Thurs. Nov. 17

 Ted Drozdowski got hooked by punk and psychedelic music when he was a young guitarist; then the dirty Southern blues bit him and bit hard. He moved from Boston to Nashville a while back to continue with his (mostly) two-man blues project, Scissormen, which plays the Regent Theatre in Arlington Thursday Nov. 17. Scissormen is steeped in Elmore James-like slide guitar and juke joint attitude. Drummer Rob Hulsman is the other full-time Scissorman; on their disc, "Luck in a Hurry," guests include the Mighty Mighty Bosstones singer Dicky Barrett, ex-Concussion Ensemble and current a.k.a./c.o.d. drummer Larry Dersch, ex-Morphine drummmer Billy Conway and the late pianist Teo Leyasmeyer, to whom the new CD is dedicated. Noted producer Jim Dickinson calls Scissormen "acid blues for the 21st century."

Thurs. Nov. 17

 Ted Drozdowski got hooked by punk and psychedelic music when he was a young guitarist; then the dirty Southern blues bit him and bit hard. He moved from Boston to Nashville a while back to continue with his (mostly) two-man blues project, Scissormen, which plays the Regent Theatre in Arlington Thursday Nov. 17. Scissormen is steeped in Elmore James-like slide guitar and juke joint attitude. Drummer Rob Hulsman is the other full-time Scissorman; on the their disc, "Luck in a Hurry," guests include the Mighty Mighty Bosstones singer Dicky Barrett, ex-Concussion Ensemble and current a.k.a./c.o.d. drummer Larry Dersch, ex-Morphine drummmer Billy Conway and the late pianist Teo Leyasmeyer, to whom the new CD is dedicated. Noted producer Jim Dickinson calls Scissormen "acid blues for the 21st century." Drozdowski - a music writer, who occasionally writes for the Boston Phoenix (as do now and again) - says, "We believe the blues is blood and guts vital and relevant as it was when the music's giants walked the Earth, if it's played right. So that's how we play it - respecting the music's roots, but not at the expense of its future." Drozdowski is a fan of the late R.L. Burnside - the renegade blues guitarist - and cherishes the time he got to join him on stage. Drozdowski, a college educated guy from Connecticult, can't claim Burnside's rough-'n'-tumble Southern roots, but he can claim to be a worthy disciple of the sound. It ain't straight-ahead and it ain't clean. It's woozy, it's distorted, it's occasionally ecstatic, it's sad, it's defiant. It's a long way from the yuppie polish modern blues has taken on. Scissormen's approach reminds me of the late lamented Gun Club, who blew up the blues like the Cramps did rockabilly. Scissormen don't have the Gun Club's punkish fury - they prefer a slower, more mournful pace, mostly. Though, if you check out "Whiskey and Maryjane," where Bosstone Barrett brings his Lemmy-like bark to the proceedings, you'll find they can bring the fury, too. First verse: "They say that time is wasting/and I'm wasted right on time/Can't spend another minute/Inside this head of mine. ... whiskey and maryjane." That's only a few of the vices proudly proclaimed.

Scissormen have a new live album recorded in Switzerland. They're also part a film by director Rober Mugge called "Big Shoes: Walking and Talking the Blues." A long trailer can be sp;ied here: http://vimeo.com/channels/bigshoetrailer .

Coming up post tour: Ted says, "We're working on a new album. I've got 16 songs written with a goal of 30 to be picked through before we hit the studio. We'll be playing some in Arlington for the first time. I have been exploring my family's Pennsylvania coal mining roots in a few songs, and one new tune, 'Black Lung Fever,' which we will do, is about my grandfathers, who died of black lung before I was born. They also had the pleasure of being conscripted into the Russian army for eight years before fleeing Poland. Life for them had plenty of thorns.

On the Regent gig, called the "Roots and Blues Fest," Scissormen will be joined the Peter Parcek 3 opens. (Parcek doubles as guitarist for The Singhs), the Powerhouse Berklee Band and the Ten Foot Polecats. Starts at 8.  Tix: $14.