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Vampire Again: Weekend Playlist by Horsehead

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Every Friday evening, RVA Magazine brings you another incredible playlist curated by influential artists, musicians, and institutions.

This time around, we’ve got a great one from Horsehead, long-running RVA alt-country/rock n’ roll veterans who have made their name with consistently killer live shows. They released their sixth LP, Pageant Wave, at the end of last year, and you can grab vinyl in all the local outlets for that sort of thing… but more importantly, you can catch Horsehead live twice this month. First on the 15th with Kenneka Cook over at The Camel (grab tickets to that event HERE), and again on the 30th with Susan Greenbaum at the recently-opened Ashland Theatre (grab those tickets HERE).

For now, though, to get you warmed up, we’ve got a great playlist from the Horsehead boys, full of indie, pop, country, soul, and good ol’ classic rock n’ roll. This one will keep you high-flying all weekend, so dive in, Virginia, and drink deeply of this one.

Open this playlist from mobile in your Spotify app HERE.

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

Southern Nights: Weekend Playlist by Holy Roller

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Every single Friday evening, RVA Mag brings you a splendiferously outstanding playlist curated by influential artists, musicians, and institutions.

This week we’re turning the spotlight on Richmond’s own Holy Roller, who’ll be celebrating the release of their self-titled debut album this Saturday night at The Camel. Having previously made somewhat of a name for themselves around town as Big Mama Shakes, they’ve returned with a new name and a slightly redone lineup, but still the same great soulful alt-rock Americana sound.

Their playlist is a treat for the exact same sort of music fan who’s going to love Holy Roller themselves, bringing us some excellent sounds drawing from American traditions like blues, folk, and good ol’ rock n’ roll, while still keeping one foot planted firmly in the 21st century. Groove to this one all day tomorrow, then head to the Camel to celebrate their brand new album — more info on that show here.

Keep it light, Virginia.

H.C. McEntire with Luray and Pistol Sister

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Broadberry Entertainment Group presents:

H.C. McEntire
Friday, February 1, 2019
at Richmond Music Hall
Doors: 7:30pm, Show: 8:30pm
$12 | Tickets: https://ticketf.ly/2JeWH4c

www.hcmcentire.com
twitter.com/h.c.mcentire
instagram.com/hcmcentire_music
open.spotify.com/artist/223IvfSnge3qiGcDMHk2e4

“I came from people with machine grease on their hands. Dirt under their nails. The Bible by their bedsides. Cornmeal and buttermilk. People who need a porch to think, a red dirt row to get lost in, a revival to hunger for. But there are things that even a long, soft drawl can’t cover up. There are things you keep from even yourself.

In music, there are no rules. You make your own language. You can be both the Southern rock outlier and the twangy gospel conduit. You can be both the cherubic, honey-tongued innocent and the ardent punk. To get here—to find my lion heart—I had to become them all.”

____________________

with support from:

Luray (Indie Folk)
www.luraymusic.com
twitter.com/luray_who
luray.bandcamp.com
youtube.com/user/Luraymusic

&

Pistol Sister
“Stringy, sweet Alt-Country” from RVA

____________________

Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House
619 E. Main St.
Richmond, Virginia 23219

Virginia’s Hold On the Legendary Man in Black

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Although Johnny Cash was born and raised in Arkansas and spent most of his adult life around Nashville, Virginia had a hold on him.

The most obvious connection he had to the Commonwealth was through June Carter Cash, his second wife, who was from southwestern Virginia and a member of the Carter family musical dynasty. Over the course of his career, Cash played far more shows in Virginia than his home state of Arkansas. And it was in Virginia that he gave his last concert.

Cash placing a wreath for Nashville Opry founder Judge George Hay, 1969. Photo courtesy Virginian-Pilot.

Cash’s connections to Virginia went back far earlier than his marriage. His ancestors first emigrated from Scotland to the Northern Neck in the 1600s. William Cash, who was born in 1653, landed in Westmoreland County in the 1670s. The county was the early home to Virginia luminaries such as George Washington, James Monroe, and Robert E. Lee. After more than a century, William’s descendants would move to Georgia in 1802, then, just before the Civil War, to Arkansas.

Virginia wouldn’t play a role in the Cash family story again until the 1960s. In 1968, Johnny Cash married June Carter, the daughter of “Mother” Maybelle Carter of the famous and trail-blazing country act the Carter Family. The Carters hailed from Maces Spring (now Hiltons) in Scott County, bordering Tennessee. Not far from Maces Spring is Bristol, Tennessee, where the Carters recorded songs that gave birth to country music as we know it.

As a child, June—who was born in 1929, three years before Cash—performed all over the country with her family. She became a multi-instrumentalist who played autoharp and guitar. Although not blessed with a great singing voice, June developed an energetic and winning stage presence.

In 1947, the Carter family moved into a modest brick house in Glen Allen. June went to high school in Glen Allen before seeking her own career as a musician and actress. June might have been prone to cornball humor as an adult—as was the case with her hayseed character, Aunt Polly—but she studied acting in New York under the renowned coach Lee Strasburg.

Early in his career, Cash met June backstage one night and was so smitten with her that he said he would marry her one day (despite the fact that both were married at the time). In 1961, June became a full-time member of the Johnny Cash Show, which also included Mother Maybelle and June’s sisters Anita and Helen.

After he married Carter, Cash would spend more time in Virginia. Cash played at least 51 dates in Virginia during his career. One date in Berryville in August of 1963 was memorable in that it was where Cash first met the Statler Brothers, the Staunton group that soon became a part of the Johnny Cash Show.

In 1971, the Cash show played Richmond Coliseum. Barbara Green of the Richmond News Leader had a mixed reaction toward the Man in Black. “So what if he can’t carry a tune very well?” she wrote. “He can get a song across.” Her reaction to the Virginians was more effusive. The highlight of the show, she said, was the Carter family, who “provided a breath of fresh air with their simple, uncluttered songs and clearly defined harmonies.” The 1971 show was one of only a few dates Cash played in the Richmond area. His last was in October 1978 at King’s Dominion.

Cash not only played many times in Virginia, he penned some memorable songs about the state. The railroad crash song “Wreck of the Old 97” was one Cash covered for many years. Other memorable tunes included “Jacob Green”—a supposedly true tale of a prisoner who is shamed by his guards and then hangs himself—and the pro-southern, pro-Confederate “God Bless Robert E. Lee.”

Cash’s last public performance was at the Carter Family Fold on July 5, 2003. By then, Cash was in poor health. June had died a few months before, unexpectedly, from complications following heart surgery. Cash was so feeble he could only play sitting down and was able to hold a guitar only with help. But he could still deliver such classics as “Folsom Prison Blues” and “I Walk the Line.”

Family, more than perhaps is the case with any other music, is central to the country genre. Without a doubt, Johnny Cash had strong family ties to the Old Dominion. Cash was a native of Arkansas and the Johnny Cash Museum is in Nashville, but Virginia played an important part in the larger story of the Man in Black.               

 

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

The Rise of Holy Roller

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You may not be familiar with the name Holy Roller or even know what it is, but you will definitely recognize some of the faces in this four-piece band that has recently made its debut, with an album slated to drop this fall.

Holy Roller is a new project from the guys of former Southern rock band Big Mama Shakes, who performed their last show under the name back in the spring. And now, armed with a new member, new material, and a new name and sound, the band is eager to show fans, old and new, what they’ve been working on. 

Since forming in 2013, Big Mama Shakes entertained Richmond crowds and beyond with their raw, energetic shows and southern charm. Since releasing their debut album, “As She Does” in 2015, the group built up a solid following with a monthly residency at The Camel, touring up and down the east coast and midwest, and playing alongside major names like Passion Pit, Incubus, and Nathaniel Rateliff.

While finding success musically, they weren’t without their shakeups. They went through a few lineup changes back in 2015, and again when drummer Chandler Matkins left to pursue a job with a theater company in Kentucky at the beginning of this year. Lady Empire’s Isaac Friend sat on drums for a bit, but recently departed the band and was replaced by Ryan Davis, who plays drums for the Richmond Ballet. In addition to that, their former guitar player, Gabe Taylor, also left to pursue other ventures.

“We lucked out that all this stuff happened immediately after we were done recording,” said vocalist Brady Heck. Between that, the gradual shift in their sound, and some confusion with blues-rock band Alabama Shakes, Heck said it was time for a transformation.

“At the end of the day, we had so much changeup with members and the music has changed now, it seemed like the appropriate time to move forward with something new,” he said. “The album was recorded with the intention of being Holy Roller and being a different band and being a different sound.”

Now with a firm lineup of Heck on vocals/guitar, Davis on drums, founding member Peter Cason on bass, and Bryce Doyle on keys, Holy Roller was ready to start carving out a name for themselves. For the band’s debut album, the group headed into Montrose Recording in late March, working with Adrian Olsen and Alex Spalding to churn out material they’d been writing. And while they were only there a week, Heck said recording at the local studio was one for the books.

“We were there pulling 10 hour days and it became a family-oriented process and everybody was invested,” he said. “They’ve got a little house attachment to the studio and by the end of the week, we were cooking dinner together and eating like a family. We’ve recorded a lot of places but I’ve never had an experience like that.”

Produced by Super Doppler guitarist, the yet to be named album is a shift from the southern rock fans are used to from Big Mama Shakes. While stressing not to label the new project as country music, Heck compares it to Ryan Adams and said the forthcoming release centers around a theme of returning to your roots.

“I found a deep-rooted love fairly recently for old outlaw country music,” Heck said. “That was something I was brought up around my whole life, my mom is a musician that has always played in country bands.”

While not initially a fan of the genre growing up, Heck said after he fell on some hard times, it was an old Willie Nelson record that picked him back up.

“All of a sudden [it] made a whole lot of sense and from there, the songwriting changed and everybody got on board,” he said. “The music went from being the big show that Big Mama Shakes kind of was, to being more song-centered, focusing more on the story.”

And for the first time, Holy Roller wrote most of the songs together as a band. In the past for Big Mama Shakes, Heck had been the primary songwriter.

“It’s a cool thing to see somebody that never really experimented with writing music blossom as a songwriter over the course of a couple weeks,” he said. “It’s not this ringleader circus anymore, it’s more of a well-oiled machine and everybody’s got an idea of the way it’s supposed to sound because they had a part in putting it together.”

As far as the name, Heck credits that to Cason.

“It was kind of a joke,” he said. “I come from a super religious upbringing I was brought up on a house divided and both were super religious. Regardless of what we follow now, it’s sort of a harkening back to where we come from and the same could be said for the music we’re doing now.”

But not to fret longtime BMS fans, there will be a few songs for you on the new release.

“There’s going to be a little bit of crossover that if you were here, in the beginning, you will be able to see,” Heck said. And while they aren’t giving away any teasers to the new music, from what RVA Mag has heard, the new sound is going to be something that longtime fans and new listeners can dig. 

For now, Heck said Holy Roller is working on getting their name out there a little more before setting a date for an album release party in the fall. In the meantime, you can catch Holy Roller at Hardywood’s Goochland location this Sat., Sept. 1, at the Tuckahoe Creek Americana Festival alongside Dharma Bombs, Hackensaw Boys, The Tillers, Dogwood Tales, The Judy Chops, VILLAGES, Alexa Rose, Mackenzie Roark, and Eliza Jane. 

Photo By: Joey Wharton Photography 

 

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

A chat with The Trongone Band on their new album ahead of double set at Rooster Walk this weekend

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Take some good ol’ fashioned rock and roll and mix it with a little country/Americana and you have RVA’s The Trongone Band. The group, which began as a family affair years ago, has been entertaining crowds ever since with their feel-good, no frills, energetic shows and next month, the band will drop their debut album.

On a recent afternoon, I sat at Mekong with Andrew Trongone (guitar/vocals) and his brother Johnny (drums/vocals) to hear about their beginnings, new album and forthcoming tour. All this after I was done secretly admiring/envying their luxurious hair of course. Actually, the whole band’s hair could be its own poetic post entirely. But I digress.

Keys To The House will be the first official release for the boys set to drop June 30 via Harmonized Records.

The Trongone Band has released a little teaser to the nine-track album with the song “Anne Marie,” a solid rock tune with a little country twang to it about the girl who got away.

“It’s the most countryish song on the album,” Johnny said.

And like any good song there’s a little truth behind the lyrics, for Andrew at least.

“That was one of the first songs I wrote a couple of years ago, {it} definitely morphed into that style,” Andrew said. “When I wrote it, it was on acoustic and halftime and more like a ballad-y song and then we were figuring out what we were going to do for the album and we decided to go with the in your face, upbeat kind of thing.”

But fans need not worry it’s not all country on Keys To The House, the brothers said they put a lot of work into the sound of the album.

“The album definitely pulls from a handful of different genres,” Andrew said. “Definitely rock and roll, some funk, some country, some Americana, the southern rock thing…”

The Trongone Band started working on the album back in October and sought out the help of Adrian Olsen and Alex Spalding of Montrose Studios in Richmond to record the album.

“Adrian and Alex are killer to work with,” Andrew said. “We did all the tracking for the songs all in the same room, we recorded rhythm guitar, the Wurlitzer, drums and bass all together in four days. We knocked it out pretty quick.”

Some of the songs they’ve played at their live shows, but there’s also some new tracks for avid fans and newcowers alike to look forward to.

“I really love how “Not Coming Home” came out, it’s one of our duo songs,” Andrew said. “Me and the keyboard player both sing lead and trade off verses, I just like how that one came out.”

The lineup has changed quite a bit over the years for the band, which was started by the brothers’ father John Sr.

“He played guitar for years and I’d always watch him growing up so that’s how I got into it,” Andrew said. “He had a band or two just for fun around the neighborhood, but he’d basically blast albums in his music room and play along.”

The jam-heavy trio played around town regularly before switching up to a guitar-driven six-piece about four years ago by adding keyboardist Ben “Wolfe” White, Mark Ingraham on trumpet and Matt Zavitz on saxophone.

“We started playing Cary St. Café every Thursday from 2012 to 2014 so it got us going in Richmond,” Andrew said.

About two years ago, they brought on Todd Herrington, replacing their father on bass, and solidifying their lineup as a four-piece.

“We were starting to tour a lot and he’s almost 60, it was just a mutual thing,” he said.

To spread the word on their debut release, The Trongone Band has already hit the road this month and will head up and down the east coast and they plan to continue to do that for a bit.

“We’ll keep adding dates, a perpetual tour supporting the album,” Johnny said. “A lot of stuff right now is in the south, Florida, Georgia and then some stuff in New York too.”

The album release party for Keys to The House is Friday June 23 at The Broadberry, but you can catch the band at Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival this Saturday and Sunday in Martinsville, Va.

Photo credit: Joey Wharton Photography