Michael Rault

Take a 19-year-old punk kid, stick him in the middle of a dusty farmer’s field and hand him an acoustic guitar — what you’ll end up with is Edmonton’s Michael Rault, a prairie boy rooted in rhythm and blues yet in love with rebellion. Rault’s first solo EP, Crash! Boom! Bang!, kicks up a whole lot of dust, uncovering the grit and gravel of traditional blues music as heard on Bo Diddley cover "Pretty Thing.” But when he’s not looking back at the past, he’s busy stomping the crap out of the tambourine that’s duct-taped to his left foot. Rault is a one-man-band, leaving him more than determined to capture the stripped-down, carefree ruckus of "Honey Bee” and the funky despair of "Who Will The Next Fool Be?” He accomplishes so much with so little. Who knows, maybe he’ll end up playing the cowbell with his tongue next time around.