About Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 2011)
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
