Friday, July 24, 2009
Music Jeff Golightly on The Everyday Parade
Posted by Andria Lisle on Fri, Jul 24, 2009 at 1:10 PM
It's 36 hours before vocalist/guitarist Jeff Golightly is due to celebrate the release of The Everyday Parade's self-titled (and self-released) debut at Nocturnal.
Golightly's no stranger to the local music scene — in the 1980s, he played in one of the city's first new wave bands, The Crime, darlings of the early Antenna Club scene, who shared the stage with the likes of the B-52s and released a memorable single, "ICU" b/w "Do the Pogo" on Capitol Punishment Records. Then reality intervened, and Golightly put his stage persona on hold to raise a family.
Fast-forward 20 years, to the formation of The Everyday Parade.
The band's debut album, a paean to '80s power pop that features rockers such as "Everything's Burning" and "Negative Creep," pairs Golightly and his former Crime bandmate Rick Camp with drummer Leh Sammons and bassist Tom Wilson. It was recorded at Midtown studio Rocket Science Audio with engineer Kyle Johnson. You can hear it live on Saturday night — The Everyday Parade is slated to perform at 11:30 p.m., after openers Kitchens & Bathrooms and David Brookings.
Flyer: How difficult is it for you and Rick to play alongside a younger generation of musicians?
Golightly: Rick and I are still a couple of young punks at heart, and the stuff we're doing now still has a lot to do with The Crime. Leh is one of the best drummers in Memphis. I'm not just saying that because he's my son-in-law — he really drives the band, which is a must-have in power pop. I realize that Rick and I are in our fifties, but that's just physically. If you listen to the record, our stuff jumps pretty good for old guys.
On Saturday, you're playing at Nocturnal — the site of the Antenna Club, where The Crime got its start. How does that make you feel?
Last Thursday night, I went down there to hang some posters. It was the first time I'd been in there since I dropped my kids off to go to an all-ages show back in the '90s. The flood of memories was unbelievable. I don't want to get all corny about it, but we used to pack that place out. The room was empty, and I stood onstage and looked out at the floor and thought, man, we used to rock this place to the ground! I could just see it, I could smell it, I could feel it, and I could taste it. Then I thought, Jeff, you could be playing to 10 people Saturday night.
With the Antenna Club reunion coming up in August, have you and Camp considered re-forming The Crime?
Rick and I have talked about it, but with us writing new songs it would be almost like going backwards. Plus, our drummer, Carlton Rash, lives in North Carolina now. We're focused on the fact that The Everyday Parade album is out, and we just want to do this again and again and again — write songs, record 'em and play 'em and hope enough people come out to support the band. I've worked harder on this show than any show I've ever done. I'm not nervous about it — I'm looking forward to standing onstage with Ricky Camp and doing my thing!
Comments (2)
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I absolutely loved The Crime when I was young. Those Antenna Club shows were nothing short of amazing. It was a honour for me to join Jeff Golightly as his drummer in The Beat Cowboys when he left The Crime in 1984. It was an even bigger honour to sit down at my house with Jeff & Rick and write the 52 songs which became the launch pad for their new band The Everyday Parade, and then getting to produce the record was a big fat sweet bonus. I was blown away when Jeff told me he was naming the band after a song I had written with Hans Rotenberry, the frontman of the Nashville based power pop band The Shazam; which for years has been the name of my publishing company. I am proud to have been a part of this project. It is well worth the price of admission ! Go find this record or download and turn it up loud and enjoy !
Greg Roberson
Memphis, Tn
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