I’ll be promoting my NYE sets at 620 State in Bristol on WCYB‘s noon show today (Tuesday, Dec. 27th). Listen up and listen in!
Category Archives: Live Music
Simmons, Russell, Lee & Lee – The Down Home, Sat. July 28th
On Saturday, July 28th, Johnson City’s legendary Down Home listening room will play host to a sampling of songwriters from across Tennessee. Stephen Simmons, based in Nashville, Rob Russell, based in Johnson City, and Knoxville-based Tim & Susan Lee will take the stage to perform original tunes that demonstrate each writer’s unique perspective on life, love, and the South.
Stephen Simmons is touring in support of The Big Show, his sixth record. His previous works (Last Call, Drink Ring Jesus, Something In Between, The Blame’s On U.S. and Girls) have found him compared to the likes of Johnny Cash, Ryan Adams, John Prine and Tom Petty. The Big Show also owes a debt to that songwriting pantheon, but also includes influences as diverse as Van Morrison, Tom Waits and the acclaimed HBO series Carnivàle. Above all, The Big Show is an event––a showcase for a seasoned singer-songwriter who’s got stories, insights and melodies that are unique yet available to all. Step right up.
Joining Stephen on The Big Show is his longtime producer and ringmaster Eric Fritsch (Sheryl Crow, Scott Miller), who also plays guitar and Hammond organ on some tracks. Other cast members include bassists Dave Jacques (John Prine, Shelby Lynne) and Tim Marks (Taylor Swift, Will Hoge), drummers Matt Crouse (Sheryl Crow, Michelle Wright) and Paul Griffith (k.d. lang, Todd Snider), keyboardist Jen Gunderman (The Jayhawks), steel guitar player Alex McCollough (The Wrights) and guitarist Dave Coleman (The Coal Men). Stephen and Eric matched this crew with songs best suited to each individual’s playing style. Other tracks feature Stephen alone, accompanied only by a beat-up Guild acoustic guitar and a harmonica. Put them all together and it’s The Big Show, a high-flying sonic marvel designed to thrill, wonder, delight and astonish. For more information, check out http://www.stephensimmonsmusic.com.
As two-thirds of Knoxville, Tennessee, band the Tim Lee 3, Tim and Susan Lee sing, write songs and play rock n’ roll with drummer Chris Bratta. Maryville Daily Times music editor referred to the band’s sound as, “like Crazy Horse and X in a drunken jam.” As a duo, the Lees take those same songs (many from their previous TL3 releases) and rearrange them to create a different mood, emphasizing the lyrics and vocal interplay over volume and intensity (they’ve been known to add a cellist and a mandolin player to their acoustic guitar/vocals duo).
“With the band, it’s all about the sound,” Susan Lee said. “But with the duo, it’s more about the songs.”
Added Tim: “We’re playing the same songs, but we’re sort of showing their flexibility and letting them stand more on their own.” At present, the Tim Lee 3 is working on a new release for early 2013 at studios in Knoxville, Austin and Tucson. For more information, visit www.timleethree.com.
Johnson City-based singer/songwriter Rob Russell has kept a bit of a low profile since putting Rob Russell & the Sore Losers on hiatus in September, 2011, but the time has freed him up to write a batch of new songs and begin thinking about a new recording project. “Around the same time that the band was slowing down, I found myself writing songs that fit a more acoustic approach,” Russell said. “I was playing with my little ‘side band’ The Bleeding Heart Show, doing mostly covers, and I was definitely influenced by that line up – acoustic bass, guitar, mandolin, and close harmonies.” It’s been over a year since Russell has brought his music to Knoxville, and he looks forward to seeing old friends and winning over new converts to his own style of ‘Appalachian Rock and Roll.’ For more information, visit www.robrussellmusic.com.
This show will also be shown live on Concert Window. Wherever you are in the world, you can tune in! You can purchase online tickets for $3 any time the day of the show at www.concertwindow.com/downhome. The show will not be taped, but you can watch it live in High Definition. Payment can be made using PayPal or a credit/debit card.
The Down Home is located at 300 W. Main St. in Johnson City. Cover charge is $12, and the music begins at 9 p.m. For additional information, contact The Down Home at 423-929-9822 or visit their website, www.downhome.com.
Simmons, Russell, Lee & Lee @ The Well – July 25th
On Wednesday, July 25th, The Well, the newest venue in Knoxville’s vibrant music scene, will play host to a sampling of songwriters from across Tennessee. Stephen Simmons, based in Nashville, Rob Russell, based in Johnson City, and Knoxville-based Tim & Susan Lee will take the stage to perform original tunes that demonstrate each writer’s unique perspective on life, love, and the South.
Stephen Simmons is touring in support of The Big Show, his sixth record. His previous works (Last Call, Drink Ring Jesus, Something In Between, The Blame’s On U.S. and Girls) have found him compared to the likes of Johnny Cash, Ryan Adams, John Prine and Tom Petty. The Big Show also owes a debt to that songwriting pantheon, but also includes influences as diverse as Van Morrison, Tom Waits and the acclaimed HBO series Carnivàle. Above all, The Big Show is an event––a showcase for a seasoned singer-songwriter who’s got stories, insights and melodies that are unique yet available to all. Step right up.
Joining Stephen on The Big Show is his longtime producer and ringmaster Eric Fritsch (Sheryl Crow, Scott Miller), who also plays guitar and Hammond organ on some tracks. Other cast members include bassists Dave Jacques (John Prine, Shelby Lynne) and Tim Marks (Taylor Swift, Will Hoge), drummers Matt Crouse (Sheryl Crow, Michelle Wright) and Paul Griffith (k.d. lang, Todd Snider), keyboardist Jen Gunderman (The Jayhawks), steel guitar player Alex McCollough (The Wrights) and guitarist Dave Coleman (The Coal Men). Stephen and Eric matched this crew with songs best suited to each individual’s playing style. Other tracks feature Stephen alone, accompanied only by a beat-up Guild acoustic guitar and a harmonica. Put them all together and it’s The Big Show, a high-flying sonic marvel designed to thrill, wonder, delight and astonish. For more information, check out www.stephensimmonsmusic.com.
As two-thirds of Knoxville, Tennessee, band the Tim Lee 3, Tim and Susan Lee sing, write songs and play rock n’ roll with drummer Chris Bratta. Maryville Daily Times music editor referred to the band’s sound as, “like Crazy Horse and X in a drunken jam.” As a duo, the Lees take those same songs (many from their previous TL3 releases) and rearrange them to create a different mood, emphasizing the lyrics and vocal interplay over volume and intensity (they’ve been known to add a cellist and a mandolin player to their acoustic guitar/vocals duo).
“With the band, it’s all about the sound,” Susan Lee said. “But with the duo, it’s more about the songs.”
Added Tim: “We’re playing the same songs, but we’re sort of showing their flexibility and letting them stand more on their own.” At present, the Tim Lee 3 is working on a new release for early 2013 at studios in Knoxville, Austin and Tucson. For more information, visit www.timleethree.com.
Johnson City-based singer/songwriter Rob Russell has kept a bit of a low profile since putting Rob Russell & the Sore Losers on hiatus in September, 2011, but the time has freed him up to write a batch of new songs and begin thinking about a new recording project. “Around the same time that the band was slowing down, I found myself writing songs that fit a more acoustic approach,” Russell said. “I was playing with my little ‘side band’ The Bleeding Heart Show, doing mostly covers, and I was definitely influenced by that line up – acoustic bass, guitar, mandolin, and close harmonies.” It’s been over a year since Russell has brought his music to Knoxville, and he looks forward to seeing old friends and winning over new converts to his own style of ‘Appalachian Rock and Roll.’ For more information, visit www.robrussellmusic.com.
The Well is located at 4620 Kingston Pike, Suite 2, between Lenny’s and Spex in Bearden. There is no cover charge, and the music begins at 9 p.m. For additional information, contact The Well at 865-851-7459 or visit their website,
http://thewellknoxville.com
.
Live on Studio One – 2011
We’ve just made our appearance on WETS-FM’s Studio One program, recorded on Saturday, Sept. 3, available as a free download at bandcamp.com. The set list for the show includes 6 RRSL tunes and a cover of Stephen Simmons’ “Rock and Roll Band,” as well as interviews with all the band members by host Dave Carter. Here’s the set list:
- What Do You Know?
- Believer
- Cured (Josh on lead vocal)
- Rock and Roll Band (Dave on lead vocal)
- Success
- Out of My Blood
- Elvis & Jesus & Me
Andy Russell’s Old School RRSL Posters
I found a bunch of old photos and poster files on an old thumb drive, including these great posters that Andy Russell — our drummer and graphic artist — made:
Brian & the Nightmares … the beat goes on
Some of you may have read the remembrance of Brian and the Nightmares I wrote for their reunion get-together (originally in the local entertainment paper and more recently posted to this blog) in 2002. Very recently, another Nightmares fan posted video –originally shot for a local cable show — of that gig to YouTube. As a public service, I’ve assemble it below.
If you remember the Nightmares, this is a great reminder of their unique energy and musicianship. If you weren’t around or didn’t get the chance to see them during their late 80′s heyday, do yourself a favor and catch a sampling below.
I can honestly say that I’ve never been in a band, post-1988, that I didn’t in some way compare, unfavorably, to the focus and energy of the ‘Mares: it’s a goal that I’ve always shot for, and whenever someone has said to me, “man, your band is tight,” I’ve always wanted to say, “then you never saw Brian & the Nightmares!”
“Bored Games”
“Easy Way Out”
“Desperate Highway”
“Lizard Song”
“Primitive Rose”
“Keep on Walkin’”
“She’s So Tall”
“Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White” (Standells cover)
“I Am A Rock” (Simon & Garfunkel cover)
“Can’t Touch an Angel”
“Little Bit of You”
“Route 66″
“All You Want to Do Is Sin”
And from way back in 1989 … Brian, Kurt, John and Mark doing “Warm California Sun” (Rivieras/Ramones/Dictators) and “New Kind of Kick” (The Cramps)
Brian and the Nightmares Remembered
It’s 10 o’clock on a chilly, November night. You cross the street to the tiny barbeque joint and from the curb you can already feel the energy inside. You’re excited, but you approach the doorman with reticence – you’ve been told that your name is “on the list,” but if it’s not you’re out of luck, because you aren’t legal, you’re only 18.
At last, you squeeze through the door. Bodies are already packed to the point of having to breathe and move as one. You somehow make your way into the middle of the crowd, wedged between a couple of girls with long, dyed black hair and a red-faced guy wearing a dirty John Deere cap. On stage are the musicians – they have to be onstage, because there is literally nowhere else for them to be. Even on that small stage, bathed in the meager glow of a few track lights pointed in their direction, they look larger than life.
Before you have the chance to really register what’s going on, the drummer, whose long, lank hair reinforces his resemblance to an un-permed Tommy Lee, strikes the count on his hi-hats – “one, two, three …!” You feel, more than hear, the music as it rolls through the room. You’d dance, if there was any room to do so; instead, you move with the crowd as it responds to the bass and drums, locked together in a ferocious 4/4 assault. The singer, miraculously, cuts through the wall of sound with a baritone that is both Hank Williams-thin and Springsteen-powerful. With his black hair, hat, coat, boots, and faded black pants, he looks like some sort of nineteenth-century “medicine show” barker. He stands at the microphone, his big, hollow-bodied Rickenbaker guitar in hand, singing and blowing harmonica like a preacher delivering a hellfire and damnation sermon while cursed with the knowledge that he has some serious sins of his own to pay for.
To his left is his foil, his black, shaggy hair bouncing, by turns smiling and frowning, playing his worn Telecaster with a speed, fervor and accuracy that betrays many nights holed-up alone in his bedroom with a guitar, surrounded by records. He seems to be in a world of his own, and when he comes forward to take the microphone, he sings with a sincerity and emotion that makes even his most humorous lyrics seem heartfelt. On the opposite side of the stage the bassist stands stock-still, impervious to the chaos going on around him. All that seems to move are his hands and fingers; his only flourish is his right wrist snapping to emphasize a chord change or to follow the song’s dynamics. In contrast, the drummer is all movement, playing hard and fast, digging into the beat, staying inside the music while keeping it right on the precarious edge between order and confusion.
You are watching Brian and The Nightmares, circa 1988: Brian Relleva, Kurt Hagardorn, John Smith, and Mark Ryalls. You are where I stood on that chilly November night at Quarterback’s Barbeque, the night that changed my life, the night I was saved by rock and roll.
