Lee Tiger – Tiger Tiger
One Earth One People Come Together
TTM Records
First, a confession: When I saw a new album release from Tiger Tiger, I immediately thought of the Atlanta garage rock outfit Tiger! Tiger!. Those exclamation points make a whole world of difference. This Tiger Tiger hail from the Miami area and the swamps of the Everglades. Lee Tiger and his late brother Stephen have been playing in bands since the late 1960’s. Lee played lead guitar for a group called the Seven of Us who later mutated into NRBQ. Tiger Tiger’s 2005 album, The Everglades, Dedicated to the Survival of the Miccosukee & Seminole People of Florida received several Native American Music Award (NAMMY) nominations.
One Earth, One People, Come Together finds Lee continuing the legacy he created with his brother Stephen (who passed in 2006). Tiger plays most of the instruments on the album with additional guitars by Mikie Pinera and Raiford Stark with Corolena providing backing vocals. My favorite songs are the title track, “One Earth, One People” and the closer “Searching for You”. The song is a call to action to protect the environment and to protect each other. We’re all in this together after all.
“Searching for You” at first comes across as a cheesy disco tune. It begins as the sort of boastful, horn dog pick up session you’d expect at one of Harvey Weinstein’s private parties. Near the end though, Corolena slaps some reality in the Lotharios face. The creeper asks, “Hey, Hey won’t you be my woman.” Corolena replies with “Come on, what are you thinking?” and “How old are you?” She does decide to put up with him for free drinks, but he’s not getting anywhere with the ladies.
The rest of the tunes are workmanlike rockers. They tend to plod along rather than take flight. That’s an all too common malady when one person plays almost all the instruments. Not everyone is a Todd Rundgren or Prince.
I think it’s also worth noting that Lee Tiger has some pretty impressive side gigs to the rock and roll thing. He’s been promoting Native American and eco-heritage tourism for over 30 years. He founded the Miccosukee Indian Village attraction, Florida Seminole Tourism. The Everglades Gateway Co-Op and served on the American Indian Alaskan Native Tourism Association.
So yes, this Tiger Tiger is not the band I was looking for. I am glad I made that mistake though, because I learned about a Florida band that deserves attention and Mr. Tiger, who has done a tremendous amount for the people of Florida.
“One Earth, one people, come together right now.”
