It’s the first week in March, which means that most indie bands
around the country have their sights set on
Austin, Texas, home of the South By Southwest Music
Conference, now in its 16th year. In Memphis, of course, it’s no different:
Garage-rock veterans Monsieur Jeffrey Evans and
Jack Yarber are packing their bags and heading west, as are Arkansas
bluesman Cedell Davis, former Mid-Southerner
Jas. Mathus, The Tommy Hoehn-Van Duren
Band, and Cory Branan, Lucero,
The Pawtuckets, and the rest of the
MADJACK Records roster.
“Memphis meets Austin,” Evans
says, referring to both SXSW and South
Filthy, the band he and Yarber formed with Austinites Walter Daniels, Mike Buck,
and Lary Warner. “[SXSW] is just a good time — a real party. I don’t know if they’re
breaking any new acts,” Evans jokes. “But
Lary, our bassist, teaches Latin, and he’s gonna sing ‘Your Cheatin’ Heart’ in Latin.”
South Filthy will be performing on Saturday, March 15th, at Beerland. After their
SXSW appearance, the band will head down to San Antonio for a gig then hit the
studio. “Wrecked ‘Em Records is putting out
a single that we recorded last summer in Memphis,” Evans says. “Then we’re
gonna record a few more things in Austin.”
“I don’t know what it has to do with music, but it’s fun,” Branan says,
bringing up the social aspect of the weeklong conference. After SXSW is over, he’s
driving to Los Angeles and then up to San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, before
heading east to New York. On March 31st, he’ll be on
Last Call with Carson Daly; two days later he’ll be performing on
Late Night with David Letterman. “It’s pretty
ridiculous, huh?” Branan says in anticipation of
his Letterman appearance. “Me,
[guitarist] Steve Selvidge, [bassist] Mark Stuart,
and [drummer] John Argroves playing with Paul Schaeffer. That’s gonna be wild.”
For MADJACK co-founder Mark
McKinney, “getting recognized and heard outside of the Parkways” is one of the
most important aspects of SXSW. “Take Cory, for example,” McKinney says. “His
album was released locally two years ago, but now that
The Pig [WMPS-FM 107.5] has added ‘Miss
Ferguson’ to their playlist, Cory’s music has suddenly become
legitimized. This is our home market, but this is Lucero’s eighth market now. Our acts
do better in Colorado and Kentucky than they do in their own hometown.”
Branan, Lucero, Rob Jungklas,
Eric Lewis and Andy Ratliff, and McKinney’s own band, the Pawtuckets, will all be
performing at SXSW. “It’s the first time for anybody on the label to go to
SXSW,” McKinney says. “I guess the gods
were smiling.” MADJACK will host a showcase at the Pecan Street Alehouse at 9 p.m.
on Thursday, March 13th, then throw a barbecue at Yarddog Folk Art Gallery on
Saturday night with Harp magazine and the North Carolina-based Yep Roc label.
According to McKinney, just getting accepted to play at SXSW jump-started a
slew of national attention for bands on the label. A full-page feature on Lucero ran
in this month’s No Depression magazine,
while Tennessee, the band’s second album,
received a rave review on CNN. The band will also have a track on a sampler
that Miller Beer put together, to be given away at SXSW. “The
No Depression press kicked it to the next level,” McKinney says.
“People have been following the music, but this
puts us in the national arena.”
McKinney sees the focus on MADJACK as a way to make a
statement about the contemporary Memphis music scene. “Something’s going on here
besides Elvis Presley,” he says. “I’ve been
pretty strong-headed about keeping the label Memphis-based.” MADJACK plans to
release Rob Jungklas’ Arkadelphia
album nationally in April, followed by a new project from Eric Lewis and Andy
Ratliff. “We’ve had a million and one
conversations with Snowglobe,” McKinney adds
when asked which groups he’d like to add to the label’s roster.
“The whole irony of starting the
label,” McKinney laments, “is that I have
two records nearly completed, but I can’t find the time to get them done. And, of
course, there’s the dilemma of putting your own record out. It opens you up for scrutiny.”
Hopefully, McKinney will push his fears aside to release an album by his
latest group, The Tennessee Boltsmokers. “It might come out this
summer,” McKinney teases. “We’re growing
pretty fast right now, but we feel like we’re headed in a good direction.”
The Turner family would like to thank Memphis Flyer
readers for their cards last month. Othar
Turner died on the morning of February 27th, at age
94, while his daughter Bernice Turner
Pratcher died later that evening. She was 48.
Othar’s granddaughter, Sharde Thomas,
already plans to play fife at the family’s annual
Labor Day picnic, a tradition for more than 50 years.
The local chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts
and Sciences announced the nominees for its
18th Annual Premier Player Awards last week. The ceremony will be held
Thursday, April 3rd, and will also honor the legacy of Memphis-based soul label
Hi Records. The nominees are:
Female Vocalist: Cynthia Hunt, Jackie Johnson, Susan Marshall, Kim
Richardson, Reba Russell. Producer: Tom Browning, Paul Ebersold, Willie
Mitchell, Jeff Powell, Ross Rice. Drums/Percussion: Jim Britt, Cody Dickinson,
Chad Gamble, Harry Peel, Bill Simmers, David Skypeck. Keyboards: Paul
Brown, Jimmy Enright, Al Gamble, Ross Rice, Rick Steff, Charlie Wood. Strings:
Richard Ford, Eric Lewis, Gaylon Patterson, David Pierce, Kevin Tallant, Clint
Wagner, Jon Westover. Rapper(s): Gangsta Blac, Mr. Del, Koopsta Knicca,
Skinny Pimp, Tela. Male Vocalist: James Govan, Kevin Paige, Josey Scott,
Preston Shannon, Doug Simmers. Engineer: Tom Browning, Posey Hedges,
Dawn Hopkins, Kevin Houston, Jeff Powell, Mark Yoshida. Bass: Chris Chew,
Jackie Clark, Richard Cushing, Vince Leffler, John Stubblefield, John Williams.
Brass: Tom Clary, Marc Franklin, Rick Dolan, Steve Dolan, Reid McCoy.
Harmonica: James Cotton, Richard Cushing, Billy Gibson, Blind Mississippi
Morris, Robert Nighthawk. Live DJ/Turntable Artist: DJ Aramis, Colin
Butler, DJ Calvin Cox, DJ Grym, Slice Tee, Devin Steel. Band: FreeWorld,
Gamble Brothers Band, Lucero, North Mississippi Allstars, Saliva. Songwriter:
Nancy Apple, Cory Branan, Rob Jungklas, Ross Rice, Doug Simmers, Keith Sykes.
Guitar: Luther Dickinson, Jack Holder, Brian Overstreet, Steve Selvidge,
Harold Smith. Woodwinds: Josh Degges, Art Edmaiston, Herman Green, Lannie
McMillan, Kirk Smothers. Choir: The Gary Beard Chorale, Kevin Davidson
and the Voices, Mississippi Mass Choir, Orange Mound Community Choir, Billy
Rivers and the Angelic Voices of Faith, Keenan Shotwell and the Voices for Christ
Ministries, Tennessee Mass Choir. Award for Community Service: Alex Coleman,
Echoes of Truth, Knox Phillips, Stax Music Academy, Steve Walker. Premier
Newcomer Award: Bloodthirsty Lovers, Equoia Coleman, Ingram Hill, Porch
Ghouls, Valencia Robinson. Premier Music Teacher: Lily Afshar, Jack Cooper,
Herman Green, Jeff Huddleston, Daniel Pfeifer. Award for Outstanding Achievement:
James Cotton, Alvin Youngblood Hart, MADJACK Records, North Mississippi Allstars,
Saliva, Kirk Whalum.
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