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| Hellbilly Music Fest For Hannah |
Showing posts with label Jayke Orvis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jayke Orvis. Show all posts
Monday, February 23, 2015
Hellbilly Music Fest For Hannah
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Shooter Jennings Releases, Brand New Digital Single - Nashville From Afar
Dive into what Shooter Jennings is cookin' up over at BCR Los Angeles with his new digital single, Nashville From Afar. It will be be coming from his new mix tape out in December with select tracks from Jayke Orvis, James Hunnicutt, Jamey Johnson, Wanda Jackson and Mick Foley.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Fifth On The Floor - Kentucky Gentlemen Kicking Ass And Taking Names
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| Fifth On The Floor - Kentucky Gentlemen kicking ass and taking names |
Check out the post on the Examiner
Written by Jessica Blankenship - kentuckycountrymusic@gmail.com
http://kycountrymusic.blogspot.com/
"Kentucky is home of some of the best musicians, singers, songwriters, all creating the music we grow to love. From the Appalachian region to the western plains of the Commonwealth, there is a special blend of music that is unique from the bluegrass state. Fifth on the Floor of central Kentucky has been making a name for themselves over the years and representing the state as they travel throughout the United States. Hard work and determination to spread the music to the fans has gained them momentum of success.
During a recent break from touring, I got to speak with Justin Wells of Fifth on the Floor. They are getting ready to play another hometown show this Sunday at Busters in Lexington, Ky., opening for J.J. Grey and Mofro. They will be getting ready to hit the road again, opening for legendary rocker George Thorogood.
Jessica Blankenship: It is 2014, new year, new faces, new music for Fifth on the Floor. Let's discuss the latest lineup with the band. Describe each of them and what they bring to the table individually.
Justin Wells: Jason Parsons has been with us for three years and as far as I'm concerned, he is an original member. Really there is a certain point in this band's history that we probably should have changed our name. There were significant changes in the lineup, sound, and our goals of what we were trying to do. We started years ago as a bar band kind of thing. At this point, he and I are the only songwriters in the band. Parsons is writing some of the, in my opinion, the best that he's ever written. Lyrically he's writing a lot. That's definitely the core I feel like.
Kevin Hogle came on in May. When we were looking for another drummer, I had a short list of two people. Kevin was on that list. I've known Kevin for a long time. He's played with 500 Miles to Memphis since forever, as long as I've known them. I've known them five years or longer. He's from the Covington area in northern Kentucky. He's technically a Kentuckian but he's very close to not being in Kentucky (laughing). Kevin is one of the most disciplined musicians I've ever been around. Besides outright insane skills, he brings a lot of discipline. He's kind of like the band dad in that he's unshakeable. Nothing really gets him mad or upset. He's really good at keeping the mood upbeat. Man, when you're on tour, that's as valuable as playing your parts. He's just one of those drummer that he's stylistically that there's nothing I can throw at him that he can't do. If he screws something up, the next time he plays it, it's perfect.
We now have Ryan Clackner on guitar. Ryan has been playing with us since the end of September. He's an incredible player. Both he and Kevin have degrees in their respective instruments. Ryan's got a jazz guitar degree and came off a two year stint as Bob Wayne's guitar player. He's one of those few people that can cross styles really well. He's a lot of fun to play with. He has some out there ideas, but again he can do it all pretty easily. We've got a steel guitar player, metal guitar player, and country guitar player and only have to pay one guy.
Jessica: When Fifth on the Floor played in Lexington in December, several wondered how Ryan would do as compared to Matty Rogers. However, he held his own and brought his own flavor.
Justin: We said coming in, there's a difference between if you are playing the chord progression on Shine, that's how it needs to get played. As far as the solos, he asked me about those. We found him on Craigslist (laughing).
Jessica: So you all went to the Musician's Match.com equivalent?
Justin: Yep I guess you could say that. He asked are we beholding to the solos. We said absolutely not, if there is an idea that you like on our records, incorporate it, but we told him what we were looking for stylistically. That's the reason why Ryan is playing guitar with us right now. We were looking for something else. That's not a slight to Matt to the least bit of way. That is the reason why we wanted to open the show up with Distant Memory Lane; to show folks that this is the sound now. Here is this, immediately to the point.
Jessica: Ashes and Angels was released a year ago and fans are already asking about new music. How is that coming along?
Justin: It’s hard to say. We’ve only arranged about three songs. Parsons and I have written about nine or ten songs right now that we can play on the acoustic guitar. We want to write about 15 or 20 and then go in the studio and knock some of those off. What we’ve done in the past, we’ve toured and played so much. That had to do a lot with the work ethic of the group we had at the time. We didn’t rehearse a lot and we didn’t put new material together. So when we had 11 or 12 songs, we went into the studio and maybe cut one or two of them. So now, we are looking for this record to be the stamp of what we are. Shooter [Jennings] even told us that. He told us that this record wasn’t going to bring you riches or anything like that. It’s going to open the door and it’s going to say hello. This next record is Fifth on the Floor. We’re going to do everything that we want. I’m not apologizing for the last three records. I’m very proud of them. That’s where we were at the time. With Ashes and Angels, we were in the studio two years ago to record that. It came out this past year. So two years have passed with this band. Obviously a lot of differences and I’ve got kids now, Kevin’s got kids, we’re all in our thirties. We’ve been around a lot of people that are more and learn as much as we could from that. I’m really looking forward to the next record. We’re probably in the home stretch of writing, but we’ve got a ways to go.
Jessica: Do you plan on using Shooter Jennings again to produce it?
Justin: I hope so if our schedules are good. Shooter has been working hard pushing his own record. If you haven’t figured this out by now, Shooter doesn’t like to stand still and he doesn’t like to focus on a project too long. Fifth on the Floor is really starting to do something. We signed with our agency, Monterey in July and ever since it has been picking up being busy. I would love to work with Shooter.
Jessica: In working on the new album, there are two songs that you have started playing in your live show that are quite strong in songwriting, Hell in Our Hands and The Line. Let’s talk about those for a bit.
Justin: Hell in Our Hands was inspired by Scott H. Biram with that nasty stomp blues. We turned it into this ZZ Top beat, fun, Pink Floyd style thing that I don't know what it is now, but it's awesome.
Jessica: Speaking of Pink Floyd, I picked up the little guitar riff influence in the live version of Burning Nashville Down.
Justin: Yep, you are correct. Fifth on the Floor is where we need it to be right now. There were some changes, and I know that some were not popular, be it with members or how we are sounding now. This is something that I think Parsons and I have been consciously or subconsciously pushing towards for some time now with our sound. I've said for years that we are a rock band, not a country band. We incorporate country elements and we do it well. I like to think we play country, but we're just trying. I think with the first three records, especially the first two records, it was all over the place. Ashes and Angels was the beginning of what Fifth on the Floor sounds like. It is no more of 'is it this, or this, or that?' This is how it sounds, for the most part.
Jessica: Let’s talk about The Line. The lyrics stuck in my head from the moment I heard it.
Justin: It is possibly the saddest song I have ever written. It is a country song, but country was a precursor to rock. That's how I always viewed country music with this band. It is like an outsider looking in. We don't claim country, but that doesn't mean we can't play country songs. Over the last few years, we have been able to show the different facets of what puts us all together as a band.
Jessica: It is interesting that you blend into the different styles of music on Ashes and Angels. The band seems to get attention now to the outside world of what is happening here in Kentucky.
Justin: It's our dirty secret of Kentucky. We actually charted on Billboard with that record. Our one week of glory. To me, it's a matter of assurance that people are paying attention. It charted in the country format, which is funny because we don't claim country music. The one thing that is cool is that beside the My Morning Jacket cover, we wrote all of those songs. We put out an album with that song and a bunch of Fifth on the Floor songs that charted in between albums that probably had covers of a good looking person with a good looking tan, dude or chick, in a truck. We've got this evil, Sergeant Peppers cover to chart. The label wasn't too keen on that. They wanted to put a picture of us on the cover. We told them that’s not us. First of all, we're ugly and we're not going to sell records. I was never that kid that bought records and gave a crap what they look like. I was into the art and that's why you bought the records, especially my parents' generation. It wasn't just the song, it was the whole thing. I don't want to give people a bunch of pictures of you. You can get that on Facebook.
Jessica: It set an interesting tone to what the album was, even the song sequence as well, and made it a good album.
Justin: Thank you. We battled back and forth on what to do. Aaron, our previous drummer had this idea of having this Appalachian funeral scene on the cover. It morphed a little into what it was. That was the birthing of the idea. While we were discussing it, we realized that the common theme across the record is death; more specifically lost, people dying, or are dead and you are mourning them. If you go and listen to that record with that in mind, that is true with almost every song. Either someone is killing, or dying, or dead.
Jessica: One song that stuck out on the record was What For. It is one of those songs that you go back to and overall a lesson on songwriting.
Justin: Matt [Rogers] came in with that song and it floored us. Lyrically, he had gone through the loss of his grandmother and that was real hard on him. Matty is not one of those guys that are like one of those heart on your shoulder kind of people. I’ll sit there and give you my whole story, but Matt holds it up inside him. I thought maybe that was a release for him. He took it in and then you have Parsons, whose biggest strength is arrangements. The song started out almost like a folk tune with pretty much an acoustic guitar and lyrics. Parsons gave it where it builds, and builds, and builds bigger. He is really good at putting it into layers. I think those two things combine to make it that song that is one of my favorites, if not my favorite on the record. I think between that and Angels in the Snow, make for good stories.
Jessica: Do you think with music as a whole, it is more about trends instead of substance of the song?
Justin: In pop, probably, which is funny because I feel like I’m more in touch with pop music than I have ever been in my adult life. My most played record I played last year was the latest Daft Punk record. I listened to it more than Jason Isbell’s record, which is my close number two. I feel like I’m kind of hip to that music, maybe not to Britney Spears kind of pop. Pop has really been about trends, or a constant of making people move. I don’t think Isbell’s success has been about trends. I think he wrote a record that was so brutally honest that to deny it was not an option for critics and the fans. What a thing for every songwriter to inspire to do.
You’ve got pop and then you’ve got this idiot scene people that are in every genre. Especially in this underground country thing that we are sometimes associated with, we are the redheaded step children of. There’s this thing of these old punks that are playing acoustic instruments now. I mean, that’s cool and some do it really well, but some of them suck. It’s like any group of music. There’s all of these Limp Bizkit bands that want to be like Rage Against the Machine. The first band that did it was cool and every other band after that subsequently sucks. I think for our band, we don’t associate with any of that. We’re friends with a lot of those kinds of bands, but we’re not a country band.
Jessica: Last year Fifth on the Floor was featured at Muddy Roots Festival in Tennessee. Explain that experience.
Justin: It is really cool. It is a commitment of discomfort and an overdose of music. It was awesome. I got to see Austin Lucas, who I had wanted to see for a long time. He was really great talent. Otis Gibbs was there and he’s a songwriter’s songwriter. There was a guy by the name of Joseph Huber that used to be in the 357 String Band. I didn’t know anything about his music prior to that. I’m 6 foot 6 and I’m in the middle of this tent and he was on the third stage, which was the smallest thing. All these people knew his songs and were singing them. It goes back to like Isbell, it felt real. I was crying. I was in tears at the experience and I got his record. The record was great, but it didn’t replicate that experience. He seemed real, not all punk rock, I’ll kick your ass, style. Check him out. The record is called Tongues of Fire. I challenge all Top 40 country artists to listen to that and still say what they do is country.
Jessica: One neat thing that the band does whenever you play a hometown show, you bring in outsiders that possibly would have never gotten to play in Lexington otherwise. When they leave Kentucky after their performances here, what do they say about the fans here?
Justin: It’s a big deal. The reason why we do it is a two-fold reason. First of all, anytime we play in Lexington now, this is our home. We worked really hard for what we have in Lexington with little to any help from anyone except for the people coming to see the show. I want it to be that any time you see Fifth on the Floor play, you get to see an experience. It’s like itty bitty mini festivals. We want to bring in other bands. So the second reason is that these are bands that we like and we want people to take a chance and hear. There’s not a whole lot of people who go out and see bands. I go out and see acts come through Willie’s Locally Known and Cosmic Charlies all the time, and no one goes to see them. They don’t know who they are. Not everybody is as aggressive music fan as you and I are and check these people out. We don’t want it to be like Whitey Morgan playing at a place in front of 10 people in Lexington. Rather, we want to put him in front of 800 people and then hopefully the next time he comes through he will have a big crowd. We get local bands to ask us to open for these shows. I love Lexington and all of these bands, and fans of some of these bands. But, why would we do that because anyone can go see you any other time. We want to put these people in front of Lexington. We want Lexington to see them and they see Lexington. You are already in Lexington and people can see you anytime. You can do this just like we did this, by playing Lynaghs once a month.
Jessica: It helps open ears to other bands outside of our area like Jayke Orvis, J.D. Wilkes, and Carolina Still.
Justin: Yeah and I think that Carolina Still hasn’t been a band that very long. Jayke has worked with other bands and I think this project is one of my favorites of his. J.D. Wilkes is a legend. He started this and guys like him, Wayne Hancock, and Hank III started all of this muddy roots stuff, if you want to call it that, and did it better than all of them. Those are the kinds of people that I want to be around because there is a ton to learn for somebody like me. That is the definitive front man.
Jessica: You are getting ready to go out on the road with George Thorogood. How did that come about?
Justin: We have a wonderful agency that we work with. I want to sing the praises of our manager, Randy, who probably more than anybody has worked harder to help Fifth on the Floor. I know that he has clients that pay him a ton more money, but he found us and believes in us. He hustled to find us an agent to work with us. These guys are used to working with more zeroes than we can put on paper. They saw something in us that we can get to that many zeroes. I can say with confidence that with all of the changes you’ve seen over the last year are directly or indirectly with working with Randy, our manager. He really challenged us to step it up as a band to deliver the song to scare other bands. Look at the last show at Busters that is some arrogance to think we have any right to follow to those bands. That’s not to say that someone is better than somebody else, but it’s a matter that we’ve worked hard enough and it showed. The Thorogood stuff came about thanks to Randy. Apparently George is a fan of the band. I grew up listening to him.
Jessica: Are there songs live and recorded that sound better live or the recorded version?
Justin: Both. There’s some songs that we recorded that for whatever reason either we don’t like the way they sound or we play long sets and don’t have time for it. There’s definitely songs that don’t work live. On the reverse of that, there are songs that sound a lot better live. Sometimes the reasoning behind that is that we have played those hundreds of times, bordering thousands of times, longer than when we did when we recorded them. Another Day, I remember specifically off our second record we played live one time before us recording it. I wish we had one more chance to record it. Some songs like Distant Memory Lane and The Fall we do because it’s live. You got to treat a record as a snapshot of right then. Every single song off of Ashes and Angels, which I’m extremely proud of, I would change. Every single song on the next record, there will be something a year later that I would change. My goal is to minimize those changes.
Jessica: In your live shows, you bring up George Jones and play homage to him through several songs. However, you never got to see or meet him.
Justin: I never did, but about the time when I could have, I'm probably glad that I didn't. I know his voice was failing and he was having medical issues. I don't know. I would have like to have met him more than seeing him live.
Jessica: You did get to meet Georgette Jones, the daughter of George Jones and Tammy Wynette. How was that experience for you?
Justin: I've never been star struck until I met her. We were playing at a festival and I just tore down when I went to meet her. I said, 'I know that you get this a lot, and I'm sorry, but I never got to meet your dad or see your dad. It's just kind of important to me that I come tell you that he shaped my life. Even before I liked country music, even when I hated country music, I always liked George Jones. I just wanted to tell you that.' It was a cool thing but she was cool as all get out. I didn't make it any weirder than that and I was about tearing up when I was saying that.
Jessica: Now that Fifth on the Floor is gaining success and being recognized by others, how do you guys keep humble?
Justin: (Laughing) Look at us, how could we not. I can’t even answer that question seriously. You know us, and anyone else that seen or knows us; the better question would be how do we shake off this stigma of us being party animals. I don’t know. I think the real answer is our raising. I know wherever I am, mom pays attention to this. If I ever started acting too big, mom would come after me with a hand of God. If you’re buying the record or coming to see a show, you may pay $25 to see the opening act. That’s a lot of money. That’s not money I could pay to see a band often times. You’re not paying to experience Fifth on the Floor, you are a part of that.
Jessica: When it is all said done, how do you want to be remembered as?
Justin: I said for a long time, be this naive, or be this whatever, its honesty, all of my end goals, besides feed my family, I want to make music that my grand kids are proud of. That’s not having met them. I don’t know what genre of music they will be into. If we’re just real and we’re honest, and when we never let any of that douchebag bull crap in, or even if someone completely hated our style, they would appreciate us. We hear a fair amount of ‘we don’t like country music, but I like you guys.’ I’ve always wanted my grandkids be proud of that. That little cloud dictates a lot of that interestingly enough."
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Carolina Stil - Full Live Set From Lexington, KY
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| Carolina Still live on stage in Lexington, KY |
Monday, December 16, 2013
Gettin' Clucky In Kentucky, On The Road With Carolina Still
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| Carolina Still warming up during sound check at Buster's in Lexington, KY |
Huge thanks to Justin Wells of Fifth On The Floor for calling Carolina Still and putting them on the big showcase holiday party they put on at Buster's in Lexington, KY along with Jayke Orvis and The Dirt Daubers. Could easily wax poetic and talk on all the good times that were had and great conversations that carried throughout the night, but photos can paint a better picture. Really stoked to see a solid plan coming together and all four bands were on their A game for the whole show. Hopefully more events like this will go down in the near future.
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| Packed house made it an amazing time at Buster's in Lexington, KY |
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| Carolina Still brought the heat to Kentucky |
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| Rollin' through Charleston, WV in some nasty weather |
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| Slick roads up in the hills of West Virginia and Virginia made Old Time Fiddler hit the bottle |
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| Fifth On The Floor warming up at band rehearsal on stage at Buster's in Lexington, KY |
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| Always read the writing on walls in your local club's bathroom |
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| Always dig seeing what bands toured through a club |
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| Ohio has a Posse and it comes in the form of Stoney, Tyke and Pizza Dave along with myself |
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| Fifth On the Floor brought on an amazing show and can't thank them enough for inviting Carolina Still to join the party |
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| Good times at Buster's in Lexington, KY |
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| Jayke Orvis and Justin Casey of Carolina Still joins Justin Wells of Fifth On the Floor |
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| Backstage after a few rounds of drinks with Lauren and Parsons of Fifth On The Floor |
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| Show flyer for Fifth On The Floor, The Dirt Daubers, Jayke Orvis and Carolina Still |
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Carolina Still Invades Lexington, KY On Dec. 14th
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| Carolina Still joins Fifth On The Floor, Jayke Orvis and The Dirt Daubers in Lexington on December 14th |
Order Your Tickets
Friday, April 5, 2013
Leave Behind A Guitar And Start A Community Music Project At the Shore Road Tavern
There is quite the interesting story that is brewing out of Philly. Our good buddy up at the Shore Road Tavern, Mike Fiedler was bequeathed a guitar from Leroy of Hellbound Glory. Never one to miss an opportunity, Mike made the guitar part of hanging out and playing at the tavern and now everyone is signing the case and getting a photo, once they roll through town. As this story progresses and the legacy of this particular guitar lives in, we will keep the photos flowing and get more video footage to showcase how one instrument lives on.
"Back in October of 2012, Leroy Virgil and the boys from Hellbound Glory flew into New York City for a handful of East Coast shows including one at The Shore Road Tavern in Philadelphia, a small bar that my wife Kathleen and I run in the Wissinoming section of the city. We run the place like a true roadhouse by maintaining a third floor apartment above the bar, which is reserved strictly for the touring musicians that play our venue. It has become a welcome stop on the road as it allows musicians a chance to relax after their set, hang out with the crowd, or chill in the apartment, and to not have to worry about loading out until the next day. This was to be our third time hosting the ‘scumbags’ and, needless to say, we were really looking forward to their company as always. But this trip held a special purpose for Leroy.
Jimmy Lloyd, host of NBC's The Jimmy Lloyd Songwriter Showcase, had chosen Leroy Virgil, along with singer songwriter Sean Walsh, to participate in the inaugural episode of his “Live Songwriter-in-the-Round Series” at Hill Country BBQ, located near 26th and Broadway in New York City. The event was being taped by NBC Digital Networks for a future broadcast, and immediately after the hour long taping, Hellbound Glory was to play a full-band set.
Leroy invited us to come up for the Thursday night show. Since it was going to be such a big night for the band, and we live a very convenient 90 miles from Manhattan, we didn’t hesitate to say yes. Plus we had a large case of Hellbound Glory shirts that were shipped to the bar, in advance of their upcoming Philly show that Saturday, so I figured they’d come in handy.
The “Songwriter Showcase” followed a format that saw each songwriter perform one of their songs, one after another, followed by a discussion about the meaning of the song and how it evolved. Throughout the evening, Leroy was the clear standout.
After Hellbound Glory finished playing at Hill Country, the guys opted to ride back to Philly with us that night instead of taking a train the next day, but they had a 1am show to do somewhere in the East Village first. We started to load their gear into our SUV, and as Leroy was putting his guitar case in the back, he muttered “I’m tired of dragging this thing around” “I’m gonna’ leave it in Philly”. “Yeah, yeah, right Leroy”, I said. With a camera crew in tow, that had apparently been following Leroy around New York City all day, we squeezed in to a few vehicles and set out for the East Village.
After a late show, and an uneventful ride back to Philly, we pulled up to the bar and started to unload the truck. As Leroy pulled his guitar case out of the back, he reiterated, “I am, I’m leaving this thing here, I’m tired of dragging this thing around”. “Yeah, yeah, right Leroy”, I said. We dropped them off at the apartment and went home to crash. We returned to the bar later that afternoon because, as willing as they were to rely on Amtrak for this handful of shows, they were equally willing to accept the offer of my truck to run down to DC for a show that night. As they loaded up the truck, Leroy again repeated how he was leaving his guitar “here at the apartment in Philly”. By now, knowing how mischievous Leroy can be, and how much he loves fucking with people, I am pretty much dismissing him outright as ‘Leroy just being Leroy’.
They came back from DC Saturday afternoon and pretty much laid low in the apartment until showtime. The boys once again played to a packed house, throwing down another raucous three hour show that we’ve become accustomed to whenever they play Philadelphia. We hung out until well after closing and, since they really had no place to be until they flew back to Reno on Monday, they decided to stick around for another night. We surely didn’t care as long as they didn’t mind sharing the apartment with the acts scheduled to play that Sunday night, James Hunnicutt and Filthy Still (which, at the time, featured Jared McGovern and Liz Sloan as touring members). Of course they didn’t mind.
With a lighter turnout on Sunday night, and so many musicians milling about, the night broke out into some spontaneous music, both in the bar after Filthy Still’s set, and well into the night as James Hunnicutt, Jared McGovern, and Liz Sloan continued to work on some things in the empty floor above the bar. At one point, I walked in to see Leroy sitting in the corner, leaning back in a chair, watching them play with that shit eatin’ grin of his. I pulled up the chair next to him, sat down, and said “yo, that’s Django Reinhardt they’re doing”. He just grinned even wider as he slowly nodded his head. We just sat there for the next 5-10 minutes or so, watching these three virtuosos without saying a word.
The night wound down shortly after that and, as we were socially preparing for the inevitable parting of our separate ways, Leroy once again reinforced his desire to leave his guitar at the apartment as the “house guitar” and to “let everybody play it”. By this point, I was a bit worn down by his dogged persistence and single-mindedness, and for the twelfth time that weekend I said, “yeah, yeah, right Leroy, OK”. We hugged, offered our salutations and well wishes, and went our separate ways until our paths would, inevitably, cross again. Everybody had left the apartment by Monday afternoon and I didn’t have a chance to get down there and clean until Tuesday morning. As I walked up to the third floor apartment, sure as shit, there it was just like he said. Sitting at the top of the staircase, leaning against the wall with the case open was Leroy Virgil’s beat up old Esteban guitar. I shook my head and thought to myself ‘that’s Leroy being Leroy’ and, with a slight smirk on my face, I picked her up and then just let out a sigh as I placed it into one of the closets. As I was cleaning up the apartment, processing all the events of the last couple days, I kept thinking about one thing in particular that Leroy had said, “let everybody play it”. I then thought about how he had left me in stewardship of his old guitar, an instrument that, from my perspective, already has provenance and should rightly wind up in a museum one day. I decided that, to honor that trust he had in me, I would continue to add to the instrument’s already storied life by doing a running portrait series of every musician that plays his old guitar. This is volume one of that series and, coincidently enough, two of the musicians in this group, Josh Patch of Dead Amble and David Pattillo of The Dead Exs, were at the Hill Country BBQ show that Thursday night."
Mike Fiedler
The Shore Road Tavern
Robbins and Jackson
Philadelphia, PA 19135
Leroy Virgil's guitar that is now the center of free time at the Shore Road Tavern
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| Leroy Virgil's guitar of Hellbound Glory |
Jimmy Lloyd, host of NBC's The Jimmy Lloyd Songwriter Showcase, had chosen Leroy Virgil, along with singer songwriter Sean Walsh, to participate in the inaugural episode of his “Live Songwriter-in-the-Round Series” at Hill Country BBQ, located near 26th and Broadway in New York City. The event was being taped by NBC Digital Networks for a future broadcast, and immediately after the hour long taping, Hellbound Glory was to play a full-band set.
Leroy invited us to come up for the Thursday night show. Since it was going to be such a big night for the band, and we live a very convenient 90 miles from Manhattan, we didn’t hesitate to say yes. Plus we had a large case of Hellbound Glory shirts that were shipped to the bar, in advance of their upcoming Philly show that Saturday, so I figured they’d come in handy.
The “Songwriter Showcase” followed a format that saw each songwriter perform one of their songs, one after another, followed by a discussion about the meaning of the song and how it evolved. Throughout the evening, Leroy was the clear standout.
After Hellbound Glory finished playing at Hill Country, the guys opted to ride back to Philly with us that night instead of taking a train the next day, but they had a 1am show to do somewhere in the East Village first. We started to load their gear into our SUV, and as Leroy was putting his guitar case in the back, he muttered “I’m tired of dragging this thing around” “I’m gonna’ leave it in Philly”. “Yeah, yeah, right Leroy”, I said. With a camera crew in tow, that had apparently been following Leroy around New York City all day, we squeezed in to a few vehicles and set out for the East Village.
After a late show, and an uneventful ride back to Philly, we pulled up to the bar and started to unload the truck. As Leroy pulled his guitar case out of the back, he reiterated, “I am, I’m leaving this thing here, I’m tired of dragging this thing around”. “Yeah, yeah, right Leroy”, I said. We dropped them off at the apartment and went home to crash. We returned to the bar later that afternoon because, as willing as they were to rely on Amtrak for this handful of shows, they were equally willing to accept the offer of my truck to run down to DC for a show that night. As they loaded up the truck, Leroy again repeated how he was leaving his guitar “here at the apartment in Philly”. By now, knowing how mischievous Leroy can be, and how much he loves fucking with people, I am pretty much dismissing him outright as ‘Leroy just being Leroy’.
They came back from DC Saturday afternoon and pretty much laid low in the apartment until showtime. The boys once again played to a packed house, throwing down another raucous three hour show that we’ve become accustomed to whenever they play Philadelphia. We hung out until well after closing and, since they really had no place to be until they flew back to Reno on Monday, they decided to stick around for another night. We surely didn’t care as long as they didn’t mind sharing the apartment with the acts scheduled to play that Sunday night, James Hunnicutt and Filthy Still (which, at the time, featured Jared McGovern and Liz Sloan as touring members). Of course they didn’t mind.
With a lighter turnout on Sunday night, and so many musicians milling about, the night broke out into some spontaneous music, both in the bar after Filthy Still’s set, and well into the night as James Hunnicutt, Jared McGovern, and Liz Sloan continued to work on some things in the empty floor above the bar. At one point, I walked in to see Leroy sitting in the corner, leaning back in a chair, watching them play with that shit eatin’ grin of his. I pulled up the chair next to him, sat down, and said “yo, that’s Django Reinhardt they’re doing”. He just grinned even wider as he slowly nodded his head. We just sat there for the next 5-10 minutes or so, watching these three virtuosos without saying a word.
The night wound down shortly after that and, as we were socially preparing for the inevitable parting of our separate ways, Leroy once again reinforced his desire to leave his guitar at the apartment as the “house guitar” and to “let everybody play it”. By this point, I was a bit worn down by his dogged persistence and single-mindedness, and for the twelfth time that weekend I said, “yeah, yeah, right Leroy, OK”. We hugged, offered our salutations and well wishes, and went our separate ways until our paths would, inevitably, cross again. Everybody had left the apartment by Monday afternoon and I didn’t have a chance to get down there and clean until Tuesday morning. As I walked up to the third floor apartment, sure as shit, there it was just like he said. Sitting at the top of the staircase, leaning against the wall with the case open was Leroy Virgil’s beat up old Esteban guitar. I shook my head and thought to myself ‘that’s Leroy being Leroy’ and, with a slight smirk on my face, I picked her up and then just let out a sigh as I placed it into one of the closets. As I was cleaning up the apartment, processing all the events of the last couple days, I kept thinking about one thing in particular that Leroy had said, “let everybody play it”. I then thought about how he had left me in stewardship of his old guitar, an instrument that, from my perspective, already has provenance and should rightly wind up in a museum one day. I decided that, to honor that trust he had in me, I would continue to add to the instrument’s already storied life by doing a running portrait series of every musician that plays his old guitar. This is volume one of that series and, coincidently enough, two of the musicians in this group, Josh Patch of Dead Amble and David Pattillo of The Dead Exs, were at the Hill Country BBQ show that Thursday night."
Mike Fiedler
The Shore Road Tavern
Robbins and Jackson
Philadelphia, PA 19135
Leroy Virgil's guitar that is now the center of free time at the Shore Road Tavern
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| J.B. Beverley |
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| Jeff Bryson - Vinegar Creek Constituency |
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| Bruno Esposito - Lone Wolf One Man Band |
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| Jim Chilson, Ten Foot Polecats |
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| James Hunnicutt |
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| Husky Burnette |
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| Dave Lefever - The Curious Kin |
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| Jared McGovern - Jayke Orvis & The Broken Band |
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| Randee McKnight - The Living Deads |
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| Jayke Orvis |
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| Josh Patch - Dead Amble |
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| David Patillo - The Dead Exs |
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| Phillip Roebuck |
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| Jay Scheffler - Ten Foot Polecats |
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| Liz Sloan - Jayke Orvis & The Broken Band |
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| Brian "Smitty" Smith |
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| Symphony Tidwell - The Living Deads |
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| Elvis Suissa - Three Bad Jacks |
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| Stevie Tombstone |
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| Andrew Ungaro - Shiggy & The Doll Rods |
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| Shane Vain |
Check out the post from Mike Fiedler
Saturday, December 15, 2012
The Greatest Underground Country Albums of All Time, From Saving Country Music
"The underground country movement started roughly in the mid 90′s on lower Broadway in Nashville that at the time was a run down part of town. Young musicians from around the country, some from punk backgrounds, came together from their mutual love of authentic country music to create a counterbalance to the pop country that was prevailing on Music Row a few blocks west.
Underground country started with mostly neo-traditionalists like Wayne “The Train” Hancock, Big Sandy, and Dale Watson, but spread to the punk and heavy metal world through acts like Hank Williams III and Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers. This list does not just consider the appeal of these albums, but also the influence they had on other underground artists and albums, and on country music and music in general.
Please understand that this list is just for underground country albums. This means artists better defined by the Deep Blues like Scott H. Biram or Possessed by Paul James, or Texas artists like James Hand or Ray Wylie Hubbard, or country artists who may work on the fringes of underground country but would not necessarily be considered underground like BR549 or Roger Alan Wade, are not included. Americana acts are not included. This is strictly underground country’s opportunity to bask in the spotlight."
- Triggerman
Link to original post on Saving Country Music
This very well may be the most authentic album of music put out in the modern era for any genre. The Boomswagglers have always been and continue to be more myth than reality, with original Boomswaggler Lawson Bennett long gone and a cavalcade of replacements shuffling in an out with Spencer Cornett. Even if they never put out another album, The Boomswagglers made their mark, and it is a deep one.
“The music is wildly entertaining and deceptively deep. If you’re going to be a Boomswagglers song, someone’s got to die, and likely a woman. Some may find this silly, monotonous, or even offensive, but you have to listen beyond the lyrics, and unlock the carnal wisdom that is hidden in these songs.” (read full review)
Dark Bar & A Juke Box was an instant underground country classic, and so was the anti Music Row song that the album got its name from. JB and his Wayward Drifters grit out a superb selection of songs displaying taste, restraint, and a sincere appreciation for the roots of country music, which may have surprised some who knew JB more for his work with heavy metal bands like The Murder Junkies and the Little White Pills. Dark Bar & A Juke Box also boasts appearances from the famous son and grandson of a country music royal family, who due to contractual issues had to work incognito (wink wink).
Some (including Lucky himself) may point to Hillbilly Fever as being the seminal Lucky Tubb album with its big budget and appearances by Wayne “The Train” Hancock. But Del Gaucho is where Lucky Tubb came into his own, found his sound, and the unique musical flavor only he has to offer the world. Dirty, rowdy, rocking, but still steadfastly neo-traditionalist country, Del Gaucho scores off the charts when it comes to style points. When you’re talking about some of the greatest neo-traditional country albums and artists of all time, Lucky Tubb and Del Gaucho deserve to be in that conversation.
They say you have your whole life to write your first album, and what makes Bob Wayne’s Blood to Dust so special is how true and touching he told his life’s story through song. His subsequent albums aren’t too shabby either, but with signature songs like “Blood to Dust”, “Road Bound”, and “27 Years”, this still stands out as his signature album, and a signature album of the underground country movement. It was performed, produced, and recorded by an all-star cast of contributors that included Donnie Herron, Joe Buck and Andy Gibson, and brought Bob Wayne out from behind-the-scenes as Hank3′s guitar tech, and made him one of the movement’s most well-known songwriters and performers.
This is the album that launched Farmageddon Records, and that launched Jayke Orvis as a formidable, premier front man in underground country. One of the founding members of the now legendary .357 String Band, Jayke was asked to leave the band because of irreconcilable differences and almost immediately began touring with The Goddamn Gallows and trying to make this album happen. The result was a slick, tightly-crafted LP showcasing excellent songwriting and instrumentation. From ballads to blazing instrumentals, Jayke Orvis has proved himself to be one of the singular talents of underground country roots.
This album was destined to become an underground country classic. The mad genius music mind of Lonesome Wyatt of the Gothic country duo Those Poor Bastards has the uncanny ability to procure the absolute most appropriate sounds to evoke the desired dark mood in his music. Then you combine that with one of the best voices not just in underground country, but in all of music in Rachel Brooke, and magic was bound to happen. The creativity on A Bitter Harvest is spellbinding. More of an artistic endeavor than a toe tapper, Lonesome Wyatt and Rachel create a soundtrack to human emotion and despair. For people looking for a place for country music to evolve, A Bitter Harvest shows how you can take authentic country themes and an appreciation for the roots of the music, and envelop it in layers of textural color culled from the wide experience of human sounds.
Midnight At The Movies was Saving Country Music’s 2009 Album of the Year. Today it would be difficult to characterize Justin Townes Earle as underground country because the quality of this album launched him into the inner sanctum of Americana.
“Justin Townes Earle has done an awesome thing with this album; he has figured out a way to unite all the displaced elements that make up the alternative to mainstream Nashville country, while still staying somewhat accessible to the mainstream folks as well. You might even catch the bluegrass folks nodding their head while listening to it. Folkies like it, and there’s a few tunes blues people can get into. This isn’t just the REAL country album of the year, it is the “Alt-country” album of the year and the “Americana” album of the year.” (read full review)
El Santo Grial was Saving Country Music’s 2011 Album of the Year.
“Every once in a while, an album comes along that changes everything. It’s an album that inspires other albums, and dynamic shifts in tastes and approach throughout a sector of music, while at the same time dashing the dreams of other artists, as the purity and originality are way too much to attempt to rival. Slackeye Slim’s El Santo Grial, La Pistola Piadosa is one of those albums.
“El Santo Grial is a masterpiece, exquisitely produced, arranged, and performed. This is a patient, uncompromising album. You can tell time was never introduced into this project as a goal. The goal was to flesh out Slackeye’s vision without ever settling for second best, and that goal was accomplished.” (read full review)
Thunderstorms & Neon Signs is the Wayne Hancock album most people gravitate towards as their favorite because it was their first, and the first to showcase Wayne Hancock’s unique blend of country, Western Swing, rockabilly, and blues. But pound for pound, That’s What Daddy Wants is just as good of an offering, boasting some of The Train’s signature songs like “87 Southbound” and “Johnny Law”. Wayne Hancock has never put out a bad album, and distinguishing between them is difficult. But it’s not difficult to say that the underground country movement would have not had as much class if That’s What Daddy Wants hadn’t seen the light of day.
“They were all the absolute best possible musicians you could find at their respective positions, each challenging each other, pushing each other to keep up with the band’s demands for artistic excellence in both instrumental technique and creative composition.
“Listening back now at Fire & Hail, with so much talent in one place, no wonder the project was untenable, and no wonder the respective players have moved on to become their own trees instead of respective branches of the same project. Still, the loss of .357 String Band may go down as underground country’s greatest tragedy.” (read full review)
BR549 and Wayne “The Train” Hancock spearheaded the neo-traditionalist movement in the mid 90′s, but Hank Williams III was the one to carry it into the oughts and introduce it to a brand new crop of fans he brought along from his dabblings in the punk/heavy metal world. After having to tow the line somewhat for his first album Risin’ Outlaw, Hank3 was unleashed and able to showcase his own songwriting, heavily influenced by Wayne Hancock and Hank3′s famous grandfather, but still all his own. His voice was wickedly pure with a heart wrenching yodel and commanding range. The songwriting was simple, but powerful. This is a masterpiece, and remains an essential title of the neo-traditionalist era.
Hellbound Glory had already been around for years, but they burst into the underground with this magnificent, hard country album highlighted by head man Leroy Virgil’s world class songwriting. Despite the “hell” in their name and the hard language in their songs, Hellbound Glory hadn’t gone through any retooling as post punk refugees. They were pure country through and through and Old Highs & New Lows combined excellent Outlaw-style bar stompers and ballads with some of the most wit-filled songwriting since Keith Whitley. As far as honky tonk albums go, it may be years before this one is trumped. And when it is, it might be Leroy Virgil and Hellbound Glory doing the trumping.
Dale comes out on stage and starts slinging guitars, cutting classics, and speaking the truth. Before Dale was the hometown boy and house band for Austin, he was pissed off and willing to sing about it. Dale’s anti-Nashville classics “Real Country Song”, “Nashville Rash”, and “Country My Ass” can all be found here, but Live in London isn’t all pissing and moaning. Songs like “Ain’t That Livin’” showed off Dale’s superlative voice and suave style. Honky tonk albums are sometimes hard to make because it is hard to capture that live, sweaty energy in the recorded context. So what better way to solve that problem than making a live one? Live in London remains the best Dale album to date.
This was one of the first albums to bust out of the burgeoning music scene on lower Broadway in Nashville where one can argue the undergorund country movement started. It showed the world what kind of mayhem could be created by mixing country, blues, and punk music together without compromising taste and soul. It is the album which acts as a guidepost to the eclectic, yet intuitive and inter-related mix of influences that you will find in underground country: honest to goodness appreciation to the roots of American music, with a punk attitude and approach. And if you ever wondered why Joe Buck is considered part of underground country, appreciate that he played most of the music on Cockadoodledon’t.
There are two albums that you can look back on an make a serious case that if they did not exist, underground country music may not exist–the album below this one on this list, and Wayne Hancock’s Thunderstorm & Neon Signs. There are two types of music artists: originators and imitators. Sometimes imitators can be very successful, and very creative artists themselves. But it always takes the originators to set the plate for the imitators to do what they do. Thunderstorms & Neon Signs was an original album from one of America’s most original country roots artists of all time. It doesn’t get much better or more influential than this.
This album isn’t underground country’s Red Headed Stranger. It isn’t underground country’s Honky Tonk Heroes. It is both. It is the album that both was a novel concept, a breakthrough sonically and lyrically, and had a massive impact on the business side of music, for artists winning control of their music and inspiring and showing artists how to do it themselves. The deposed son of country music royalty had taken on a major Nashville label, and won, and all while being one of the first to successfully bridge the energy and approach of punk and heavy metal music with traditional country, all while keeping the music solidly country in nature.
It was the first album to be put out through the CMA with a Parental Advisory sticker. It was the first to ever be recorded outside of a traditional studio setting. Of course only a select few were paying attention, but it broke through many barriers that to this day have changed music in significant ways, sonically and behind the scenes.
The approach also had wide-ranging impacts outside of underground country and country music in general, to rock music and punk and heavy metal, inspiring thousands of rock kids to put down their electric guitars and AC/DC records, and pick up banjos and Johnny Cash records. The impact on mainstream music may have not been seen, but it was felt, and just like all great albums, it’s legacy will grow and be more appreciated and understood as the future unfolds."
Underground country started with mostly neo-traditionalists like Wayne “The Train” Hancock, Big Sandy, and Dale Watson, but spread to the punk and heavy metal world through acts like Hank Williams III and Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers. This list does not just consider the appeal of these albums, but also the influence they had on other underground artists and albums, and on country music and music in general.
Please understand that this list is just for underground country albums. This means artists better defined by the Deep Blues like Scott H. Biram or Possessed by Paul James, or Texas artists like James Hand or Ray Wylie Hubbard, or country artists who may work on the fringes of underground country but would not necessarily be considered underground like BR549 or Roger Alan Wade, are not included. Americana acts are not included. This is strictly underground country’s opportunity to bask in the spotlight."
- Triggerman
Link to original post on Saving Country Music
16. The Boomswagglers- Bootleg Beginnings – 2011
This very well may be the most authentic album of music put out in the modern era for any genre. The Boomswagglers have always been and continue to be more myth than reality, with original Boomswaggler Lawson Bennett long gone and a cavalcade of replacements shuffling in an out with Spencer Cornett. Even if they never put out another album, The Boomswagglers made their mark, and it is a deep one.
“The music is wildly entertaining and deceptively deep. If you’re going to be a Boomswagglers song, someone’s got to die, and likely a woman. Some may find this silly, monotonous, or even offensive, but you have to listen beyond the lyrics, and unlock the carnal wisdom that is hidden in these songs.” (read full review)
15. JB Beverley & The Wayward Drifters – Dark Bar & A Juke Box – 2006
Dark Bar & A Juke Box was an instant underground country classic, and so was the anti Music Row song that the album got its name from. JB and his Wayward Drifters grit out a superb selection of songs displaying taste, restraint, and a sincere appreciation for the roots of country music, which may have surprised some who knew JB more for his work with heavy metal bands like The Murder Junkies and the Little White Pills. Dark Bar & A Juke Box also boasts appearances from the famous son and grandson of a country music royal family, who due to contractual issues had to work incognito (wink wink).
14. Lucky Tubb & The Modern Day Troubadours – Del Gaucho – 2011
Some (including Lucky himself) may point to Hillbilly Fever as being the seminal Lucky Tubb album with its big budget and appearances by Wayne “The Train” Hancock. But Del Gaucho is where Lucky Tubb came into his own, found his sound, and the unique musical flavor only he has to offer the world. Dirty, rowdy, rocking, but still steadfastly neo-traditionalist country, Del Gaucho scores off the charts when it comes to style points. When you’re talking about some of the greatest neo-traditional country albums and artists of all time, Lucky Tubb and Del Gaucho deserve to be in that conversation.
13- Bob Wayne & The Outlaw Carnies – Blood to Dust – 2008
They say you have your whole life to write your first album, and what makes Bob Wayne’s Blood to Dust so special is how true and touching he told his life’s story through song. His subsequent albums aren’t too shabby either, but with signature songs like “Blood to Dust”, “Road Bound”, and “27 Years”, this still stands out as his signature album, and a signature album of the underground country movement. It was performed, produced, and recorded by an all-star cast of contributors that included Donnie Herron, Joe Buck and Andy Gibson, and brought Bob Wayne out from behind-the-scenes as Hank3′s guitar tech, and made him one of the movement’s most well-known songwriters and performers.
12. Jayke Orvis – It’s All Been Said – 2010
This is the album that launched Farmageddon Records, and that launched Jayke Orvis as a formidable, premier front man in underground country. One of the founding members of the now legendary .357 String Band, Jayke was asked to leave the band because of irreconcilable differences and almost immediately began touring with The Goddamn Gallows and trying to make this album happen. The result was a slick, tightly-crafted LP showcasing excellent songwriting and instrumentation. From ballads to blazing instrumentals, Jayke Orvis has proved himself to be one of the singular talents of underground country roots.
11. Lonesome Wyatt & Rachel Brooke – A Bitter Harvest – 2009
This album was destined to become an underground country classic. The mad genius music mind of Lonesome Wyatt of the Gothic country duo Those Poor Bastards has the uncanny ability to procure the absolute most appropriate sounds to evoke the desired dark mood in his music. Then you combine that with one of the best voices not just in underground country, but in all of music in Rachel Brooke, and magic was bound to happen. The creativity on A Bitter Harvest is spellbinding. More of an artistic endeavor than a toe tapper, Lonesome Wyatt and Rachel create a soundtrack to human emotion and despair. For people looking for a place for country music to evolve, A Bitter Harvest shows how you can take authentic country themes and an appreciation for the roots of the music, and envelop it in layers of textural color culled from the wide experience of human sounds.
10. Justin Townes Earle – Midnight At The Movies – 2009
Midnight At The Movies was Saving Country Music’s 2009 Album of the Year. Today it would be difficult to characterize Justin Townes Earle as underground country because the quality of this album launched him into the inner sanctum of Americana.
“Justin Townes Earle has done an awesome thing with this album; he has figured out a way to unite all the displaced elements that make up the alternative to mainstream Nashville country, while still staying somewhat accessible to the mainstream folks as well. You might even catch the bluegrass folks nodding their head while listening to it. Folkies like it, and there’s a few tunes blues people can get into. This isn’t just the REAL country album of the year, it is the “Alt-country” album of the year and the “Americana” album of the year.” (read full review)
9. Slackeye Slim - El Santo Grial, La Pistola Piadosa – 2011
El Santo Grial was Saving Country Music’s 2011 Album of the Year.
“Every once in a while, an album comes along that changes everything. It’s an album that inspires other albums, and dynamic shifts in tastes and approach throughout a sector of music, while at the same time dashing the dreams of other artists, as the purity and originality are way too much to attempt to rival. Slackeye Slim’s El Santo Grial, La Pistola Piadosa is one of those albums.
“El Santo Grial is a masterpiece, exquisitely produced, arranged, and performed. This is a patient, uncompromising album. You can tell time was never introduced into this project as a goal. The goal was to flesh out Slackeye’s vision without ever settling for second best, and that goal was accomplished.” (read full review)
8. Wayne “The Train” Hancock – That’s What Daddy Wants – 1997
Thunderstorms & Neon Signs is the Wayne Hancock album most people gravitate towards as their favorite because it was their first, and the first to showcase Wayne Hancock’s unique blend of country, Western Swing, rockabilly, and blues. But pound for pound, That’s What Daddy Wants is just as good of an offering, boasting some of The Train’s signature songs like “87 Southbound” and “Johnny Law”. Wayne Hancock has never put out a bad album, and distinguishing between them is difficult. But it’s not difficult to say that the underground country movement would have not had as much class if That’s What Daddy Wants hadn’t seen the light of day.
7. .357 String Band – Fire & Hail – 2008
“They were all the absolute best possible musicians you could find at their respective positions, each challenging each other, pushing each other to keep up with the band’s demands for artistic excellence in both instrumental technique and creative composition.
“Listening back now at Fire & Hail, with so much talent in one place, no wonder the project was untenable, and no wonder the respective players have moved on to become their own trees instead of respective branches of the same project. Still, the loss of .357 String Band may go down as underground country’s greatest tragedy.” (read full review)
6. Hank Williams III - Lovesick, Broke, & Driftin’ – 2002
BR549 and Wayne “The Train” Hancock spearheaded the neo-traditionalist movement in the mid 90′s, but Hank Williams III was the one to carry it into the oughts and introduce it to a brand new crop of fans he brought along from his dabblings in the punk/heavy metal world. After having to tow the line somewhat for his first album Risin’ Outlaw, Hank3 was unleashed and able to showcase his own songwriting, heavily influenced by Wayne Hancock and Hank3′s famous grandfather, but still all his own. His voice was wickedly pure with a heart wrenching yodel and commanding range. The songwriting was simple, but powerful. This is a masterpiece, and remains an essential title of the neo-traditionalist era.
5. Hellbound Glory – Old Highs & New Lows – 2010
Hellbound Glory had already been around for years, but they burst into the underground with this magnificent, hard country album highlighted by head man Leroy Virgil’s world class songwriting. Despite the “hell” in their name and the hard language in their songs, Hellbound Glory hadn’t gone through any retooling as post punk refugees. They were pure country through and through and Old Highs & New Lows combined excellent Outlaw-style bar stompers and ballads with some of the most wit-filled songwriting since Keith Whitley. As far as honky tonk albums go, it may be years before this one is trumped. And when it is, it might be Leroy Virgil and Hellbound Glory doing the trumping.
4. Dale Watson – Live in London…England – 2002
Dale comes out on stage and starts slinging guitars, cutting classics, and speaking the truth. Before Dale was the hometown boy and house band for Austin, he was pissed off and willing to sing about it. Dale’s anti-Nashville classics “Real Country Song”, “Nashville Rash”, and “Country My Ass” can all be found here, but Live in London isn’t all pissing and moaning. Songs like “Ain’t That Livin’” showed off Dale’s superlative voice and suave style. Honky tonk albums are sometimes hard to make because it is hard to capture that live, sweaty energy in the recorded context. So what better way to solve that problem than making a live one? Live in London remains the best Dale album to date.
3. Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers – Cockadoodledon’t – 2003
This was one of the first albums to bust out of the burgeoning music scene on lower Broadway in Nashville where one can argue the undergorund country movement started. It showed the world what kind of mayhem could be created by mixing country, blues, and punk music together without compromising taste and soul. It is the album which acts as a guidepost to the eclectic, yet intuitive and inter-related mix of influences that you will find in underground country: honest to goodness appreciation to the roots of American music, with a punk attitude and approach. And if you ever wondered why Joe Buck is considered part of underground country, appreciate that he played most of the music on Cockadoodledon’t.
2. Wayne “The Train” Hancock – Thunderstorms & Neon Signs – 1995
There are two albums that you can look back on an make a serious case that if they did not exist, underground country music may not exist–the album below this one on this list, and Wayne Hancock’s Thunderstorm & Neon Signs. There are two types of music artists: originators and imitators. Sometimes imitators can be very successful, and very creative artists themselves. But it always takes the originators to set the plate for the imitators to do what they do. Thunderstorms & Neon Signs was an original album from one of America’s most original country roots artists of all time. It doesn’t get much better or more influential than this.
1. Hank Williams III – Straight to Hell – 2006
This album isn’t underground country’s Red Headed Stranger. It isn’t underground country’s Honky Tonk Heroes. It is both. It is the album that both was a novel concept, a breakthrough sonically and lyrically, and had a massive impact on the business side of music, for artists winning control of their music and inspiring and showing artists how to do it themselves. The deposed son of country music royalty had taken on a major Nashville label, and won, and all while being one of the first to successfully bridge the energy and approach of punk and heavy metal music with traditional country, all while keeping the music solidly country in nature.
It was the first album to be put out through the CMA with a Parental Advisory sticker. It was the first to ever be recorded outside of a traditional studio setting. Of course only a select few were paying attention, but it broke through many barriers that to this day have changed music in significant ways, sonically and behind the scenes.
The approach also had wide-ranging impacts outside of underground country and country music in general, to rock music and punk and heavy metal, inspiring thousands of rock kids to put down their electric guitars and AC/DC records, and pick up banjos and Johnny Cash records. The impact on mainstream music may have not been seen, but it was felt, and just like all great albums, it’s legacy will grow and be more appreciated and understood as the future unfolds."
