Photo by Laura Roberts

It’s not to often that a band from Kentucky gets to take its music far outside the Bluegrass state, especially when gas is $4 per gallon. Most Kentucky rock bands just don’t have the means to reach an audience much farther than their nearby backwoods Eastern Kentucky honky-tonk, Louisville live music landmark or Northern Kentucky rock joint. There are so many choices for listeners and fans on the Internet that if you can’t manage to tour, then you can’t make a career out of music, which seems to be a predominate ambition among many Kentucky-based rock bands.

All that may change soon for Edmonton, Kentucky natives Black Stone Cherry (BSC). BSC is tearing up the live concert scene with relentless national and international touring. On August 19, they released their second studio album, Folklore and Superstition, on Roadrunner Records. Black Stone Cherry is John Fred Young, drums, Chris Robertson, guitar and vocals, Ben Wells, guitar and Jon Lawhon on bass. John Fred Young is the son of guitarist Richard Young and nephew to drummer Fred Young, Richard’s brother, co-founders of The Kentucky Headhunters.

Playing a collection of hard-hitting, energetic, and in-your-face Southern rock songs, BSC plans to refocus the national industry’s attention to all Kentucky musicians, who have largely been ignored in recent years. They mix guitar-fueled hard rock with a post grunge era sound and, at times, a touch of metal. Like most country boys, when they are not kicking your ass onstage, they’re off-stage attitude is one of the best in the industry: classic Kentucky charm and utter sincerity.

It was May of 2003 when the boys, along with father, mentor and manager Richard Young, came up to at a Silvertide show at Jillian’s in Louisville. They had just recently started frequenting Louisville in an effort to promote their music to the Louisville rock scene. Since none of them were even close to 21 at the time, they had limited access to Louisville music venues; Richard Young was got them past that barrier. A copy of their first recording was passed along to me.

Like The Kentucky Headhunters’ records, their first EP, Rock ‘n’ Roll Tape, was recorded at Barrick Studios in Glasgow, Kentucky andwas released in 2003 on their independent label, Black Stone Cherry Records.

The intensity of the songs’ was immediately apparent, particularly on “Sissy Bitch,” “Redneck,” and the anthemic “America,” a testimony to their overwhelming appreciation for the country.

It should come as no surprise that their music is very positive, given that they were mentored by their “family,” The Kentucky Headhunters, the country rock band that received a flurry of awards in the late Eighties and early Nineties, including a Grammy. Not many bands get that kind of leg up.

Going Down South

My first trip to Edmonton, in Metcalfe County, to watch them rehearse came shortly after receiving the copy of Rock ‘n’ Roll Tape. It turned out to be more than what was anticipated. After the rehearsal, they decided to head out to the cow pastures for some photos. At the first group of cattle, they jumped out of the car and got as close to the cattle as possible, as quickly as possible. John Fred casually said to hurry and take the pictures “before they get pissed off.” To make matters worse, one of the bulls wasn’t fully polled. Grabbing my camera, I started shooting as the bulls breathing got harder and heavier. That shoot ended pretty quickly, as I wanted to get back to the safety of the car before there was a reenactment of Pamplona, Spain’s most famous tourist attraction.

We wrapped up the interview with dinner at their favorite Mexican restaurant in Glasgow, where the waiting staff greeted them upon arrival. Our waiter even inquired about when they were going to play a live show in their parking lot.

Back Then

John Fred Young’s first memory of music was when his father sat him in front of a TV to watch cartoons with Motown music, while Dad wrote and played his music. On the same subject, Chris Robertson said, “I remember quitting it, then hating it, then picking my guitar back up.”

Photo by Jason Ashcraft

John Fred and Chris have been friends from kindergarten and played together growing up. Ben Wells, also a native of the Glasgow area, started playing music with Chris and John Fred early in their teens. Jon Lawhon moved up from Jacksonville, Florida in 1998 and shortly met up with John Fred, Chris and Ben. Black Stone Cherry was officially formed on June 4, 2001, Chris’ 16^th birthday.

After they formed the band, they took over the Headhunters’ famed practice house and began cranking out heavy Southern rock with a twist of post-grunge tunes. Many of the songs on Rock ‘n’ Roll Tape could have gone straight to radio.

They have quite a catalog of excellent tunes, including “Bulldozer,” which was written early in the life of the band, and which has yet to appear on any studio album and has been absent from any live performance. An infectious tune, it instantaneously draws the listener in, feeling the flow of the song with its melody. Maybe they will break it out one night, or perhaps there is a “B” side recording; BSC records a lot.

With all of the songs they were writing and the increasing buzz circulating among their hometown fans, naturally they began to attract the attention of record labels. BSC also landed quite a few notable opening slots, appearing in front of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Ted Nugent, garnering the attention and appreciation of older music fans who appreciate their straight Southern rock ‘n’ roll.

In addition to the aggressive and relentless touring, BSC began to have chart singles like “Lonely Train,” a song that peaked at 14 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart; “Rain Wizard,” a Led Zeppelin-ish tune and “Hell and High Water,” a song with a very poppy chorus.

After considerable interest from several major record labels, they signed a deal with Roadrunner Records, home to Black Label Society, Slipknot and Nickelback, among other current rock acts. In an interview, the Black Stone Cherry boys described the guys at Roadrunner Records as being “cool dudes who just dug music.”

After they released their eponymous first studio album in July 2006, BSC immediately hit the road and launched an extensive U.S., Canadian and European tour.

Right Now

BSC has toured the U.S. Extensively; going to Europe has become a yearly habit. Most recently, BSC went out with Def Leppard and Whitesnake on a tour of England and Ireland and accomplished their childhood dream of playing to a sold-out Wembley Arena. BSC also went on to headline their own European tour and got to hang out with rock music pioneers like Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. Like such Louisville bands as My Morning Jacket and My Own Victim, these Kentucky boys are even more popular in Europe then they are in their own home state. Back in the U.S., they are no strangers to extensive touring and are usually on the road with bands like Black Label Society, Buckcherry, Hinder, Papa Roach, Shinedown, and Sevendust.

BSC refers to their fellow tour-mates as being their “friends,” and open shows for them even though they have surpassed what most of their U.S. tour-mates still aspire to do – play overseas where the live music scene is actually a little more “live.”

As soon as they arrived back from their last European tour in June, they scheduled their first show back in Kentucky in Louisville, at Headliners Music Hall on July 11.

I caught up with them there for a very brief interview. They were extremely excited to be playing at home again and were happy to answer a couple of questions:

Photo by Phil Longo

LMN: What has changed since you signed with Roadrunner Records?

John Fred: “Actually, the ability to be able to - or to have an opportunity to - go out and play in front of people and have the chance to spread our music we created, every since you knew us, even before we had a deal – to spread that music to other people, who had never heard it before.”

LMN: What is the biggest difference between the European live music scene and the American live music scene?

Chris: “There is not a huge difference, but there is a difference. At home the crowd is often a little more timid because the security is often like ‘if you move, I will break your jaw’, whereas over there (Europe) the security feels like if they move they will get their jaw broken. So the crowd over there really doesn’t care. That’s main difference. It has to do with the security guards. It creates a fear in the fans here. They feel if they get a little out of hand they are going to get thrown out, whereas it is exactly the opposite over there (Europe).”

So what’s next for Glasgow’s newest favorite sons? Their new album, Folklore and Superstition, is in stores now and they have already hit the road for another nationwide tour. The closest shows are on September 11, Pierre’s in Fort Wayne, IN; September 12, University of Akron, Akron, OH and September 13, Riverfront Park in Nashville, TN.

They head back to Europe again for an opening date in Paris, France, on November 18^, so make sure you catch them live while they are still in the States. Also make sure you check out the new video (MTV2 and Myspace) for “Blind Man,” the first single from Folklore and Superstition. Staying loyal to their Kentucky and Louisville roots, the video was shot at Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville’s South End. The video is very sleek and straightforward, simply proclaiming that they are just some good ol’ boys who love their rock ‘n’ roll.

Photo by Josh London

On August 24 Folklore and Superstition debuted at #1 on the UK Rock Album Chart beating out industry icons Kid Rock, Linkin Park, Foo Fighters, and Nickelback. Simultaneously Folklore and Superstition also debuted at # 23 on the UK Official Album chart. Quite an accomplishment for some rural Kentucky boys, but not surprising at all given their relentless touring in Europe over the past two years.

Go take over the world boys!

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Once a small afternoon outdoor concert, Louisville’s Forecastle Festival has come a long way in the seven years of its existence. Starting in 2002 as a small neighborhood gathering in Louisville’s Highlands district, Forecastle debuted with just six bands on one stage in one day. It has now grown to more than fifty bands on four stages over almost three full days. It has become one the region’s largest organized “Call to Action” showcases, combining music with art and environmental activism.

This year’s Forecastle Festival, held July 25-27 on Louisville’s Belvedere, brought together a wide array of social and cultural groups, from happy hippies, to hip-hoppers, some hillbillies and a few homeboys (and girls). Every one of them was treated to live performances of their favorite musical genre several times over from the large roster of talent. Regardless of any perceived social difference, everyone rallied around the festival’s environmental activism keynote speech, delivered by environmental activist Robert F Kennedy Jr., son of the late Robert F. Kennedy. His hour-long speech was extremely moving, given in such a context that only a hypocrite would have disagreed with him.

Photo by Kate Eldridge

Onto the music.

Code Red

Photo by Kate Eldrige

Louisville based Code Red, a hip-hop act that fuses r e g g a e - i n s p i r e d instrumentation into its music, felt right at home during their performance on the opening night. Greeted by what seemed to be a predominantly hometown crowd, Code Red delivered an animated set, highlighted by a performance of “Summer Jam,” with the rest of the songs somewhat running together.

Del The Funky Homosapien

Del The Funky Homosapien brought mad lyrics, as it’s referred to in the hip-hop community/culture. His set was filled with repeated slang terms and sentence fragments, consisting of “1’s and 2’s,” “old school” “yo” and something that resembled a chorus, the repetition of “diving the virus…” Again, I interpreted this to be the chorus.

There were also plenty of 45-second breaks where Del requested the audience to “throw their hands up in the air.” I know there is talent that is rooted in his performance, but it is incomprehensible to anyone who has a only foundation of country or rock music as their basis of appreciation.

GZA

Photo by Kate Eldridge

Thankfully, there was Wu Tang Clan alumni GZA (pronounced Jizz-ah), who saved the night for the hip-hop performances. GZA’s immediate presence on the stage brought a flurry of “W’s” being made with the first three fingers of the crowd, a symbolic vow of allegiance to the Wu Tang Clan. Overall, GZA delivered a much tighter set with better rehearsed songs than his predecessor, and, for the most part, coherent pronunciation of words that were, um, comprehensible. DJ Muggs also was much better at controlling and influencing the perception of the music as a whole and complimented the lyrical mastery that GZA possesses. Notably, GZA’s set contained a tribute song by the late Ol Dirty Bastard’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ya.” Good stuff from the world of hip-hop.

Film School

Los Angeles-based Film School surprised me with an impressively tight set of psychedelic Goth rock laden with pop influences. They delivered those eclectic styles consistently, with each song having its own attitude. Look them up at myspace.com/filmschool and make an effort to catch them live. You won’t be disappointed and will thank me later.

Snowden

Photo by Kate Eldridge

This was one band that mailed me their latest studio album Anti Anti before heading to Louisville. Interesting band. Their music is delivered rather euphorically and pop -rock-ish but not cheesily. The band’s bassist, Corinne Lee, was the best performer and, possibly, the best musician in the band. Playing not only bass but a synthesizer as well, she also managed two floor toms. She had the best stage presence by far. You have to see Corinne play her instruments to believe me. Trust me, it’s pretty cool and I’m hard to please. Overall this is another artist worth checking out at myspace.com/snowden.

The Del McCoury Band

Photo by Kate Eldridge

Nashville’s Del McCoury Band brought a living room concert feel to their performance, playing to a setting sun and a bunch of shirtless, good ol’ boys who wanted more beer. Del seemed to be a happy old man who regularly laughed onstage at his own antics, and even provided an honest in-song admission of forgetting his lyrics. The crowd also laughed it off as Del continued with the song.

Del made his first public appearance in Nashville’s Grand Ole’ Opry, playing with Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys, way back in 1963.

Rounding out the rest of the band was Kentucky native Jason Carter, violin and fiddle; Ronnie McCoury, banjo; Rob McCoury, mandolin and Alan Bartram upright bass.

Their website is www.delmccouryband.com, definetly check them out.

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“Is that an aluminum foil dress?” I asked myself when Billy Corgan’s tall, slender and hairless silhouette emerged from the low-lit backstage of The Louisville Palace. The overly eager crowd, which had already logged a few outbursts due to background music change-ups and a stage lighting adjustment, finally was appeased. There was a moment of sheer panic by the audience (and even myself) when the Smashing Pumpkins just appeared on stage, live. My seat neighbor told me that some people would “kill” to sit where we were sitting. third row back from center left stage. Perfect.

Photo by Laura Roberts

Corgan wasted no time once he stepped in front the microphone, opening with “Tarantula,” the band’s first single off their latest album, Zeitgeist, released in July of 2007. Corgan and the rest of the Smashing Pumpkins did not seem overly enthusiastic during the opening of their set, judging by a modest stage presence, possibly because an early equipment malfunction.

After the monitor situation was apparently resolved and Corgan was satisfied with the sound, he quickly upped their stage presence by playing “Eye.” This is a song that initiated the Smashing Pumpkins’ diversion from the classic guitar-drum-bass instrumentation. “Eye” launched the Pumpkins into the electronica genre almost overnight, but only temporarily. The song’s melodramatic tone had an inverse effect on the audience, though, which seemingly demanded a return to the Pumpkins traditional sound, with a slew of fans requesting Siamese Dream song titles.

Just about when my own anticipation of hearing something off Siamese Dream reached its peak, the melodic intro of “Mayonnaise” was strummed by Corgan and again the crowd erupted in obvious satisfaction. As the crowd built, so did the Smashing Pumpkins stage presence, and “Mayonnaise” was played nearly perfectly.

Nearly halfway into the set, Billy Corgan finally addressed the crowd, saying “Go Cubs!”, an obvious hint to the band’s Chicago heritage. Then, while the stage was being changed to prepare for the acoustic set, Corgan mentioned that he usually says something “stupid” in these situations, but a crowd member boisterously suggested that it would be something “really stupid.” Surprised by the fan’s response, Corgan pitched him his vocal mic and said, “Here, you say something really stupid, man” while laughing with the fan. Wow! This was getting good. The fan paused and then shouted through the mic, “Wanna go for a ride?” The crowd immediately endorsed his request for the Pumpkin’s hit song “Zero,” off the double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, released in October of 1995. But surprisingly Corgan never played “Zero” for this guy or anyone. He instead played songs like “Bullet With Butterfly Wings,” and “Tonight, Tonight” to round out the Mellon Collie album.

Another unusual situation was when Corgan - in between songs, officially - began tuning his guitar. I’m not sure the crowd even knew or cared at this point, as they continued to have their usual loud and random outbursts. But, 2 hours and 10 minutes later, Corgan was obviously winding down, as he started to stagger erratically around the stage, swinging his guitar, and signaling an intent to quit playing. After a few minutes of indecision, he walked off stage. Just when I thought it was going to be a classless ending, he and the rest of the Pumpkins emerged again to a still-cheering audience wanting another song.

What happened next is something I will never admit to seeing or hearing again in my life after publishing this review. The Smashing Pumpkins began harmonizing together to a keyboard, an accordion, and – um, uh – kazoo solos by each band member, which eventually led into a cover of Mungo Jerry’s “Summertime.” Good song, bad instruments, but cheerful nonetheless.

One last appearance from Corgan came with a visit from Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, who also came out waving to the audience.

So it was an interesting show with a lot of twists and turns in the Pumpkin’s musicianship. Would I go see it again? Yes. I still want to hear “Disarm,” or “Zero,” or “Spaceboy” played live. Oh well, that’s how it goes when a band has written as much great music as The Smashing Pumpkins have.

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