Far Rockaway, Queens resident Tall Juan wears his Ramones influences well on the most recent EP “Why Not.” Moving from his home in Buenos Aires, Argentina to NYC’s borough that gave birth to the original garage rockers shows an admirable level of devotion. Though Joey Ramone may be the obvious initial point of reference, there are elements of Richard Hell’s vocal inflections sprinkled throughout the tall young man’s songs. In keeping with that era’s proto-punk ethos, all songs are approximately a minute and a half in length: opening track “Why Not” may reflect Johnny’s quick chord change progressions, but are delivered instead on an acoustic guitar. “It’s True” (streaming) channels the buoyant rhythm of “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker” with lyrical content closer to “The KKK Took My Baby Away.” Third track “I Don’t Know What To Do” clocks in at barely over a minutes and leans a bit closer to Hell’s legendary and overlooked Voidoids. Final track is a cover of the Dee Dee penned “Chinese Rock” that playfully interprets its lyrics. Tall Juan will be playing one more show in New York at Berlin on January 9th, before heading out on a European tour that will continue on through the month of February. by Dave Cromwell
