Black Dutch Sioux Lead Singer Ross Shifflett Talks About the Band’s First Trip to Abilene + More

There's a lot to love about Black Dutch Sioux. I was introduced to their music less than 2 months ago, and every song I've heard from the Ft. Worth-based rocking country band has solidified my appreciation of the quartet. That's why I'm looking forward to seeing the band play live at Jack Rabbit Slim's on Saturday, March 9th. That's also why I was excited that BDS lead singer Ross Shifflett took time to pay me a visit on the KEAN-105 afternoon show.

Of course, the main purpose for having Shifflett on the afternoon show was to talk up the band's maiden trip into Abilene to perform and give the Big Country the opportunity to get to know Black Dutch Sioux. Discussing the band's many musical influences, Ross tells us, "Well, the heavy metal definitely comes from the other two guys that were in the band originally. Josh, you know, on bass and harmonica, and JD on drums. They actually were in a heavy metal band together for a long time. Then John came in, you know, we call him the 'Blues Man', he definitely brought the blues factor...and I got that little country vibe, and we all agreed on we all liked Skynyrd and the ZZ Top sound...it definitely works for us.". Check out part one of our conversation:

In part two of the interview, I asked Shifflett if BDS has any problem finding places to play live, considering the diverse sound the band has. He told us "I don't think we've run into the problem...if 'Fall of '86' scares them off, then 'Cocaine Willy' will bring them back in...or 'Cold Wind Blow' where Josh plays harmonica. I think there's something in there for everybody...we've played metal clubs, we've played little country bars. We can fit in anywhere. You know, nobody leaves thinking we were the worst band ever. Everybody seems to like it everywhere we go.". Ross also explained the name, 'Black Dutch Sioux' during the second half of our conversation. Check it out:

After the visit to Abilene, Black Dutch Sioux will look forward to some key shows, including opening for Whiskey Myers, plus Jason Boland and Aaron Lewis at the Rebels and Roses Festival (May 9-11 in Tyler), and will also be playing at the Waylon Jennings Birthday Bash (June 8 in Whiteface) with Shooter Jennings. Take a listen to the blues side of BDS here, with their song 'Cold Wind Blow'.