Regular readers know I’m a fan of the Trophy Husbands. I liked their brand of western country rock Arizona desert music. Unfortunately, TH is no more. Dave Insley and Kevin Daly are now pursuing separate career paths. Dave is planning a solo CD and Kevin has resurrected his band Grave Danger.

Daly is a Telecaster master, and Grave Danger, with just guitar, bass and drums, gives Daly ample room to stretch out his talent. The band’s energetic and tight mix of punk, surf and rockabilly makes any joint rock, and Friday night, the joint was the Red Cove Inn.

Opening was Santa Barbara’s Deadbillies.

I first heard the Deadbillies when they played on a multi-band bill that was supposedly a fundraiser to save a local rockabilly-themed coffee shop. Frankly, I wasn’t impressed. Their cover of “Harper Valley PTA” was kind of interesting, and I thought it was cool that they covered Johnny Cash and June Carter’s “Jackson,” but they didn’t strike me as a band that had been together long. And I was right.

Since then, I’ve seen them open for the Trophy Husbands, for Cowboy Nation and now for Grave Danger. They get better each time I see them. If there were a reward for most improved local band, the Deadbillies would likely get it.