MetroPulse Stories: Music Stories

Internationally Renowned Saxophonist Greg Tardy Finds His Way Into Knoxville's Jazz Community

neely@metropulse.com (Jack Neely) — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:40:00 -0000

He’s maybe not as familiar by sight as some of Knoxville's other jazz players, but judging by the crowds he draws around the world, and the prominent discs that have featured his saxophone, Greg Tardy is one of the most accomplished musicians in Knoxville.

Nashville Garage-Rock Duo JEFF the Brotherhood Aim for the Big Leagues With Major-Label Debut

Wed, 08 May 2013 14:44:00 -0000

Over the course of a decade, under the name JEFF the Brotherhood, Nashville brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall released six albums of fuzzy, tone-deaf stoner-pop, full of blistering punk-pop riffs and hungover power-pop melodies. Their goal? Pay the rent and hopefully tuck away some booze money. But even if they weren’t aiming high with their commercial dreams, their music managed to turn a lot of famous heads—including the suits at Warner Bros., who released the band’s major-label debut, Hypnotic Nights, in 2012.

French Band Ulan Bator Finally Makes It to America

Wed, 01 May 2013 15:30:00 -0000

A few tracks from En France/En Transe, scheduled for release later this month, are available on the band’s website; they point to a rawer sound reminiscent of Ulan Bator’s debut album, which Cambuzat says is a result of the band members getting to know each other during the recording sessions.

Knoxville Gay Men's Chorus Makes a Joyful Noise

kennedyr@metropulse.com (Rose Kennedy) — Wed, 01 May 2013 13:57:00 -0000

The group is the brainchild of its president, the activist Bleu Copas, who met Hamblin at the Equality on the Hill demonstration in Nashville last year. Hamblin and Copas, with two or three other singers, had their first public performance at the Night of Noise that breaks the Day of Silence in Knoxville about a year ago; the group has grown to 30 performers since. Performances at last year’s Pridefest and Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church’s Hope for the Holiday concert put Knoxville audiences on notice: These gay men are here to sing, and sing well.

Texas Metal Band the Sword Takes a Ride on the Fantastic Side

mconnergibson@gmail.com (Mike Gibson) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:11:00 -0000

It’s okay to classify frontman John “J.D.” Cronise’s 10-year-old retro-rock outfit the Sword as stoner metal, if you’d like. Or even doom, if you’re especially taken with the singer’s sometimes-apocalyptic lyrical fantasias. But while Cronise doesn’t mind, he doesn’t see much sense in all the hair-splitting about genre specifics, either.

Gangstagrass Fuses an Unlikely Combination of Hip-Hop and Bluegrass

paige.huntoon@metropulse.com (Paige Huntoon) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:48:00 -0000

Tthe way Rench puts it, bluegrass, with its drummerless bands, and hip-hop, with its heavy bass beats, seem perfect for each other. Luckily, he was able to find like-minded musicians in New York’s small bluegrass community, and assembled a group down to play his bluegrass-hip-hop tunes.

Chris Thile Adds a Partnership with Brad Mehldau to His “Musical Fraternity”

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:28:00 -0000

Mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile thinks of his career as one big audition, a quest to join the ranks of the upper echelon of musicians and composers—a group he calls the “musical fraternity.” He speaks about this journey as if it’s just beginning, as if his impressive accolades—most recently, he was honored as a MacArthur Fellow in 2012—and pure skill are no match for those of his heroes.

L.A. Folk-Rockers Dawes Set a New Course with 'Stories Don't End'

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:33:00 -0000

With their third album, the vibrant Stories Don't End, Dawes—singer and guitarist Taylor Goldsmith, keyboard player Tay Strathairn, bassist Wylie Gelber, and drummer Griffin Goldsmith—have taken a bold leap into the 21st century.

Kenny Roby Looks to the Past for the Next Phase of His Career

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 15:41:00 -0000

It hasn’t been easy for Kenny Roby to get where he is now. The Raleigh, N.C., singer/songwriter first established himself in the 1990s as the frontman and principal songwriter for the alt-country band Six String Drag. The group—much like Knoxville’s V-Roys, with whom they frequently toured—caught the attention of Steve Earle and his fledgling E-Squared label, but couldn’t capitalize on their potential; Six String Drag broke up just after releasing its second album, High Hat, in 1997. What was supposed to be a breakthrough was instead a curtain call.

Old-Time Band the Freight Hoppers Keeps Chugging Along

gervinc@metropulse.com (Cari Wade Gervin) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 14:53:00 -0000

For musicians like Frank Lee, the past year has been a strange one. A good one, mind you, but still strange.

British Blues Singer Bex Marshall Puts Some Country in Her Blues

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:35:00 -0000

There’s a surprising fact behind Bex Marshall’s new album of countrified back-porch blues, House of Mercy: Even though it sounds (mostly) like down-home rural blues from Mississippi, House of Mercy was actually recorded in Marshall’s house in the north of London.

Buddy Guy Keeps the Blues Alive

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:49:00 -0000

Every January, Buddy Guy holds a month-long residency at Buddy Guy’s Legends, the blues club he owns in Chicago. The 76-year-old Guy plays four nights a week with a roster of national touring acts like Lil Ed and the Imperials. Most of his shows sell out well in advance. But Guy’s annual January stand is a misleading measure of the state of the blues these days.

New York Drone Duo Mountains Stretches Out on Its New Album

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 15:44:00 -0000

As one-half of the New York drone music duo Mountains, Brendon Anderegg creates what most listeners would call “soundscapes”: complex melodic tapestries that weave in and out of focus, expanding and contracting for what seem like endless stretches of time. But Anderegg isn’t fond of that term or any of its synonyms.

The Drive-By Truckers' Patterson Hood Transforms a Novel-in-Progress Into His Best Solo Album

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 15:35:00 -0000

Patterson Hood didn’t have big plans when he started working on what eventually turned into his 2012 solo album, Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance.

Long-Running Murfreesboro Band Glossary Rediscovers the Mythology of Rock ’n’ Roll

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 19:04:00 -0000

Long Live All of Us, released in October 2011, is another stage in Glossary’s development from scrappy indie rock to a classic rock ’n’ roll band.

Con Hunley: If You Could Read Between the Lines

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:14:00 -0000

Con Hunley’s country music career in the late ’70s/early ’80s is the classic tale of a Knoxvillian trying to conform to Nashville’s ways—and returning to Knoxville for a happier life. Despite jaw-dropping good looks and talent formidable enough to win an Academy of Country Music Newcomer of the Year nomination, and despite touring with some of the biggest names in the industry, he lost deal after deal to lesser talents in big hats. Not that he cares. Betty Bean catches up with our singing country star.

Tall Tales of Con Hunley

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:00:00 -0000

Some extra anecdotes from a colorful career.

The Zac Brown Band Overcomes Its Biggest Hit to Become One of Country Music's Top Acts

everettm@metropulse.com (Matthew Everett) — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:21:00 -0000

For most fans, the Zac Brown Band is inseparable from its first big hit, the rousing Southern summer anthem “Chicken Fried.” It’s the kind of song that any new band would love to have, but it’s also the kind of song that can threaten to overwhelm a new group. It’s hard to tell at the time if one hit will be your only one.

Nashville Pop-Prog Band Moon Taxi Raises Its Profile With 'Cabaret'

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 15:38:00 -0000

Moon Taxi keyboardist Wes Bailey frequently mentions his idea of “synthesis,” of merging various moods and textures and genres into something slightly unexpected. That open-minded approach defines the band’s latest album, last year’s Cabaret, a thrilling set that blends eclecticism and radio-friendly pop smarts.

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion Returns to Its Roots for 'Meat and Bone'

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 15:43:00 -0000

If you’re not familiar with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, the opening track on the band’s new album Meat and Bone gives you a good idea what the trio is all about, musically and even philosophically. “Black Mold” is a heavy, driving garage rocker that flirts with scuzziness but never gets too far gone, culminating with Spencer rattling off a list of records from his personal collection that were ruined by the titular fungus in the wake of a flood.