Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current, August 09, 2000, Image 18

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JLOBBERBQHE: THIJ II RQCK A quarter century after the fact, fiddleman Charlie Daniels' boast of "the South rising again" is coming true... musically speaking, anyway. After years of bands being seemingly embarrassed about their Southern heritage, both musically and culturally, a good number of outfits are lovingly embracing both. Sure, mor® than a couple are going about it with the wrong head, resulting in little more than slavish copies of every cliche Lynyrd Skynyrd set down back in the 70s, missing the point entirely. And just what was the point of Southern Rock as set down by the late, great Ronnie Van Zant? Well, it was simply being yourself, musically and personally, and not trying to fit into any music business classification. It is, in a sense, letting your music do the talking, and if what ycu're saying is real, it'll get across. Several bands making a stir on the indepen dent rock scene are following that aesthetic, such as Athens' own Drive-By Truckers and The Bottle Rockets from Festus, MO, and a little band from Denton, Texas, called Slobberbone. These "Neo Southern Rock" bands, for lack of a better phrase, are all about cutting to the heart of the matter and being real, for better or worse, because in the end it's all rock and roll. "I like that description," says Slobberbone's lead singer-guitarist Brent Best thoughtfully, "because it has less to do with country and rock and more to do with being yourself. Really, they've been talking about it for a long time, but it's been around before they gave it a name. People buy music like they buy clothes, and it can cause people to miss the point sometimes. It's all the same, doesn't matter if it's a quiet acoustic song or a wall of feedback, as long as the song's real." It's that dichotomy between acoustic calm and feedback-drenched rage, as well as that dedication to "keeping it real," that makes Slobberbone such an exciting band. Easily switching from a man dolin-laden slice of country heartbreak to a full- on, punk-fueled sonic attack, all centered around Best's growling, whiskey-soaked vocals and often dark, intelligent lyrics, the group often melds both seamlessly. The band's latest effort, the long- awaited Everything You Thought Was Right Was Wrong Today, represents the zenith of such efforts and is quite possibly Slobberbone's best work to date. "In the beginning, it was just more straight guitar rock juxtaposed with country bass," Best explains. "At some point, we gave that up and decided to be whatever the hell we were. It's better to sit back and let the music do whatever it wanted to do." As powerful as the new record is, it has even more impact when placed next to Slobberbone's other two records, 1996's Crow Pot Pie and 1997's Barrel Chested. All three albums are full of contra dictions: punk-influenced rockers next to country throwdowns; tunes tha^ are a bit goofy on the surface but have a deeper and darker meaning underneath; and story songs that resemble Tom T. Hall's knack for "telling the tale," yet nevertheless cut to a deeply personal place. From Best's per spective, Crow Pot Pie was about being a "fuck up" while Barrel Chested tells of a fuck up realizing there has to be a place to go from wher ever he was, the matically. In that light. Everything You Thought... is that fuck-up taking a look around at the world and, in realizing his place in it, finding the strength to go on. I tried not to dictate the album thematically, but I realized there were ties between the songs," Best admits. "The connection between it all was trust and conviction to yourself. It's being able to stay true to yourself despite what's falling apart around you." Slobberbone grew out of a bunch of country- loving punk rockers playing gigs for free beer. As a matter of fact, the band's first gig was at a liquor store in its native town. A small college town, Denton had a strong band scene but not many clubs for the bands to play. Choosing the name from a dog's chewtoy, Slobberbone spent $400 recording Crow Pot Pie in 1995 for a calling card to snag regional gigs. Catching the ears of execu tives of Texas label Doolittle, the band was quickly signed and released a re-recorded version of the album. Building a strong following in Texas and the Southwest, the band returned with the grittier and darker Barrel Chested. Throughout both there were glimpses of often goofy humor— particularly on songs like "Engine Joe" and "Tilt-a-Whirl"—but even in those songs. Best's dark thematic vision bubbled underneath. "Both records were good snapshots of where the band was at the time," he points out. "Even those goofy songs we did had a dark bent to them, and I like stuff like that. People can enjoy a song on a surface level, but if they dig, they'll find something entirely different going on. I really try not to think too much about where we want to go thematically, just so it's always a progression." With widespread critical and audience acclaim, the band solidified it's lineup with Best, bassist COUNTRY Brian Lane, drummer Tony Harper and guitarist Jess Barr. Best's songs matured by leaps and bounds, heavily influenced by such lyrical authors as Mississippi's Larry Brown. Doolittle merged with California label New West last year, giving the band a bigger budget for Everything You Thought.... Recorded at the legendary Ardent Studios in Memphis, the new album is an incredible leap for ward for Slobberbone, showing an even larger scope than the last two records. With guest appearances from producer guru Jim Dickinson on the lovely "Lumberlung," Memphis hornmen Scott Thompson and Kirk Smothers on the high-octane Replacements tribute "Placemat Blues," and guest vocals from Trucker frontman Patterson Hood on the bluegrass-inspired rave up "Lazy Guy," Slobberbone is all over the map stylistically but never loses a sense of cohesiveness throughout the record. Recognizing that the band has neither the sound nor the look for mass mainstream success. Best is philosophical about where Slobberbone fits in today's musical scope. Basically, he and his bandmates enjoy what they're doing and are making ends meet financially, so that's pretty much enough encouragement to stick at it. Slobberbone will keep playing and keep maturing as a band, Best said, and as long as it keeps pro gressing, he feels everything's the way it should be. "Bands like the Rockets, the Truckers and us... we're all too damn ugly to get MTV," he laughs. "To me, mainstream really means 'bad,' so who cares? There's always great music going on, but it's not on MTV or Top-40 radio, sc screw it. "By virtue of throwing everyth'ng out there on this new record, we sorta cleared the decks, and I like the idea of being able to go into the next album doing whatever the hell we want to do. The only reason you do it at this level is because you like it. If I wanted to make money, I wouldn't be doing this. I'd be lying if I said we didn't get down sometimes by all the bullshit, but we're always waiting to see what's around the corner." Matt Thompson WHO: Slobberbone, Drive-By Truckers WHERE: Tasty World WHEN: Friday, August 11 HOW MUCH: $5 w; ;_:;i „ m It7 bath time at Junkman"/! ■*( < Creak /election: Fabuleu/ /hauler Curtain/ Fun Tub Toq/ ft /cap/ Hello Kitti| Toilet /eat Cover/ anOath mat/! japtBi/he/ TSEt’Kbruirfiwielder/ '* Even Lamb ! v \ Oofcfcon Ball Holder/ *■ 450 E. Claqton /t. * 543.4454 m FLAGPOLE AUGUST 9 / 2000