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Things" just happened to be the song Ball picked. It worked so
well with the credits, however, that it stayed. And that, Everett
says, is why he can now sit in his home studio and write songs
all day, rather than working odd jobs. "We wouldn't be talking
right now if not for that song," Everett points out.
Cunendy, Everett is playing gigs in support of his newest
album, Red Revelations, which was co-produced by blues-
country icon Chuck Prophet. Everett and Prophet occupy similar
musical territory, as Red Revelations, uh, reveals. Everett's tal
ent as a crooning, deep baritone is unmistakably spooky, as is
his talent for putting together quirky, highly literate lyrics. You
could call it high-falutin', intellectual twang.
Red Revelations puts Everett outside the bounds of tradi
tional Nashville country, however, with its cross-pollination of
rockabilly and old-time folk.
Everett feels at home playing a style that can't easily be
categorized. And, referring back to his recording contract fall
ing through, he looks back to that time as being a blessing.
Everett says, "If I had been successful as a mainstream
country act," which he was on his way towards after his hit
with Josh Turner, "I would be very u 3ppy right now." He
would not have had the artistic freedom to do what he enjoys
most, such as writing songs that defy easy categorization.
With "Bad Things," Everett notes, "that put me in a situa
tion where I don't have to deliver pizzas. I can actually spend
the day in my home studio working on the next song. That's
the real freedom I have. And I don't take it for granted."
Mark Sanders
ans of the HBO series 'True Blood" are a species apart.
The mere mention of the show is enough to send the
zealots of the vampire-drama program into an impas
sioned conversation about the finer details of the show's
characters and myriad subplots. Mention that you're interview
ing Jace Everett, the Nashville songwriter behind the show's
theme song ("Bad Things"), and Truebies' eyes light up in
astonishment. For this select few, Everett might as well be
lick Jagger, Elvis and the Pope. Combined.
Everett laughs at the attention. "I generally take it in stride
and recognize that the majority of people who love the song
really love it because they love True Blood,"' he says. "I can't
resent that. I might, on a bad day, but that'd be immature...
I've never understood famous people complaining about fame."
The 38-year-old former construction worker has been
irough enough ups and downs to have gained a healthy per
spective. Growing up in the Dallas area. Everett says he always
considered himself a songwriter. A couple decades or so back,
>u could find Everett playing bass in cover bands, paying his
proverbial dues. ("I can play the hell out of 'Mustang Sally,"'
irett jokes). A few years later, after moving to Nashville,
jrett scored a coup by co-writing the title track on Josh
iris Grammy Award-nominated album,- Your Man. The next
however, his recording contract with Epic was nixed. It
/as a simple matter of record labels merging and letting go
of artists. So, Everett has no wild-eyed delusions of grandeur
when it comes to "Bad Things."
"I have a great opportunity to become a one-hit wonder
here," he notes. "I fully recognize that. But conversely, i could
be a no-hit wonder."
"True Blood" came about haphazardly. Everett has a friend
works at iTunes who believed very strongly in the song,
■very week, iTunes has a Song of the Week. And in January
)06, thanks in part to Everett knowing someone on the
ride, "Bad Things" was chosen. Coincidentally, Alan Ball was
forking on "True Blood'"s opening, sequence and needed a
r song as a placeholder while putting the imagery together. "Bad
—
WHO: Jace Everett
WHERE: The Melting Point
WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 20.9:30 p.m.
HOW MUCH: $7 (adv.), $10 (door)
■\
V
J
•rn to tie mue - mmssim is free
Exhibits, interactive displays, kids’ activities, educational
seminars, recycling opportunities and an eco-fashion show!
Visit www.GreenLifeAthens.com for more information
The third annual Green Life Expo is made possible by the generous
LmikwraiOL
AlWtSBAmn-HlKALD
mMATH£N5.<lsm
flagpole
GEORGIA
Earth Pare*
support of:
EPFoCuS
HIM'FESTIVAL
16 FLAGPOLE.COM • JANUARY 19, 2011
