Author: J.D. Reager

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In Memoriam: Bob Holmes, Memphis Punk Pioneer, Dies at 64

This week the Memphis music community was dealt another tragic blow with the death of Bob Holmes on October 16. Holmes, the lead guitarist and songwriter behind one of the city’s foundational punk rock bands, the Modifiers, as well as Angerhead, Sarah & the Eyes, and the Binghamptons, had been in declining health in recent months due to a variety of illnesses, including cancer. He was 64.

Those closest to him (myself included) were not entirely shocked when the news broke, as Holmes was unable to make a scheduled appearance with the band at B-Side for the Antenna Club historical marker dedication event earlier this month. The Modifiers even played the venue when it was known as the Well. Behind the scenes, Antenna founder Steve McGehee told me that one of his primary motivations for putting it on was to give Holmes one last chance to perform and visit with friends, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

“I swear to you, Bob inspired the whole thing,” says McGehee. “That was my main goal, getting him to play again. It’s sad that it couldn’t work out.”

It’s hard for me to put into words just how important Bob Holmes was to the Memphis music scene. Bob (I’m just going to call him “Bob” from here on out), lead singer Milford Thompson, and their rotating cast of Modifiers poured their sweat and souls into every performance, breaking ground and opening doors for every original punk/alternative band in this town that followed along the way. The band’s reputation for both hi-jinks and debauchery was legendary, but Bob was every bit as prolific and accomplished as a songwriter and musician as he was a creator of spectacle. And make no mistake about it, even up to the end, Bob could still play a mean guitar. Here’s the last live version of the Modifiers: Bob, Terrence Bishop, John Bonds and myself  – but mainly Bob  – tearing it up on the now defunct Rocket Science Audio podcast:

In Memoriam: Bob Holmes, Memphis Punk Pioneer, Dies at 64

Over the course of the band’s roughly 35 year history, the Modifiers line-up ebbed and flowed as they bounced back and forth between Memphis and Los Angeles, and members – including the famous ones like the Doors’ John Densmore, Fear’s Derf Scratch, and Big Star’s Alex Chilton – came and went quickly. But one constant was the understated brilliance of Bob Holmes. And you don’t just have to take my word for it.

“I’ll never forget meeting Bob at the Well,” says David Catching, producer and guitarist for groups like the Eagles of Death Metal, Queens of the Stone Age, earthlings?, and the Modifiers. “He and Alex Chilton were my first guitar heroes I could actually talk to.”

The Modifiers at the Antenna, early 80s: Bob Holmes, second from right.

Catching also posted the following on social media via his studio’s (Rancho de la Luna) twitter account: “I played with the Modifiers from 1979-1989. Bob Holmes Ohm and Milford Thompson showed me some of the greatest times of my life and taught me more about life and living than anyone. I wouldn’t be what, or where I am without them. Love always. RIP”

“Bob, was one coolest cats around,” says Chuck Roast, former Modifiers and Suburban Lawns drummer. “Quiet, strong opinions, very talented guitar player, could shred on punk and the next minute lay down some sweet heavy blues. It was great time playing with him and Milford.”

“Milford was the method actor up front, but Bob was the engine. He was the musical director,” says Ross Johnson, drummer with Tav Falco’s Panther Burns and the Modifiers, among others. “He had a tone like no one else had, I could never figure it out. Like most signature players, like Chilton or Teenie Hodges, the sound came out of his fingers. It didn’t matter what guitar he was playing on, it was the sound of Bob playing. That made him very unique.”

The Modifiers

“He was an unbelievable, out of this world guitar player. Like no other,” says John Bonds, drummer with the River City Tanlines, Subteens and Modifiers. “It was an honor and a privilege, not just to be in the band but to become friends with Bob and be a part of his circle.”

I could quote a dozen more friends and bandmates, and they would all say the same thing: Bob Holmes was and is a wildly underappreciated figure in Memphis music history, and it’s a shame he’s gone.

As for me, I’ll certainly remember Bob as a brilliant musician. As I’ve written before, he was an inspiration and mentor to me as a young guitarist. But my favorite memories of him are of us just hanging out, winding up my dad for kicks, making fun of bad television, or posing ludicrous questions to my cats. (“Are you a cat?”).  He was a good, fiercely loyal friend and I valued the time that we got to spend together.

The music of Bob and Milford and the Modifiers is very important to me, and collecting as much of it as I could consumed much of my last few years in Memphis (my wife and I relocated to Chicago in 2017). There is a vast catalog of unreleased material, and I’m hopeful it will get released sooner than later. It’s long overdue. Until then, here are two things I uploaded (with help, thank you Fred Kelly) to YouTube this afternoon to tide the world over:

1. The rarely seen/heard A-side to the Modifiers only official release, and arguably the band’s most famous song, “Roweena.” The rock stars play on this one.

In Memoriam: Bob Holmes, Memphis Punk Pioneer, Dies at 64 (2)

2. The world premiere of “Peasant,” a song Bob and I “wrote” and recorded in my living room when I was 14 using my Casio keyboard. I have only played it for two other people before this publishing. It’s pure Bob.
 

In Memoriam: Bob Holmes, Memphis Punk Pioneer, Dies at 64 (3)

RIP, my friend. Your music will live on, I promise.

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Music Music Features

Turn Up the Volume

CREDIT: Troy Glasgow

A little over two years ago, local publicist and longtime Memphis music fan Elizabeth Cawein had a big idea. Inspired by recent trips to major music industry events such as Austin’s South By Southwest and Nashville’s Americanafest, where she saw little representation of or from Memphis, Cawein decided to take on the mantle herself.

“My vision was to build a system that benefits musicians and also drives results for the business and tourism communities,” says Cawein. “I’m passionate about this city and our musicians. I’m passionate about telling their story. I felt strongly that we were missing an opportunity to both perpetuate and reinvigorate the Memphis brand as a music city.”

To get the ball rolling, Cawein pitched the idea that would become Music Export Memphis to Phil Trenary and Amy Daniels at the Greater Memphis Chamber, who quickly got on board with the project. With their support, she was able to target a presence at the 2016 Americanafest as her inaugural event. Dubbed the Memphis Picnic, the showcase was an overwhelming success.

“We got some phenomenal earned media at Americanafest last year,” says Cawein. “Our artists were covered in No Depression, Paste, American Songwriter, and more.”

From there, Music Export Memphis more or less took off like a rocket ship. Cawein has since staged another Memphis Picnic at South By Southwest, created a songwriters exchange program with the city of Liverpool (U.K.) called “Memphis to the Mersey,” and attracted a worldwide music conference, the Music Cities Convention, to Memphis. The conference, which focuses on the role of music in civic life, will take place at the Halloran Centre October 25th-27th.

This weekend Cawein will be out on the road again promoting Memphis music — back at Americanafest, where the journey began. The second annual Memphis Picnic at Americanafest, which takes place on Saturday, September 16th at the Filming Station in Nashville, should be nothing short of an extravaganza celebration of all things Bluff City.

In addition to a stacked lineup of local performers, including Crockett Hall, Juju Bushman, Loveland Duren, Grace Askew, and the Rusty Pieces, the event will also feature edibles from the Rendevous, Corky’s, and MemPops, libations from High Cotton Brewing Company and Old Dominick Distillery, a Grizzlies photo booth, a program of Memphis-made music videos curated by IndieMemphis, and a pop-up vinyl-only record shop run by Shangri-La Records.

“I swear, I’ve never done an event that was as seamless and killer as our Americanafest event last year,” says Cawein. “I just kept waiting for something to go wrong! But we have almost doubled the number of partners represented at this event, which I’m excited about. With these events, I always want to showcase as much Memphis stuff as I possibly can — the lineup of music is the main course, and the food, drinks, and extras from Memphis are the side items.”

Beyond Americanafest, Cawein already has a few next steps in mind. Her new big idea is an ambassador’s program of sorts, which would see Music Export Memphis providing tangible tour support (i.e., money) to local artists to help get them out on the road and spread the gospel of Memphis and Memphis music.

“The reality is, they already are [ambassadors],” she says. “I want to give them a little bit of training on the talking points of why Memphis is a great place to visit and live, send them out with promotional merchandise, and cut them a check to support their tour.”

“I think my point here is that, for the most part, my ideas do not require a ton of overhead, a ton of administration. They utilize existing structures and organizations — for example, bringing in our partner the New Memphis Institute to help us with some training for the touring artists on you-should-live-in-Memphis facts — and finding ways to maximize things that are already happening, such as artists touring outside the city.”

Cawein has also recently put a board of directors for Music Export Memphis in place, so that her vision isn’t the only one guiding the organization moving forward.

“I’m excited to get out of the curation business,” she says. “I’ll always enjoy having input on that, but I think deferring to the board — a group of people who really bring varied experiences in Memphis music and varied connections to different scenes — will make this work better, more effectively, and will make Music Export Memphis better able to tell the entire Memphis music story. This was never about me picking artists for a showcase or an opportunity; I just want to facilitate the opportunity. So I’m excited to see what we can do together in 2018.”

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Music Music Blog

Motown legend Lamont Dozier records at Royal

Fred Mollin & Lamont Dozier at Royal Studios

Going in to this, I knew that Lamont Dozier was nothing short of a pop music icon – a true legend. After all, the man’s resume is undeniable. As a member of the Motown songwriting and production trio Holland-Dozier-Holland, he is responsible for well over 30 top ten hit singles, including 13 number ones. He also had an often overlooked but influential career as a performing artist, and his music has been sampled by everyone from Tupac Shakur to Linkin Park. Go ahead and tack on another number one co-written with Phil Collins and more awards than I could possibly list. Simply stated, the man knows his way around a song.

Earlier this week, when I received the invitation to meet Lamont Dozier and his producer, Fred Mollin (who has had an impressive career in his own right, working with folks like Miley Cyrus, Billy Joel, and the late Chris Cornell), I was a bit nervous, but also excited. Interviewing musicians, much less famous ones, is always a bit of a hit-and-miss proposition – they aren’t always patient, cooperative subjects or even nice people in some cases. However, none of that was true of Lamont or Fred. In our time together, they were introspective, generous with stories and information, and generally just good guys to hang out and share a meal with. Here are some of the highlights of our lengthy conversation:

The Memphis Flyer: For starters, what brings you to town?
Lamont Dozier: We’re here to work on a new album at Royal Studios singing old songs that were iconic back in the day and putting a new slant on it vocally and arrangement-wise.

Fred Mollin: It’s very intimate and stripped down. Don’t look for big production. It’s the first time Lamont has recorded them in this way, in his own voice, very acoustic and intimate. Essentially, you’re going to get to hear these songs again for the first time, at the genesis of where they came from.

Why did you decide on the stripped down approach?
FM: As a producer, I’ve done several records with great songwriters this way. Lamont was one of the first ones I wanted to do, but it’s taken 20 years to get it actually started. It was always my dream to do it like this because it becomes a timeless album. These are just incredible songs, and he’s an incredible singer. It’s a real chance to hear him sing these songs in a way that is really soulful and heartfelt.

LD: We’re giving the songs a new approach, a face lift, a new idea to give the fans an opportunity to hear these songs in a new light but still bring back memories. Really, it will give everybody insight as to what it was like to hear them as they were being written – just very sparse and intimate.

Do you see this as an opportunity to re-claim these songs as your own?
LD: There were a few that I had put in my back pocket that I had always hoped to record myself. But when Barry Gordy comes in saying, “Hey, you’ve got to come up with something in a hurry. Marvin Gaye is going out of town and we need something to put in the can,” you have to come up with something. So, for instance, I had stashed “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You).” I always had this comeback idea in my head, so I was holding it back. I had a feeling that it could bring me back to the forefront as an artist. But we were in a hurry and couldn’t really come up with anything special, so I went ahead and pulled it out of my back pocket and gave it to Marvin to do. It became a big hit for him.

And for James Taylor.
LD: Oh, yeah (laughs) – and a lot of other people too.

FM: We’re hoping to have James come in and sing with Lamont on that one for the album.

Are there any other songs you wish you could have back?
LD: I guess “Little Darling.” That was Marvin, too. It was a personal song for me because I wrote it for my grandmother, who was very ill at the time. I came over to her house when she was ill and played her this song when we had just recorded it. And this is one song, personally, that I wished I had sung myself, to her. But Marvin didn’t do a bad job with it either. And it became a hit for the Doobie Brothers and Michael McDonald later on.

Why did you decide to record in Memphis?
FM: Most of the album was actually done in Nashville, because that’s where I’m based out of. But we wanted to pay homage to Memphis. Because I know Boo Mitchell and work at Royal when I’m here, I wanted to bring Lamont down for a day of vocals. It was literally like a pilgrimage day for us.

What songs did you work on at Royal?
FM: I think we did “Reach Out (I’ll Be There),” “Baby I Need Your Loving,” “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch),” and “Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While).” These are unbelievable songs, the soundtrack to people’s lives.

What did the guys at Motown think of the music coming out of Memphis back in the day? Did you view it as a rivalry?
LD: No, we didn’t view it as a rivalry. A hit song is a hit song. I loved Stax. Stax had its own iconic sound. There was stuff coming out of there that we respected as songwriters and producers. Their sound was more blues-based. Their house was full of blues, I’ll put it that way. We respected that sound, because we knew the blues started it all, and I think they respected us.

How long have the two of you worked together?
FM: We’ve worked on a few things together. We worked together here on a Cliff Richard record at Royal back in 2011. To be honest, this is the first chance that I’ve had to make this particular dream come true.

LD: If there’s anyone I trust enough to work with as my producer, it’s him.

Do you feel your immense success as a songwriter and producer has overshadowed your career as an artist?
LD: No, I think it added to it. They always say Motown was like a college for music writers and producers. Sometimes if you wait, and study hard on your skills, you’ll just be better at something. When the time came for me to sing again, I was better because I had written and produced for other artists.

Did you ever tailor songs for particular artists?
LD: Oh, no. A hit song is a hit song, anybody can sing it. The song is king always. If it’s good, anybody with half a voice can do it. That’s how it was done, cut the tracks first and then bring in whoever was going to sing it and teach them the song.

My favorite song of yours from the Motown era is “Bernadette.” What do you remember about writing that one?
LD: (laughs) Everybody asks about that one.

FM: The version we have on the new record is so gorgeous.

LD: This particular song is a girl’s name, which is something we would never do because then all the other girls would want their names in a song. But in this particular case, the name just fit the music so well, and we all at one time had girlfriends called Bernadette. All three of us – different girls, though. She was my first puppy love thing was when I was 11 or 12. My Bernadette was like Venus de Milo. What does an 11 year old know? (laughs) She was this little Italian girl that just made my heart sing. And she was my muse, I used that feeling that I had for her to write songs up in to my 20s. Whenever I was writing a love song about someone I had feelings for, she would always be the picture in my mind’s eye.

For more information on Lamont Dozier, visit www.lamontdozier.com.

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Music Music Blog

The Secret Service rides again

Roughly a decade ago, the Secret Service – a hard-rocking pop quartet featuring singer/guitarist Justice Naczycz, guitarist Steve Selvidge, bassist Mark Edgar Stuart, and drummer John Argroves – were one of the biggest and busiest bands in Memphis. But after riding high on the success of 2006’s The Service Is Spectacular, the group inexplicably broke up in 2009, leaving behind a well of unfinished material, much of which has been lost to history.

“We did a reunion at Neil’s in 2011, and could only remember two of the new songs – ‘Teenage Mustache’ and ‘Outsiders,’” says Naczycz. “We tried to record them a couple of times, but it never worked out.”

When the Secret Service re-united last year to open for the Subteens at the Levitt Shell, the band played those two songs again. This time, they caught the ear of Misspent Records co-founder John Miller, who proposed recording a new single with the band on the spot.

“(The show) reminded me how much fun the Secret Service had been live. They always went full-tilt,” says Miller. “After talking with Justice and Steve and realizing there were a couple of live staples that had never been released, it all came together pretty easily. Chaney (Nichols, Misspent co-founder) and I are excited to get another shot of Memphis rock and roll out there.”

This Friday, the Secret Service will unveil the long-awaited new single (available on 7” vinyl and in digital formats) for “Teenage Mustache” b/w “Outsiders” at a release party at Minglewood Hall’s 1884 Lounge. But from there, the future of the band remains to be seen.

“Things are up in the air, we haven’t really talked about it,” says Naczycz. “If the band is excited, I’d love for us to play more. I’d hoped to. But we haven’t really discussed it except for jokes.”

The Secret Service 7” release party
w/ James and the Ultrasounds
Friday, August 21, 10 p.m. All-ages
$7 advanced/$10 day of show/$15 for ticket & vinyl

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Music Music Blog

Spiral Stairs talks Pavement, Memphis, & how kids are funner

This Saturday, Growlers will host a bona fide indie-rock icon when Spiral Stairs – aka Scott Kannberg, singer/guitarist in Pavement and Preston School of Industry – rolls through town in support of his latest record, Doris and the Daggers. The show will also be a homecoming of sorts for two Memphis musicians – Snowglobe members Tim Regan and Luke White, who have been playing in Spiral Stairs’ band on this tour. Spiral Stairs spoke to the Flyer from the road this week about his new album, Pavement reunions, working with Regan and White, and more.

The Memphis Flyer: It’s been eight years since your last album, The Real Feel. What have you been up to?
Spiral Stairs: I met a girl from Australia. Got married, moved to Oz. Had a kid. Tended a veggie patch, mowed my lawn. Life stuff. Moved to LA, drove around a lot. Made up some great songs. Oh, and Pavement reunited!

What inspired you to finally get back in the studio?
I was ready again. It takes me awhile. I meant to do it earlier but the kid was funner. And I wanted to be prepared.

There seem to be a lot of new wave elements – rhythms, synths, chunky guitars – on this record.  Where does that influence come from?
I grew up on new wave. Devo was the first band I saw live in 1980. Also I did a bit of production with Kelley Stoltz, who is so new wave it hurts. He did most of those sounds.

What made you decide to start using the name Spiral Stairs?
I did The Real Feel under the Spiral name in 2009. It felt like the time for a change. New players and a new vibe. Older and wiser.

How did you get hooked up with Tim and Luke? What do you like about playing with those guys?
Lovely gentlemen, and sick musos. Tim runs Nine Mile, which put out the record, and tries to manage me at times – which he does an amazing job considering all the stuff he does. I don’t see how he has the time to sleep. Luke came highly recommended and has some licks. Now I want him to start doing more kicks!

Looking back on the Pavement reunions, how do you think they went?  Is it something you would want to do again?
Yes. Of course! It was so fun and amazing to see how our band made people happy! Hopefully in a couple years!

How much of your back catalog are you playing on this tour?  Should folks expect to hear Preston School of Industry and Pavement songs?
We try to do it all! Lots of Pavement for sure! Those songs are really fun to play!

What do you remember about recording Wowee Zowee (1995 Pavement album) at Easley-McCain?  Did y’all have a good time in Memphis?
Soul Food! Easley’s was great, such a good vibe. And Doug and Davis were the best! I can’t wait to go back to Payne’s. I wish the Grifters and Guided By Voices would play again!

Spiral Stairs will appear at Growlers on Saturday, July 1 at 9 p.m. with special guests BOINK and Carson McHone. Admission is $10.

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Music Music Blog

Me and Leah set to celebrate debut CD

This week, the folk-pop duo Me and Leah will release its debut album – a sparse and beautiful 9-song, self-titled effort – on the digital label American Grapefruit.

Me and Leah is a new endeavor for Memphis music mainstay Jeff Hulett, who trades in the highly orchestrated grandiosity of previous projects like Snowglobe and Glorie for an understated presentation of some of his best material to date, collected from his various projects over the years. His partner-in-crime, local musician and artist Leah Keys, provides a perfect backdrop for his earnest songwriting and voice with a plucky banjo and ethereal vocals.

“We couldn’t be happier. It represents what we do live. No frills with this album – it is what it is and we are excited to release it,” says Hulett. “We are both big fans of short and simple songs. Songs that have good lyrics and get to the point, but are also catchy and memorable. This record clocks in at 30 minutes. It’s a good cooking dinner album.”

The album was recorded and mixed entirely in one day – April Fool’s Day, no less – at High/Low Recording under the watchful eyes of house engineers Toby Vest and Pete Matthews.

“Toby and Pete ran point and really helped us realize the vision we had,” says Hulett. “Recording was very comfortable. It was Leah’s first go in a studio so I was a little nervous going in, but she was a total champ and killed it. Recording with just two people is so much more manageable.”

To celebrate the release, Me and Leah is throwing a party at the Amurica space in Crosstown this Friday, June 23 at 7 p.m. sharp. The excellent Jana Jana (Jana Misener from the Memphis Dawls) will open the show, and the $10 admission charge includes a free copy of the Me and Leah album on CD.

As for the band’s future, Hulett looks forward to a time when he and Keys might expand their songwriting partnership (“We are starting to write more songs together now,” he says), and even the direction of the band itself. But for now, the duo is dedicated to simply promoting its fine debut as a two-piece.

“It’s not something we are focused on now, but I can’t help but hear some of these songs with bass and drums and maybe some Whittemore (John, local lead guitarist),” says Hulett.

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Music Music Features

Graham Winchester and the Ammunition Return with New Record

Graham Winchester may be the purest embodiment of what it means to be a Memphis musician. Hardworking (he currently plays anywhere from three to eight gigs a week with upwards of nine different bands) and immensely talented, Winchester has carved out a niche for himself in several corners of the city’s often fragmented music scene through both relentless determination and his ability to charm almost anyone.

Though he’s primarily known as a drummer with well-known local acts like the Shieks, Devil Train, and Jack Oblivian, Winchester is a capable multi-instrumentalist, proficient on at least 10 different instruments, and also something of an emerging presence as a singer-songwriter.

The success of his 2014 solo debut Graham Winchester and the relatively rapid ascent of his namesake group Winchester & the Ammunition are testaments to his sharp skills as both a songwriter and bandleader. Now he and the band are gearing up for the release of a follow-up (though technically the first using the Ammunition moniker) called Until the End, which is being released in digital formats this week by the label American Grapefruit. To celebrate, Winchester & the Ammunition will play a show Friday at 9:30 p.m. at Young Avenue Deli, along with guests Jana Misener and Victor Sawyer.

Flyer: What was your process for recording Until the End?

Winchester: I started at High/Low Recording in the summer of 2015 for this album. Toby Vest and Pete Matthews engineered it, and we were all a production team together. 

The two of them helped this record breathe and find itself. They helped sculpt every song. They are also amazingly aware of space. If you invite them into the production world of the songs, they will undoubtedly help in the best way.

How do you compare Until the End to your debut?

It’s a little bit darker. The first album was more traditional, instrumentation-wise. Until the End uses more keyboards, especially synths. The lyrics ring in a little more personally. I don’t know which album is better, but I know the second one feels better to play live in rehearsals.

You can and do play many of the instruments on your albums yourself; where does the band fit in?

The guys contributed so much — not only in terms of the playing and singing, but also in helping shape sonic landscapes on specific songs.

Is it ever difficult for you to make time for so many projects?

It can be strenuous, but I try to balance time with different bands and keep it all to a strict calendar. I like to explore different musical worlds, so that’s the fulfilling reward of a tedious and busy schedule involving lots of different musicians.

Has starting a family affected your focus or availability for playing music?

I see making music as a natural act and one so important to my life. It’s been really inspiring. Erica [Winchester’s wife] and my son Everlee both love music, so we naturally have a lot of it in the house. I feel like I’ve slowed down my live shows maybe one gear lately to spend more time with family.

In recent years, you’ve become sort of famous for putting together lots of tribute and benefit shows around town.

I really enjoy putting together tribute and benefit shows and kind of just being a show booker of sorts. I breathed a huge sigh of relief that we successfully did a Talking Heads tribute when nobody had passed away. That’s the plan from now on — try and [pay tribute to] people who are alive. Of course, if and when a true legend passes away, an honorable tribute is always a worthy remembrance.

To what do you attribute your ability to move within so many different sects of the local music scene? I just enjoy playing lots of types of music. Too much of anything gets boring to me. A lot of my close musician friends agree, and that’s why we get along so well. I’m just happy musicians from a few different genres will put up with me!

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Music Music Features

These Days

CREDIT: Joey MIlle

Roughly three years ago, Memphis singer-songwriter Chris Milam’s life was stable. He was an up-and-coming musician with two albums under his belt, and he was engaged to be married. But, as the saying goes, life had other plans.

“I don’t want to air dirty laundry,” says Milam, referring to the break-up of his relationship. “But it’s a jarring, lonely, and embarrassing thing to build a life with someone, then lose it. It’s not uncommon, but it’s hard.”

To add insult to injury, Milam — newly single and semi-homeless — then lost everything he owned when his car was stolen at a gig in Jackson, Mississippi. Nothing, including Milam’s guitar, clothes, and possessions, was ever recovered.

“I mean, I put everything I had into a car, and then the car got stolen. It’s almost funny,” he says.

Milam jokes about these things now, but it was clearly a trying time for him. Gigs had to be cancelled; new plans (including one for a place to live) had to be made. The silver lining was that the events influenced Milam to write the material for his new album, Kids These Days, his strongest collection of songs to date.

“When you’ve got that many questions, you’re desperate for any answer,” he says. “I didn’t have any, and
I realized that these songs all dealt
with one question in different ways: What now?”

When he had enough new cuts to start recording, Milam sought help from Toby Vest of High/Low Recording. Vest not only helped shape Kids These Days musically, but also encouraged Milam to continue to work on the project.

“After Jackson, one of the first people I talked to was Toby,” says Milam. “We’d started the record but had a long way to go. He said, ‘You’re out a tour. You’re out everything right now. Let’s make a record and not worry about anything else.’ He and Pete [Matthews, Vest’s studio partner] opened their doors, gave me a purpose. I won’t forget that.”

Milam and Vest hired the ace squad of backing musicians quite often associated with High/Low — including Vest himself, guitarist Luke White (Snowglobe), drummer Greg Faison (the Bulletproof Vests), and string players Jana Misener and Krista Wroten (the Memphis Dawls). The end result is both a more natural and atmospheric sound than Milam’s previous efforts.

“It was important that the listener could hear a real performance by the folks in the room — intimate, vital, idiosyncratic,” says Milam. “Toby and Pete have an extended family of musicians they call in for different projects. They’re all killers. They understood what I was going for and filled the songs with life — beautiful, weird life.”

This Thursday, Milam will officially unveil Kids These Days at a release show at Loflin Yard. After that, he’ll spend most of the year promoting it on the road, hopefully with a bit of better luck this time.

Chris Milam’s Kids These Days release party is at Loflin Yard on Thursday, April 6th at 8 p.m. Admission is $5.

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Music Music Features

Cassette Set: Nashville Meets Memphis

Less than two years ago, Seth and Coco Moody — the musical power couple that fronts Cassette Set, a new-ish local project featuring a pair of well-known Memphis musicians, Graham Winchester and Jack Oblivian — were gearing up for a big move from Wilmington, N.C., to Nashville to pursue new jobs and musical opportunities. As luck would have it, for what would be their last night in town, one of Seth’s bands, Deadly Lo-Fi, got offered a gig opening for a touring Memphis act, Jack O and the Sheiks.

“That was a pretty random card throw,” he says. “We were packed and about to move to Nashville, and Travis (Burdick, Deadly Lo-Fi frontman) hit me up to do a Monday night show, opening up for Jack and the Sheiks. We were literally driving the U-Haul on Tuesday, so my inclination was to skip it.” His wife, however, would have none of it.

“Coco, I remember, said, ‘Come on, it’s Jack Oblivian. You gotta do it!’ So I did the show. [Jack O and the Sheiks] had me sit in on sax, and we had a blast of a night, musically, and those guys are a blast without the music.”

A week later, when the tour rolled through Nashville, Seth sat in with the band again. Friendships and a musical bond were formed, and for six months, Seth traveled from Nashville to Memphis for gigs.

“After the Nashville show, I came down and did Gonerfest with them, stayed the weekend, and played a DKDC show as well,” he says. “Then, I guess every show after that, I’d get asked to come down. I’d stay the weekend, so it was fun despite the commute.”

Wary of the music industry infrastructure and unable to make connections in the local underground scene, the couple grew restless in Nashville. After only six months in “Music City,” Seth and Coco relocated to Memphis.

“Every time I’d come to Memphis, I’d meet more and more oddballs like myself, who were also coincidentally good musicians and songwriters,” says Seth. “I’d stay at Jack’s, and he’d drive me around the city, showing me the good thrift stores, where to get a goat burrito, etc. So as the six-month lease on our expensive Nashville apartment started nearing renewal time, we made the decision to get ourselves here.”

Winchester, one of Seth’s new bandmates, takes credit for playing at least somewhat of a role in that decision.

“Every time I saw Seth, I would tell him how much more of a Memphis dude he was than a Nashville one and how we were going to steal him one day.” 

Seth has quickly become a local staple. In addition to playing with Jack O and the Sheiks, he’s performed live and/or recorded with Kelley Anderson, Jesse Davis, and Faux Killas, to name a few, and has two original projects — Turnstyles, a duo with Winchester, and Moped 10, a trio with Coco and Oblivian.

Last year, Seth and Coco decided to start a covers band with Coco as the lead singer and Seth on guitar and keyboards. Winchester and Oblivian were quickly recruited to play bass and drums, respectively, and Cassette Set was born.

“The idea of the band is to do songs from the ’70s and ’80s but not to worry about the details so much,” says Seth. “If you’re coming up to a part that’s intricate, just plow through it like the Kool-Aid guy entering a kid party.”

Cassette Set has built a repertoire of over 40 revved-up versions of songs by Tears for Fears, Soft Cell, the Cure, the Cars, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, adding a “Memphis garage-rock flair” to new-wave classics.

“These are songs we grew up with. They’re fun,” says Seth. “We have a good time, and that’s the whole point, right?”

Cassette Set, Loflin Yard, Saturday, March 18th, 10 p.m. Free.

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Music Music Features

Southern Avenue Soars

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

“Never in our lives did we imagine we’d be in this situation. Not so fast, not like this,” says Memphian, by way of Israel, Ori Naftaly, the virtuoso guitarist and bandleader for the Memphis gospel/blues/soul outfit Southern Avenue. Naftaly, who spoke to the Flyer via cellphone while riding with the band from New York to Philadelphia last week on tour, says that quick success (more on that in a second) has definitely not gone to the band’s head.

“Of course, we’re excited about all the attention and everything, but we have to stay consistent and humble, work hard. The industry will spit you out as soon as they chew you in.”

So, what exactly is Naftaly referring to? Well, few bands from Memphis have enjoyed a more meteoric rise to both the top of the local scene and national relevance. In less than two years’ time (the band’s first gig was in September of 2015), Southern Avenue has gone from a relatively unknown commodity to one of the hottest acts in town, packing local clubs and receiving rave reviews from the local press — including the Flyer, which put Southern Avenue lead vocalist Tierinii Jackson on the cover of its “Summer Music Issue” last July. And while Southern Avenue’s ascendance is certainly justified by the band’s undeniable talent, a little bit of luck certainly didn’t hurt.

Last March, the band was playing a St. Patrick’s Day gig at Bar DKDC in Cooper-Young, and by pure coincidence, in walked John Burk, president of the Concord Label Group, and thereby, the legendary Memphis soul imprint Stax Records, which Concord has owned since 2004.

“It’s a classic, clichéd story,” says Naftaly. “He was in town working on Melissa Etheridge’s Memphis record with Boo Mitchell at Royal. So, after the session, he comes in at like 1:30 in the morning and hangs out for our last set and says he loves us.”

After six months of negotiations, Southern Avenue signed to Stax Records, becoming the only current act on the label from Memphis.

“[Burk] said they had been looking for the right Memphis band to sign to Stax for years but could never find the right fit,” says Naftaly. “It means the world to every single person in this band that they chose us. Words can’t describe it.”

Even before signing to Stax, the band worked the road hard, touring as much as possible. But with the label behind it, Southern Avenue has been getting better and better gigs — including some major blues and jam festivals — and the media attention that goes along with them. Recent write-ups in Relix magazine, American Blues Scene, and Elmore Magazine come to mind.

“None of that would be possible without Stax. We have a great team behind us,” says Naftaly.

On February 24th, the band released its self-titled debut, which was produced by veteran local engineer Kevin Houston (Lucero, North Mississippi Allstars, Amy LaVere). The record has already shot to No. 1 on the iTunes blues charts.

“I knew working with the band, early on, that we were on to something special,” says Houston. “They were a pleasure to work with, and I’m thrilled with how the record came out.”

In speaking with Naftaly about Southern Avenue’s apparently bright future, his humility and appreciation for what the band has accomplished in such a short time is striking. He remains dedicated to earning what Southern Avenue has been given and sees this as only the first step. “In the end, Stax is just a label,” he says. “We still have to make good music. We have to make sure we do the best we can and we’re true to ourselves.”

To celebrate their album’s unveiling, Southern Avenue is holding two events this week: a free listening party at Shangri-La Records on Thursday, March 2nd at 6 p.m., and a live show at Loflin Yard on Friday, March 3rd at 9 p.m. Admission $10.