refusal to sanitize the truth. His songs pull from the dirt-under-the-fingernails side of Americana—hard luck, bad decisions, late-night redemption, and the kind of humor you develop when life doesn’t always go your way. But instead of delivering those stories softly, Sassparilla hits them with volume, swagger, and a live energy that turns every chorus into a shout-along.

Their shows are the stuff people describe as “sweaty” for a reason. Sassparilla doesn’t do polite. They do movement. They do momentum. The band comes out swinging with raucous grooves, fast pivots, and a rhythm section that keeps the floor bouncing. One minute it’s a gritty, hypnotic blues stomp; the next it’s a punk-fueled sprint with a rootsy hook that sticks in your head for days. That tension—heritage versus chaos—is exactly where Sassparilla lives.

Musically, the band pulls from Americana’s deep well: hill country blues, back-porch folk, and old-time string-band grit. But they filter it all through a punk lens—stripped-down, urgent, and allergic to anything that feels fake. The result is roots music with teeth: loud enough for rock clubs, raw enough for dive bars, and honest enough to make the stories land.

Sassparilla is built for the stage and for the people who come to shows to feel something real. If you like your Americana rough-edged and your punk with a little dust on it, this is your band. And if you catch them live, don’t be surprised if you walk out sweaty, smiling, and a little hoarse from singing along.

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