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”.

Marian McKay & Her Mood Swings/ Live/ Birmingham,AL 1/8/2011

I may call Tennessee home but my heart is in Alabama.

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

Categories Adam Guthrie, Alabama Music, Bonnie Bramlett, Charlemagne Records, Cher, Crestwood Coffee Company, David Hood, Eddie Hinton, Gregg Allman, Jesse Payne, Marian McKay, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Music, Rick Kurtz, Taylor Hollingsworth, Tim Boykin, Topper Price, Uncategorized

Recent Paramore Shake Up

December 23, 2010 //

Josh and Zac Farro’s recent departure appears to be from the fact that in reality Paramore was a solo gig appearing as a band. Josh and Zac went along for the ride as long as they felt a part of the band by writing and had some decision making.

What appeared to be an indie band pressing up through the ranks on small label Fueled by Ramen was actually a Trojan horse of major label Atlantic to be part of the South by Southwest crowd. Does this really surprise anybody? Although they may have not sounded like No Doubt, the packaging was clear especially when they had the opening slot for No Doubt on their reunion tour not too long ago.

Puddle of Mudd

This is not the first time an artist has been released as a “band” another good example is Wes Scantlin whose Kansas City band Puddle of Mudd had broke up, was able to get his demos in front of Fred Durst who was interested and helped him put together a new Puddle of Mudd that was touted as being from Kansas City when in fact only Wes was the only original member from Kansas City. The rest of the band were people that Wes met out in California or Fred wanted in the “band”.

Kurt Cobain

One of the most interesting notes in a label trying to attain street cred was the signing of Nirvana. David Geffen wanted to sign them to Geffen Records home of Guns & Roses. Nirvana had been with Sub Pop and was weary of the big label machine with the importance of being accepted by the alternative rock community. So, David Geffen started a new record company called DGC Records. It is fairly obvious what the initials stand for.

The Runaways & Kim Fowley

One of the biggest disputes of whether or not we have a real band here was between Kim Fowley and The Runaways. While it is true Kim Fowley helped Joan Jett put together an all girl rock band with his contacts that reached far and wide across Southern California, The Runaways did in fact write and perform their own music. There is no way to dispute that Kim may have been only a handful of people that could have helped put that group together and encourage them as raw teenage talent they were in fact a great band writing and performing their own music.

It would be great if all band stories were not either marketed or put together on purpose, but as one can see music is a business and many times the business machine is involved in the creative process. It looks like Paramore was in a development deal similar to a country act that may take a couple of years before the business machine drops the record on the public.

Paramore’s roots are actually still a lot more organic than most. Josh and Zac did have Hayley in their garage band. Hayley did reach out to them when she wanted to put together a full band. They helped to come up with the name of the band. She also stuck up for them when label execs started flexing their “whose in the band” muscle. They were involved in the writing process. In the end, although she may have been the one signing the deal with Atlantic, they were more of a band then the current Guns & Roses which really is an Axl Rose solo project under a band moniker.

Paramore has a lot of fans because after all it is about the music. Sometimes the way into the music business is not always from the garage to the road to success. There can be other people involved. Paramore is not quite the same story as Puddle of Mudd; they are still a band from Franklin, Tennessee now with two less members from Franklin, Tennessee. For Josh, it must be a little weird to leave the band with a name you came up with.

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

Categories Alternative Music, DGC Records, Geffen Records, Hayley Williams, Indie Rock, Joan Jett, Kim Fowley, Music, No Doubt, Paramore, Puddle of Mudd, Rock Music, Sub Pop Records, The Runaways, Uncategorized

Garth Brooks Historic Run at Bridgestone

December 20, 2010 //

Garth Brooks 2nd show 10pm crowded entry

Just weeks after Nashville Scene had published its best shows of 2010 list where Paul McCartney took top honors, Garth Brooks, who had not played an arena show in town since 1998, shattered tickets sales records, 140, 000, with nine shows sold out in four hours and spread across five days at Bridgestone.

Garth came to town to do his part for flood relief along with his original band, every member from the shows that played arenas in the 90’s made it for the night as the Country Star who sold 100 million records in 10 years and set a new standard of what was possible for Country crossover did a “best of” show to a sing along crowd and raised closed to 4 million dollars for The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

(Photo: Dipti Vaidya/Tennessean Staff )

This was a full production that was also being filmed for broadcast on the Armed Forces Network and the crowd benefitted from a multi angle camera production that was broadcast on several screens in the arena. Garth made note that “You’ve done your part, now we are going to do our part” before going into a greatest hits night that featured guest spots by his wife Trisha Yearwood and Steve Wariner who had won a Grammy for his Chet Atkins tribute album just a year ago.

Garth had just come out of retirement a year ago playing a show in Vegas that features him on acoustic guitar and a stool, with no backup band. As Garth says, getting back to where it all started. Not only was this the first Arena show in Nashville since 1998 but it was the first show with his original band.

Songwriter Sam Cooper/Mrs. Cooper/Mother first time from New Jersey

I was invited by a record executive who happened to have a spare ticket left to caravan with a group of songwriters and family to the second show. I had not seen a crowd that nuts since the first time I saw Van Halen. The entire audience was on their feet for almost the entire show singing along to every song.

It was Garth’s 10:00 late show the first night on Thursday and if he was worn out from the first set he didn’t show it other than maybe breaking a sweat now and then. Rolling through hit after hit, Garth not only made eye contact but interacted several times with the audience. At one point, he grabbed a camera from a fan up front and took pictures of the audience and his band before giving it back.

Crank it up/Full Video Production at Monitor Board

If this was meant to be a return to the stage, it was enough to land front page articles not only by local press, but from Rolling Stone, Billboard and every major press across the country. There were several well written pieces out the next couple of days.

Country Music fans are now used to Arena sized Country shows put on by Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley. Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts but this was the artist that started it all with his blend of singer/songwriter style that blended country with influences from James Taylor to Billy Joel. Garth figured out how to do “Arena Rock” size shows almost 20 years ago with high wire acts and smashing acoustic guitars.

Garth at Bridgestone Arena December 2010

Garth was in his element, walking around the entire 360 stage, egging on the audience and spotlighting band members as the night rolled toward the finishers “Friends in Low Places”, which has become his “Honky Tonk Women” as well as the song he wished he was known by “The Dance” finished out the night.

In a year where several major stars returned to do huge shows to benefit those who suffered most in the historic floods in May this was the icing on the cake. Now getting back to Paul McCartney, yes it was legendary that Paul played in Nashville for the first time. Paul has been playing a lot of second tier markets this go around. He also played Coachella for the first time in 2009. Those who know Nashville history know that Paul wrote “Juniors Farm” after staying at a Nashville area farm laying low one summer with Wings and the family.

Now back to Garth, as a personal triumph, this was as important as the Central Park Concert or playing at The Dallas Cowboys stadium. What started out as an offer to play a show turned out to be an avalanche of positive response with ticket buyers as far away as Canada to see Garth with the full band. Not bad for a member of “The Class of ‘89”.

Note*** First photos from my new HTC EVO 4G, we shall see…

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

Categories Country, Country Music, Garth Brooks, Rolling Stone, Steve Wariner, Trisha Yearwood

Year in Music and My Top Ten 2010

December 7, 2010 //

A year in Exile

If there was any kind of recurrent theme this year, The Rolling Stones kept popping up on the radar. It started when I bought the Deadstring Brothers album Sao Paulo an obvious well done Stones influenced work of art. It would be in my Top Ten if it had come out in 2010 but it actually was released in 2009. It is a great album and when I saw them live at The Basement it came across really well.

It didn’t stop there; Exile on Main Street had been remastered with bonus tracks where The Stones actually brought in Mick Taylor to play his parts on some unfinished tracks. The Rolling Stones released a new single “Plundered My Soul” from the found tracks and released several versions of the album.

Grimey’s did a midnight screening of the Documentary Stones in Exile that took photographs, film, new interviews with the band as well as Bobby Keyes and others about recording Exile on Main Street in the south of France way back when at The Belcourt Theatre. “Exile” is now considered a pivotal record but at the time “Tumbling Dice” was considered a difficult single on a rather un-commercial record.

During the Americana Conference the Long Players augmented with Stones Sax Player Bobby Keyes, Dan Baird and several singers like Mike Farris, Grace Potter and others did the entire album live at The Cannery Ballroom.

The Theatre release Ladies and Gentlemen The Rolling Stones which was filmed during the Exile promotional tour in the States was remastered and released on DVD in the fall. The set featured many of the songs from Exile that are not played much by latter day Stones such as “Sweet Virginia”. The sound and film looked phenomenal and it was good to see Mick Taylor at his best, an integral part of The Stones during that period and in truth is really missed nowadays.

Finally, to finish off the year of The Stones, Keith Richard’s Autobiography Life was released in November along with a compilation of his X-Pensive Winos recordings from the late Eighties. The Rolling Stones managed to keep in the music news almost as much as Taylor Swift.

Original cover for Straight Up

It also seemed to be the year for catalog re-releases as Apple Records remastered most of the Apple back catalog of non-Beatles recordings by Badfinger, Mary Hopkins, James Taylor and released all of them at the same time.

FnA Records continued to not only re-release 80’s metal catalog but also unearthed several recordings that were set to release but never were by labels such as A&M and Geffen when the Seattle scene took over. There were several recordings by different artists from The Thirteenth Floor Elevators 45’s to Carnival Season vinyl that saw their material released on CD for the first time.

Janie Hendrix continues exquisite releases of all things Jimi Hendrix with the release of West Coast Seattle Boy that not only has yet another Bob Dylan song done by Hendrix but goes back to the background of what he was doing before going to England with expanded packages that include a disc full of Isley Brothers and other nuggets, pre-Experience as well as a DVD Voodoo Child that even talks about his Nashville days.

Country continues to sell big, but real, traditional or Texas Country has been swallowed up by the Americana scene. At least it has found a home. As far as innovation in current pop country the last leap forward was Miranda Lambert’s Revolution and that was released last year.

Here are few honorable no less worthy than the list:

Ratt – Infestation

Merle Haggard – I Am What I Am

Kort – Invariable Heartache

Charlie Louvin – The Battles Rage On

Marty Stuart – Ghost Train

Jim Lauderdale – Patchwork River

Crazy Heart – (Soundtrack) Various Artists

Okay, now for my Top Ten. In making my choices, I not only looked at material, but innovation and game changers, records that made things interesting.

10- Carnival Season / Misguided Promises / ARRCO

This represents not only a re-issue on CD for the first time of regional Birmingham band Carnival Season that features local legend Tim Boykin, but, painstakingly includes every recording the band made during their short time together as well as extensive liner notes that tell the whole story of the late 80’s rockers. It sits well on the shelf with bands like Redd Kross as well as The Replacements. The band has been doing occasional reunion gigs playing not only this set but some new stuff as well over the last couple of years. This was one of the first alternative rock bands out of Birmingham, Alabama.

Featured tracks: “Misguided Promises”, “Please Don’t Send me to Heaven”

9- Robert Plant / Band of Joy / Rounder –Esparanza

Robert was in the middle of recording the follow up to Raising Sand with Allison Krauss when he pulled the plug when he felt the magic wasn’t there. He retreated to Nashville and entrusted Buddy Miller to put together a band that features Darrell Scott, Byron House, Marco Giovino and Patty Griffin and secluded into Woodland Studio to see what they would come up with. The result is obscure covers as well as a Plant-Page piece from Walking into Clarksdale that shows some Zeppelin flavor with uncharted Americana territory which sonically could have only happened with Nashville session players in such a short time. The band gelled in the studio and continues to roll across Europe and Stateside. This is probably Buddy Miller’s best Production effort yet.

Featured tracks: “Angel Dance”, “You Can’t Buy My Love”, “House of Cards”

8 – Ryan Bingham and The Dead Horses / Junky Star / Lost Highway

Ryan tends to write like a modern day Dylan but his voice is more like John Kay from Steppenwolf. Ryan who comes from the red dirt scene of West Texas and now lives in so-L.A. got national notice with the Grammy winning “The Weary Kind” from the Crazy Heart soundtrack defiantly writes about a drifter leaving behind a dead end life to go to California only to end up sleeping on the Santa Monica pier.

Featured tracks: “The Wandering”, “Junky Star”

7- Sweet Apple / Love & Desperation / Tee Pee

Put together by members of Dinosaur Jr. and Witch, this little known defiantly Hard Rock and other worldly idea collection of songs with its Roxy Music rip off style album cover is actually closer to something between an early Alice Cooper (when they were a band) and Ziggy Stardust era Bowie. The album kicks off like a Raspberries send off with Guidedbyvoices production and then the desperation begins with some morbid love lost desperation with a chugging Alice Cooper band style with lyrics like ”Looking out the window, watching people fall, how I wish I could fall to death”. It’s a rock and roll gem this year.

Featured tracks: “Do You Remember”, “I’ve Got a Feeling (That Won’t Change)”

6 – Preservation Hall Jazz Band / Preservation / Preservation Hall Recordings

What a fantastic album. A collection of well-known New Orleans Ragtime with this important Horn based band where the tuba still carries much of the bass part, mashes PHJB with an all-star cast of vocalists such as Andrew Bird, Pete Seeger, Ani DiFranco, Ritchie Havens, Steve Earle as well as the sultry vocals of Memphis’ Amy LaVere. The band ended up on tour with Maroon 5 this year.

Featured tracks: “Blue Skies”, “Baby Won’t You Please Come Home”

5- John Mellencamp / No Better Than This / Rounder

Recorded for the most part at Sun Studios with one RCA 44 ribbon mic into vintage Ampex Analog gear, John not only sounds like the old Sun recordings, this sounds like old tape that had to be baked in a microwave to finally put it on digital media. It was not only a great idea with equal parts Cash country, Rockabilly and blues but probably his best album since Scarecrow. The T Bone Burnett produced masterpiece even got airtime on WSM.

Featured tracks: “No Better Than This”, “Coming Down the Road”

4- Justin Townes Earle / Harlem River Blues / Bloodshot

If you missed it, Justin just rolled a third strike in three years. Every album has been decidedly Justin with marked differences and excellent songwriting. This would be his “Ode to New York City” where he now calls his second home. Jason Isbell (Drive by Truckers, The 400 Unit) puts in guitar duties and gives this more of an edgy guitar feel as well as some straight up Rockabilly. It really would be cool to see a pure Rockabilly album in the future.

Featured tracks: “Move Over Mama”, “Workin’ for the MTA”, “Christchurch Woman”

3- Black Mountain / Wilderness Heart / Jagjaguwar

This album sometimes feels like Led Zep III and Deep Purple Fireball at the same time. The duality vocals of Stephen and Amber still remind me of a haunting Jefferson Airplane with the production sounding very early 70’s analog, sometimes acoustic but when they rock it’s got Jon Lord style Hammond B3 all over the place. Although the first album by this Vancouver band may have been a defining moment this is the one that makes me wants to crank the stereo full blast on road trips.

Featured tracks: “The Hair Song”, “Old Fangs”, “Let Spirits Ride”

2- Mike Farris and The Cumberland Saints / The Night The Cumberland Came Alive / Entertainment One

Recorded in just six hours just two weeks after the Nashville Flood in a downtown Nashville church just blocks from the flooding, Mike shows that his bluesy/gospel voice can sound fantastic over anywhere he wants to go. Mike has been everywhere from Indie Rock, Blues, Gospel, working with Double Trouble to now this pre-war Gospel Blues style gem working with The McCrary Sisters, Sam Bush, Byron House and members of The Old Crow Medicine Show, his originals mesh well with the rare covers. He showcased the album at Cannery Ballroom during the Americana Music Festival and it was electrifying.

Featured tracks: “Wrapped Up, Tangled Up”, “Down on Me”

1-She & Him /Volume Two / Merge

Zooey Deschannel & M. Ward are some kind of modern Indie Captain and Tennille and somehow it works. Zooey has a sunny California breeze running through her muse that translates into a digital era take on The Beach Boys versus Phil Spector. Even though the material is fresh it makes me daydream of being back on the beach in Santa Cruz when I was six with my Mom and little sister.

Featured tracks: “In The Sun”, “Don’t Look Back”,”Lingering Still”

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

Categories Americana Music, Americana Music Festival, Ampex, Amy LaVere, Analog Recording, Apple Records, Badfinger, Black Mountain, Bloodshot Records, Buddy Miller, Byron House, Carnival Season, Charlie Louvin, Country, Country Music, Darrell Scott, FNA Records, Geffen Records, Grimey's, Hair Metal, Indie Rock, Jefferson Airplane, Jim Lauderdale, Jimi Hendrix, John Mellencamp, Kort, Lost Highway Records, Merle Haggard, Mike Farris, Music, Old Crow Medicine Show, Patty Grififn, Preservation Hall, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Robert Plant, Rock, Rock Music, She & Him, Sweet Apple, T Bone Burnett, The Rolling Stones, Tim Boykin, Uncategorized, West Coast Seattle Boy, WSM 650

Nashville Muse Kicks off Holidays at Red Rooster

December 2, 2010 //

Doak Turner at Home

Nashville Muse’ Doak Turner could really be the unofficial mayor of Nashville and this Friday Christmas starts at Red Rooster on Demonbreun from 4-8 PM where Nashville Muse / Music Starts Here throws the biggest Songwriter’s Holiday get together and anybody interested is invited.

Like it says on The Nashville Muse email “Bring your business cards”. Doak has put together the best networking organizations for all things music this side of NSAI. For well over a decade, his home has been host to what is known as either the monthly “Guitar-B-Q” or “3^rd at 3”on the third Sunday.

If you can’t make his monthly get togethers, you can always sign up for The Nashville Muse Newsletter. Doak has opened his home for well over a decade to not only some of the most well-known writers in town, but those who show up to Nashville with nothing but a melody in their head who are trying to put it down to paper and realize their musical ambition.

Jim Parker

I first heard about “3^rd at 3” in the spring of 2008 when I first arrived in Nashville. I got an address and after turning off Charlotte Pike down to Doak’s place I pulled out my guitar case with my trusty Maton and started up the long driveway to the backyard. There was a radio station broadcasting live in his garage. Guitar cases lined the driveway about 60 long. Kids were throwing Frisbee in the yard.

Inside the house, it could get intimidating very quickly. You might find yourself in a bedroom in a song round with a couple of hit songwriters who are able to convey their message with nothing but a voice and a Martin. But, that’s okay, that is what Nashville is all about, step up your game so you can bring something to the table.

When I was there that first time, after I shared a couple of songs I opted for the big circle playing old classics out on the back deck. It was a big music party where all rungs of the music ladder can mash together and network not to mention the pot luck in the garage where chicken, beans, store bought cakes mingle with various cornbread recipes. If you don’t leave with a full stomach, a melody in your head and a smile on your face you must have been asleep.

Tom Shinness

My most recent trip to the “3^rd at 3” found Jim Parker hit songwriter, member of the Huntsville chapter of NSAI, a well developed group with a great venue, playing in Doak’s office with multi-instrumentalist Tom Shiness (who could pass for Steve Lukather’s brother) trading off between his Harp Guitar and playing some bluesy licks on his Cello adding a great original fill to one of the writer’s songs. A man had just come into town with nothing but an idea in his head about a song he wanted to write about the daughter that he wasn’t able to be around while she grew up. Sam Cooper was networking with new and old friends. The garage was full of warm food and warm greetings.

Sam Cooper & Jamey Johnson

I’ve got three recommendations, sign up for The Nashville Muse Newsletter, go to Doak’s house for the “3^rd at 3” and be at Red Rooster on Friday for the party! Merry Christmas! By the way, if you don’t have a gig after the party, join us and check out “Nowhere Boy” a new biopic movie on Pre-Beatles John Lennon at The Belcourt at 9:30 PM!

Merry "re-opened Opryland Hotel" Christmas!

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

Categories Doak Turner, Jamey Johnson, Jim Parker, Nashville Muse, Red Rooster Nashville, Sam Cooper

Jimi Hendrix: The Nashville Connection

November 21, 2010 //

The new Jimi Hendrix Anthology West Coast Seattle Boy bonus DVD Voodoo Child answers a lot of questions about Jimi’s time in Nashville, which for the most part is an unknown piece of the puzzle. Jimi not only formed his first band The King Kasuals with Billy Cox on Bass while in Nashville but it was here that he cut his teeth with some of the best Rhythm and Blues acts of the day.

Jimi Hendrix at Ft. Campbell, KY

The first step to Nashville for the Seattle, Washington native was joining the Military. “I was 18. I figured I would have to go into the Army sooner or later, so I walked into the first recruiting office I saw and volunteered. I wanted to get everything over with before I got into music as a career so they wouldn’t call me up in the middle of something that might be happening. “

Jimi wasn’t able to sign up as a musician because he had no formal musical training so he joined the most elite outfit he could. The 101st Airborne Division, The Screaming Eagles of Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. He wrote home “Well Dad, here I am exactly where I wanted to go in the 101^st Airborne.”

Young Jimi with Red Danelectro

Jimi wanted to succeed for the sake of his family name as a member of the Screaming Eagles in the U.S. Army. One of the first requests home was to send his guitar, “P.S. Please send my guitar as soon as you can. I really need it now.”

The one thing that Jimi gave up when he went into the military was about to become what he always wanted; music would become the center focus of his life. He was in the military for thirteen months when he got his ankle caught in a sky hook and he broke it. He had become frustrated with the military life and the inability to play music and decided to tell them he hurt his back too. They let him out, July 2, 1962, just prior to the troop increase in Vietnam.

Photo Date 1963, probably at Del Morocco, Jimmy (Jimi) ,notice Epiphone Coronet, Silvertone Amp, Billy Cox, 3rd down, Nice Fender Jazz Bass, Fender Amp. Jimi was notorious for letting his stuff go into hawk.

Jimi became more serious about the guitar while still in the Army and decided to head south of Kentucky a few short miles to Nashville to see if he could earn money playing the guitar. He moved into a housing development during the civil rights movement. In fact he was arrested once along with Billy Cox in 1962. “Every Sunday we would go down to watch the race riots. We took a picnic basket because they wouldn’t serve us in the restaurant…Sometimes if there was a good movie on Sunday there wouldn’t be any race riots.”

The Bonnevilles, 1962, Clarksville, TN at The Pink Poodle just prior to move to Nashville.

Ft. Campbell had been where Jimi had become friends with Billy Cox, a Bass player born in West Virginia, raised in Pittsburg, PA who also settled into Nashville for the music opportunities.

Together. they formed The King Kasuals. The band played at clubs like the Del Morocco on Jefferson Street as well as gigs on Printers Alley. Jimi did get a little studio time, but, engineers found him too experimental when he got to recording as a back up musician and Jimi had a hard time making some extra money as a studio musician.

Mid-60’s Nashville Civil Rights March

Hendrix waited for his Army buddy and bassist Billy Cox to get out and together they came down the road to Nashville to form their first band – King Kasuals. King Kasuals became the house band of the now-gone Club Del Morocco (the owner of which ended up bailing the two out of jail after a Civil Rights demonstration downtown!). Hendrix played at so many of the clubs in Printers Alley and along Jefferson Street – places where the likes of Etta James and James Brown were performing. Hendrix took his guitar everywhere in Nashville – on the bus, to the store, on a walk. Nashville is where he really developed his guitar playing. He said so himself: “That’s where I learned to play really…Nashville.” – 365nashville.com

“Hendrix credits Nashville as the place that he really learned how to play guitar. That still freaks out most people who think of Nashville as just country music,” says Joe Chambers, the founder of the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville.

Chambers recounts how in 1962 Hendrix wound up at the army base at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, and met fellow musician Billy Cox. They became fast friends and a short time after moved to Nashville, some 60 miles away, and lived together on Jefferson Street, above a beauty shop called Joyce’s House of Glamour.

“I actually saw Jimi Hendrix one night at Printer’s Alley. He was in his private’s uniform,” says Norbert Putnam, a musician, studio owner and producer with a long list of credits in Nashville.

Hendrix soaked up the style of the blues players in the bars along Jefferson Street. “You gotta be pretty good to get their attention,” Chambers recalls his friend Billy Cox saying. “Jimi went to sleep with his guitar on, woke up with it on, walked out the door with it, and went to the movie theater with it.”

Jimi with Buddy and Stacey “Shotgun” Nashville TV Taping

Some of the first video footage ever shot of Hendrix was on Nashville’s WLAC Channel 5 television show Night Train. You can see him on a 1965 clip backing up Buddy & Stacy, looking freaky and sliding his hand over the front of his guitar’s neck. Chambers says Hendrix and Cox played the clubs on Jefferson as well as the club circuit from Murfreesboro to Tullahoma. – From Rock In The Country: Nashville’s Secret History By Davis Inman 12/17/2010, American Songwriter

King Kasuals, Jimi, Billy

Jimi left Nashville to be near his Grandmother in Vancouver in December of 1962 and played with a band called Bobbie Taylor and The Vancouvers, that featured Tommy Chong of comedy team, Cheech & Chong, until heading back to the south in the spring of 1963.

The gigs continued with Billy Cox and the band. Jimi continued developing his chops and playing wherever and whenever he could.

Jimi Hendrix did some uncredited session work while in Nashville and also played for current “Nashville’s Queen of The Blues” Marion James and Roscoe Shelton before leaving Nashville. Billy Cox also played bass for Marion James who still resides in Nashville and is signed to Ellersoul Records.

Billy Cox wrote two songs for Frank Howard & The Commanders and both Billy and Jimi played on the sessions for “I’m So Glad” and “I’m Sorry For You” during those Nashville days.

Billy Cox stated in a Nashville Scene interview in 2010 that he is in the process of writing a book about his time with Jimi Hendrix in Nashville; nobody could tell the story better than Billy and he hopes to clarify between myth and legend what happened in those early times.

Jimi in Nashville

Imperials drummer Freeman Brown played with Hendrix while he was in Nashville. “There used to be a theater called the Ritz Theater down on Jefferson Street, it was there for the longest. We went to a show one day and Jimi carried his guitar in a shopping bag. He always kept his guitar with him. And every time he would just play, just play, just play; it was kind of like having a little baby to him.” “It was like a third arm, you know. And like he (Freeman) said, I saw him on a bus with it one day, you know, in a shopping bag, in a plastic bag, whatever. That’s the way he was. It was not unusual at all. Not usual at all,” confirms George Yates.

Larry Lee, 2nd guitar with Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock

“Jimi and I, being left-handed guitar players, just talked. We hit it off real smooth,” Yates recalls. “Everybody thought we were brothers. We were skinny, very young, and I guess, women chased us, you know. We played together one time. It was with a group called The Bonnevilles, and I believe Jimi named the group. His manager had us on the road one night, supposedly the three best guitar players in town- me, Jimi, and Larry Lee from Memphis (The same Larry Lee that played with Jimi at Woodstock). The people just went crazy because we were all doing crazy acts, you know, guitar behind the head, biting it with the teeth, falling on my knees, and I have bad knees because of it today. But Jimi was the showman. We were admirers of each other, you know.” – Night Train To Nashville by Tina Robin

It was at this time he met a promoter named Gorgeous George, who got him on as a touring guitarist. “The idea of playing guitar with my teeth came to me in a town in Tennessee. Down there you have to play with your teeth or else you get shot. Those people were really hard to please.“

The earliest known video of Jimi Hendrix was playing “Shotgun” with Buddy and Stacey at a Nashville television studio in May 1965.

It was a Soul package that came into Nashville featuring Sam Cooke, Solomon Burke, Jackie Wilson, BB King and Chuck Jackson that kick started his professional career. “I got a little job playing in the backup band. I learned a lot playing behind all those names every night.”

Jimi’s star across from Country Music Hall of Fame

He went on a 35 day tour covering most all of the south, the Seattle boy was now in the thick of a tour that took him to all parts of the country. He sent a postcard “Dear Dad, just a few words to let you know I made it to South Carolina. Tell everybody “Hello” with love, Jimmy”

Jimi with The Isley Brothers

While in New York, he entered an amateur contest at the Apollo Theater and won $25 after taking first place. It was there in New York that The Isley Brothers asked him to stay and play. He played with them for a while but he was ready to break out of being in the back up position and desired to direct his own career. He left The Isley Brothers when they made it back to Nashville on a tour stop.

He then joined a band that took him to Atlanta, Georgia where he met Little Richard and was asked to join his band. “Dearest Dad, I received your letter while I was in Atlanta. I’m playing with Little Richard now. We’re going toward the West Coast. We’re in Louisiana now. But my address will be in Los Angeles. “

Jimi with Little Richard

He only played with Little Richard for five months and left after not getting paid for a period of five and a half weeks. He was ready for a change after the Little Richard stint. “I couldn’t imagine myself for the rest of my life in a shiny Mohair suit with patent leather shoes and a patent leather hairdo to match. “

“I didn’t hear any guitar players doing anything new. I was bored out of my mind. I wanted my own scene making my own music. I was starting to see you could create a whole new world with the electric guitar because there isn’t a sound like it. “

Curtis Knight and The Squires

He heard music in his mind that he wanted to do but he knew it was going to be hard to find people to do it with. “I went back to New York and played with this Rhythm and Blues group called Curtis Knight and The Squires. I also played with King Curtis and Joey Dee. “

It was after this period of time in Nashville, travelling with some of the greatest artists of the day that he became what the world knows as Jimi Hendrix. Chas Chandler, bassist for The Animalswas invited, by Keith Richards girlfriend at the time, Linda Keith (she also “loaned” Jimi one of Keith Richard’s guitars to Jimi), to see him play with his band, Jimmy James and The Blue Flames and that is where the usual story of Jimi Hendrix begins.

Band of Gypsies : Billy Cox, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Miles, who had kept on Jimi for some time to get their own band going.

Although it may have been a short couple of years, his friend Billy Cox would rejoin him with Buddy Miles as Band of Gypsys and they recorded some of the funkiest three piece soul ever done. Billy would be with him at Woodstock and record and perform as a member of his band until he passed away. Billy still lives in Nashville.

Jimi went through many transitions in life, moving several times and being called by many different names, first, Johnny than James, “Buster”, Jimmy, with many knicknames along the way including “Chop Suey” and finally Jimi. Through all the changes, Jimi managed to be very positive as his guitar was like a magic carpet guiding him on his travels.

If Jimi had not joined the Army and started his journey through the south, his story might not have been what it became. By doing what other great guitarists do, be it Country or otherwise and joining the Nashville scene and becoming a touring musician he accelerated his abilities quickly and became the Voodoo Child with a mojo hand made of gold becoming the most important guitarist of his day, a great songwriter and the highest paid rock showman of his time.

Many of the quotes that are by Jimi Hendrix, were read by Bootsy Collins and are featured in the Documentary, Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child.

” Music is the most important thing. I’m thinking of my future. There has to be something new, and I want to be a part of it. I want to lead an orchestra with excellent musicians. I want to play music which draws pictures of the world and its space.” – Jimi Hendrx

Jimmy James and The Blue Flames

Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridge@hotmail.com

Tags Billy Cox, Brad Hardisty, Jim Hendrix, Little Richard, Marion James, Tommy Chong

Categories 101st Airborne, Band of Gypsys, Billy Cox, Buddy and Stacey, Buddy Miles, Chas Chandler, Curtis Knight and The Squires, Jackie Wilson, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy James and The Blue Flames, Joey Dee, King Curtis, Little Richard, Music, Rock Music, Sam Cooke, Solomon Burke, The Animals, The Isley Brothers, The King Kasuals, Voodoo Child, West Coast Seattle Boy

Beatles Kids Showcase at 3rd & Lindsley

November 18, 2010 //

The Beatles / Ed Sullivan Show / 1964

This Saturday at Noon, 3^rd and Lindsley plays host to The Nashville Beatles Kids Concert which will feature 15 students of Suzahn Fiering who is a guest instructor at The Liverpool Institute for The Performing Arts (LIPA) a University founded by Sir Paul McCartney and Sir George Martin.

The students are between the ages of 7 and 16. Suzahn states” The Beatles catalog is a great way to tune kids onto popular music, good lyric writing, cool harmonic structure and lots of chords and harmonies. The songs speak for themselves whether they are played simply (as they are with the younger students) or with complicated arrangements. The Beatles catalog offers such a wide variety of challenges ranging from easy to difficult.”

Suzahn Fiering

The Beatles song catalog is so diverse and is a great way to raise the bar for young musicians. “There couldn’t be a better educational tool for pop songwriters, singers and instrumentalists. My students get the confidence they need playing these songs and that makes it easier for me to teach them how to read and write music and make the transition into Classical and Jazz music as well. “

The students will be joined by Fred Lawrence (former pianist for Waylon Jennings and also the father of student Eric Lawrence) and local session drummer Larry Murov. It will be a great opportunity for some of Nashville’s youngest future musicians and songwriters to showcase at one of Nashville’s finest clubs.

Suzahn Fiering will be returning to Britain in March 2010 to teach Songwriting at LIPA’s Paul McCartney Auditorium. This performance coincides with the announcement that the entire Beatles catalog will now be available on I Tunes. The Beatles music continues to inspire future generations by transitioning into new current music delivery formats.

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

Categories Rock, Rock Music, Suzahn Fiering, The Beatles

Rock City Angels CD Party at The Muse

November 9, 2010 //

courtesy Brian Cade Photgraphy

November 19^th, mark it on your calendar, will be a big night for Rock City Angels performing live with a forward march and a look back to the storyteller past, where they will be celebrating the release of Midnight Confessions on FnA Records, a collection of songs recorded from Memphis to England with Brian Robertson of Thin Lizzy fame on what would have been their second Geffen Records release.

Bobby Durango talked about Midnight Confessions; a collection of songs spanning three years after the release of their first Geffen album Young Man’s Blues. “We had the same A&R as Guns n Roses at Geffen and that is where they put their money and promotion”.

The label didn’t give them an idea of when they would drop the second record, “The A&R guy just kept saying “This stuff is great but I don’t hear THAT SONG” it was almost like Geffen was saying we are not going to put money into this”.

Rock City Angels went through several lineup changes that even included Brian Robertson of Thin Lizzy featured on “Heart and Soul” between 1989 and 1992 before they were sold a bad idea. “Bands are much more savvy now. I just wanted to be a musician, not a businessman. Our lawyer was in collusion with the label. He was the one who sold us on the idea of declaring Bankruptcy.”

Rock City Angels were told at the time by their own Lawyer that when it was done Geffen Records would sign them again, when in actuality it was a way to wash their hands of the band without having to buy them out of their contract. The tracks that make up Midnight Confessions are works in progress that would have eventually made up their second Geffen release.

Bobby isn’t bitter, “If you listen to the record (Young Man’s Blues) it still holds up, a lot of bands can’t say the same thing.” Bobby hates being lumped in with the hair band scene, “We were more like The Stones. It’s time to clear the record. For the most part our fans know the difference”.

Rock City Angels has been busy this last year after the release of their newest material “Use Once and Destroy” a straight ahead rocker, “We were never about going after that elusive hit. We were after an overall theme like Aerosmith Rocks: A great album. Use Once and Destroy is what would be an official follow up to their first album.

They will feature at least two gems from Midnight Confessions, ““Sweet Ambition” sounds killer and we have never done it live. We have an updated arrangement of “Shattered Shake””. Neither song has ever been performed live and will make their debut on November 19^th at The Muse in Nashville.

They will perform songs from all of their releases, making sure to mix crowd favorites with newer material and diamonds from the past. It will be a night that kicks off renewed interest in the band especially in Europe. “We just had a five page article come out in Popular One in Spain. We hope to get over to Europe; we have a lot of fans over there.”

There is still a lot of unreleased music as well as new stuff to the forefront. “Geffen spent a lot of money on the first album. We actually recorded it once with Producer Jim Dickinson (The Replacements, Big Star, Mudhoney, Mojo Nixon) and Geffen decided we had to re-record it and the second recording became Young Man’s Blues. I still have that first recording”. Okay, it’s time for Geffen to consider a re-release with both mixes.

The current lineup of Bobby Durango, Pagan Raygun, Jorge Hernandez, Mark Binko and Adam Keller is primed and ready for a killer show. “We have a great future ahead of us, so… fuck ‘em”. Enough said.

Rock City Angels - Midnight Confessions

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

Categories Aerosmith, FNA Records, Geffen Records, Hair Metal, Rock, Rock City Angels, Rock Music, The Muse Nashville, The Rolling Stones, Thin Lizzy