The Origins and Epicenters of Underground “Muddy” Roots from Saving Country Music

Once again Saving Country Music has posted a killer write up on what we can easily refer to as "Underground Country" music. We as a label are damn proud to be included in this list and most of all, as fans of good music, we are working to promote the sounds that we know should be heard world wide.

Within our ranks you will find punk legends, femme fatales, rowdy brawlers and curtain callers. As a collective we are here to show that it is not about genre or a particular music style, but about the grit in your character. Underground Country just happens to be one of our beacons, along with punk, metal and southern rock swagger. In our current musical climate we can reference many influences, but what gets our blood flowing the most is quite simple. That being, it all boils down to a great song.

Music is here to tell a story. A collection of adventures, trials and tribulations full of peaks and valleys that create an escape, yet maintain a sense of purpose. Put the headphones on or crank the volume and start the next journey...

Rory Kelly sums it up quite good:

Peruse the original article over on Saving Country Music

From the outside looking in, one may look at the lineup of The Muddy Roots Festival for example, and wonder how a throwback legend from Texas like Wayne “The Train” Hancock, a hillbilly punk freak from Tennessee like Joe Buck, a golden-throated singer from Michigan like Rachel Brooke, a crazy hellbilly songwriter from the Pacific Northwest like Bob Wayne, and a blues legend from Mississippi like T-Model Ford could all be booked right beside each other and it work seamlessly.

This illustrates the dramatic sonic and geographical diversity that goes into creating what we know now as the underground country roots, or “Muddy Roots” world. Below is a list of the disparate origins of Muddy Roots music that came together from a mutual understanding and appreciation of the roots of American music, and the epicenters where this music originated from and/or is thriving today.

ORIGINS:

The revitalization of Lower Broadway in Nashville.

In the early 90′s, lower Broadway street in downtown Nashville comprised the last bastion of old buildings that symbolized what Music City used to be. Overrun with dirty bookstores and titty bars, and The Grand Ole Opry’s original home The Ryman shuttered, young cowpunk and neo-traditionalist musicians like BR549, Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers, Hillbilly Casino, Greg Garing, and Joe Buck and Layla, commandeered lower Broadway and revitalized the strip into the tourist destination it is today. Emmylou Harris‘s legendary concert with the “Nash Ramblers” in 1994 also breathed new life into The Ryman, and later Hank Williams III would cut his teeth in lower Broadway venues like Layla’s Bluegrass Inn.

The fierce appreciation for country’s roots combined with an independent, punk mentality is what revitalized the most historic portion of downtown Nashville, and created the foundation for the blending of country, blues, and punk that Muddy Roots music would spring from.

Read more about lower Broadways revitalization: PART 1 — PART 2 — PART 3 — PART 4

Outlaw Country

Not just Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, but Bobby Bare, Kris Kristofferson, and especially Tompall Glaser’s “Hillbilly Central” renegade studio in Nashville is the origin of the Outlaw spirit behind underground country roots, the “Do It Yourself” attitude to not allow labels to arrest creative control from the artists and to always respect the elders and traditions of the country genre while also allowing the music to innovate.

Punk

Underground country and Muddy Roots is very much a construct of the “post punk” music landscape. As punk music and scenes began to become stale or gentrify, punk artists and fans looking for the raw approach to music, and many times raised on traditional country and bluegrass, began to turn back to their own roots and put down their Flying V guitars for fiddles and banjos. This is where some of the fast, aggressive approach to roots music comes from, on both the country and the blues side, as well as the DIY spirit, and the grassroots approach to scene building and album production.

After Hank Williams III’s stint with the punk metal band Superjoint Ritual is when many punk and metal heads found themselves listening to country music again. In 2006, when Hank3 recorded his album Straight to Hell at home on a consumer-grade machine and put out an album with a Parental Advisory sticker on the front through one of Nashville’s major labels, many barriers were broke down and parameters set for how Muddy Roots music would evolve.

North Mississippi Hill Country Blues & Deep Blues

One of the reasons both country and blues music can work right beside each other in Muddy Roots is because in many cases they are both being infused with punk, just like artists Scott Biram and The Black Diamond Heavies do. Many times the infusion is with a very specific type of blues from the North Mississippi Hill Country, brought to the attention of the rest of the world by Fat Possum Records in the early 90′s, just about the same time lower Broadway in Nashville was being revitalized by young country punks.

One of the first events that put these like-minded blues and punk blues musicians all in one place, and included a few country-based artists as well was the Deep Blues Festival put on by Chris Johnson in Minnesota starting in the mid 2000′s. Deep Blues fest was where the relationship between blues, punk, and a deep appreciation for the roots of blues by young white musicians was codified.

Rockabilly

In a similar way to infusing both country and blues music with a punk edge and mentality, rockabilly artists in the early 90′s like The Reverend Horton Heat pioneered “pyschobilly”, a punk version of rockabilly. Just like their blues and country counterparts, they were neo-traditionalists, staunchly educated in and preservers of the roots of the music.

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EPICENTERS:

Part and parcel with the sonic diversity of underground country roots is the geographic diversity. Unlike many other past music movements that sprang up in specific geographical areas (or maybe in a few general areas, like East Coast vs. West Coast), Muddy Roots has epicenters all across the country as illustrated in the map below.

1. Tennessee (Nashville)

As explained above, Nashville has played the most vital role in the formation of underground country roots, from the Outlaw country music movement in the mid-70′s, to the revitalization of lower Broadway beginning in the mid-90′s, and today with the Muddy Roots Festival just an hour east in Cookeville, Nashville and Tennessee remain the major Muddy Roots epicenter, including the up-and-coming east Nashville, home to many venues supporting underground musicians, and the home of Hank Williams III, arguably the most important musician to the formation of a country music underground.

2. Austin, TX

As the”Live Music Capitol of the World” and a huge music town, Austin follows only Nashville in it’s importance to Muddy Roots music. Home to Wayne “The Train” Hancock, Scott Biram, Dale Watson, and many other underground roots musicians, as well as one of the epicenters of the original country music Outlaw movement and a lot of independent music infrastructure, Austin is a vital epicenter in underground roots.

3. The North Mississippi Hill Country

It’s not just any old blues that builds the nexus between blues and country into that unique underground roots concoction, it is a specific type of blues from the north Mississippi Hill Country. Fat Possum championed the sound of artists like RL Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, T Model Ford, and many others beginning in the early and mid 90′s. That sound has since been picked up and combined with punk by artists like Scott Biram, The Ten Foot Polecats, Restavrant, and The Black Keys to form what is more commonly referred to today as “Deep Blues”.

4. Michigan – (Detroit, Flint)

On the surface maybe one of the most unlikely epicenters for country and roots music is also possibly one of the most vibrant. The home base for artists like Whitey Morgan & The 78′s, Rachel Brooke, The Goddamn Gallows (Lansing), as well as a vibrant local scene with bands like Some Velvet Evening, Michigan has grown just about as many underground roots acts as anywhere else. To grow good roots bands you need support, and events like the legendary “Honky Tonk Tuesdays” at Club Bart in Ferndale created the community and collaboration that have allowed Michigan roots music to thrive.

5. The Upper Midwest (Minnesota, Wisconsin)

The Upper Midwest is the proving ground for many early and influential Muddy Roots bands, including the Gothic country stalwarts Those Poor Bastards from Madison, WI, the premier punk/bluegrass .357 String Band from Milwaukee, and Trampled by Turtles from Duluth, MN. When you throw in Michigan as an Upper Midwest state as well, the region becomes one of the strongest in the country for roots music.

Minnesota was also the scene of the crime for the original Deep Blues Festivals, and is the home of Chris Johnson, the founder of Deep Blues, and the owner of Bayport BBQ, a blues-based venue near St. Paul. Along with Weber’s Deck in French Lake, MN, they make Minnesota an Upper Midwest roots haven.

6. Arizona (Phoenix)

It only seems appropriate that one of the places where Waylon Jennings began his legacy from would years later become an underground country epicenter. The original home of Hillgrass Bluebilly Records, and a must-stop for touring bands going to or coming from The West Coast, Phoenix feels like home for many, and is home to artists like Ray Lawrence Jr. , Junction 10, and “Valley Fever” every Sunday night at the Yucca Tap Room. Hillgrass Bluebilly events are where many underground roots artists would meet for the first time, sparking collaborations on albums and tours that created a coagulating effect in an otherwise spread-out movement.

7. The Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest is like a factory for underground roots talent. Bob Wayne, Larry & His Flask, McDougall, James Hunnicutt, Hillstomp, and Brent Amaker are all from there, and the list goes on and on. And then when you start digging deeper, many artists who are now based out of other places originated from there, like some of the original members of BR549. Both Loretta Lynn and Willie Nelson did time in the Pacific Northwest early in their careers. And we can’t forget the punk world’s Eddie Spaghetti and the Supersuckers started doing country side-projects in the late 90′s and collaborated with Steve Earle.

Bluegrass is big in the area, and there seems to be a kindred spirit between the rainy west and the deep South because of the rural life and landscape, and because many of the original settlers of the Northwest were originally from the South. With a population that tends to support the arts and music, and many specific neighborhoods and venues and festivals like Pickathon that cater to the roots scene, the Pacific Northwest is one of underground roots’ biggest power players.

8. Montana

Montana may look like a lowly outpost on the map, but it played a vital roll in the formation of underground roots in the mid to late oughts, specifically with a promotion company called Section 08 Productions putting together the “Murder in the Mountains” tours. By bringing together artists from all around the upper part of the country like Rachel Brooke, JB Beverley, .357 String Band, Bob Wayne, Slackeye Slim and others, they were one of the first to take the theoretical underground roots scene, and give it some substance. Section 08 Productions has since morphed into Farmageddon Records, and is still based in Montana.

9. California

California has always been the force in country music just behind Nashville and Texas, and that counts for underground country and roots as well. Where California played a key role in the formation of underground country was the interjection of punk influences and the transition of punk fans. Mike Ness of Social Distortion, Jon Doe and Exene Cervenka from the band X doing country side projects in the 80′s and 90′s is what led to the punk/country nexus. The Devil Makes Three from Northern California were one of the very first bands to bring a punk attitude to string music, The Pine Box Boys from San Francisco were one of the pioneers of Gothic bluegrass, and Los Duggans from LA were an important Deep Blues band.

10. North Carolina

Boasting some great music towns and big time roots music labels like Rusty Knuckles, Ramseur Records, and Yep Rock, North Carolina can make the case for itself as having the best music music scene and the most infrastructure right behind the big boys of Nashville and Austin. It also doesn’t hurt that one of the most successful roots acts in recent history, The Avett Bros., call North Carolina home.

11. Chicago, IL (Bloodshot Records)

Chicago will always be a big important part of underground roots as the home of Bloodshot Records. Bloodshot was one of the first labels to put their money where there mouth was in 1994, being “drawn to the good stuff nestled in the dark, nebulous cracks where punk, country, soul, pop, bluegrass, blues and rock mix and mingle and mutate.” As home to artists as important and wide ranging as Justin Townes Earle, Scott Biram, and Wayne “The Train” Hancock, Bloodshot Records’ impact and influence will always make Chicago a roots epicenter.

SXSW Sale, 15% Off All Items

In celebration of one of the greatest music festivals, we are offering a killer sale on all items within our store. Until 12:00 am of Monday March 19th, there will be a 15% off sale of all items. Need an album? Need a new shirt? We have just what you are looking for and then some.

Get that album now from our store

SXSW Sale with 15% off all store sales

Listen Up: Ronnie Hymes & Carolina Freight

It is great to see that Ronnie Hymes and Carolina Freight are already starting to get some attention for the new album they are working on. With the stout lineup in Carolina Freight this is gonna be one hell of an album for fans Real Country Music.

Ronnie Hymes & Carolina Freight in a North Carolina cotton field at sunset ©  Rusty Knuckles 2011

Ronnie Hymes - Unincorporated by RustyKnuckles

Link to article on Fayobserver.com

Whenever Ronnie Hymes listens to country music on the radio, he can't help but wonder what happened to good old-fashioned honky-tonk music.

Taking his cues from acts such as Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard, the acoustic guitarist and vocalist has grounded his music in relatable, heartfelt country sounds. It's music that he and his band, Carolina Freight, pride themselves on.

"There's a genre for my kind of music, the kind of music that I'm putting out there," he said. "There's a movement."

Hymes and his band will perform Saturday at the Black Cat Lounge to share their love of honky-tonk music.

"It'll be a pretty high energy show, and it's going to be a lot of fun," he said. "We always play a lot of the classics, Hank Williams Jr., Charlie Daniels. We always play crowd-pleasing songs."

For years, Hymes has performed as a solo act and released his first 5-song EP in 2009. A year later, he debuted a full-length project entitled "Unincorporated." He later teamed up with Frank Ehlinger on the doghouse bass and Buck Thrailkill on the banjo to complete his band. Hymes' efforts caught the attention of the indie label, Rusty Knuckles. He signed on to the label and is now working on a new album.

Hymes talked with the Weekender Street Edition about his love of honky-tonk and his perspective on country music in the local music scene.

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Weekender: You moved to Fayetteville from West Virginia at the age of 10. How did your local upbringing contribute to your music?

Hymes: Me and my dad were real country. And I have four older brothers, and all four of them listened to different kinds of music. So I have a hard time separating rock and country and blues. If it's good music, I can appreciate all of it. But when I was playing in bands, in my teenage years, I was writing the same kind of songs back then that I'm writing now. And I guess with playing in Fayetteville, you get so many different sounds, it just adds to the mixing pot. It definitely helped form my style of playing.

Weekender: You're a big advocate for all things honky-tonk, but what is your take on the current brand of country music these days?

Hymes: That's a loaded question.(laughs).Let's take country music radio, corporate country. They have writers that come in and write songs and gear them for a certain market. Today's market is teenage girls. Country music used to be, when I was growing up, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings. They talked about the hard times, things that everybody can relate to, not being able to pay your bills, drinking, whatever it might be. And today's country music is just bubbly and great.

We're just a three-piece band - acoustic guitar, stand up bass. But whether it be a banjo or fiddle or steel guitar, we're a back-to-basics kind of band.

Weekender: What have been the challenges for your band in regards to the local music scene?

Hymes: You can go to an open-mic on Monday night, and you'll see these five people playing. You'll go on a Tuesday night at a different bar, and you'll see the same five people playing. And then on Friday and Saturday nights when you're wanting to book a show, if you're not in that loop, the same five people will be playing Friday and Saturday night.

Then there's another side to that. There's Fayetteville music. Basically, you got military rock 'n' roll, these teenage hard-core rock 'n' roll sounds, then you got your folk artists. There's really not a country scene in Fayetteville. There's not really a market for it, which is one of the reasons why we play out of town.

Weekender: What's next for Ronnie Hymes and Carolina Freight?

Hymes: We're hoping to have the record done by February. And we're looking at May for a release. I'm pretty excited about it, especially to have Rusty Knuckles pushing us. That's going to be big. There's no name for it yet, but there are several songs on the record that are dealing with home, like "Home State Lines" and another song about longing for home and missing home. So it's kind of leaning that way, but we haven't really made up our minds yet. One song could change everything.

Ronnie Hymes & Carolina Freight

When: Saturday, Jan. 14 at 8 p.m.

Where: The Black Cat Lounge, 2918 Fort Bragg Road

Want more? Search for the band on Facebook or go to reverbnation.com/ronniehymes.

Correspondent Jessica De Vault can be reached at weekender@fayobserver.com.

Ronnie Hymes & Carolina Freight featured in Fayetteville Observer

Two Thirds Of All Albums Purchased In The US Are Still CDs

The future of all music is moving towards being purely digital. CD sales and vinyl will continue to be sold, but in vastly smaller quantities. The true die hard fans that support bands and enjoy having memorable packaging along with the music are the life blood. The future of recorded music is good and bad overall, just depends with whom you speak. This shift towards fully digital will be happening over many years to come, not directly impacted in 2012. Nor is it prophecy in the Mayan calendar, but time will tell.

Our main concern first and foremost, is that folks are still listening to great music and seeking relevant up and coming acts. Music is the elixir of the soul and whether you hear it on a crisp vinyl record or play it over itunes, you in one way or another are channeling emotions the music beckons upon you. A great album is equivalent to a classic novel. It has a long shelf life and can be played over and over telling stories that will bring back memories for a lifetime. Songs, notes and lyrics become epic characters and storylines taking the listener on vast journeys.

CD or vinyl packaging also plays directly into this notion and creates the skin to house the meat and bones that make up the full embodiment of an album. The cover artwork will follow the album for its entirety and leaves an indelible mark. If the photograph of the Beatles crossing Abbey Road had just been taken of the sign "Abbey Road" would it still resonate? Or what if Joe Strummer hadn't decided to smash his guitar in middle of the set on stage in New York in 1979, would "London Calling" be as powerful?

Keep on listening to digital music as a format, but don't let cds and vinyl become forever lost. If they are to go by the wayside then we lose part of the soul of an album, as the art and music paired together are its DNA.

The Beatle's - Abbey Road

The Clash's - London Calling

Link to original post over on Digital Music News

"The flat, clunky, physical CD isn't going anywhere, at least not in 2012. According to year-2011 breakdowns just shared by Nielsen Soundscan, more than two-thirds of all albums purchased in the US were physical CDs.  Out of a total of 330.6 million albums sold during the year - across all configurations - a healthy 223.5 million were discs, or 67.6 percent.

That follows an even more extreme breakdown from the UK.  Just a few days ago, label group BPI revealed that 76.1 percent of all albums purchased last year were CDs.

Back in the US, album unit sales edged slightly upward on the year, specifically by 1.3 percent.  CDs themselves slumped 5.7 percent, while digital albums gained a healthy 19.5 percent to reach a record 103.1 million units.  Vinyl gained 36.3 percent to nearly 4 million units, and cassette sales were negligible."

CD sales are still king overall, but digital in the future

Ronnie Hymes And Carolina Freight New Photos

Ronnie Hymes and Carolina Freight have a new album in the works, so we rolled over to link up with the fellas and check in on the progress. Things are sounding damn great with them now as a three piece and the whole vibe has such a warm yet gritty approach with the new material. We knew that getting a few shots of them in the cotton fields by Ronnie's studio would turn out great and capture them perfectly.

Ronnie Hymes - Goin' Home by RustyKnuckles

Ronnie Hymes and Carolina Freight - Photos by Rusty Knuckles © 2011

Ronnie Hymes and Carolina Freight - Photos by Rusty Knuckles © 2011

Ronnie Hymes - Texas City Blues

This past Friday Ronnie Hymes and Carolina Freight did a show over at Sand Hills Music center. Currently, Ronnie and the fellas are working on new songs for a 2012 release with us and we are damn stoked to hear what they have cookin'.

Ronnie Hymes Featured In Northern California's KTVU

Not quite sure what KTVU.com has cookin' or maybe they are realizing how good Ronnie Hyme's album Unincorporated album is, but it's featured on their website. No details, no information or even saying why its there. Quite baffled and we have reached out to them for comment, but no luck as of yet. 

Here is our challenge to you fine newscasters of the San Jose and Bay Area, give ol' Ronnie Hymes a full write up and we can call it even. If not we are unleashing REAL newscasters onto yall and let there be some bloodshed...

How To Build A Custom Stage and Booth

A crazy idea struck us earlier this summer. We figured that building a new setup for all the shows we do at motorcycle, hot rod and music events would be a good idea. Of course this was all on the fly and didn't even really think on drawing up a fully fleshed out idea as our clever concept entailed obtaining all recycled material or at least mostly refurbished steel and wood.

Several sketches and quite a few beers later we posted a note up on the local craigslist looking for scrap steel. Within a few days we got an email from a couple about an hour away that had an old steel staircase that needed tearing down and offered the steel for free if we hauled it away. How could we pass up on the opportunity to spend ten hours and over 30 cut off wheels cutting down an entire staircase? Yes, we are gluttons for punishment as this was all accomplished in close to a hundred degree heat and southern humidity, our normal operating temperature.

With all the steel finally at the shop we could take measurements and really see what we had to work with. The beams were our main interest along with the pipe as that would be our main structural support for the floor deck and poles to support the roof. The steel was under a huge amount of tension with the step supports that were welded on as they had begin to flex over the forty years that the stairs had been in use. As we we were cutting off the support brackets the steel was snapping back into its original shape. If that won't rattle your nerves handling big beams, not sure what else will, as you can guess this stuff isn't light.

Knowing how big our projects can get I cast out a blank series of text messages for "volunteers". One lone ranger opted to show up and help and we thank none other than Jukebox Hank for rolling down for three days for some sweat equity. Without his help in getting all the grinding and metal prep done on the box frame, we truly would have been up shits creek. The setup of the beams should have been a three man job to line things up and weld in the brackets to hold the corner bolts but we did it with two and several cinder blocks. The beams now lock into place with a series of four large bolts and the supports of the crossmember wood and steel pipe hold it all together so its easy to assemble and disassemble. In all actuality, one person can build the entire platform now without any other help as I had to do close to seven times to really dial in the construction of it on the fly.

One of the last pieces that we needed was refurbished floor planks. Luckily we have a Habitat for Humanity a couple of miles down the road and was able to purchase a stack of eighteen 2 x 6 x 10's in a variety of lengths. With the planks, our floor could now be completed and we cut those all to length and placed them in a specific alignment to lock the wood in tight and employed a few shims to really tighten it up.

Our plan is that now with a solid floor we can also use this for indoor shows as a bike platform or a raised deck for a variety of setups. We dig having an old country store feel as it matches the vibe we are going for. This stage has been truly labor intensive to build, but it solidifies exactly what we are doing and doesn't look like a lame cookie cutter tent at outdoor festivals. Add in our wrench knives flags and a variety of roof options and we are set for just about any damn show we need to do. 2012, here we come!

Total Cost, just under $180 bucks with excess cut off wheels, bolts, welding wire, etc. etc. Who says cool things have to cost a lot of money, go out and make life happen.

Soundtrack to stage building 101 provided by Antiseen and Crank County Daredevils

Antiseen - Broke Down Blues by RustyKnuckles

Crank County Daredevils - That's How We Roll by RustyKnuckles
Crank County Daredevils - Coming Down by RustyKnuckles
 

Ronnie Hymes and Lucky Tubb

Check out these great photos posted up by Tim Bradham over at the one and only TBCWorks, best damn Hot Rod shop in the eastern Carolina's. Ronnie Hymes is currently still on tour with Lucky Tubb so get out and see him on the last two shows of the tour. Once off the road, Ronnie will be hittin' the studio in earnest to begin working on the new album. Really stoked to hear what he has cooking.

9.26 - Buffalo, NY - Sportsmen's Tavern

9.30 - Washington, DC - Hill Country DC

Muddy Roots 2012 - Already On Sale

Muddy Roots 2011 definitely lived up to it's name and a damn amazing time was had by all. Do yourself a favor and start making plans for this event in 2012. The folks putting it on worked their asses off and made everyone feel welcome. This type of dedication is a rarity and only by supporting such a great event and helping it to grow will such a great festival continue to exist.

Get your tickets for Muddy Roots 2012 now

Ronnie Hymes - I'm Bitter, Live in Roanoke, VA

Some video footage of Ronnie Hymes, playing "I'm Bitter" posted up for a show report by Tad Dickens of the Roanoke Times. "I'm Bitter" was co-wrote with J.B. Beverley. Ronnie is currently on the road with Lucky Tubb & The Modern Day Troubadours.

Link to Roanoke Times post

Ronnie Hymes & Carolina Freight at Muddy Roots

It's only a matter of time before Ronnie Hymes steps out onto bigger stages. It was great to see him to play to a large crowd and for those there to really get into his music. We are damn proud to be working with him and cannot wait to hear more of his tracks for his new upcoming album.

Current Tour Dates with Lucky Tubb

9.11 -  Roanoke, VA - Martins

9.12 - Charlotte, NC - Snug Harbor

9.13 - Fayetteville, NC - The Black Cat Lounge

9.15 - Parkersburg, WV - Low Places Bar and Grill

9.17 - Kingston, NY - The Basement

9.18 - New Haven, CT - Cafe Nine
9.20 - New Paltz, NY - Snug Harbor
9.23 - Portland, ME - TBA
9.24 - New York, NY - Hill Country
9.26 - Buffalo, NY - Sportsmen's Tavern
9.30 - Washington, DC - Hill Country DC

East Coast Assault In Fayettenam, NC

As Hurricane Irene launched an assaulted on the East Coast, Rusty Knuckles bands were tearing things up in Fayetteville, NC at The Black Cat Lounge's August Assault. Irene was responsible for several bands and the car show rescheduling, but Ronnie Hymes & the Carolina Freight (Friday the 26th) and Antiseen (Saturday the 27th) rocked Fayetteville with a fury equal to any hurricane.

 -  Tams Higgins

Muddy Roots 2011 - Hot Damn Was It A Good Time

If you were not able to make the Muddy Roots Music Festival this year, well you are just plain shit out of luck. We were finally able to hang with quite a few folks we haven't seen in a while including our folks in Hellbound Glory along with meeting a plethora of quality new individuals which were gracious enough to swap stories, beer and liquor. For that, we guarantee we will return to our new favorite hallowed biker grounds in Tennessee. 

Below our photos is the impressive write up from Triggerman over at Saving Country Music and we are damn impressed at his hard efforts working all weekend along with the Jason and the rest of the crew that put the event on. Only with their dedicated time and effort would such an event exist and we truly hope to see this event grow for them to become something beyond good.

Anthony aka "Turbo" was the best damn roadie to be found

Rollin west from the Carolinas

We ended up drinkin' the bar out of Sparks on a dare

Muddy Roots banjo sized for Paul Bunyan

Jukebox Hank in Swimming attire and Scotty P of Southbound Turnaround

J.B. Beverly and the Wayward Drifters on the main stage

Sammy Guns was out and needed the emergency liquor shack

Our newest favorite Ohioans

Bob Wayne turning the crowd into a frenzy telling what is legal in Alabama

A few hot rods were present

Buck Thrailkill, Jayke Orvis and Banjer Dan

Fellas in Hellbound Glory setting up for a late night show

Ronnie Hymes on the main stage with Buck Thrailkill and Tim Shearer

The madman known as Jukebox Hank

Hellbound Glory setting up for a late night show

Jukebox Hank getting the sound dialed in for Hellbound Glory

Yours Truly, Zander Schloss from Circle Jerks, Die Hunns, etc., Zeke from Hellbound Glory and J.B. Beverly

The Ohio, California and Carolinas connection

Zeke from Hellbound Glory's washboard getting a full on knife engraving

J.B. Beverly, Buck Thrailkill and Banjer Dan smokin' the main stage

Ronnie Hymes taking the main stage and made a ton of new fans

Hellbound Glory got a shortened set due to rain but gave a taste of the new album

Garter tattoo anyone?

Link to Saving Country Music's official Write Up

The idea of sitting down in front of a keyboard to try and describe an experience as epic as this last weekend’s Muddy Roots Festival seems like the essence of fools errand. However I feel inclined to attempt to tackle this impossible task for the folks that weren’t there, the folks that were, but maybe were not able to take in the full experience, and hopefully somehow attempt to chronicle the magic that went down at the June Bug ranch, just north of Cookeville, TN on Labor Day weekend, 2011 for future reference.

My perspective on the fest is somewhat skewed, because I did not go there as a participant, but as a volunteer. I watched most of the bands with their backs to me, but I can honestly say I did not see one performer that weekend that I was unimpressed with. Granted, this was a festival whose epicenter is very similar to the music that is covered here on Saving Country Music, but the diversity of talent when you take a step back was astronomical. There were country music legends like Don Maddox of The Maddox Brothers & Rose, and Wanda Jackson. There were deep blues artists like the Ten Foot Polecats and Left Lane Cruiser. There were punk-infused roots bands like Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers, neo-traditionalists like Lucky Tubb, and all manner of variations in between.

While the big city an hour to the west of Cookeville continued to deal with the historic contraction in music consumption, Muddy Roots more than doubled its numbers from its inaugural year. Folks from Canada, Belgium, Spain, The Netherlands, many other foreign countries and all around the United States made the trek to what is quickly becoming an annual epicenter for independent roots music.

Weather was a major factor for the 2011 Muddy Roots Festival, with scorching 99-degree days for Friday’s setup and on Saturday as well, chased by torrential downpours courtesy of the remnants of a tropical storm on Sunday. And then again, weather wasn’t a factor at all. Great music, and the fellowship between real roots artists and their fans was going to happen, and the adversity of uncontrollable elements seemed to only make for better stories. We’ll take temps in the 80′s and clear skies next year though if the weather gods are reading.

Though Muddy Roots did not officially begin until Saturday, by the end of Friday night it already felt like a memorable music experience for many participants, as droves of artists and fans, many that had not seen each other in a year, others that had never met each other ever, or only knew of each other over the internet, were finally able to make a personal connection face to face. Like a gathering of tribes, groups of friends and bands coagulated and intermingled until the early hours of the morning. Rusty Knuckles, one of the labels represented at Muddy Roots had a booth that could transform into a stage, and the band Filthy Still regaled a large crowd late into the night. Meanwhile Uncle Sean & The Shifty Drifters with members of Liquorbox and Cletus Got Shot played the June Bug Biker Bar at the front of the property to a packed crowd.

A late night made for a slow-starting morning, with Cashman, and Mark Porkchop Holder taking the first time slots on the main Muddy Roots stage, but by the time Jayke Orvis and his Broken Band took the stage at 1 PM, people were ready to brave the heat and his set drew one of the biggest crowds of the whole festival. The Broken Band consisted of Fishgutz and Baby Genius from The Goddamn Gallows, James Hunnicutt, Joe Perreze, and a fiddle player.

Meanwhile on Stage 2 under the tent, the blues were being represented by the Ten Foot Polecats who made the trip from Boston, followed by the ramshackle fire and brimstone one man band Revered Deadeye. About the only set of music that wasn’t well attended all weekend was Derek Hoke on the main stage, and it was a shame, because it was one of the best classic country performances of the fest. The low attendace had me worried of what might happen when the 90+-year-old Don Maddox took the stage. My concerns turned out to be unfounded as a decent crowd swelled to see the West Coast country legend, with a band consisting of the omnipresent James Hunnicutt on drums, Felix Thursday of The Cheatin’ Hearts on guitar, Banjer Dan, and Johnny B, a local venue owner from Medford, OR on standup bass.

Don Maddox was followed on the main stage by JB Beverly & The Wayward Drifters. The Drifters lineup included two banjos, and JB’s excellent original songs were complimented by the full sound. JB also gave one of the best, most impassioned speeches all weekend about the beauty and importance of the Muddy Roots gathering.

The Muddy Roots schedule had a few very cool runs where like-minded bands were featured back to back. One of these runs featured The Clamity Cubes and Cletus Got Shot on the second stage. Unfortunately I didn’t get to catch any of the Dirt Scab Band or the Spinderellas, but made it back to the main stage in time to see why Ronnie Hymes has recently been picked up by the Rusty Knuckles record label, and left Muddy Roots on a tour with Lucky Tubb.

Speaking of Lucky and cool runs in the schedule, Lucky’s set on stage 2 was preceded by Slim Chance & The Can’t Hardly Playboys, sans Slim Chance, but still with a cool lineup that included Zach Shedd of Hank3′s Damn Band. Lucky showed up to Muddy Roots with copies ready to sell of his brand new album Del Gaucho, and was followed by Possessed by Paul James, who put on one of the best, if not the best performances of Muddy Roots 2011. By the end of his set, some folks were in tears, and everyone was talking about the mysterious burst of wind on that blisteringly hot day that hit the stage 2 tent right as he began to play.

Bob Wayne and the Outlaw Carnies had a daunting task of following up Possessed, but he did so admirably. Bob’s ear to ear smile and fun-to-be-around attitude was all over the place on the weekend. I can’t remember how many times I looked out over a crowd and saw Bob there smack dab in the middle, leading the charge and cheering on the performer.

On the main stage, O’ Death made the smart decision to hold the beginning of their set until Possessed by Paul James was done, and then entertained the crowd with their dark and original take on Americana roots. They were followed by two legends, from different worlds: the always enchanting and charismatic Soda, and on of the true pioneers of independent roots country, and an American original, Wayne “The Train” Hancock, who dazzled possibly the biggest crowd of the whole festival.

Those still not satiated by Saturday’s festivities sauntered back to stage 2, which after the performance of American Pickers’ star Danielle Colby‘s dance troupe Burlesque le Moustache offered a late night lineup of Black Jake & The Carnies, a band I had never seen or heard before, but were very entertaining with a high energy show and a frontman full of bits, including a flashing banjo that shot fire out the head stock, while he smoked a cigar wedged in a harmonica holder. Viva Le Vox followed up with their own light show and fiercely entertaining songs custom fit for the deep of the night. Unfortunately Farmageddon Records alum Owen Mays got shafted when the sound crew decided to call it quits at 2-something in the morning, but a decent crowd that stuck around were revered with an intimate, all acoustic set that included Banjer Dan, James Hunnicutt, and others fleshing out Owen’s original compositions.

Sunday began on the main stage with Liquorbox, Felix Thursday’s aforementioned Cheatin’ Hearts, and Davey Jay Sparrow, who was introduced by his very young son, who also revered the crowd with a few choice knock knock jokes. They were proceeded by a couple of roots music transplants from the punk scene in the form of Sean Wheeler and Zander Schloss, while on stage 2, a couple of string bands got things going: The Hogslop String Band, and one of my personal favorite acts of the weekend, Thomas Maupin & Daniel Rothwell. Daniel is a young, up-and-coming banjo player, and Thomas Maupin is a champion tap dancer. Folks still sleeping off Saturday night really missed a treat.

As a pinup pageant was going down on the main stage, things really got cranking on stage 2, with the Celtic-infused Cutthroat Shamrock and the sludgy blues of Left Lane Cruiser revering the Dirtyfoot fans of Hillgrass Bluebilly music. This was contrasted by the straightforward Appalachian-style of JD Wilkes of Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers‘ side project with his wife called The Dirt Daubers touring in support of a new album. I’ll admit, since the beginning of this project, I’ve been worried Shack Shaker nation will want more blood and guts than what The Dirt Daubers can offer, but simply put, they killed it, and were joined on stage by Liz Sloan of Bob Wayne’s Outlaw Carnies.

Unfortunately I did not have the time to see many of the handful of performer’s slated for Sunday’s stage 3, but I did get to check out a few good songs from banjo player Joe Perreze of The Perreze Farm, who also sat in with numerous other performers over the weekend, as well as a few blazing blues numbers from last minute fill-in Husky Burnette, who at times was joined by washboard Avery from the Goddamn Gallows, and Soda and Jay Scheffler from the Ten Foot Polecats on harmonica. Yes, collaboration was everywhere on the weekend.

As punk band Hans Kondor was playing on Stage 2, and Art Adams Band on Stage 1, the rain came. And it came. And didn’t stop all night. This forced a reshuffling of the lineup and the closing of the open air Stage 1, moving the big Muddy Roots headliners under the tent. Leroy Virgil and Hellbound Glory were forced to play a short set, but did an excellent job with their post-Chico (their drummer) lineup that includes Leroy sitting on a bass drum and playing it backwards while picking and singing.

Then came one of my favorite runs of shows of the festival, with two legends of Nashville’s lower Broadway fronted by two of the best frontmen in all of music, as Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers and Hillbilly Casino took the stage one after another. As the rain continued to fall, the Muddy Roots patrons got muddy, and were treated to some of the best live music that exists.

At this point the rain had turned into an outright deluge. The sound equipment had to be lifted out of pooling water, and there was concern the main headliner Wanda Jackson would call the performance off. But all strings were pulled to accommodate the 73-year-old queen of rockabilly, and folks, she absolutely killed it. Her voice was as solid as when she dumped Elvis, and her stage presence was spellbinding. When Wanda called on her crisp yodel, the crowd went crazy. They sang along with full lung with the gospel number “I Saw The Light”. Wanda ran through her set list, and started adding songs sensing the fervor of the crowd. It was a spectacular performance.

After Wanda came short but solid sets from performers that got the short end from the weather: the great one man band Scott McDougall from the Pacific Northwest, the Whiskey Folk Ramblers that made the drive all the way out from Ft. Worth, and the lovely and talented Rachel Brooke.

Muddy Roots 2011 was capped off by one of the few bands that could tackle such a task, The Goddam Gallows. By this time there was water ankle deep no matter where you walked with sheets of rain still falling, but very few people had retreated, and those not watching the Gallows, were watching or participating in a huge jam under the cover of the main stage that included Wayne Hancock, J.B. Beverley, Banjer Dan, Nathan from Cletus Got Shot, all of Hellbound Glory, and many others.

Though I am afraid of attempting to compile a list of the non-musicians that were there or involved in Muddy Roots that deserve recognition because I am sure I will leave important names out, I must mention that independent country elder statesman Mr. Bandana was there all weekend, and using his 4-wheeler to help haul gear and people around the site. And of course, huge props goes to the promoters Jason and Anthony Galaz, and right hand man Jason H. Buchanan for pulling the whole thing off.

There’s really no way I can sum up the 2011 Muddy Roots Festival, and any written treatise just feels like a reduction of the experience. Truly, you just had to be there. But for the folks that weren’t, take note that Muddy Roots is quickly becoming one of those events you plan your year around. I will say that above all the excellent performances, the jaw dropping lineup, the beautiful and ideal grounds, the greatest asset of the Muddy Roots experience is the people it draws, and the fellowship it creates. As the world obsesses more every year with making money, Muddy Roots offers an opportunity to make memories.

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