About Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (May 11, 2011)
H &ennq’&) & A®*™ FINE WINE • DOMESTICS & CRAFT BEER • LIQUOR FIND THE PERFECT DRINK O CELEBRATE , Huge Selection line YOinc by Hie fS tSoHkofCase L LARGE SELECTION OFCRAFT BEERS &MCROBREWS TJ D P ’A *? 4388 Lexington Rd. 265 North Ave. 706.583.4066 706.543.0005 PERRY’S STORE #1 1195 Cedar Shoals Rd. 706-353-0057 PERRY’S STORE #2 4390 Lexington Rd. 0-Haul: 706-353-0630 NO I.D. • NO BEER. DRINK RESPONSIBLY. LOCOS LIVE May 11: Kip Jones & Jay Ring {Acoustic Covers) May 18: The Tangents (Classic Rock) May 25: The Vibratones (Blues) Wednesday Nights 2020 Timothy Rd. Athens. GA 30606 706.549.7700 CAIIFOR ENTRIES SUBMISSION DEADLINE MAY 15th ENTRY FORMS + MORE INFO <$ ATHFEST.COM LUNCH BUFFET Available 6 Days a Week at Peking Eastside Location Only DINE IN • TAKE OUT • DELIVERY 706-549-0274 Major Credit Cards & Checks Accepted Green Acres Shopping Center • 1935 Barnett Shoals Rd T he Jompson Brothers' approach to music comes across as one of rock and roll purism, but experimentation certainly has its place in this relatively new project. Formed in 2010, the band plays a style that hearkens back to the days of Led Zeppelin—a time of rampant bitchin' solos, routine face-melting, and a general sense of rock and roll reverence. However, The Jompson Brothers aren't living in the past; they're building on it. Through their straightahead rock sound, the band will connect with fans of unadulterated rock music. "There are so many rock subgenres," says lead vocalist Chris Stapleton. "With indie rock, folk rock, etc... I think we're actu ally doing something different by playing straight rock." But The Jompson Brothers also approach music organically, writing most of the songs as a band and allowing the pieces to develop as they may. "Being a straightahead rock band was never an intent necessarily," says Stapleton. "Most of what we come up with together tends to lean that way, though. Some of our newer material has evolved beyond that a bit, I believe, though, to include acoustic and even pop influences. Rest assured at some point in those new songs, eventually, we can't help but regress to hard-hitting rock and roll." According to their website, The Jompson Brothers were "born in a garage in Nashville, TN as a result of late-night jam sessions" between Stapleton and fellow guitarist Greg McKee. While this description paints the group as the coincidental out come of unknown, spit-balling musicians, Stapleton is certainly no stranger to the music business; his bluegrass group. The SteelDrivers, received a Grammy nomination for its song "Blue Side of the Mountain" in 2009. For the most part, Stapleton has made his living writ ing mainstream country songs for artists like Kenny Chesney, Trace Adkins, Darius Rucker and many others. In fact, he just wrapped up a big collaboration with George Strait last week. Of his contributions to genres that differ greatly from the sound of his current project, Stapleton says, "There's different kinds of music for different kinds of music fans... and it all has a home." Stapleton dismisses the idea that mainstream music and good music are mutually exclusive. "Just like in rock or any other genre, there's some of it that's really terrible and some of it that's really great." Although one might classify The Jompson Brothers as a throwback band, Stapleton doesn't romanticize "the good ol' days." Referring to the current state of country music, the art ist recalls "countless conversations" with critics of commercial country radio: "People get down on whether it's country radio or pop radio... The truth is, you only remember the good music from whatever time you're remembering. Just like now, there was always more fluff and terrible stuff on the radio—we just don't rememoer it." With The Jompson Brothers, Stapleton has decided to go back to the fundamental rock and roll model: two distorted guitars, bass and heavy drums all jamming together and follow ing whatever direction that interplay takes them. It's a simple model that seldom has a simple outcome. In keeping with their straightforward, simple (though hardly simplistic) approach, the band intimates two main goals of a Jompson Brothers show: "We hope that people walk away from a show, one, having enjoyed themselves, and, two, saying, 'Man... that rocked!'" Kevin Craig MS The Jompsofl Brothers, Lest WHERE: 46 Watt Clah tN: Saturday. May 14, S p.m. MXH: $fi (21+), M (1E+! 16 FLAGPOLE.COM MAY 11, 2011
