Lou Wamp

Resophonic Guitar, Fiddle, Mandolin
Hometown: Hixson, TN
Style: Bluegrass, Acoustic
Website: www.louwamp.com

After knowing just a few things about Lou Wamp, there might be an irresistible tendency to begin tossing out labels:  “Driven”, “Renaissance Man”, “Multi-talented”, “Perplexing”, or, perhaps if he himself were doing the labeling, just “Perplexed”. Easy enough to understand, given he’s at once a 25-year veteran of the music business,  a registered architect with a successful practice (see www.louiswamp.com), impressively talented artist and painter, amateur archaeologist, and father and stepfather to six kids.

Besides being a sought after sideman and studio musician, he certainly has the skill to be a solo artist in his own right.  Born in Ft. Benning, GA in 1956, Lou had plenty of music (Elvis to Travis; Bach to Beatles) around home while growing up.  After piano lessons and playing guitar in his high school jazz band, a broken wrist encouraged him to take up resonator guitar.  Gene Wooten became a close friend and mentor.  Lou played on “Sidemen” nights at the Station Inn in Nashville and was in a band called Hiwassee Ridge that performed at the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville.  Other bands he’s worked with include James Monroe and the Midnight Ramblers, The Dismembered Tennesseans, Cowjazz, Blue Moon Rising, and others.

In 2004, he formed the Wizards of String (now Swing Shift) and released his debut resophonic guitar project, “ResOlution” produced by Butch Baldassari featuring 9 original instrumental tunes (and 2 great covers) with guest artists Jim Hurst, Byron House, Andy Leftwich, Justin Moses, Tom Roady and Jessica Lovell and Lynn Wamp.  It was a labor of love and all involved believed strongly in the talents of a fine reso player who, with this project, would prove he could stand with the giants of the industry.  Lou continues to play, write, record and collaborate with the above and a number of other great muscians.

 

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The Gougers
Austin, Texas
Acoustic Folk & Bluegrass
www.thegougers.com

Thursday Night Exclusive - 4-day Tickets Only!

For The Gougers, it is more important that audiences hear the lyrics of the songs created by the singing/writing team of Shane Walker and Jamie Wilson — poems of vivid imagery, human struggle, subtle social comment, truth — than be concerned with what sort of genre the band’s music fits into.

That’s because The Gougers’ sound takes in most genres, constantly moving in and out of country, rock, folk, roots, or mixing them up, as Walker and Wilson experiment and evolve as songwriters. They’re playing with rhythm and instrumental effects, too, along the lines of influences and music mavericks Ryan Adams, Emmylou Harris and Bright Eyes and premier musical partners David Rawlings and Gillian Welch.

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Jason Eady & The Wayward Apostles
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Genre: Texas Country, Bluegrass & Blues
Website: www.jasoneady.com

Jason Eady is a singer-songwriter whose music is a distillation of country, bluegrass, blues, gospel, folk and Southern rock, but in essence is roots all the way, with organic arrangements, genuine lyrics, and strong lead and harmony vocals, no matter what style of song he is writing.

Originally from Jackson, Miss., Eady started playing guitar at age 13, played in various cover bands around the state, and reveled in exposure to Mississippi’s varied musical genres. It all worked to infuse his music – through his days in Nashville, the re-ignition of his dream to touch listeners’ hearts and minds with his original songs after a stint as a U.S. Air Force translator, and his August 2005 debut album, FROM UNDERNEATH THE OLD, which was produced by Texas songwriter Walt Wilkins and instrumentalist Tim Lorsch and which peaked at #9 on XM Channel 12 (X Country).

The same month Eady would meet musicians that would become his next touring and studio band. Scott Davis of The Woodlands moved to Fort Worth to attend TCU and graduated with a degree in radio-TV-film-video, playing in several Dallas-Fort Worth area bands including Woodeye, Chatterton and Quaker City. He plays guitar, mandolin, accordion, Dobro, lap steel and banjo and sings harmony vocals.

Kenny Smith, from Dallas-Fort Worth, has been playing drums professionally for more than 10 years, playing in Woodeye and Chatterton with Davis. Six months after meeting Smith at a private party, where the two played some impromptu songs together, Eady began putting together a band, and Smith was the first person he called.

Bass player Jordan Kiener was a perfect fit, too; he had moved to Denton to start a musical career after earning a degree at Oklahoma in instrumental music education, focusing on jazz and playing clarinet and bass. He answered Eady’s ad and was the only person auditioned, after band members heard his playing and high harmonies.

Together the quartet is Jason Eady & The Wayward Apostles, so named to spread the word about the band’s roots-music origins while putting its own spin on tradition. From different musical backgrounds and incorporating them all, theirs is a unique sound.

Touring regionally and nationally for the past year with cuts from its upcoming album, WILD EYED SERENADE, has earned the band airplay on Americana stations. It was tracked live in one open room to give it a live and authentic roots sound.

Eady continues to stay true to his roots music and touching audiences with its honesty and inspiration – the thing he’s always wanted to do.

New Binkley Brothers
Chattanooga
Traditional Bluegrass/Folk

“Upon first listen to the New Binkley Brothers, my immediate thought was ‘There is indeed still hope for country music’. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about that canned crap coming out of Nashville nowadays (pop stars in cowboy hats). I’m talking about honest to goodness southern music which incorporates the gritty, shuffling fiddle of the famed North Georgia string bands of the 1920’s, the driving clawhammer banjo and the mountain harmonies that make your hair stand on end. These boys get it right. Hailing from Chattanooga, TN, this old-timey trio know just when to whoop it up, stomp and swerve out a fiddle tune, as well as break it down with old religious standards. In true southern fashion, these gents perfectly toe that line between saints and sinners; get down and get right and are as refreshing as cool corn liquor on a hot summers night.” –Leo Chancy TN Dept of Transformation

Jimmy Davis
Hometown: Memphis, TN
Style: Bluegrass, Folk, Americana
Website: www.jimmy-davis.net

The “Memphis sound” has always escaped a simple definition. Diversity and individuality characterize the musical tradition of the city that gave the world Beale Street, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, the Blues, Sun Studio, B.B. King, Rock ‘n’ Roll and W.C. Handy.

Jimmy Davis is no exception to this rule. This versatile singer-songwriter, named “Premier Male Vocalist” five times by the Memphis Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, knows no boundaries when it comes to musical styles. Influences range from The Beatles to the Eagles, Johnny Cash and Gram Parsons to Jackson Browne. His songs have been recorded by Martina McBride, Restless Heart, Joy White, Johnny Rivers, as well as many other independent artists. Davis has appeared as a backing vocalist on numerous recordings by artists such as Johnny Lang, former Eagle Bernie Leadon, Danny Tate, Eric Gales, William Lee Golden, Mark Collie, Keith Sykes, Iris DeMent, Cory Branan, Susan Marshall, John Eddie, and the late Toy Caldwell. But it’s Jimmy’s charisma, warmth and talent as a performer that make him stand out among his well known peers.

Jimmy started his career in 1987 with the QMI/MCA debut release Kick the Wall by Jimmy Davis & Junction. The title song and first single “Kick the Wall” was a top 40 AOR hit as well as an MTV hit video. The group was known for its live appearances as a tight, loud, rock-n-roll band and toured all over America.

In 1996, Davis, with guitarist and Junction bandmate Tommy Burroughs, re-formed The Riverbluff Clan, a renowned

Memphis rockin’-country-bluegrass outfit from the ‘70’s. The band released two critically acclaimed independent CDs. The live album One Night in a Month of Sundays was heralded for its “hybrid vigor,” while the studio CD Two Quarts Low was called a “genre-bending romp through bluegrass, country and country-tinged rock”. It garnered a top 20 spot on the Gavin Americana chart and the song “Two Quarts Low” was even covered by RBC favorite John Cowan. The Clan also appeared in the award winning independent film The Poor & Hungry, directed by Craig Brewer (Hustle and Flow), performing Davis’ “Honeysuckle and Kudzu.”

In 2004, Jimmy made his solo debut with a CD of self-penned songs entitled Jimmy Daddy’s Acoustic Song List. Songs like “Grandmother’s Quilt,” “Devil’s Den,” “I Gotta Roll” and “Waiting in the Wings” honor every style of music Davis has ever approached. The Commercial Appeal called it “an unassuming triumph and as honest a record as you’re likely to hear.”
March of 2006 brought Campfire Songs to the world. The record was produced by Jimmy and recorded at Sounds Unreel in Memphis by Dawn Hopkins. It features Jack Holder, Tommy Burroughs, Jim Dickinson, Reba Russell, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Susan Marshall, Richard Bailey, Cowboy Eddie Long and the River Bluff Clan. Campfire Songs paints a cohesive and evocative picture by bringing together songs written throughout Jimmy’s career. “I always wanted to make this record but I just didn’t have enough songs that fit the concept,” Jimmy says. “It has literally taken me 25 years to get the right mix. “Tennessee” was written in Germany when I was 19 on a USO Tour and “Death Ridge” was written while recording the album in 2004.” As the title implies, some songs were actually written around the campfire on hiking and camping trips. Bluegrass and country, stories and hauntings, it’s all here.

In addition to making the latest record, Jimmy has spent the last couple of years helping out a heaping handful of friends. He appeared as background vocalist on the Grammy-nominated record from the North Mississippi Allstars, Electric Blue Watermelon, as well as their new one, Hernando. Also their pop’s (Jim Dickinson) 2006 release, Jungle Jim and the VooDoo Tiger and his latest Killers From Space. In addition, he sang on William Lee Ellis’ record God’s Tattoo, and provided all the backing vocal for Keith Sykes’ last record, Let It Roll. The Reba Russell Band album Broke Down But Not Out features Jimmy’s vocals and guitar playing as well as his song, “Sister Friend.” And he contributed vocals, guitar as well as a cover of Waiting in the Wings to Jed and Kelley’s cd Songs To Take Home.
He has also added producing to his list of accomplishments with the release of new songs by Giant Bear, including the song “Nashville”, which is on the Paste sampler! Also coming soon in 2008 are Jimmy Daddy’s Acoustic Songlist Vol II and  a cd of home demos called BEAGLES.

Whether fronting a rock band, providing a soundtrack for an Oscar-winning film-maker, or picking his guitar around a campfire, Jimmy Davis continues his musical journey and the emerging legacy of a new Memphis sound.