Archives for category: Music

Rolling Stone: Nashville – Best Music Scene

April 24, 2011 //

Jimi Hendrix in Nashville

Word hit the street over the last two weeks like a brush fire in New Mexico: Rolling Stone wrote in print and on the net, Nashville has the best music scene in the country. I haven’t even read it yet because it is in the subscriber content on the web, but, I believe it to be true.

What was the turning point? The Kings of Leon? I don’t really think so. The Kings of Leon had to go over to England to become big in the U.S., kind of like Jimi Hendrix, in fact Jimi was gigging up on Jefferson Street with Billy Cox and The King Kasuals for just a little scratch and room and board just a couple of years before he went to the U.K.

Paramore? Well, giving a little credit to a younger scene was a good thing when they were signed to Fueled by Ramen (sort of) yet there is no scene of bands trying to sound like Paramore around Nashville so it is its own thing.

Just a couple of years ago, Nashville was licking its wounds when Be Your Own Pet and The Pink Spiders, especially The Pink Spiders who went in with guns loaded and a Ric Okasek Produced album and an Artist Relations war chest were unable to break big.

Was it when Jack White moved Third Man Records down to Nashville, that is definitely a key piece to being Rolling Stone cool, with new 45’s by regionals being released almost on a Sam Phillip’s Sun Records schedule along with concert events that are showstoppers like the Record Store Day plus one Jerry Lee Lewis concert featuring Steve Cropper and Jim Keltner.

Okay, Jack White has given it the one two punch by introducing past icons to new generations like Loretta Lynn’s Van Lear Rose Grammy award winning album with Loretta standing in front of the East Nashville house where it was recorded. How about when Porter Wagoner opened for The White Stripes at Madison Square Garden? Who would have known that Porter’s final call would be an outstanding album, The Wagonmaster and a gig opening for The White Stripes?

Maybe, that was key in making sure that real icons are represented like Wanda Jackson’s great new album on Third Man Records. Jack is definitely not just looking behind but is really tuned into the ether. I was excited to see Dan Sartain, a part of the same Birmingham scene I was in for a number of years cut some vinyl on Third Man Records. Dan opened up for The White Stripes on several dates a few years ago and my friend Emanuel Elinas who made some guitar pedals for me down at Highland Music in Birmingham talked about playing Bass with Dan Sartain and going bowling with Jack and his Mom. How cool is that?

In fact, when I saw the band on the flip side of the Dan Sartain 45 and Matt Patton was there, I was really happy about what was happening. Matt and a few others had put out some of the best Indie music in Birmingham that I have ever heard. Matt had this band called Model Citizen and their CD, The Inner Fool, produced by Tim Boykin (The Lolas, The Shame Idols, Carnival Season) on Bent Rail Foundation is one of my all time favorites. Matt is getting recognition with Tuscaloosa, Alabama’s The Dexateens now.

I tell you what; let’s get down to ground zero. When we talk about Todd Snider and the East Nashville scene we are getting close, but, let’s get down to one album and one artist. Okay, I am going to say the transition came when Nashville got behind one of its own in 2008. When Justin Townes Earle got signed to Bloodshot Records and released The Good Life both weekly music papers got behind with big in depth articles about how Justin got to that point. The Good Life is a classic album out of left field but it really represented what Nashville was known for, good songwriting, a little rock and roll, a little country with a nod to the past and to the future of Americana.

At that time, you could hang with Justin over at The Basement, but with extensive touring and a prolific three years, Justin is well established and still with indie cred enough where I can still turn people onto his music as something new.

Justin was recognized at The Americana Music Awards in Nashville in 2009 the year before Rolling Stone called the Americana Music Festival the coolest festival in the U.S. In fact 2010 would be the no holds barred year when Warner Brothers would finally release American Bang’s CD. Robert Plant would record Band of Joy in East Nashville with an Americana A-List including Buddy Miller and Darrell Scott and be the surprise guest at The Americana Music Awards.

The 2010 Americana Music Festival was a real eye opener when you had The Long Players, Bobby Keyes, Dan Baird and a laundry list doing Exile on Main Street at The Cannery Ballroom, Hayes Carll at The Basement, with people coming from Australia just to see him play and a festival closer with Todd Snider and an all-star band featuring Don Was on Bass, with a grin and looking somewhat like Slash’s older brother.

Don Was got in the game this year when he produced Lucinda Williams (a Nashville alumnus) new Cd, Blessed. Did it start at The Americana Music Festival with an exchange of phone numbers backstage at The Rhyman? Only they know for sure, but Nashville is becoming a ground zero magnet for much more than Popular Country Music Radio songs and Christian Music.

There had to be a change. The music business had changed and Nashville has changed along with that. Instead of twenty major labels in town, there are now five. The rest are Indie Country, Rock, whatever.

Coming to Nashville to be a hit songwriter may be a goal for a lot of people, but, getting a staff writing gig is becoming really difficult and less lucrative. Back in 2007-2008, we talked about how a songwriter with good songs getting signed to a publisher with maybe a 25-35k draw now going for 18-24k and the need for a day job for many. Also, one of the larger publishers had in the past as many as 135 staff writers and was then down to Thirty five.

I know for a fact things are much worse for that dream with less staff writers, less money and less records being sold. The dream is still there, but, now you need to get lucky and find a new face with a great voice and the potential to get signed and start co-writing before some money starts flowing.

In early 2008, I could go to The Commodore Grill and see an endless supply of new songwriting talent for the Country Music Industry, but, with less staff gigs and the economy in the tank, less people are rolling into Nashville with an acoustic guitar and lyrics in the guitar case. In fact, it really is a trickle compared to just three years ago. Also, many of the writers that are coming into town have Dave Matthews, Jason Mraz or Jack Johnson chops and are not really what the Country Music Industry is looking for.

On the other hand, the Indie Rock and Americana scenes are ripe for development. Vinyl is making a comeback with this crowd and United Record Pressing is right here where it always was. Colored vinyl, short runs, whatever you need with local labels like Third Man Records and Nashville’s Dead Records, United Pressing is back to increasing production and essentially back in the game.

The song publishing and royalty distribution infrastructure is realigning in Nashville with changes in staff announced publicly last year at ASCAP and I am sure accommodations are coming with a paradigm shift to handle multiple styles now in the pipeline.

Grimey’s New and Pre-Loved Music is probably the most famous record store in the country now, maybe second to Amoeba’s out on the West Coast. It’s not enough that Indie bands make in-store appearances. Metallica made a little short announced gig for fans at The Basement below Grimey’s in 2008 before their Bonnaroo appearance and released the whole experience as Live at Grimey’s worldwide in 2010. Now all the gloves are off.

If you are a music lover, archivist, etc. in a world with disappearing Record stores, Nashville not only has Grimey’s, but also, Phonoluxe Records, The Great Escape, The Groove and plenty of other outlets for local as well as rare Cd’s and vinyl.

Look what is going on at Thirty Tigers Indie Distribution and their great success over the last couple of years.

Belmont University is turning out Music and Music Business degrees every year and a lot of students want to stay here and not necessarily go into the Country Music Machine. They have their own ideas from the scenes they came from whether it was in California or New York.

Bands like The Black Keys and The Deadstring Brothers are migrating here. Even though Music Row still has a big chunk of the day to day business great records are being made in East Nashville, Blackbird Studio and Buddy Miller’s living room.

With the advent of a studio in a gig bag, Indie artists can make records anywhere and with cheap housing and a plethora of like minded musicians gathering in what really is now becoming truly Music City it only makes sense to live and work here, especially when gas is going for near $5 a gallon. Why not be close to all the blessings that come with a great music talent smorgasbord.

Speaking of food, you don’t want to leave Austin because of Texas Barbecue? Okay at least try Jack’s and Rooster’s Texas Style BBQ and Steak House on 12^th. I promise you won’t be disappointed. You want California style Mexican Food? Go to Oscar’s Taco Shop on Nolensville and in Franklin. Thai? Thai Star. Vietnamese? Far East Nashville. Indian? Tamarind. New York Style Italian? Are you kidding? Maffiozas or the place at the Arcade. Okay, so you can’t get Hawaiian Plate BBQ here yet, but, there is plenty to explore. We could still use an In and Out Burger.

Okay, back to music. Country is going through a lot of changes. The ripple of the Taylor Swift explosion that Big Machine Records put into motion are still being felt, being one of the only Platinum Recording Artists in the new digital era, as well as outside pressures from Texas Charts, the Red Dirt scene and T-Bone Burnett Produced masterpieces that can’t be denied.

Country even has its own street cred in Nashville with bands like Kort who are local but signed over in England as well as Indie Singer / Songwriter Caitlin Rose and Country spun Those Darlins. Even Charlie Louvin, who as part of The Louvin Brothers can take some credit for inspiring The Everly Brothers and therefore The Beatles harmonies, got his Indie cred with The Battle Rages On that was released on Austin’s Chicken Ranch Records. I can say I got to see two Midnight Jamboree tapings and get his autograph on an early Louvin Brothers recording before he passed into immortality.

So what about Nashville’s own Indie scene? Heypenny, Jeff The Brotherhood, Cheer Up Charlie Daniels, Uncle Skeleton, Pujol, Heavy Cream (kind of Karen-O fronting a better looking MC5), Todd Snider, John Carter Cash, The Coolin System, The Deep Fried 5 and a laundry list playing at places like The Basement, The End, Danzig’s House, Exit/In, The Rutledge, Mercy Lounge and a house party near you.

How could Rolling Stone not call Nashville the best Music Scene in the country? It is a multi pronged Country, Alt-Country, Americana, Bluegrass, Newgrass, Folk, roots, rock, funkified attack on your senses.

It’s one of those places you could actually plan a week of your life to check out bands as well as pick up a new Nudie or Katy K suit. A place where you might find Joe Maphis’ old Mosrite double neck or the Bass player from Cinderella’s vintage Precision Bass on sale on Craigslist.

You may never win over Nashville, but, it’s a good place to write, do your business and go to the Third Sunday at Third pot luck at Doak Turner’s house in Nashville. Maybe it doesn’t have a burgeoning Death Metal scene but it does have The Billy Block Show. When the sun is out you can’t deny how beautiful Nashville is. Where else can “Bless Your Little Heart” actually mean, I don’t give a ****.

Nashville is a great place to throw your guitar case in the corner and call home.

There are several trackbacks links for your viewing pleasure.

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Categories American Bang, Americana Music, Americana Music Festival, Band of Joy, Billy Cox, Birmngham Alabama, Bloodshot Records, Buddy Miller, Caitlin Rose, Cannery Ballroom, Carnival Season, Charlie Louvin, Cheer up Charlie Daniels, Chicken Ranch Records, Commodore Grill, Country Music, Darrell Scott, Debi Champion, Doak Turner, East Nashville, Grimey's, Hayes Carll, Heavy Cream, Heypenny, Indie Rock, Jack White, Jeff the Brotherhood, Jimi Hendrix, John Carter Cash, Justin Townes Earle, Kort, Lolas, Lucinda Williams, Model Citizen, Music, Music City Roots, Music Row, Nashville, Next Big Nashville 2010, Paramore, Pujol, Robert Plant, Rock Music, Shame Idols, T Bone Burnett, The Coolin System, The Deep Fried 5, The End Nashville, The King Kasuals, The Mercy Lounge, The Rutledge Nashville, Third Man Records, Those Darlins, Tim Boykin, Todd Snider, Uncategorized, Uncle Skeleton, Wanda Jackson

Fragile, 714 & Nexus Point Rock The Rutledge April 7th

March 29, 2011 //

Fragile from Wisconsin who has developed a multi-textured rock work, This Land Will Be Civilized with Producer, David Bottrill (Tool, Staind, and Muse) and Mastering icon, Bob Ludwig will be performing in Nashville for the first time on April 7^th at The Rutledge along with 714, featuring Todd Poole from Saliva and Nashville Rockers, Nexus Point.

Brothers Darrell and Chauncey Marrier started writing together growing up in Withee, Wisconsin with the common influences of classic bands such as The Beatles, The Band, Led Zeppelin as well as Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones wanting to develop lyrical content as well as dynamics that would stand the test of time.

This Land Will Be Civilized

This Land Will Be Civilized featuring “Down To The River” is interlaced with powerful rock and string section breaks that were recorded remotely at St. Hedwig’s, a 100 year old historic abandoned country church, which is now being restored into a world class recording studio with the help of world renowned studio designer, Michael Cronin, known for his studio design at Ocean Way, Blackbird in Nashville as well as the personal studios for Mutt Lange, Clint Black, Big and Rich and Ryan Tedder of One Republic.

Fragile has brought their music to some of the greatest venues in Wisconsin and Minneapolis such as First Avenue, Varsity Theater, The Turf Club, The Fine Line, The Rave as well as the Grand Theater in Wausau, Wisconsin and are looking forward to their first Nashville show.

Fragile is not only committed as a band but as people realizing their vision of This Land Will Be Civilized with the Hands Foundation, established by brothers Darrell and Chauncey Marrier which not only helped Hurricane ravaged Mississippi and Florida but has had annual building initiatives in Monterrey, Mexico to help people who are otherwise living in shelters made of cardboard, pallets, tin or any other utilized debris.

With the addition of the studio being completed at St. Hedwig’s Church, Fragile is committed to future songwriting as well as balancing life with giving back to the community.

714

Along with Fragile, 714 from Memphis featuring Todd Poole of Saliva fame and local heroes Nexus Point will be rocking The Rutledge. The doors open at 8pm ($5 cover) with the first set starting at 8:30 pm. 714 and Nexus Point will both be featured Sunday Night April 3^rd on Local Buzz with Tony Stone on 102.9 The Buzz.

Nexus Point

Support Rock in Nashville. This will be a great night not to be missed.

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Categories 102.9 The Buzz, 714, Fragile, Local Buzz Show, Music, Nexus Point, Rock Music, Saliva, The Rutledge Nashville, Todd Poole, Tony Stone

Homeless Benefit Fri. at Picks with Blackberry Wednesday and 714

March 29, 2011 //

Blackberry Wednesday

A Benefit for the homeless co-sponsored by The Contributor will be at Picks Nashville at the Best Western Music Row this Friday Night, April 1^st, will bring two of the biggest Memphis Rock bands to Nashville to support the cause. 714 and Blackberry Wednesday who have both worked with Hollyville in Nashville with their latest video projects jumped at the request to do a benefit for the Homeless in Nashville with support from the local homeless press, The Contributor as well as support from the local Music Industry.

714

714 with Todd Poole from Saliva and Rail, recently released a video produced by Hollyville that was shot in Nashville, “Stand Alone” that is seeing major success on YouTube in developing an audience and getting the music out there. The self-titled CD which was recorded at Leeway Studios in Memphis will also be co-headlining at The Rutledge on April 7^th.

Blackberry Wednesday whose recent CD was produced by Matt Martone (Three Doors Down) has seen a lot of airplay with the song “Hey I”. With the success of radio, they shot a video on location at The Rutledge with Hollyville and were really satisfied with the quality of production available in Nashville and especially with Director Michael Giancana.

Two strong bands from Memphis with Nashville ties will look forward to rocking the house along with several other local acts that start at 6PM this Friday night near the circle at Demonbreun in the shadow of the BMI Building. It will give fans the opportunity to contribute to a local cause and enjoy a great night of music at the end of Music Row.

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Categories 714, Blackberry Wednesday, Hollyville Nashville, Memphis, Michael Giancana, Music, Music Row, Nashville, Picks Nashville, Rock Music, The Contributor Nashville

Dashboard Confessional 10th Anniversary 3/31 at Cannery Ballroom

March 26, 2011 //

Dashboard Confessional has made it through several labels, both record labels and labels put on the band such as Emo or Alternative and whatever radio has decided at any given time to celebrate 10 years since their first release, The Swiss Army Romance, that was recently re-released as a deluxe vinyl package of five 45RPM vinyl records with everything but the kitchen sink, from a guitar pick to a reproduction of the Writer’s original handwritten notes. Dashboard is now out on a celebratory tour marking 10 years in a flash at The Cannery Ballroom on March 31^st.

The Swiss Army Romance Deluxe ++ Edition

In an age where rock has Elder Statesmen from Ozzy Osbourne to Bono, Chris Carraba and band have weaved through the once mega chains such as Tower Records to the now perfunctory Indie cred of Grimey’s. Dashboard Confessional has always managed to find a spot from the first Volley of The Swiss Army Romance to what was their peak success in 2003 of A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar that peaked at #2 on the Billboard Charts.

Chris Carraba and Dashboard Confessional were willing to take on anything including the MTV Unplugged show that resulted in a subsequent Live, MTV Unplugged 2.0 that was #1 on the Billboard Indie charts in 2002.

Dashboard’s last recorded effort, After The Ending, released late in 2009, still showed staying power at #6 on the Billboard Rock Charts. They have navigated Rock Radio in probably the most difficult decade to retain status due to strong songwriting and consistent material.

Chris Carraba is known for bringing his own intense emotions into his songs and his stage performance, having toured with everybody from New Found Glory to Bon Jovi, they have reached across generations with a strong lyrical content and deep singer-songwriter roots, it is the alternative for the alternative crowd to the typical Tin Pan South fare going on elsewhere in Nashville next week.

Even though Chris is comfortable playing solo or with another guitarist, he always comes back to the full band,” I always find myself doing Dashboard instead because I think this is the–there’s the least boundaries within this band. Plus I love relationship I’ve been kind of fortunate to have with my audience. It’s personal and unique. So I’ve got to say that’s why I’ve stayed interested, because you can only play the same songs up there in front of people. Every year I put a record out, but you’re still basically playing the same songs for years. And it’s the genuine heart that those kids bring with them, and the fact that they care–seem to care–as much as I care about it–maybe more, strangely sometimes. That’s what makes me able to do it for as long as I’ve done it. And maybe, hopefully be able to do it for many more years.”

Touring with the 10^th Year Anniversary re- release of The Swiss Army Romance will give earlier fans a chance to re-connect with the music while new Nashville fans can find a great point of reference with one of the best cross-genre songwriters of this generation. The March 31^st show at Cannery Ballroom presented by AEG Live is a show not to be missed.

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Categories AEG Live, Cannery Ballroom, Chris Carraba, Dashboard Confessional, Emo, Music, Rock Music, Uncategorized

Guitar Virtuoso Leo Kottke at TPAC Polk Theater March 16th

February 28, 2011 //

Leo Kottke burst onto the scene at the beginning of the Seventies with a fresh approach to the acoustic guitar, especially with open tuned fingerpicking style on 12 string that influenced generations of Guitarists after him, such as Pat Metheny, Michael Hedges and Tommy Emmanuel. AEG Live/ The Messina Group will bring the Player’s Player live to TPAC’s James K. Polk Theater on Wednesday, March 16^th.

Leo is best known for his Polyphonic Syncopated Melodies and use of detuned obscure chords. His first album recorded in 1969, 6 and 12 String Guitar on Takoma Records, has been reissued many times as it was a blue print for what was possible, thinking outside the box, Leo was the Allan Holdsworth of the steel string acoustic.

Leo was so amazing as a solo performer and recording Artist that he was picked up by Capitol Records in the Seventies, releasing five albums by 1975 including Dreams and All That Stuff which peaked at #45 on the Billboard Charts. Leo then moved on to Chrysalis Records until 1983. The music business finally caught up with Leo’s forward process when he moved to New Age Label, Private Music in 1986. This was a productive time with a community of musicians looking for inventive composition achieving one of his highest chart positions with That’s What at #24 on the Billboard Charts.

Leo has worked with several Artists including Lyle Lovett, Rickie Lee Jones, Chet Atkins, David Hidalgo and most recently released two critically acclaimed albums with Phish Bassist, Mike Gordon , Clone and Sixty Six Steps. Sixty Six Steps featured some interesting covers of “Sweet Emotion” the classic Aerosmith song as well as “Oh Well” the Peter Green penned Fleetwood Mac song.

Leo who was born in Athens, Georgia and grew up learning to play the style of Mississippi John Hurt in Muscogee, Oklahoma, eventually incorporated many influences from Delta Blues, Jazz and Folk Music. In much the same way as Mandolin Player Sam Bush and Banjo Man Bela Fleck he has always sought to re interpret traditional American Music in an ever expanding portfolio of methods.

When Leo had problems with tendonitis, he learned to find new tones without using fingerpicks, developing a more jazz fingered style method, as well as going the way of the Singer/Songwriter at times. Despite being so advanced in his own style, Leo still is amazed at some of the prowess out there, “I hear people playing who baffle me. I can’t see how they’re doing it — either so soon because they’re so young or despite being laid up because they’re so old. It’s frustrating, this bafflement, only because I’ve never really done my homework, the quotidian, day-to-day scut work of concentrated study, and I owe it to people like Federico [Franco], or Snoozer [Quinn], to do that … they did. I admire these players”.

Leo’s life has been one of an ever changing music chameleon having started during the time of Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix through the New Age Music Era and in a way going full circle working with Jam Band Alumni Mike Gordon, the guitar has been there always,” It saved my life when I was a kid. I’d been sick. Now it is my life. I wouldn’t call it joy, but that’s in there. It’s more than joy — and it gives me the creeps just saying that — but it’s true.”

Leo has played on several makes and types of guitars over the years before finally becoming a Signature Artist for Taylor Guitars with his own co-designed 12 string model. The TPAC Polk Theater will be a great forum to connect with a guitar community for the most essential element to Nashville is the guitar and there are more guitar players in Nashville than anywhere else in the world and the best of the best will no doubt be in attendance on March 16^th for the inspired playing and improvisation of Leo Kottke.

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Categories AEG Live, Allan Holdsworth, FNA Records, Leo Kottke, Mike Gordon, Music, Phish, Takoma Records, TPAC Nashville, Uncategorized

Anthony Corder on Tora Tora’s Revolution Day

February 22, 2011 //

FnA Records will officially release the long anticipated Tora Tora follow up to Wild America; Revolution Day on February 28^th on purerockradio.com at 8:30 PM Pacific Time live on the air from Las Vegas, Nevada with DJ Cory Draper playing some of the tracks and celebrating with all the original members of the band; Anthony Corder, Keith Douglas, Patrick Francis and John Patterson.

It has been a while since 1994 when this gem was recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee just like the previous two albums. Anthony and I sat down for an Indian Lunch buffet at Tamarind on Demonbreum, just off Music Row in Nashville to reflect back on that time. Tora Tora has been lucky over the last few years doing reunion shows and playing Rocklahoma in 2008.

The release of Revolution Day has been long anticipated since the fans have been getting their first taste of the music from Revolution Day live over the last couple of years. Tora Tora fans, especially in their hometown of Memphis, Tennessee were excited to know that Revolution Day was going to see the light of day.

Brad: Everybody in the band is still nearby?

Anthony: Yeah everybody is still based out of Memphis. We actually ended on great terms when the record deal was done. Our A&R Guy Brian was a great guy, he also signed Soundgarden.

B: So who was your Management then?

A: We were with Loud n Proud which was based out of Brooklyn. L’amour’s was a big heavy metal club and we used to go there and rehearse for a first tour which was our first trip out of town, when we were going to promote our record, it was our first big tour. We would go there and stay out on Staten Island in some Loft apartments, with three of our crew guys; there were seven of us staying there in a one bedroom apartment. So we’re driving into Brooklyn every day to rehearse at L’amour’s and go by the management office.

B: You were recording at Ardent, right? But, rehearsing in New York?

A: Yeah, we went out for eight weeks after the first record I think. We worked our way on from Pennsylvania, out in the boonies, places like the Cat Club, Vinnie’s,

B: And this was right after the first release?

A: Yeah after Surprise Attack. At the end we were with Bill Graham Management. About the time we were ready to wrap the third record, Brian (A&R) was offered a very lucrative contract to go with another label.

B: How did you get signed?

Tora Tora at Ardent during Wild America

A: Ardent had signed us to a production deal and they kept bringing A&R guys to Memphis to see us and A&M showed the most interest. They seemed the most genuinely interested in what was going on with the band. Brian (Artist Relations with A&M) was always really encouraging; he liked to hang out with us after our thing (in Memphis). We used to have this warehouse where we would showcase.

B: Was that like your practice space?

A: Yeah, we hung black garbage bags all over the wall and the front of the stage. Keith’s Dad had these 55 gallon blue barrels and we built a stage out of them. We put plywood on top of them and painted it. We would just recruit some of the Football players like from Ole Miss and they would run the door for us. They were security and the local DJ would announce us on the radio. He would say, “Hey tonight, don’t forget Tora Tora”. They would bring like long chairs and all kinds of stuff and just hang out and we would jam out all night. That’s where the record label came to see us play.

B: Did you have other bands playing gigs with you there?

A: Our first show was on Halloween and we had an opening act but after that we pretty much did our own thing.

B: Did you do the warehouse thing because there was pretty much one club or you had to open for a big name act?

A: The biggest problem was our crowd was under age so playing bars; they wouldn’t be able to get in. So it was a place, if you were under age where you could go and hang out and listen to lots of music. It was kinda cool. We did play at The New Daisy on Beale Street a lot. It’s like a little thousand seat Theater. We actually just played there in 2009 I think. It was kind of great to go back there and play in a place you grew up.

B: So what was going on around the time you did Revolution Day after a few years on the road?

A: About the time we got finished with recording our last, the third (Revolution Day) record, Keith our guitarist, was getting ready to have a Son, so he was thinking I don’t know if I’m up for doing another run on the road, maybe I’ll do the record, and of course we wanted him to go with us, we just said if you’re not going to go then we’re not going either. You know we had been playing together since we were kids.

B: So he didn’t think he would be able to do it?

A: Well, he just had a child that he wanted to be around. It was a big decision and at the time the other three of us weren’t married. Not to bring up anything negative, but it seemed like the timing was right to take a break, Brian (at A&M) was going and Keith was wanting to take some time off, so we were like you know what let’s just take a break and we’ll pick up where we left off or if we want to get back together we will.

B: So you kind of took a hiatus?

A: Yeah, and so we decided to do that and it took us I don’t know how long, fourteen years or something like that to get back. Everybody got back into their own life and had their things going on. I wanted to keep singing and I kept pounding it out with some other guys.

B: Were any of the guys playing in any bands or doing anything after Tora Tora?

A: Patrick actually did, he went on and did a thing with a band called Rail.

B: Was it the Rail that was on MTV and stuff back in the early eighties that won some contest and toured with Heart?

A: I don’t think so. Oh no.

B: When you started Tora Tora and got signed did you ever find out there were any other bands called Tora Tora?

A: We did, from the seventies I think.

B: Were they a U.S. Band?

A: Yeah, they were and they had a record called Made in Japan. It was funny. I guess with the length of time and everything since their release we got permission and everything to get the rights to the name and go for it.

B: Nowadays with the internet, it is a lot easier to find out, but back then you would have to look through a library or for trademarks or something. Back then you wouldn’t know there was another band with your name unless you crossed regions. With a name like Tora Tora there was that possibility.

A: Right, we kind of found out on the back end, but it was enough time before we got the record deal and everything going.

B: When you were writing the music for Revolution Day there is a marked confidence in the playing.

A: We had grown so much out on the road. I mean on our first record we had never travelled. We didn’t have a lot of life experience. We just thought about dating girls, maybe catching a buzz or something. It was pretty limited but after our first record we spent two years out on the road and you could tell our eyes were just like opening.

B: Who were you touring with at the time?

A: We did a lot of touring on our own. We were brand new. We wanted to get out and get the chops, get our own crowd. It was about being in front of people, you know you can rehearse to death in a rehearsal room and hit every mark and great but when you play in front of people it turns into its own thing.

B: Now kids want to get in and do all these recordings and videos but what Rock and Roll is all about is going out and joining the circus.

A: Yeah we took three guys as our crew and went out and our A&R guy was there.

B: Did your A&R guy do merch for you?

A: No, He just wanted to go out with us on the road. It was great fun. I don’t know how other people work but he was pretty hands on.

B: That is really good though.

A: Yeah even Keith our guitar player got kind of close would hang with him. He would come up with all kinds of crazy stuff. One of my Birthdays, we were on our way to North Carolina or whatever and he would get ideas to go do stuff. There is nothing like being in a band together and just going out and doing stuff you like to do. We were getting so much better out on the road.

B: Well, when you think of the trilogy of Tora Tora albums it makes me think about Van Halen, on Van Halen it was just killer, and then when you get to Van Halen II, hey they have been out on the road, there just kind of more loose, relaxed and then Van Halen III it was like they thought we can do some crazy stuff, like with the drum beats and where they were going. It was kind of like Tora Tora was getting there, like now we can try some crazy stuff.

A: Yeah, we always rehearsed a lot so that when we got to the studio there were never any snares. Keith was always the perfectionist. You know how it is, he was always creative. We were growing musically, but on that third record practiced a lot at an old studio around the corner from Ardent. We actually had done a lot of pre-production there for the Wild America record as well.

B: Are the first two A&M records still in print?

A: The first one (Surprise Attack) is, the second one is not. I think they only made about 300,000 units or something.

B: So what about Revolution Day?

A: I think we did stretch out musically. We had a warehouse that was over by the airport and it was great we could get as loud as we want and there were planes like taking off. This was during the third record.

B: Did you know Rock City Angels when they were recording over at Ardent?

A: Yeah we knew them very well. I remember Bobby Durango and all those guys. Anyways, when we were at the warehouse, one of our crew guys had worked at Ardent and he was a great like Engineer guy and he could fix like anything in the world and he helped us mic up everything and did preproduction demos on 8 track cassette. That was some of the stuff we released on FnA Records.

B: Yeah some people are so into deep catalog stuff they are looking for stuff like that.

A: Yeah, I told FnA Records that was great even for us to have just to document that time. We worked on that record for a long time and there are songs like “Little Texas” which is about this place in Mississippi where they are still toting stuff around it’s a farm area, a town called Little Texas, Mississippi. Lyrically it had stuff about my roots, more introspective.

B: So “Little Texas” is about where you grew up?

A: Yeah, a little bit. I mean the real place I’m from is called Avalon, Mississippi. It’s where Mississippi John Hurt is from, and you know cotton gins and little stores,

B: You know talking about Mississippi John Hurt; that was one of the blues players they went back to in the sixties like Son House.

A: My Granddad knew him. When I grew up, my family on my Mom’s side, they were all like porch players and my Mom played piano and my Uncle played guitar. The other Aunt sang.

B: Porch players? Like hanging out on the porch and jamming?

A: Yeah, porch pickers, they would all play and they got my Uncle to learn the John Hurt way of playing. So he would do it and play just like him. My Aunt could do it. I don’t realize it was something unique growing up there with my family jamming and stuff. My friends would come down with me to visit and they would be like, your family is playing this Mississippi John Hurt style and I would be like, no, let’s get out of here. I would never sing in front of my family. When I was about fifteen, a guy down the street from me was playing guitar and I’ll never forget, he got a Jackson, like he was all about it, it was pink and the slanted neck and all that. He got it and he was listening to a bunch of Dokken and all these things and I went down and he said you should sing or something. At first he got a snare, bass drum and a High hat and I was jamming with him and I was yelling over the drums. That is when I very first started singing.

B: Before that did you sing in the shower or anything like that?

A: No, I listened to a lot of top 40 radio and my parents listened to a lot of R&B and the bluesy stuff and they did Gospel. It was really important, because they were like strict Southern Baptist and we were at church every Sunday singing in church and stuff like that. It was definitely something different when I started singing with them and we started this group called Pioneer.

B: That was your first band?

A: We had done a couple of talent shows and a couple of Battle of the Bands things and then Patrick the bass player from Tora Tora talked to me one day. We saw each other at the Mall or something.

B: This was how Tora Tora started?

A: Yeah, he said we are going to have some auditions for the band and we wanted to know if you wanted to come by and sing. They were like into Iron Maiden and Rush, things I weren’t super clear with, and I knew some of the stuff.

B: You brought kind of the blues thing into it, kind of like they were these Metalheads?

A: Yeah, it wasn’t something like hey this is what we are going to do. It just kind of developed. They were playing like Cheap Trick, Rush 2112 and Iron Maiden.

B: This is a lot different than “Guilty”.

A: They had a following before I came in but it was more heavy kind of a Judas Priest thing. It turned into something a little bit different. After the first couple of times practicing it started changing and they were really teaching me a lot of things because I really didn’t know much about singing. I mean like timing and all that stuff. It was hilarious. I remember our first show we played out, like I didn’t move. I stared at my feet. And they said you gotta move man. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I think about every day. I mean I can walk by somewhere and smell the room and say I want to get up there right now or something will happen. The third record though,

B: What would you say would be the radio cut on the new album?

A: I don’t know, we had a lot of fun where we had girls singing back up and we had the Memphis Horns on one track (Memphis Soul). We had written with some more outside writers like Stan Lynch from Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.

B: Really, Stan Lynch?

A: He had two songs on the second record, and I think he had two on the third record. I still talk to him this day. He had a great stand here in Nashville. On the first record we were against writing with other people, but then we co wrote “Guilty” and that was like pulling teeth. None of us wanted to go in there. We felt like they were trying to change us. We thought well we need to man up so I went in there and wrote with him. We thought this is totally going to change our sound and the label is going to hate it and the label people went “Oh my God, this is great! We got a single!” It was a learning experience and the one thing I am happy about now, looking back on it, especially being in publishing now, I encourage people to write with as many people as they can. You always take something out of it even if the song is not that great.

B: There is nothing wrong with mixing it up.

A: I think Keith tried a lot of different things on the guitar; he tried a lot of different tones and sounds in the studio. We had the luxury when we were at A&M, all six years, with recording everything at Ardent. It was kind of our home base. John Fry is still a great mentor to me.

B: John Fry is still the “guru” at Ardent today.

A: Yeah, and they gave us the opportunity to like grow and be experimental. I bet we wrote sixty songs for Revolution Day. That was actually demo’d up.

B: Pre-production was a big thing back then. You could demo thirty songs and pick twelve or thirteen.

A: I think the culture is totally different now. Economics. Money is not flowing around like it used to be. Technology affords you the opportunity to just trigger it. The overall thing about Revolution Day that I just wanted to say is get it out to the people that want to have the chance to hear it.

B: The songs from Revolution Day always go over really well. I was at your 2008 show. The fans like it, people want a copy of it.

A: It’s out all over the internet (poor MP3 quality bootlegs). We just said, let’s do a copy right. I’m surprised fans are still out there and they’re still loyal. They appreciate everything we do. I think about it every day.

B: I talk to a lot a people from bands from back in the day and I mention Tora Tora, being from Memphis and the album Revolution Day and I always get positive feedback. It’s always, I really liked those guys.

A: I think a lot of it is due to the team we had around us at Ardent. The band, the guys, they really had a sound. We would go bang it out in the studio till we had the right sound.

B: So with Revolution Day, maybe you’ll do some more shows?

A: Well, Keith has been writing some stuff and said “I want to send some stuff over to you, not bang you in the head, maybe acoustic stuff at first. Which is good, I was always the mellow guy. I would love to do something again other than just do shows.

After a pile of Tandori Chicken, Curry and Rice we were done and where we were going was into the future. It is possible that Tora Tora may have some new material in the future with the same four members that tore it up back when, but, for now Revolution Day is a fantastic album equal sonically to some of the best Metal of the era like Motley Crue’s Doctor Feelgood for Metalheads past and present to enjoy.

Tora Tora present times

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Categories Ardent Studios, FNA Records, Hair Metal, Music, Rock City Angels, Rock Music, Tora Tora

Alabama Profile One: Tristan Dunn

February 4, 2011 //

Tristan Dunn, Nashville, TN

From the very first time Tristan Dunn played at Sharky’s, a memorial night for Topper Price [ the famed Gravel voiced Birmingham native that could blow Blues Harp like nobody business], Tristan realized that he was not only stepping out in the late night Alabama air, but that it was time to start to realize his ambitions to play Southern Rock, with his early roots in the family favorite traditional Country, Tristan wanted to play Southern rock, the road travelled by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Charlie Daniels, The Allman Brothers Band, The Marshall Tucker Band and Molly Hatchet.

“My Great Grandmother’s favorite was Hank Williams Sr., but, when I was Fifteen I picked up on an album called Skynyrd Friends where different Country Artists were playing Lynyrd Skynyrd songs. Alabama played “Sweet Home Alabama” and I started learning Southern Rock on the Squire Telecaster my parents got me when I was thirteen. Fifteen was the year when I decided this is what I wanted to do.”

Tristan with Rollin Roger

Tristan has a strong voice that can carry a Merle Haggard tune just as strong as Merle himself. Even more than the voice, Tristan went from guitar to learning the fiddle when he wanted to master Charlie Daniel’s “ South’s Gonna Do It Again”. The song has become a showstopper for his band, Rollin Roger who play regularly in Alabama playing all things Classic Southern Rock.

“South was the first song of the second set when we were playing a show at The Central Club, one of our favorite venues in Leeds, Alabama, and there were these three College age Guys. I realized if I could do something to remember us we could get some Frat gigs. I was laid out on the table wailing away when one of the guys started pouring Beer into my mouth and I knew we had a hit then.”

Rollin Roger started in 2006 with Forrest, Roger the Soundman and Mike the drummer who had played in several bands over the years.

“I was checking want ads at Bailey Brothers down in the Southside (Birmingham) in November 2006. We were on the same musical page but it took us until 2008 to get the right people in the band.”

Tristan was born in 1984, he jokes,”…and the world went to hell the next day”. Tristan was diagnosed with a form of Autism known as Pervasive Developmental Disorder. “It shows up when you’re younger but as you get older you learn how to communicate better. A lot of the Obsessive Compulsive tendencies go away as I get older. The hardest thing growing up was dealing with kids my own age. I moved to Vestavia, (A Birmingham suburb) when I was eight years old from Hueytown. Vestavia kids were such that if you were different in any sort of way you were an outcast, got picked on, and exploited, that sort of stuff. I used to come home crying just about every day when I was young.”

Tristan with The Purple Fiddle

Tristan was asked by the Alabama Interagency Autism Coordinating Council to be a Consultant. He regularly travels down to Montgomery representing as a Functioning Adult with ASD to give input on whatever programs they plan to put into effect for the State of Alabama.

Music helped Tristan deal with his differences and gave somewhere to focus the anger and negative energy and turn it into something good. “I did a show called “Vestapalooza” in 10^th grade. There were bands and I was the only solo act playing Fiddle, Guitar and Singing. “

In the last couple of years Tristan has become a “go to” Harmonica man and has sit in with several Birmingham artists such as Todd Simpson & Mojo Child, Adam Guthrie, Chris Porter and Stuart McNair. In a way he has picked up where Topper Price left off but doing it his own way.

Tristan has also been on stage in Nashville with Tyler Dickerson at Tootsie’s and Jake Bowry at The Broken Wagon Wheel. “Garth Brooks’ Harmonica man, Terry McMillan was the most sought after Harmonica player in Nashville and he played on “Aint Goin’ Down Till The Sun Comes Up”.” Whenever he heads out into the night, he wears a custom fitted shirt with three or four harmonicas ready to join in on the Blues, Country and Rock and Roll. Tristan feels “In Color” by Jamey Johnson should have had his Harp playing on it.

In the last couple of years Tristan has been an extra in a couple of Indie films, October Baby with John Schneider was a lot of fun being a fan of The Dukes of Hazard, also “Company M Mob of Soldiers” where he was featured in three scenes as well as playing a juror. “I was kind of found by ACT (Americas Choice Talent) Models and Talent Rep. Sativa “Andy” Banks. Andy has been a big supporter of Tristan who he said originally pointed out his hair and thought he would be great for hair care product promotions.

One of Tristan’s favorite hobbies is getting involved in Civil War re-enactments. “When I am running around in a color guard I forget I am in 2011 and begin to think I am in a combat zone in 1861. When I put on my clothes I am a whole other person. I feel like I am in an actual battle and could actually be killed and it makes my body react better on a subconscious level.” Tristan was told this was a mark of a true professional and he feels it has helped him with his acting.

Tristan can be found in and around Birmingham with Rollin’ Roger or sitting in at Metro Bistro and other venues as he develops his playing and writing with an eye towards the future.

Tristan, Birmingham, Alabama 2007

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, Tennessee thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Tags Tristan Dunn

Categories Adam Guthrie, Alabama Music, Charlie Daniels, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, Music, October Baby, Rock Music, Rollin Roger, Topper Price, Tristan Dunn, Uncategorized

Parrish Hultquist, Utah’s Greatest Guitarist Gone at 48

January 30, 2011 //

Photo – Brad Hood

When Parrish Hultquist started playing out at age 15, Utah had no idea what they were in store for.

After first tracking at Bonneville Studios for a band called Equinox, he developed his songwriting with Adrian Scott and Brad Hardisty in Roxx. Within a few short years, he was out performing originals with Moviescreen who released their first album in 1984.

Moviescreen

By the time Moviescreen started playing at The Generation Gap, Parrish’s lightning speed and interesting chord changes set him apart from what was available at the time in Utah. Parrish was learning from just about every imaginable influence from early Ritchie Blackmore, Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads to even Jazz artists like Al Di Meola and Allan Holdsworth. If he heard it, he could play it.

Wolfgang at Rafters-photo-Brad Hood

During the early 80’s he challenged himself to study classical nylon guitar only to find out that his teacher from the University of Utah had taught him everything he knew in six months. Anything that he would challenge himself to do on the guitar he could accomplish. He was a guitarists’ guitarist.

Parrish excelled in his abilities and quickly became bored or disinterested if the band he was in was not up to pushing as fast as things should be, reached a plateau or could not see his vision. Most of the time Parrish was the only guitarist in the band, but, those that were fortunate enough to share the stage with him found it to be an exhilarating experience.

Megattack Raw Delivery 1986

Parrish took guitar seriously and was not up for sharing the stage with somebody he would consider subpar. Probably, the most successful band that Parrish performed with was Megattack with the dual guitar attack of Parrish Hultquist and Jay Gough. They played regional shows from Salt Lake City to Boise, Idaho with crowds of a 1000 or more. Megattack’s first album Raw Delivery took off in Europe just as the band broke up.

Wolfgang, Parrish,2nd in White pants

Parrish played in numerous projects in the late 80’s, such as Terra’s album Flames of Passion (out of print) featuring brothers Dana and Kevin Freebairn and early 90’s, most notably Wolfgang who played regularly in Salt Lake City and played tour dates opening for bands such as Extreme and Tesla. Wolfgang recorded several unreleased tracks and a few videos that can be found on YouTube nowadays.

Megattack , Raw Delivery era, Bryan Sorenson, Jake Oslo, Rick Jackson, Parrish Hultquist, Patrick Carter, photo courtesy The Bryan Sorenson Family

Parrish created a lot of buzz as a guitarist and garnered compliments from other contemporaries such as Michael Schenker and George Lynch. He started to appear on Metal Fanzine covers as the next big thing or the Intermountain Music Scene secret weapon. It would be a fact that Parrish would not have a problem tangling with any guitarist on stage doing anything from Metal to Jazz to Classical Music. He was an accomplished musician who studied everything he could get his hands on.

Megattack, photo courtesy The Bryan Sorenson Family

Parrish began to have medical issues, a very rare seizure problem in the mid 90’s that began to slow down his ability to perform. He took whatever energy he did have to creating demos off all of his song ideas in his home studio and took opportunities to record with friends.

Megattack in 2006, Jay, Richard, Rick, Parrish and Bryan

In 2005, the opportunity came to record with the original Megattack line up and a follow up to Raw Delivery called Save The Nations was recorded. The album was professionally mastered at Airshow in Colorado. Parrish put as much as he could into his songwriting and playing. He was constantly dealing with seizures although he was grateful to have the opportunity to record again and perform on stage in Salt Lake City. Although medical issues would keep him in Spokane, W A., where his family lived and where he had medical attention, he was grateful to perform saying finally his daughter, Taylor, was able to see him perform with the band that garnered so much success in the 80’s.

One time he was riffing away at a visit to Guitar Center in West Valley later in years when a Salesman was blown away and asked if he had ever heard of Parrish Hultquist, that his Dad use to hang with him and he was considered the best guitarist to ever come out of Salt Lake City. He finally busted up a little and explained that he was Parrish.

Travis, Shawn and Parrish

If Parrish respected you as a musician or as a person he was a lifelong friend. While he had a hard time with people that were not what he considered real, judgmental or dishonest he was ready to include those that he could tell were on the fringes whether they were shy, handicapped or otherwise feeling left out. He had a sense of humor and a personality that would light up the room or the face of a girl working as a Checker at the Grocery store. If he wanted to engage you in conversation or merriment there was no stopping him.

Back row, Parrish, Rome, Shelly, front, Stacy, Tracy, Ronnie, Shawn and Travis

Parrish never made the natural choice to go out to the LA scene in the 80’s. He loved Utah, Idaho and Washington State. He never wanted to be too far from family. He was the oldest brother of eight children. The last several years with his health problems he was never far from his sisters and his Parents in Spokane, Washington.

Parrish was preceded in death by his younger brother, Shawn Hultquist, who had heart problems and while waiting for a heart donor died in 1998. His mother Gay Lynn Saunders also passed away a few years ago. The surviving family, his father Ron, Stepmother Jacque, Travis, Rome, Shelly, Stacy, Ronnie, Tracy as well as Cory and Billy are gathering for a Memorial in Spokane, Washington over the next few days. His engaging personality and talent will be sorely missed but warmly remembered.

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Tags Bryan Sorenson, Jake Oslo, Megattack, Parrish Hultquist, Patrick Carter, Rick Jackson

Categories Dana Freebairn, Eddie Van Halen, Hair Metal, Jazz, Matt Udall, Megattack, Moviescreen, Music, Obituary, Parrish Hultquist, Rock, Rock Music, Salt Lake City, Terra, Uncategorized, Utah, Wolfgang

Gregg Allman Encrusted T-Bone Steak

January 20, 2011 //

Throwing the CD in brought back my encounter with Gregg Allman in 2007 at the Alabama Theater in Birmingham, listening and watching Bonnie Bramlett sing from the back wall in the black out of view from the audience, “You know I played on her stuff”, Gregg said as he was leaning on my arm to get a little view from the back curtain, I told him, “Hey, Gregg, we can switch places”, “No, I’m fine” and like clockwork, “Well, I gotta get ready” and he disappeared down into the dressing room as if he had her set memorized because ten minutes later she was done and Gregg was on.

Hanging with Bonnie Bramlett, Alabama Theater 2007

That was the one and only time I hung with him and it felt like hanging with an old friend because history precedes the man. This was the voice of The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East and “Midnight Rider.” Well, what does this all have to do with this new T-Bone “The hardest working producer in show business” Burnett Produced disc have to do with that show? Mainly because of the off the cuff, off the set list piece that Gregg asked the horn section if they knew, Otis Redding’s “I Can’t Turn You Loose”, which he sang as if he was ready to be Otis.

Gregg at Alabama Theater 2007

Gregg is one of the most soulful voices there is. He doesn’t have to talk to the audience his voice live is mesmerizing with a mix of Southern Blues and Soul that only a few like him can say they are there, namely Joe Cocker, lesser known Eddie Hinton and maybe you haven’t heard of Topper Price but you should.

Low Country Blues is full of covers that feature horn sections, Hammond B3 and some acoustic instruments and shaky handmade sounding percussion things that would be associated with the Americana thing nowadays. The best parts if dissected remind me of that night in Birmingham with the full horn section, organ and a full band turning out Sixties era Memphis Soul on cuts like “Blind Man” by Texan Record label exec, Don D. Robey who managed Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown back in 1949 and had his biggest success with Big Mama Thornton’s #1 hit “Hound Dog” on his Peacock Records.

Indeed from the roster of songs and the depth of history of blues and soul in the tracks I wonder if it was Gregg saying I always wanted to do this or T-Bone digging into his vast treasure chest. They both had a lot of musicology to bring to the table.

Gregg brings a strong self co-penned with Warren Haynes track “Just Another Rider” which is almost an extension of something Otis might have done after “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of The Bay”, with its mix of soul and Lennon/McCartney beat. It was clear Otis was ready to mix it up after Monterey Pop.

Muddy Waters, “I Can’t Be Satisfied” really gets the Americana Acoustic blues treatment that feels more like Hill Country Blues down in the fields of Mississippi then uptown Chicago. This cut should have had Pinetop Perkins on that Piano but you can’t ask for everything. This was only a stone’s throw from 1920’s Memphis Jug Band material.

He really get’s Fifties style B.B. King down on “Please Accept My Love’ with that straight eight Ride and long Sax lines. It really feels like Memphis in the fifties with B.B. King and Fats Domino on the radio and cruising around late at night looking for where the girls are hanging out.

Amos Milburn

Another Texan, Amos Milburn shares the distinction of having a couple of his songs recorded on Rounder Records, many years have passed since George Thorogood recorded “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer” until Gregg took on “Tears, Tears, Tears” which continues a lot of threads that connect the late forties and fifties music on this disc with the theme of many a Blues tune “Tears in my eye, Blue as I can be, Just had another woman to walk out on me.” This is where you are going to hear the distinct Hammond B3 of Gregg, in a nice jazzy post-war blues number.

If that wasn’t enough there is Otis Rush represented “Checking on My Baby” with Doyle Bramhall II featured prominently. It’s amazing that this album came out of Village Recorders when it sounds like it should have come out of Houston, Memphis or maybe a little Chess Records recording out of Chicago.

One of the best ways to get to the root of the blues is the finisher, “Rolling Stone”, treated with a branch between The Allman Brothers band type rhythm and delivery with some Dobro and other spices such as a great walking bass note on the piano that brings things full circle.

It really captures the roots of Soulful blues which represents what Gregg is made of as he was finding his path early on. There is a great story in the liner notes about Gregg and Duane going to a B.B. King Concert in Nashville when they were young and that was their defining or divine moment when you think of what came after.

Did T-Bone do it right? He has done so many records in the last few years, that obviously not everyone is going to be right, but, he does the legend Gregg Allman in a good way that opens the doors for more stuff. He obviously can lead this into the Americana arena but, the best parts are really the Hammond B3, horn section late Sixties Soul feel. Gregg could do that all day and I would never bet bored. I think this is the CD that will make Eric Clapton search out T-Bone for some Production work. I think Eric will be jealous of this one.

This is a slow simmer, best heard late on a moonlight drive maybe through the southlands of Northern Florida or Southern Georgia; if you can’t be there you can sure feel it. Well done T-Bone! You done Gregg right. I always have in mind what will be my top ten for the end of the year. It is only January and this is one Allman flavored contender.

– Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Categories Americana Music, Amos Milburn, Bonnie Bramlett, Fillmore East, Gregg Allman, Music, Otis Rush, Rock Music, T Bone Burnett, The Allman Brothers Band

An Open Bama Letter to Oxford American

January 12, 2011 //

Eddie Hinton,white shirt w/ Wayne Perkins

Before heading down to Helena, Alabama to visit my sister and pickup my Soldano speaker cabinet, I picked up the latest Oxford American Magazine, their annual music issue because it was all about Alabama music not only in written word but featured a CD with 27 tracks, some of them extremely rare all telling different stories from different times and different parts of the state, not just regional but a mix of Blues, Rock, Gospel and even Zappa label material.

I threw in the CD as I headed down 65 towards Birmingham and took the ride through the Birmingham soul of Ralph “Soul” Jackson to Curley Money out of Dothan, Alabama. It was a wonderful ride and I learned things I didn’t even know being in the Birmingham Scene for a few years. I was happy to see the story told about how the Indie Rock Scene started with Jim Bob and The Leisure Suits with drummer, Matt Kimbrell (RIP). I saw his brother, Mark Kimbrell play in 2007 at a Sunday night Jazz Jam with Chris Fryar (then of The Allman Brothers Band now The Zac Brown Band) at Marty’s in the Five Points area.

Blues cannot be any rarer than Dan Pickett and Country more honest than Charlie Louvin and they all are here. Well at least for what one can do on a single CD without going to the obvious such as Brother Kane or The Commodores.

Eddie Hinton ID shot

As the music went on and I read the great essays, I kept asking myself where is Eddie Hinton? Obscure or not, the story of Muscle Shoals or the heart and soul of what is Alabama cannot be told without Tuscaloosa bred Eddie Hinton. It is possible for somebody looking at Alabama from the outside to miss the mark but if somebody is a serious Muscle Shoals or Alabama music fan or musician you cannot escape learning the story of Eddie Hinton.

“When I first came to Muscle Shoals it didn’t take very long before I became aware of Eddie’s singular talents- as a composer, lyricist and gifted Composer- and was touched by his original, offbeat and engaging personality…When the greatest artists came to Muscle Shoals they would hone in on Eddie – Aretha, Cher, Lulu, Bob Dylan would end up on the back porch of the Jackson Highway Studio with Eddie, pickin’ guitars and communing quietly in the Alabama evening. To this day I still play his records with great enjoyment. He remains unique – a white boy who truly sang and played in the spirit of the great black soul artists he venerated. With Eddie, it wasn’t imitation; it was totally created, with a fire and fury that was as real as Otis Redding’s and Wilson Pickett’s.”- Jerry Wexler, Producer with Atlantic Records.

Where’s Eddie? Can you find him?

I had heard, in reverence, several times about Eddie Hinton. Local Musicians in Birmingham would say “He was the greatest.” The most important revelation was when I talked to the “Swampers”, the Musicians that knew and worked with him at Muscle Shoals Sound.

On April 18th 2007, there was a benefit for Scott Boyer, who was a songwriter and played in Cowboy on Capricorn Records back in the Seventies. I had the opportunity to be part of the stage crew where a Muscle Shoals all star line up with everybody from David Hood, Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham and a cast of characters played with Bonnie Bramlett and Gregg Allman headlining.

I caught story after story from a time going back thirty plus years. I got into conversations and often asked who the most important player was during the Muscle Shoals era and over and over again the name Eddie Hinton came up. His story is one of triumph, tragedy and post mortem glory. In the last few years his recordings have been gathered from out of print Capricorn Records to rare self released material and put onto a collection of CD’s. They are not easy to find but one can start with Anthology-1969-1998 A Mighty Field of Vision.

Marian McKay

Late last Saturday I went and saw Charlemagne Records’ Marian McKay singing jazz standards at Crestwood Coffee Company with The Mood Swings. Charlemagne Records is the one of last independent record stores in Birmingham not unlike Grimey’s it has a long rich history when Marian, her brother and a best friend started the shop in 1977 and it has remained at the same location in the Five Points area since then. The shop has lately seen a resurgence as vinyl is becoming increasingly popular among collectors.

We talked about the Alabama issue of Oxford American and how fantastic it was and the people they didn’t forget but when I brought up the fact that Eddie Hinton was not included there was nothing but silence. Eddie was the elephant in the room. Obviously, there were others left out but he was the one who sat in the doorway of Muscle Shoals Sound trading licks and stories, had Duane Allman crashing on his floor when he came to do session work and had style and songs that only fit in Muscle Shoals, where when he ended up moving because of a small marijuana bust in the seventies that forced him to leave town kind of lost his stride and place in the world. He remained an Alabaman to the core even if it meant living in his van in Birmingham in later years before he passed away in 1995.

Eddie with his trusted Tele

There are so many tracks not known by most the world but worthy to wave the Muscle Shoals flag such as “Concept World”, “Sad and Lonesome” or “Heavy Makes You Happy.” It is singular talents such as Eddie Hinton that I discovered while living in Alabama that make me proud that I was a part of that scene for some years.

The State of Alabama has gotten behind this presentation and declared 2011 “The Year of Alabama Music”. I am going to do my part by spotlighting at least one artist a month with roots in Alabama past and present. I may have been born in California but Alabama is where I met Gregg Allman, Willie King, Tim Boykin, Mark Kimbrell, Chris Fryar, Adam Guthrie, Mandi Rae, Ian, Rick Carter, Kendra Sutton, Topper Price, Rickie Castrillo, Marty, Nathan Whitmore, Rick Kurtz, Rooster, Perch, Billy, Heath Green, David Hood, Kelvin Holly, Jesse Payne and Taylor Hollingsworth. Alabama, the beautiful, where I got my “Mojo”.