Archives for posts with tag: Music

Jubal John Finally On Record

November 21, 2016 //

Jubal John finally releases some of his gems that he has been mining for more than a decade gigging in and around Birmingham, Alabama. Mr. Right Now shows the wide ranging influences both British and American that make up the threads of his musical inspiration and record collection.

Jubal can be seen as a lone Minstrel or with a sizable combo showing off his songwriting prowess at a Five Points Pizza House, at Marty’s or any size watering hole on any given night jubal-john-roy-wood .

The deep well of knowledge shows in a song cycle that is as much an Alabama interloper as a British Pub Rocker.

Mr. Right Now sounds as analog as Phil Spector’s Lennon stamps or modern Americana production.

Rather than running his voice through a double rack voice processor that can make you sound like Tom Jones on steroids, he double tracks quite a bit and leaves the voice sitting in the mix that creates production that is part alternate version – Travelling Wilburys and Buddy Miller getting some vibes in his living room with Wilco as a backing band.

Did I say an Alternate Travelling Wilburys? Yes, much of Jubal John’s songwriting and voicing makes me feel like I am listening to a core group made up of Elvis Costello, John Lennon, Roy Wood and Johnny Cash. Okay, let’s break that down, a Beatle, a pub rocker, the guy who invented Electric Light Orchestra out of The Move only to leave and start Roy Wood’s Wizard and pull in some Fifties music as well as one of the Million Dollar Quartet.

I’m not going to break it down song by song. Let’s just say when you see the shifts from “ Cupid’s Pink Slip” to “Be Careful” to “Women and Cars” and “Churches” you are going to wish that Jubal was the core songwriter of your band.

Wait, I forgot “Savannah” – The one I would push on Top 30 radio. Oh wait! There is no top 30 radio. It doesn’t matter, get the vinyl and blast it through your Polk Audio columns and it will make you happy.

Wait till you hear the strings come in on “Never Had A Love.” If that doesn’t give you goosebumps then you might want to check your pulse.

Considering that Birmingham has the most diverse excellent talent pool in the South, this album is a stand out.

Brad Hardisy, Nashville, Tennessee

Tags Birmingham, Brad Hardisty, Jubal John, Music

Categories Uncategorized

Tower Records Documentary Makes One Stop and Think

November 16, 2015 //

tower records movie

The Belcourt showed a few screenings of the documentary on the once great record outlet; All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall Of Tower Records which documents the once billion dollar music retail chain while trying to gain some understanding as to what happened to the great mothership of deep catalog outlets.

Tower Records Fresno, 1978, The Fresnan

So many of my teenage years were spent going to and deciding what to buy at the Fresno Tower Records location after opening in the mid 70’s next to a brand new Pacific Stereo store. While I waited for the “everything-in-the-store-for-the-same-low-price” sale that came every so often, I would go through every bin of vinyl as well as the eight tracks, cassettes and reel to reel releases.

I knew where everything was. I learned during the screening that Elton John has me beat. He knew where everything was at the Los Angeles store which dwarfed every other location back in the day.

I remember the day they opened at the strip mall on Blackstone. They had a rock trio on the back of a flatbed truck in the parking lot blasting through Orange Amp Stacks. They were playing ZZ Top covers. They sounded great and that was the first time I had ever heard or saw Orange Amps.

One time, they had a Wet T-Shirt Contest out in front and I was little embarrassed because a girl from my Drama class at Hoover High School who was 16 and posing as “over 18” won.

van halen women and children I finally got to the Sunset location in Los Angeles when I was down in the area with the Snow College Jazz Band in 1980. I purchased a copy of Van Halen Women and Children First on cassette for the car while we drove around Southern California.

After I moved to L.A.in 1984, I avoided going into the store for fear of spending my entire paycheck. I mainly would just drive by to see the big cover art displays and signage. I saved my dollars for the occasional purchase at a local record store in Costa Mesa, California because of my tight budget at the time.

the smiths how soon I noticed every store was different. It was like every location had its own vibe and bands they would push. I saw how big The Smiths were in Orange County at the Mission Viejo / Lake Forrest store near my work. The Smiths had their own display rack of every single they ever made.

ramones sheena Tower Records in Buena Park had a lot of Punk Rock and obscure Ramones stuff.

I actually made the trek to Tower Records when I lived in Birmingham, Alabama after seeing that there was one in Nashville, Tennessee. By the time I moved here in 2008, it was either gone or on the way out.

I remember FYE was there for a while but they never had the deep catalog of Tower Records.

the cretones

The last thing I bought from Tower Records Nashville was a Russian 2 CD set of the Best of Angel. Angel was difficult to find on CD. In fact, there are a lot of things that never were released on CD that were at the top of my list. There has never been a CD release of The Cretones Planet Records catalog. The Cretones were kind of like Elvis Costello & The Attractions if they lived near Joni Mitchell’s house in Laurel Canyon. In fact, three cuts made it onto Linda Ronstadt’s “new wave” album Mad Love including the title track.

There-in lies the rub: the turning back to vinyl for music lovers of all ages. I now own The Cretones first two albums in pristine quality for a few dollars as well as a couple of 7 inch singles.

The big question is how did Tower Records grow into a billion dollar business only to file for bankruptcy a few years later? They try to answer that question in the last fifteen minutes.

They talk about not selling singles. The youth quit coming and that meant death to future development business. The seven inch and twelve inch singles had the artwork and some exclusive B-Sides and mixes prior to the advent of YouTube. A CD single was not worth a dime. It still isn’t.

The other one was the price of a CD. The list price and average price was exorbitant. The actual cost of manufacturing was much less than vinyl so while this was to cover some marketing and the cost of promotional videos, much of this was a cash cow for the record companies and retailers that actually made the record business bigger than the film business in the Nineties.

The beginning of the end was Napster and file sharing. Lars Ulrich [Metallica] was right. At the time, he was demonized by other bands and his own fans for suing downloaders. If the record companies and bands had lined up behind Lars and took the whole file sharing scheme on in court and stiff fines were imposed for stealing music maybe the industry would not be where it is today.

It is missed opportunities like that which eventually drove the once gigantic Tower Records to be liquidated by its own creditors. It is hard to believe that every time a Tower Records opened up, there were hundreds of people lined up at the door much like an In N Out Burger joint opening is today.

The big chains are all gone and the small Mom and Pop shops and segmented Indie start up stores have taken their place. This is a mere ghost reflection of what sales figures were less than twenty years ago.

herb alpert whipped cream Record buying was a part of almost everybody’s life whether it was Mom and Dad buying Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass’ Whipped Cream and Other Delights or some stoner blasting an 8-track of Black Sabbath Vol. 4 from a 1969 Chevelle SS with a 396 and tuck and roll interior.

Everybody was building their collection, a physical collection that was where friends and party goers gravitated.

Songs and records were a framed reference for friends, loved ones and events that transpired through the time space continuum. It was not background fodder or best of song lists in Pandora or Spotify.

There were jobs involved in the music business; everything from retail clerks to buyers, distributors, manufacturers, advertising and so forth. There are thousands upon thousands of jobs that are gone.

The one bright spot in the documentary was how Tower Records founder, Russ Solomon pushed to get a store open in Japan after a couple of investors came forward. He was met with a lot of resistance but pushed forward and in 1980 opened in Sapporo, Japan. As the business de-construction Managers came in, Tower Records was forced to sell off the Japanese division. Tower Records Japan exists to this day with 85 locations.

The implosion of the music business story begins to show a real personal toll as the story of Tower Records is told from the very beginning to the aftermath by Russ Solomon and the key players, some of whom breakdown telling the story of the final days of the once renowned Retail Giant.

Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN

Tags All Things Must Pass, Black Sabbath, Brad Hardisty, Fresno, Music, Ramones, Record Store, The Smiths, Tower Records, Van Halen

Categories Music, Music City, Nashville, Uncategorized

The Case For Collecting Seven Inch Vinyl In Nashville

September 15, 2015 //

Celebrating Nashville Vinyl store finds and stating digital pundits are all wrong!

courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

If you haven’t noticed, collecting vinyl records is becoming a huge thing among all age groups in Nashville. United Record Pressing has become so backlogged that they are expanding into another space. Record Store Day is like a city wide holiday with bands playing all day long at Grimey’s, The Groove and Fond Object.

*many hyperlinks go back to vinyl videos*

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

I caught the bug a few years ago after getting an original copy of Jerry Lee Lewis “Breathless” on 7 inch Sun Records while going through Bee Branch Arkansas on the way back from Branson, Missouri that I found at a vintage and junk shop.

I didn’t even have anything to play it on, since I have not owned a turntable since 1988. I even sold off my collection which was really large and deep and full of imports in the late eighties for practically nothing. I know I wasn’t the only one to do that.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

It wasn’t until I started buying some vinyl over at Third Man Records that I finally bought a turntable and the venerable receiver and speakers to go with it. It all started on Craigslist where I went through two old well-heeled Marantz and Sony Receivers that burned out after about a year each. The JBL near field monitors and home theater Subwoofers that I located have stood the test of time. I went through one Sony turntable where the line level pre amp fried before going back to Amazon and settling on a reasonably priced yet better sounding Audio Technica turntable. The Sherwood receiver I purchased through Amazon has specs right out of 1990 with 100 watts per side and has a great protection circuit that has stood up for two years.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

Ever since that has been resolved, I have been able to concentrate on collecting. Most Collectors are going for the twelve inch 33’s and prices are increasing. I do have a paltry 100 or so “long-play” twelve inch records but I really wanted to hear the sound of the seven inch [45’s] records like I remember.

Post Sex Pistols, Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

Post Sex Pistols, Brad Hardisty Private Collection

Just like 16 bit CD’s and 24 bit hi-def, analog has some rules to tone and bigger mid-range. Twelve inch 45’s are a whole other thing entirely that became popular in the eighties but I’m not going there. Let’s just talk about seven inch records. Although 12 inch 45’s are best known as dance remixes from the 80’s, my first experience was a French Sex Pistols release of “Anarchy In The UK” on that format in 1978 at a Punk Rock shop in Santa Cruz, California.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

Seven inch records could be made with more bass and increased output without worrying about the needle skipping on the record. The 45 mix often will be a lot different than the album mix. The flip side or “B” side may be a song that is not available on a record. The mix may be different in other countries. I remember owning a French Polydor copy of Jimi Hendrix “Voodoo Chile” where the mix had been cranked up and the guitar sounded like you were standing with your ear up against the grill cloth. I used to play it for friends back in the eighties and watch their jaw drop.

The Beatles used to release songs either on albums or on seven inch singles. Eventually the singles showed up as a collection like the Hey Jude album or the double gatefold red and blue albums.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

In my own collection, there was a huge difference between the album cut of The Rolling Stones’ “Get Off Of My Cloud” where Brian Jones’ snaking lead notes were pronounced and the single where Keith Richards’ crunchy rhythm guitar is cranked up and really drives the song playing off of Charlie Watts’ snare. It made the difference between good and great.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

The Sweet talked about how when they found out that “Fox On The Run” was being released as a single, the members of the band went in and completely remixed the song with a much harder edge akin to Motley Crue than the album version. Sweet did this behind Management and Producers backs. They knew what it should sound like and took things into their own hands. They got everybody upset and mad even though the record did well. I’m glad that Sweet did that.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

Another good thing about singles is that it was formatted for AM radio where three minutes was the goal and there were limitations to time versus physical size. While some edits were a little annoying some were appreciated if you just wanted to groove and not go into a “space-out mode” like the deleted bridge in the single version of “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin. Not to mention, if you haven’t heard Led Zeppelin on seven inch like original cuts “Living Loving Maid” or “Black Dog” than you are in for an experience full of Bonham’s snare cracks and home stereo speakers that will turn into a Jimmy Page Marshall half-stack.

As far as actual tone, I read all the garbage between vinyl and analog buffs and digital hi-def die-hards and it really comes down to whether you like a lot of high frequency stuff that only dogs can hear in a world where a computer doesn’t recognize playing on top of the note or stretch tuning and changes the actual information as well as removing all the bits of sound that define a mid frequency instruments’ personality versus a couple of snaps or crackles and something that sounds very dynamic, alive and in your living room.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

You can take the test for yourself. I own a copy of Bob Marley: Legends on CD and a new old stock copy of “Is This Love” by Bob Marley & The Wailers. I did a side-by-side. The most important aspect is Bob Marley’s voice. If you only heard it on CD, you would never recognize the grit and air that make up his actual voice texture. They are gone in the digital realm. While digital is supposed to be more accurate, it actually sounds like a comical cheap imitation.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

Another side by side would be Parliament’s “Tear The Roof Off The Sucker (Give Up The Funk) regarding the groove aspect. Not only does the vinyl single sound thicker and richer in the mids but the sharp edged funk of a tight group gets lost in the digital conversion as the numeric digital world has different numeric values for different frequencies and the groove of all the instruments locking together becomes nothing more than a cool drum pattern with a bunch of instruments that seem to clog undeniably slightly loose at every juncture. The true groove is gone in the digital realm.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

One more major complaint is what digital did to Duane Allman. I own digital versions of “Layla” and Duane’s slide sounds sharp and out of tune thanks to digital algorithms. If you listen to the vinyl album or single you’ll notice Duane is playing on top of the note [not out of tune] and it gives a lift to the mood at that point in the song. It is absolutely beautiful. Too bad Duane didn’t know that computers were going to make his slide out of tune and unlistenable.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

Okay, enough of my own observations that seem to defy the logic of quantized digital junkies. If it is all about sounding “real”, “in your living space” and with a wide sound field then that needle dragging through a frequency groove like a work of art is the way to go. If you like snappy eighties style keyboard loops and auto tuned vocals then the current state of shared files should work for you just fine.

My Mother’s favorite before she passed away in 1966, Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

When I started collecting, one of my friends here in town thought I was going to just go back and buy everything I used to own. I did go after some of that but there were a lot of things I missed growing up and there are songs that did well regionally here in Nashville and are readily available as opposed to many songs that I was into growing up in California.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Collection

For the most part, I grew up in Fresno, California from the last half of 2^nd grade through my junior year in high school. That time spent in Fresno meant that my tastes are eclectic, all over the place and really just defined by musicianship, groove or originality.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

If I had to define Fresno during the seventies by five groups, it would probably be Tower Of Power, Supertramp, The Tubes, Sly & The Family Stone and Buck Owens. My personal taste goes way beyond that, but those would be five groups that anybody who grew up there would say, “Oh yeah, for sure they were big in Fresno.” I can name a song by every one of those bands that I liked as well as anybody from Hoover High School Class of 78 could as well.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Collection

You could add any horn band like Chicago, Malo or Blood Sweat & Tears. The biggest cover band was called March Hare [scan of Fresno City College school newspaper circa 1978, see page 4 , article on group called Windfall for more on March Hare members]. They had a full horn section and could play just about anything popular at the time and got paid the most money. They had a four piece, guitar, bass, drums and keyboards group called Spare Hare for a fraction of the full band cost.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Collection

My own personal taste ran the gamut of Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Funk, Jazz, Punk and so on. I even liked some Country although it really was my parents’ music at the time. To give you an idea, I listened to Judas Priest, The Ramones and liked Power Pop like Raspberries and Pezband but my dream gig would have been to play guitar for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers in 1977.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Collection

If I tried to collect everything from my past, I would be in deep for years and years.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Collection

There are particular records that I look for such as the three dominant records I remember from my earliest days in San Jose before my parents died in San Jose, California. I have purchased the trio. The Rolling Stones “Get Off Of My Cloud” was the first record I purchased at age 6, by myself, after my mother said I could pick something out. It is still one of my favorites. The other two were San Jose regional records that went onto the national charts, The Syndicate Of Sound “Little Girl” and Count Five “Psychotic Reaction.” I did get to watch Count Five practice two blocks away from my Orchard View childhood home back when.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

Just about any War single reminds me of Fresno, especially “Me And Baby Brother” which is in my 400 plus and building singles collection.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

In the mid-seventies, I was really into what was modern metal or Hard Rock at the time and singles like UFO, “ Too Hot To Handle” found in Louisville, Kentucky as well as Sweet flipside “Burn On The Flame” remind me of my early band years playing guitar.

As far as collecting goes in Nashville, the biggest amount and the most variety of seven inch records would go to The Great Escape on Charlotte Pike. Pricing is really reasonable. There are loads of $1.00 singles as well as collectables that for the most part are not over $10-a-piece. They put out their new inventory every Thursday and it is kept in bins by date if not in any kind of alphabetical order.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Record Collection

The Great Escape in Madison may not have as big a selection but will usually have different records then the ones found at the West Nashville store. The best thing to do, regarding The Great Escape, is to sign up for their email list and get notification when records will be off 20% or when they have their sidewalk 25 cent sale including the Bowling Green, Kentucky location.

I usually go for the 25 cent sales including Bowling Green, Kentucky and start digging around. It is important to go with no preconceived notions. It also helps to have some in-depth knowledge of decades of music. They used to have 10 cent sales but I don’t think that will be around again.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

Examples of things I have found at 25 cent sales include a radio copy of Pat Metheny “New Chautauqua” which I never knew was released as a single until I found a brand new old stock copy at The Great Escape in Madison. I also found a brand new old stock seven inch copy of “Taboo” by Arthur Lyman. I remember “Taboo” from my Dad’s twelve inch long play records. He had installed a built in system in the living room and this was Hi-Fidelity recording. It was meant to show off frequency response and clarity but it would now be categorized as Lounge Music. It would fit in with a Martin Denny collection. I don’t think any of these records sold well in this format but it is so cool to have them on seven inch.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

In Nashville, there are a lot of radio copies around that ended up in retired DJ collections as the format declined and now they are all over town. A rule of thumb on seven inch radio copies is that in the 50’s and 60’s they actually spun the record numerous times and there can be a lot of wear on a very popular record and little wear on a record that did not take off.

In the 70’s and 80’s, AM radio used a tape cartridge similar to 8 track tape and would record the cut to be played multiple times on tape till it wore out and then would re-record on a new “Cart”. It is possible to find near mint radio copies from the 70’s and 80’s. I have found a few. My gem is a radio copy from the late 60’s of Big Brother & The Holding Company “Piece Of My Heart” where Janis Joplin’s live performance rings clear and gives a front row seat of her performance. It gives me the chills. I paid less than $10 almost two years ago at The Great Escape.

Apple Records from Portugal, Courtesy Brad Hardisty Collecton

Although it is easy to find several Excello record titles in Nashville, I have yet to find any of the three Marion James “Nashville’s Queen of The Blues” singles that were released here locally after years of searching. I guess I will have to resort to Ebay.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

There is no problem finding all the Country you want, especially mint new old stock copies of deep catalog Artists. I don’t know enough about that to make an educated guess. I do have Patsy Cline “I Fall To Pieces”, plenty of Buck Owens and some Kris Kristofferson. Kristofferson singles are plentiful even on the smaller labels as he was really popular in Nashville as a songwriter. A good place for deep catalog new old stock Country would be Lawrence Record Shop down on Lower Broadway although I did find a Wreckless Eric single on Stiff Records as well as the previously mentioned Bob Marley copy of “Is This Love” at Lawrence Record Shop.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Collection

With current interest in Muscle Shoals, Fame Records can be found easily and I definitely look for Candi Staton and other Jimmy Hall produced gems. The Great Escape on Charlotte Pike usually has plenty of Fame Records along with all things Beatles and Elvis.

Since Nashville was a big hub for actual Music “Business”, there was manufacturing, distribution, recording, management and publicity that all had copies of material. There were warehouses and backrooms of vinyl that never got sold that now has found its way into used vinyl stores all over town. It’s not all Country either.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

While Grimey’s would be ranked number one for new vinyl in town, as far as used seven inch records, it’s best to go the to the Grimey’s Too [Preloved Store] and go through the two boxes on the front desk. That would be the most recent purchases. I recently found a radio copy of Blind Melon “Tones of Home” by doing just that. I was surprised to even see a vinyl radio copy release from 1992. I found a vintage radio copy of Judas Priest’ “Living After Midnight” as well for $1.00.

Grimey’s does stock the largest selection of local label seven inch releases. It is possible to buy a new record from GED Soul along with Infinity Cat and Third Man Records all in the same trip.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

The Groove is great for new vinyl but also has a decent stock of used seven inch vinyl. Because of its East Nashville neighborhood location, they have quite a few used copies of Alternative and Punk bands from the 90’s to the present day. If that is a specific thing, this would be a great place to check out. For me, I’m primarily looking for 60’s and 70’s but there usually is an 80’s record worth getting every time I stop by. This was the only place in town that I saw a single by The Jam. It was an import. I am looking for stateside releases since they are even harder to find.

Fond Object is an interesting place. This started from the owners’ own private collection, I believe, he was based out of Austin so, this store has a lot of late 80’s and 90’s Punk. Fond Object had stuff that probably was never available in Nashville in a retail used vinyl store. They actually had a copy of The Sex Pistols “Pretty Vacant” American release on Warner Brothers but they wanted $20 for it, so I passed hoping to get at a place where it would mean nothing like Lawrence Record Shop.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

Third Man Records has just about every Third Man seven inch release in stock at any given time at their company store. My favorite non-Jack White single, Dan Sartain “Bohemian Grove” was easy to find. Dan Sartain with Matt Patton [Model Citizen, The Dexateens, and The Drive By Truckers] on bass was part of the Birmingham Scene when I lived there. Third Man has been releasing a few Sun Records seven inch re-releases as well. The Raconteurs cut “Old Enough” with Ricky Skaggs still has never been released on vinyl at the home of the world’s fastest record.

Infinity Cat opened up their office to visitors with new vinyl behind United Record Pressing after having numerous fans show up at the door wanting to say “hi” on their visit to Nashville.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

That’s about it for seven inch records, except for, maybe the occasional find in an antique mall. After all, most of these records would be considered antiques.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

It’s always worth checking out the local shop when you’re out on the road. I stopped by Rasputin Records in San Jose when I was out in California recently and found the Record Store Day release of Junior Kimbrough and The Black Keys both doing “Meet Me In The City” [Fat Possum] which was impossible to find here after they were all immediately snatched up. Hill Country Blues is well known in Nashville, but the single had little value in San Jose, California. Apparently, the locals are clueless about Junior and there was a stack of copies available.

Courtesy Brad Hardisty Private Collection

It was also easier to get a copy of Simo’s single through Amoeba’s website in California.

Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN

Tags Amoeba, Arthur Lyman, Bob Marley and The Wailers, Brad Hardisty, California, Collecting Vinyl, Collection, Count Five, Dan Sartain, Deep Purple, Duane Allman, East Nashville, Eddie Cochran, Fond Objext, Frank Sinatra, Fresno, Grimey's, Infinity Cat, Janis Joplin, Jeff The Brotherhood, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Marr, Led Zeppelin, Lightnin Slim, Matt Patton, Music, Nashville, Parliament, Pat Metheny, PIL, Public Image Limited, Ramones, Rasputin Records, San Jose, Seven Inch Vinyl Record, Sly and The Family Stone, Supertramp, Syndicate Of Sound, The Great Escape, The Groove, The Lovin Spoonful, The Professionals, The Rolling Stones, The Sweet, Third Man Records

Categories Blues Music, East Nashville, Infinity Cat Records, Music, Music City, Nashville, Records, Third Man Records

Birmingham Rockers \\GT// To Play The Stone Fox

August 12, 2015 //

Birmingham’s \\GT// on new album and the importance of closed-up Bottletree

$Photo Courtesy - \\GT// and Communicating Vessels$

Photo Courtesy – \\GT// and Communicating Vessels

Birmingham, Alabama’s \\GT// is part of a Birmingham well rounded scene tradition that has produced everything from rockers Carnival Season, Brother Cane to a burgeoning Indie scene that began almost ten years ago that included everything from Hard Rocking Universal Joint and beitthemeans to more singer/songwriter oriented material from Jesse Payne and Kendra Sutton.

In fact, the scene has been diversified enough to include various hip hop acts and Punk Reggae Scenesters with a sophisticated College political mindset, The Agency.

Out of all these factions have come nationally known College Radio Americana in the form of Wild Sweet Orange and The Great Book of John. The other angle that has taken off is related to a re-look at Muscle Shoals and the Fame Studio years with St. Paul & The Broken Bones and the unpeggable Alabama Shakes.

Birmingham has managed to develop one of the best regional Indie Music Festivals in the Country with Secret Stages while local label Communicating Vessels is growing and nationwide.

\\GT// developed out of this eclectic scene when two co-workers, Scotty Lee, Byron Sonnier at now defunct venue The Bottletree got together to jam on a modern twist of Alabama gothic tale hard edge grooves. Working with established area drummer Mark Beasley, the Power Trio brings out the loud Birmingham underground belly of the Magic City.

Their newest release, Beats Misplaced, currently only available in Europe on Rough Trade will be released later this year on Communicating Vessels. In the meantime, \\GT// plan to hit every club they can along the eastern half of the United States as well as the Midwest.

The Nashville Bridge caught up with the band a few days prior to their show in Nashville at The Stone Fox on August 15^th.

Brad Hardisty / The Nashville Bridge: Scotty, you have some great label support [Communicating Vessels] and some gigs coming up.

Scotty Lee – \\GT//: Yeah we do. Let’s see, we have another small run coming up from the 15th to the 23rd so far. We are doing, obviously, The Stone Fox. We have been going through St. Louis and Lexington and starting to do that Midwest kind of thing.

TNB: How was Secret Stages [Birmingham Indie Music Festival] this year?

Scotty: Secret Stages was great! We got in the second day. We were on the road but it was really awesome and everybody that came to the festival was saying great things about it all weekend. So, yeah it was really good.

TNB: I could tell you one thing. I think what you’re doing would work in Nashville now. I wouldn’t have said the same thing seven years ago. Things have really changed.

Scotty: Yeah.

TNB: Are you guys in tune with what is going on in Music City?

Scotty: They might be more than me. The only thing that I know is like my buddies The Banditos is the only Nashville connection that I have.

TNB: Nashville is becoming more diversified with Jack White, The Black Keys and locals that grew up here like Jeff The Brotherhood.

Scotty: Oh yeah. Jeff The Brotherhood. I forgot about them. I forgot they are from Nashville.

TNB: Did you record the new full length album in Birmingham?

Scotty: The full length we’ve got now we recorded over here at CommVess [Communicating Vessels] in their studio. We worked with Lynn Bridges and Taylor Hollingsworth [Conor Oberst, The Spider Eaters, The Puffs, Dead Fingers, Pawn & Gun] and we had a lot of friends play on it and stuff as far as background vocals and all that kind of stuff.

TNB: So, Taylor played on it a little bit?

Scotty: Yeah, he played a couple of lead parts, did some background vocals and he produced a little bit of it as well.

TNB: What’s the scene like in Birmingham nowadays? Is it still centered around The Nick? I know that The Bottletree shut down, right?

Scotty: Yeah, The Bottletree is gone. Saturn opened up and Birmingham is always going to be like it has been. All the fans that are out now are really awesome. I have a lot of friends that are still doing their thing which is great.

TNB: Are you bringing any bands with you to The Stone Fox or are you guys playing with some local bands?

Scotty: Yeah, we’re just playing with people that are from there, I guess. We are not bringing anybody with us on these runs.

TNB: What is the current goal for \\GT//?

Scotty: I just want to tour and give people a chance to hear us. That’s all I want to do.

TNB: A while back there was a demand for stuff over in Europe from Alabama [Drive-By Truckers]. I know that Taylor Hollingsworth has been over to England. Do you see any interest overseas?

Scotty: Well, our album was released over in Germany and the UK with Rough Trade so we will find out.

TNB: When will the album be out on Communicating Vessels stateside?

Scotty: It’s being released here in about September or October. Not really sure. There is no certain date right now.

TNB: Hey Byron.

Byron Sonnier – \\GT// : Hello.

TNB: How did you end up working with Scotty? Were you with him in a different band or is this kind of a new thing for you?

Byron: We were actually in a different band that was kind of a psychedelic stoner rock band. I played guitar and sang. Scotty played lead guitar. It didn’t last very long but, yeah, so we played together before.

TNB: Did \\GT//come out of a jam or did Scotty bring something to the table and say, “Hey let’s try this out?”

Byron: We both worked at Bottletree at the same time. Scotty was getting this band together and asked me if I wanted to play. I had never played bass before but I was like I’ll try and it just kind of went from there.

TNB: How long did you guys work for Bottletree?

Byron: Scotty had worked there on and off since the beginning, I worked there for a little over five years.

TNB: I moved out of Birmingham in 2008 and moved to Nashville. I used to play a lot at The Nick. I didn’t play The Bottletree but I saw some great shows [Dead Confederate, Taylor Hollingsworth, The Donnas] back then.

Byron: It was awesome! I mean The Bottletree is responsible for everything that’s happened here, I think definitely in regards to the music scene. I mean it [music scene] was there before but I think that national attention came out of that one way or another.

TNB: I was going to say that Communicating Vessels kind of came together before The Bottletree shut down, right?

Byron: Oh, yeah, well before that, for sure.

TNB: Some of the early label bands like The Great Book of John, I guess, were established playing out of The Bottletree?

Byron: Right! Alabama Shakes played open mic night only they were just called The Shakes then. St. Paul [& The Broken Bones], I mean all those bands played through here several times.

TNB: Is there something like The Bottletree now? One thing I remember is that they had had some great stuff like hummus and vegetarian food.

Byron: Now? No, I mean there is the new Saturn. It’s booked by BOWERY. It’s definitely got its own kind of thing going. It’s different. It’s more of a concert venue then a club. So, there really is not anything close to that right now. It’s definitely a void.

TNB: I thought it was a cool thing because like you could go there and eat healthy if you didn’t feel like drinking or anything you know.

Byron: Right.

Mark Beasley – \\GT//: Hey Brad it’s Mark.

TNB: Hey Mark how are you doin’? I remember seeing you play with a lot of people before I moved from Birmingham in 2008. You were playing with Kendra last thing I remember. I used to play in a band myself.

Mark: Which band were you in?

TNB: I played with Danny Everitt [Bass], the sound guy over at The Nick and Daniel Long [The Agency, Furthermore, Jesse Payne etc.]was the drummer. He has been playing with…

Mark: Jesse Payne, yeah.

TNB: Daniel has been playing with a lot of people. Our lead singer name was Peter Davenport. We were called various names over a few years and the last year we went by Furthermore. I used to see you to play with a lot of people. I remember running into you a lot of times.

Mark: Yeah, I’ve played drums in quite a few bands here and there. Some of them short lived and some of them longer.

TNB: Are you gigging full time or are you working as well?

Mark: I think all of us have jobs. There was a time I was playing in three or four bands at the same time but now those bands have kind of folded up and become inactive and now it’s just been playing with \\GT// and going on tour which is taking up most of my time at least in terms of my time playing music.

TNB: I was going to say it’s probably a good band to be in because you’ve got solid label support. They are doing stuff for you and you’ve got some decent videos out as well as a great Alabama regional vibe t your groove.

Mark: I think some of the success from the Alabama bands, at least, is kind of what you would expect Alabama to sound like. There are other bands like us and Dirty Lungs on this label that don’t necessarily, you know, we really are just a rock band with some weird perverted blues licks thrown in there. It’s not typical of what you would think of it being Southern music.

TNB: I think it fits with fans of Alabama music that know about the past ten years and bands such as The Immortal Lee County Killers, Cordova, Model Citizen or Beitthemeans, .

Mark: We played a show with those guys [Beitthemeans] in Mobile [Alabama].

TNB: It’s kind of cool to see that at first Communicating Vessels was more concentrating on almost like new Americana and now they are branching out and tapping into some other scenes. Is that how you feel?

$\\GT// - photo_John Purvis$

\\GT// – photo_John Purvis

Mark: I think that is just a good business model if you talk about a record label. I know Epitaph had its success having a bunch of the same kind of bands on their label but really to be successful you have to have artists of all different types to diversify your sound. So, Communicating Vessels certainly has a couple of hip hop acts. They have what you would traditionally think of as Americana acts as well as straight ahead Rock and Roll bands too.

TNB: Good luck with the new project! I’ll let you guys go.

Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN

Tags Alabama, beitthemeans, Birmingham, Brad Hardisty, Brother Cane, Byron Sonnier, Carnival Season, Communicating Vessels, Daniel Long, Danny Everitt, Jesse Payne, Kendra Sutton, Mark Beasley, Music, Peter Davenport, Rought Trade, Scotty Lee, Secret Stages, Taylor Hollingsworth, The Bottletree, The Great Book of John, Universal Joint, Wild Sweet Orange, \GT//

Categories Alabama, Alabama Music, Birmngham Alabama, Communicating Vessels, Magic City, Music, Secret Stages

Top Ten Nashville and Regional Albums 2014

December 22, 2014 //

Dead Fingers, photo courtesy Jonathan Purvis

This year saw the further disintegration of album sales and disgruntled musicians receiving a pittance from Spotify or other streaming services. Okay, on the bright side there were still great albums to be heard and musicians kept up the pace like the scene with the shrimp boat in Forrest Gump. “Storm?” “What storm?”

Taylor Swift made a home base move from Nashville to New York City and went from making Country Music that was really crossover to making a complete crossover to Pop Music. Albeit, the songs are catchy and she has become the reigning sales queen by CD through placement that saw 1989 on Diet Coca Cola pop up displays in every major supermarket in the United States plus a lot of hard touring and tabloid press.

Scott Borchetta is still on my amazing label head list. If it takes every supermarket in the United States to make Taylor’s new album a million seller, he’s going to do it. Scott shows sheer tenacity and anybody who has heard him talk about the original Taylor Swift launch will realize that if he has the right thing to work with, he will not be denied.

One bright spot on the sales horizon was hearing that United Record Pressing was moving to bigger digs due to the ever increasing demand for vinyl. The craziest part about vinyl is that we all bought into the X and O bits as music for so long that when you hear real music frequencies on vinyl, it’s hard to believe how real it sounds.

Nashville continues to diversify as Country Music starts to sound more like Twisted Sister and Motley Crue starts to sound more Country. What’s interesting is just as Country was starting to hedge the crossover bet towards EDM, the big money making songs had guitar tones from REM to Malcom Young.

Just when you thought all was lost to what classic country sounded like, Ray Price delivers an instant Countrypolitan classic and Sturgill Simpson shows a path to the future for real Country. There are many performers who would like to see “Real” Country make a comeback by Artists like JP Harris and Joe Fletcher.

Jack White continued his Nashville years as the hardest working rocker in the business. Next up, Bridgestone Arena just blocks from Third Man Records. Neil Young became not only the first person to record straight to vinyl in the refurbished 1947 Voice-O-Graph booth at the initial unveiling on Record Store Day 2013, he also recorded an entire album in the time machine, releasing A Letter Home on Third Man Records.

The Black Keys kept pretty busy not just by touring arenas but producing solid efforts by Lana Del Rey [Ultraviolence] and Nikki Lane [All Or Nothin’].

Debbie Bond & The TruDats and The Cotton Blossom Band at CD Release Party, photo- Brad Hardisty

If Nashville is not collecting the creative spark of the world like an ACME magnet in a Roadrunner cartoon than I don’t know how one can explain the laundry list of musicians of every genre moving here by the droves. There are so many more professional musicians than what you read about in the local rags.

East Nashville is becoming “gentrified” with its traditions like The Tomato Festival and The Hot Chicken Festival and has a laundry list of musicians living in the vicinity. The area is becoming much more expensive so there are other neighborhoods starting to become better known for musicians such as more affordable Riverside and Berry Hill.

The list of venues and bands that travel through town continues to grow. Nashville marches on as a Mecca for all things music as Nashville’s New Years Eve became only second in attendance to New York City in only four years of promoting headlining acts. Last year the show featured Blackberry Smoke, Brent Eldridge and headliner Hank Williams Jr.. This year it will be called Jack Daniels Bash on Broadway and feature a star-packed lineup that includes Lady Antebellum, Gavin DeGraw, The Apache Relay, and Kristen Capolino. The crowds have surpassed projected numbers in years past. Last year down on Broadway had near 90,000 party goers. This year will probably top 100,000 + for the free show.

Here are my Top Ten from Nashville and a couple of Alabamans and a Texan thrown into the mix.

10 [tie] – The Cotton Blossom Band – Soulshining [Self release]

Tony Gerber put together the truest Alternative project heard all year in Nashville. The Cotton Blossom Band features members of Bela Fleck & The Flecktones [Roy Wooten aka Futureman] and BB King’s [Michael Doster] rhythm section and they manage to blend Mississippi Hill Country Blues with Space Music and other assorted world tones. Imagine Junior Kimbrough backed by Tangerine Dream and you might be close but, no banana. I know there are other projects in town that are somewhere in this realm but Tony Gerber’s realization turned every live gig [which were almost invitation only events] into meditation on another plane without the need for Meds.

“See My Jumper Hangin’ Out On The Line”

10 [tie] –Justin Townes Earle – Single Mothers [Vagrant Records]

Justin is back in town! Well, after the New York sojourn, it was great to hear a great Nashville lineup playing some Southern inflected bluesy Muscle Shoals soul. Simple arrangements and to the point, this could have been a writer’s night at The Commodore Grill with a minimalist four piece band. The lyrics are important, timely and reflect more facets of his life, especially “Single Mothers” and his own feeling of being raised by a single mother. Justin changes it up again and always manages to upset somebody. This time, it’s “where is Justin’s finger style in the mix?” If you don’t know by now, Justin has made a stretch assignment on every album since Yuma. The predictable quality with the unpredictable line-up or mix is what keeps one looking forward to seeing what he is up to next.

“Single Mothers” “Picture In A Drawer”

9 –Debbie Bond & The TruDats – That Thing Called Love [Blues Root Productions]

Although completed in 2013, the official release date was in 2014 for the first Live recording to come from Radio Free Nashville’s Mando Blues Show as an official release. Much of the songs played by Alabama’s Queen of The Blues, Debbie Bond, that quintessential night were meant for a future project. After hearing the playback of the recordings done deep in the Tennessee woods in a MASH style tent, Debbie and her band decided it was a great sound and ready for release after some solid mixing. The album features an eclectic mix of tributes to the fans in Tarragona, Spain, New Orleans as well as the influence of Alabama Blues and Soul.

“Tarragona Blues” “Steady Rolling Man”

8 – St. Paul & The Broken Bones – Half The City [Single Lock Records]

You could say this is Eddie Hinton 2.0 or maybe Alabama FAME soul was bubbling under the surface just waiting to get out. What is true is when you take away Country Music, Birmingham and the surrounding areas have an Indie Scene that rivals Nashville. You could file this under The Daptones and the G.E.D. Soul catalog and it fits really well but with something really special with great vocals by Paul Janeway and instrumentation that kept the band busy all year long.

“Call Me”, “Grass Is Greener”

7 – Dead Fingers – Big Black Dog [PIPEANDGUN / Communicating Vessels]

Alabama’s Dead Fingers have developed a copacetic duality in their harmonies and their approach. Taylor Hollingsworth [Conor Oberst, The Spider Eaters] is a monster on the guitar and is able to approach the instrument in whatever way the song needs to be tickled. His wife Kate Taylor steps it up this time and her vocals are stronger than ever. You could call this a Southern She & Him but their pedigree goes even deeper into the history of Birmingham music. The Taylor family is involved in more projects than can be named while Taylor Hollingsworth’s brother has his own stuff going on. This couple represents the bread and butter of the modern day Birmingham scene from The Nick to over the mountain.

“Big Black Dog” “Shoom Doom Babba Labba”

6 – Jack White – Lazaretto [Third Man Records]

The depth to where Jack White takes his muse never ceases to amaze. The second solo release shows him in top form and now he is ready to take on Bridgestone Arena from his own backyard, which is no small feat as any Nashvillian will attest. Jack takes the James Brown motto of “the hardest working man in show business” to a third power.

“Lazaretto”, “Would You Fight For My Love”

5 –Ricky Skaggs & Sharon White –Hearts Like Ours [Skaggs Family Records]

Long time happily married Ricky and Sharon decide to change it up from their day jobs with Kentucky Thunder and The Whites and make a great duet album with a classic Country almost Americana edge. Although this is their first, hopefully it will not be their last. Ricky is always up for a challenge and has worked with everybody from Bruce Hornsby, Jack White and Barry Gibb over the last few years. Sharon White is the real surprise stretching beyond traditional Bluegrass to be a real charmer in almost a Steve Earle Texan Country meets Blues type way as well as some sweet Christian couple stories of faith that would have been commonplace in Country of the 50’s and 60’s. If one had lost faith that marriage could be a faith building partnership this might bring the possibilities that can exist.

“I Run To You”, “Love Can’t Ever Get Better”

4 – Sturgill Simpson – Metamodern Sounds In Country Music [High Top Mountain / Thirty Tigers]

Sturgill Simpson reminds one how cool stripped down Country Music like the Bakersfield sound is. It’s like the third coming of Buck Owens. I think he has a little more Texas in his groove. Dwight Yoakum was kind of the same thing back when “Guitars & Cadillacs” hit MTV instead of Great American Country. Dwight made it with the LA Punk Rock crowd and Sturgill is hitting it big with the Alternative Festival scene. The great thing is Nashville likes Sturgill too. So, maybe this kind of Country does have a chance in this Twisted Sister era of Country Radio. A great voice, great songs and a cracker jack band will not be denied.

“Turtles All The Way Down”, “Living The Dream”

3 –Steelism – 615 to Fame [Single Lock Records]

Okay, this may not be number one on the list, maybe because you can’t put an instrumental album there? This has got to be the coolest album on the list. I first heard Spencer Cullum [Jr.] and his brother after I found out that The Deadstring Brothers were playing at The Basement a half dozen years ago. Their album Sao Paulo had just come out and it was the best thing this side of Exile On Main Street. I figured not many people had heard of The Deadstring Brothers but The Basement was packed. I talked to Spencer at that show and found out the band had moved to Nashville. After seeing Spencer craft about any tone on his pedal steel into liquid gold, I thought they better never let this guy leave for Britain. We need him here. What a great band! What a great musician! Watching this band on YouTube play “Linus & Lucy” like a countrified Ventures project is pure Nirvana. I want to hear Steelism plays Zappa. I want to hear Steelism play Ventures. I want to hear them any chance I get.

“The Landlocked Surfer”, “Marfa Lights”

2 –DeRobert & The Half Truths – I’m Tryin, [G.E.D. Soul Records]

This GED Soul gem came out early in the year and may be a little lost in the shuffle as we tend to remember summer through fall as new releases. This album solidifies GED Soul as a major player in the retro Soul stack that includes Broken Bones, Daptones and even Back to Black Winehouse. DeRobert proves to have great vocal chops and solid pitch. There is something soulful but very sunny about DeRobert’s grooves. GED Soul gets together solid engineering and mixing that sounds great on the turntable. I personally like this over the much more publicized and still great St. Paul & The Broken Bones material. Just keep pouring on great arrangements and songs and DeRobert will not be denied.‏ Bonus- The Batman Building featured prominently on the cover.

“Ooo Wee”, “Get On It”, “I’m Tryin’”

1 –Ray Price – Beauty is…The Final Sessions [Amerimonte LLC]

Ray Price worked with studio veteran Producer Fred Foster to put forth true blood, sweat, tears, money, guts, glory…I could go on. This was a love letter mostly to his wife, but, it was the final effort of a man in his 80’s with cancer known as one of the greatest voices ever laboriously getting the best take and building a Countrypolitan opus with strings and everything great about the Country crossover hits that come out in the 60’s. Ray may have been honored by Oxford American in their Texas issue this year, but this album is pure Nashville as Ray made several trips to Tennessee to complete Beauty is… Ray was a man on a mission to make one great final album and he succeeded.

“An Affair To Remember”, “I Wish I was 18 Again”

Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridgeathotmaildotcom

Tags Brad Hardisty, Dead Fingers, Debbie Bond, Debbie Bond and The Tru Dats, DeRobert & The Half Truths, Jack White, Joe Fletcher, JP Harris & The Tough Choices, Justiin Townes Earle, Lana Del Rey, Music, Nikki Lane, Ray Price, Ricky Skaggs, Scott Borchetta, Sharon White, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Steelism, Sturgill Simpson, Taylor Hollingsworth, Taylor Swift, The Black Keys, The Cotton Blossom Band, Tony Gerber, United Record Pressing

Categories Alabama, Music, Nashville, Uncategorized

New Vinyl Collectors at Age Four and Nine

November 26, 2014 //

Two children left to their own devices shun all the millions spent on lobbing them current cheap artificial commercial culture for thirty to forty year old vinyl artifacts.

I recently got married and went from a household of one to four. My new bride has two children that are developing their own musical tastes at the age of four and nine.

The nine year old has some highbrow tastes already since his autistic focus has gravitated towards movie soundtracks favoring composer Henry Mancini as well as James Bond Soundtracks.

The four year old daughter was into the current millions spent on films like the Lego Movie and Tegan and Sara’s “Everything Is Awesome” as well as her older brother’s favorite, Pharrell William’s “Happy” that had both of them bouncing along to YouTube.

When we were dating, the four year old became intrigued with my vinyl collection and started asking me to play stuff, especially 80’s dance music. The nine year old autistic spectrum boy was not at all amused, his comment was, “I hate your music!”

Many autistic children have a main focus and his are movies and memorizing all the vital statistics off of the DVD and Blue-Ray clamshells. He can tell you what year the first Pink Panther movie was made. He can tell you all about Esther Williams or Katherine Hepburn much to the shock of people decades older. Henry Mancini is Paul McCartney and John Lennon all rolled into one. He can do no wrong.

One time, I said, “I have something you might like. I have a James Bond theme.” His eyes lit up as I pulled out the Jack White – Alicia Keys seven inch, “Another Way To Die” on Third Man Records in gold vinyl. He had to hear it. I gave it a spin on the Audio Technica turntable blasting through a pristine Sherwood receiver and a pair of JBL monitors with twin subs. He was all ears.

After we were married, the two kids took their respective rooms upstairs and started migrating to the living room going through my vinyl collection.

The four year old picked out her first record at The Groove: Herbie Hancock “Rockit” virgin vinyl on Columbia. Herbie Hancock is still her favorite when her teachers ask about her favorite it ignites a littler laughter and surprise at her Pre-School mainly because it’s not Katy Perry or Taylor Swift.

He likes it a lot too. They found the “Rockit – dancing pants” video on YouTube and they watch it almost every morning to wake up during breakfast time. Other times, it’s Janet Jackson or C&C Music Factory. Most often the four year old is practicing her dance moves while her older brother has his arm doing Pete Townshend style “windmills”.

The nine year old has now gone through all 300 seven inch records and has memorized names, logos, labels, dates, artists and knows the difference between radio copies, promotional copies and limited editions.

He has a new favorite artist outside of his beloved Henry Mancini: Frank Zappa. I think that has started some interesting conversations in his 4^th grade class when he tells them about “I’m The Slime” on limited edition green vinyl on Barking Pumpkin Records. He sings along and adds all the music parts with his vocal impersonations.

So, here are his current top three favorite artists in order, Frank Zappa, Jack White and The Greenhornes. Third Man Records is one of his main searches as he locates all things Jack White as well as any Columbia Records because he knows Columbia from all of his movie memorization.

Speaking of movies, Warner Brothers, Deep Purple “Highway Star” on a limited edition Record Store Day pressing was an instant hit.

Okay, the four year old is becoming very opinionated and 80’s dance music seems to really get her bouncing off the walls especially “Rockit” at number one. C&C Music Factory is a close second.

The four year old is even more opinionated than the nine year old. She really liked Run DMC, “It’s Tricky” so I flipped it to MC Hammer, “You Can’t Touch This” figuring it would be the right transition and she gave Hammer a thumbs down.

I’m sure that as they transition into their teens and start to pay attention to what everybody else is doing they will start to become the by-product of current ad campaigns, but for now we celebrate their discovery and enjoyment.

Brad Hardisty, Nashville, TN thenashvillebridgeathotmaildotcom

Tags Alicia Keys, Barking Pumpkin Records, Brad Hardisty, C&C Music Factory, Columbia Records, Deep Purple, Frank Zappa, Henry Mancini, Herbie Hancock, Jack White, James Bond, Janet Jackson, Katy Perry, MC Hammer, Music, Pharrell Williams, Quantum Of Solace, Record Store Day, Run DMC, Soundtracks, Taylor Swift, Tegan and Sara, The Greenhornes, The Pink Panther, Third Man Records

Categories Music, Uncategorized

Tyler Bryant Shakedown at Exit In

April 15, 2013 //

Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown played a solid set returning from the road to a Nashville hometown two hundred plus crowd at Exit/In on Rock Block last Friday night.

Although Tyler Bryant was spotted early on by Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck a few years ago, this band has really solidified as a unit out on the road.

The dual guitar work of Tyler Bryant and Graham Whitford builds instead of clashes with roots in blues rock, but, coming from two different angles.

Graham definitely has some solid tone and fingerboard finesse like his father, Brad Whitford, but, he proved himself worthy when he was in the top 5 of a national Guitar Center competition out of 4000 entries at the age of 17. Graham’s tone was impeccable through a custom shop 18 Watt Marshall as well as a brown tolex Mr. Fender favoring the Les Paul Burst. Graham’s playing even had a little Paul Kossoff vibrato bends going on as well.

Tyler, on the other hand, had a pink Strat, Les Paul Juniors as well as some other toys like some clean Metal Resonator with a pick-up with some serious finger picking going on going through a pair of vintage reissue Fender Deluxe Twin tweeds.

One local who has seen the band several times said he could tell that they were slowing things down a bit and creating more dynamics and groove.

As a band, they just keep improving.

Graham Whitford at Exit/In, April 2013, photo – Brad Hardisty

There is nothing that can replace time on the road the way it has always been done.

A band is really a sense of community and while Tyler is a quintessential front man with Steve Marriott looks with a voice somewhere between Eric Martin and John Waite, he was always quick to shine the spotlight on his other band members, drummer and Belmont University neighborhood musician, Caleb Crosby, bassist Noah Denney who also has Belmont University experience, but, most especially was quick to share the spotlight with co-gunslinger Graham Whitford.

You can tell these guys have the chops, the girls and are having fun the way Elvis and The Beatles started out.

If one wanted to compare them to Aerosmith you would have to really stretch.They would be a closer comparison to Humble Pie during the Frampton years with a Johnny Winter heart.

Tyler and Graham both show a penchant for Texas and boogie blues as well as Classic Rock.

The crowd was quite diverse both in age and male/female split since anybody in their right mind could connect to solid guitar playing and a good night out.

They may not be The original Yardbirds, but, in the same vein that Phil Lynott said he wanted Thin Lizzy to be a modern Yardbirds known for strong guitar players, this is the real deal. If they can hold it together for a couple of years, this will be the guitar tag team to be reckoned with.

Electric Blues infused up to date rock is just what the doctor ordered and in the words of Steve Marriott, “I Don’t Need No Doctor.”

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

all photos (c) Brad Hardisty

Tags Caleb Crosby, Graham Whitford, Music, Noah Denney, Tyler Bryant, Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown

Categories Music, Music City, Nashville, Rock Music

Debbie Bond Radio Taping For Mando Blues

April 14, 2013 //

Debbie Bond was the guest last Monday night on WRFN Radio Free Nashville’s Mando Blues Show recorded in a huge army tent at Omega Studio high on the top of a peak at an undisclosed location in the nearby Nashville wilderness.

A fantastic crew with Tony Gerber , known for his electronic music compositions, acting as host for the night, went to work on soundcheck with Debbie and her band featuring Rick Asherson on keyboards and Dave Crenshaw on drums getting a much bigger than it looks sound going into the green spec recording layout.

Omega has developed a layout for power using not much more than six car batteries, car stereo amplifiers and LED lighting to run at a deceptively low 1600 watts with state of the art recording as can be seen by linking to the net recordings of the summit.

Debbie brought much more than just blues experience playing with Willie King and Johnny Shines for almost thirty years in Alabama displaying soulful grooves with a nod to Muscle Shoals, Alabama writers like Eddie Hinton, Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham. In this case, the western Alabama juke joint grooves may be at the heart, but, this was soulful blues.

Debbie brought three new songs that will be featured on her next album, “Find A Way,” That Thing Called Love” and “Steady Rolling Man,” that fit right in with “I like It Like That” from her days with Willie King as well as some songs from her most current release Hearts Are Wild with a stand-out version of the slow ballad blues of “Falling.”

Nashville session saxophonist Tom Pallardy sat in later in the set after a successful collaborative prior night set at The Nashville Jazz and Blues Awards at Bourbon Street in Printers Alley.

Host Tony Gerber paid tribute to female blues artists with his in-between tracks that also featured some rare Richie Havens and alternative version material.

Mando Blues is an esoteric record store workers dream where true collectors and music geeks get to hear all things blues and related materials. They all get a little spotlight. There may be no show quite like this in the world.

An invited group of about 10-12 people got to sit-in on the live recording happening that fit a BBC type production with high production values and plenty of meat in the interview.

Tony asked the right questions that will give any listener the feeling they knew where Debbie came from and what she is about after listening to the two hour show.

Although there are provided links to watch video of each one of the songs, it is well worth the price of free admission to listen to the entire show to get the interview segments as well as Rick’s “Monty Python meets Muscle Shoals” sense of humor.

Debbie is a native of California, but, her time growing up was spent in England and Europe while Rick’s roots are Londontown. Debbie and Rick almost crossed paths in College back in England, but, never actually met until Alabama Bluesman, Willie “Sweet Potato Man” King suggested they get to know one another in Western Alabama.

Roy Wooten aka “Futureman” stopped by to listen in and dug the Alabama soul groove coming out of the eventual four piece band with Rick sometimes playing the utility guy playing bass with one hand on the Nord keyboard and blues harp with the other hand and singing back – up vocals. If he had one more arm, they probably could have a full horn section.

Tom Pallardy’s sax fit right into the song as if he had been playing with Debbie for years but, in reality he had not heard much of the material. Dave Crenshaw brought down the volume on the drum kit to match the production set up without losing any of the grooves, in fact, it brought out the true dynamics of the songs.

Debbie was so happy with the production and final mix of the material that she has already talked about further recording collaboration with the Omega team.

It can be said, that there is probably know recording studio like it in the world, with its MASH style tent set up and being at the mountain peak as well as a crew with ears straight out of a JBL lab anechoic chamber. They know what they are doing and they love what they are producing.

While production was going on, some of the staff was busy cooking a meal fit for a king in a wood burning cast iron stove in cast iron pots. The band and crew were treated to Venison Stew, fresh picked greens and chicken after the final wrap.

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

all photos (c) Brad Hardisty

Tags Alabama, Dave Crenshaw, Debbie Bond, Mando Blues Show, Music, Nashville, Omega Studio, Rick Asherson, The Alabama Blues Project, Tom Pallardy, Tony Gerber, Willie King

Categories Blues Music, Muscle Shoals Alabama, Music, Music City

Nashville Jazz and Blues Awards Goes Down Smooth at Bourbon Street

April 13, 2013 //

“Some who have made their way to Music City think that it is all about country music…OH NO!!!”

The Nashville Jazz and Blues Awards started up about 4:30 in Printers Alley just a few doors down from Jimi Hendrix’s old gig with Billy Cox back in the day at The Black Poodle inside Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar which boogies all week long with Blues, Jazz and plenty of fretboard sweat.

Gil Gann was hot and MC for the night cuttin’ it up and gettin’ down on the guitar.

Phase 6 acted as house band, while the all-stars rotated on and off the stage like a Pancake Buffet Breakfast at Shoney’s.

The awards show is sponsored by The Marion James Musicians Aid Society which helps musicians in need, especially from the rich rhythm and blues heritage that was on and off Jefferson Street from the fifties through the mid-seventies.

Tina Brown really started getting things going like Tina Turner on an Etta James afternoon. Tina has a strong voice and personality to match.

Phase 6 features two generations of serious players; Samuel Dismuke on bass and Samuel Dismuke Jr. on dual duty as vocalist and Trombonist. Long time collaborator Eddie Carter still kicks it on the drums.

Alabama Blues master, Debbie Bond, played her first set in Nashville at The Jazz and Blues Awards warming up the crowd with a teaser song early on before coming back and playing a set later on in the show. When Debbie Bond took the stage for her full set with Moe Denham sitting in on Hammond B3, she brought some serious Alabama roots with a little of her Willie King experience as well as some Eddie Hinton style Muscle Shoals groove to the local Blues venue. It was a welcome change to what could be considered a get your game on attitude among Nashville’s players.

Awards were given out in several categories to artists that gig in and around Nashville. Jefferson Street Sound Artist, Don Adams won best Bassist while Regi Wooten won best Jazz Guitarist of the year.

Regi Wooten did a barnburner abbreviated set starting out with a laidback jazz version of “Crystal Blue Persuasion” taking the band as far as he could with some John McLaughlin sans Vernon Reid go where you wanna go Lead guitar work that turned it up a notch. Regi’s band, The Wooten Brothers, which tear down the house every Wednesday night at 3^rd & Lindsley, took home Best Live band of the year.

Lola Brown sang backup for Marion James before taking the spotlight herself later with her backup band Area Black featuring Jerome Preston on Bass after Jerome finished a set with Regi Wooten. Lola put it all out there after winning R&B Vocalist of the Year. Lola really brought the church into the boogie bar.

Marion James took home a pair of awards which were judged by local Blues and Jazz Artists as well as some special attendees for Female Blues Singer of the Year as well as her recent Ellersoul release, Northside Soul for album of the year. Northside Soul has garnished some national recognition with rave reviews in several publications as well as awards from B.B. King’s Sirius Radio Channel and a Top Ten on the Living Blues Charts.

Marion James’s set was a barnburner with her singing from her gut, old school, Otis Redding reborn experience thrown into, “I Just Want To Make Love To You.” Marion is the heart and soul of Nashville R&B history having released three singles on three different labels back in the day, one written by her husband Buzz Stewart on Excello, the top ten hit, “That’s My Man” as well as two other songs by two individuals tied to Jimi Hendrix who used to play guitar for her back when, Billy Cox and Larry Lee.

In more recent times, Marion has released three solid albums in the last dozen years that not only spotlight her voice, but, some excellent songwriting that would not only put her in the spot as “Nashville’s Queen of The Blues” but within an elite group of two or three as Queen of The Blues from a last Blues woman standing viewpoint since the passing of Precious Bryant in January.

The Nashville Jazz and Blues Awards is something a very down home event in complete contrast to the glitz and glam of the Country music industry. Marion James almost singlehandedly has wanted to support recognition for the Blues and R&B community of Nashville.

Marion James has this to say: “Down through the years, everyone has come through or stumbled upon Nashville, Tennessee to either visit or make their mark in the music industry. Some who have made their way to Music City think that it is all about country music…OH NO!!!

R&B, Jazz and the Blues have been around for more than just some time. Matter of fact Jazz and Blues are all around you in all of the music. So we are actually not hard to find.

There have been a number of very good musicians that come through Nashville. Some could read, some couldn’t, some could write it down on paper, and some only needed to hear your idea and could play it the first go round. It really didn’t matter because they were very well seasoned and could accommodate any artists that needed them.

Most of our Legends like, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Jones, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Charles Dungey, Milt Turner, Ted Jarrett, just to name a few, have passed on and we must turn the baton over to some of the younger generation, who are worthy, to carry the torch and pave a new way out of what they were brought up on…Jazz, R&B and Blues, and carry on the tradition of the root of it all and with some new and original twists added.

We must continue to raise funds and support these new comers as if we taught them ourselves, as if we have rubbed off on them and put a little of our soul into their soul so that WE may live on in them. Knowing that they will continue in what we love so much and that is “THE MUSIC.”

This is why I love giving the Jazz and Blues Awards event every year. It is an annual event that shows our younger people that we see them, we recognize them, we are watching them, but most importantly we are encouraging them.

So move over Country music and make room for our up and coming talent and artists. Offer them a hand up and a way to succeed. Allow them to keep the music coming and growing. Let’s keep them in the spotlight, because there is a Jazz, Blues and R&B artist standing in the wings, waiting for you to reach out and give them a helping hand.”

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

Tags Area Black, Debbie Bond, Don Adams Bass, Eddie Carter, Gil Gann, Jerome Preston, Lola Brown, Marion James, Moe Denham, Music, Nashville, Samuel Dismuke, Samuel Dismuke Jr., Tina Brown

Categories Music, Nashville, Uncategorized

Darling Parade Releases First Single

January 31, 2013 //

Darling Parade Releases First Single from
Highly-Anticipated, Debut Full-Length
Album Battle Scars & Broken Hearts

“Ghost” Now Available on iTunes
Album Launches April 2, 2013

Nashville, Tenn. (January 30, 2013) – Nashville-based alternative buzz band Darling Parade has released “Ghost,” the first single from their upcoming full-length album Battle Scars & Broken Hearts. Darling Parade was featured on Billboard’s Next Big Sound chart, MTVu, VH1 and their music has been showcased on ABC Family’s “The Lying Game,” the CW’s “Flygirls,” Syfy’s “Stargate Universe” and Showtime’s “Shameless,” just to name a few. Battle Scars & Broken Hearts is the band’s first full-length album, following a campaign to raise money for the project on the popular funding platform Kickstarter. “Ghost” can be purchased on iTunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/ghost-single/id592314650?ls=1
Formed in early 2007 against the humble backdrop of fields and farmhouses, Darling Parade came to fruition after lead vocalist Kristin Kearns asked Nate McCoy and his previous group to play a local show in southern Illinois. She was only 15 at the time, but even then, had a way of captivating an audience. After adding drummer Casey Conrad via Craigslist and bassist Dustin McCoy, the group was complete.After a self-titled EP, and 2010’s What You Want, 2011 brought the release of the band’s 3rd EP, Until We Say It’s Over, and landed the band the #8 spot on Billboard’s Next Big Sound chart. The first single “Never Wrong” received airplay on both MTVu and VH1. It also included, “Remember,” featuring guest vocals by Anberlin frontman, Stephen Christian.

Riding on the success of Until We Say It’s Over in the spring of 2012, Darling Parade landed their first national tour with NBC’s “The Voice” winner Cassadee Pope (Hey Monday) and set out to make their mark across the country. The band quickly followed up with a national headlining tour, and then headed home to regroup.

Shortly after returning home, they knew it was time to do something they had not yet attempted—record a full-length album. Lacking the funds to embark on such an endeavor, the fans stepped up in a huge way, fully backing a Kickstarter effort to raise $16,000 to fund the recording of the new album.

Darling Parade went through several life-changing situations throughout the course of a few years, as bands do from time to time. The group, along with their long-time producer and friend, Jon King (Augustana, Throwing Gravity, 3 Pill Morning), retreated to a remote cabin in Western Ky., to clear their minds and make sense of the chaos. Out of that adversity, Battle Scars & Broken Hearts was born. Written entirely over a period of only a few weeks, it represents a snapshot in time of the band coming to terms with some of their weakest moments and finding the will to rise above them.

“The whole album has a common theme of overcoming struggle,” says Kearns.

“It’s really about realizing that no one has control over your life but you, and moving past negativity.”

The next four months were spent working day in and day out in the studio. “We really took a different approach with this album, we took the time to explore every tone, and took a lot of chances” says McCoy.

The band made huge strides forward musically as well, melding all of their influences to create a sound that’s infectious, refreshing and all their own. In-your-face guitars and relentless drumming dominate the album, while Kristin’s thunder in a bottle voice can only be described as a beautifully controlled chaos.

Partnering with King’s Nashville based label, Page 2 Music, Battle Scars & Broken Hearts will be released world-wide April 2, 2013.

Tags Darling Parade, Music

Categories Music, Nashville, Uncategorized