Before leaving for France — where he’s awaiting the birth of
his son — local musician Harlan T. Bobo wrapped up another
production, his third album for Goner Records. Tentatively
titled Life Is Sweet, the album, which was recorded at
Easley-McCain, features some familiar conspirators, including
percussionist Tim Prudhomme, bassist Jeremy Scott,
drummer Paul Buchignani, and guitarists Jack Yarber and
Shawn Cripps, as well as Doug Easley on pedal steel,
violinist Roy Brewer, and vocals from Barbaras frontman
Bennett Foster.
“It’s a mishmash like the last record,” says Prudhomme, explaining
that some tracks were started at Bobo’s home in 2008 and finished in
the studio last month. “Harlan, Doug, and I have been going back and
forth about what sounds like shit and what sounds perfectly
wonderful.”
Bobo’s not the only $5 Cover featured performer with a
new release in the works: Lucero spent much of April holed up in
Ardent‘s Studio A with producer Ted Hutt. Before heading
out for a West Coast tour, the band was tracking its eighth album
— Lucero’s first for Universal Music Group’s Republic imprint
— slated for release this fall.
Earlier this spring, Two Way Radio entered Ardent with
Scott Bomar at the helm to record basic tracks for 15 songs
before moving to Bomar’s downtown studio, Electraphonic, for
overdubs and Young Avenue Sound for mixing. Last week, the band
returned to Ardent with the final product, which was mastered by
Larry Nix.
“It’s ready to go, but I’m not sure what we’re going to do with it,”
says Bomar, who served as a producer on Craig Brewer‘s MTV
series, $5 Cover.
“I’ve told the bands this myself,” Bomar continues. “If you think
[$5 Cover] alone is going to do work for you and you can sit
back and wait, you’re not going to accomplish anything. You have to use
this opportunity to open other doors. Being on MTV gives you a little
ammunition, but by itself, it’s not going to do anything. Fortunately,
as Hustle & Flow has proven, these things have a really long
lifespan. Hopefully, $5 Cover will be seen more and more via the
webisodes, and people will continue to discover these artists.”
In the meantime, Bomar’s kept busy, recording projects with Jay
Reatard, Jeffrey Novak, and cellist Jonathan Kirkscey
and pushing The Safecracker, the debut album from retro
instrumental soul group the City Champs, which Bomar released on
his own label (also called Electraphonic) earlier this year. So far,
the band’s got worldwide distribution, and one song, “Poppin’,” has
gotten play on NPR. Up next on Electraphonic: “Work That Skirt,” a 45
rpm single from “Disco Lady” co-author Harvey Scales and Bomar’s
own group, The Bo-Keys.
“Putting out the single is the first step for me to put out a new
album by the Bo-Keys,” he says, noting that it’s been five years since
The Royal Sessions was released on Yellow Dog Records. “We’ve
been talking to labels, but it hasn’t worked out. The way the climate
is now, it’s harder than it’s ever been to get a record deal. There
aren’t as many labels with the money to take risks on bands. I feel
like I’ve got enough contacts to put it out myself and do almost as
much as a label can do.”
May also brought new releases from Memphis rappers Teflon Don
(God, The Government, The Game), Juicy J (Hustle Till
I Die), and DJ Paul and Lord Infamous
(Scale-A-Ton), the long-awaited collaboration between
half-brothers Paul Beauregard and Ricky “Lord Infamous” Dunigan, which
debuted at #157 on the Billboard charts on May 5th.
“It was touching. It was good to see that people still look for Lord
Infamous,” says Dunigan, who co-founded Three 6 Mafia with DJ
Paul and Juicy J but split from the group long before 2006’s Academy
Award win for “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp.”
“Our mother, Juanita Beauregard, died on February 2nd after battling
diabetes for a long time,” Dunigan says. “Paul and I were always cool,
but we decided to put whatever differences we had behind us to do
something and dedicate it to her.”
