southern rock

The Rise of Holy Roller

Amy David | August 28, 2018

Topics: Americana, Big Mama Shakes, country, Hardywood, Holy Roller, Montrose Recording, rva music, southern rock

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

Big Mama Shakes talk drummer’s final performance, new music, & more before Saturday’s show

Andrew Goetzinger | January 16, 2018

Topics: Americana, Big Mama Shakes, rva music, soul, southern rock

Richmond’s Southern-Americana rock band, Big Mama Shakes are back and shakin’ things up you could say with some pretty extensive plans to reshape themselves this year.

Since forming in 2013, the five-piece has entertained intimate crowds at Capital Ale House, held down a regular residency at The Camel, played alongside big-name acts like Dirty Heads, Passion Pit, and Incubus, toured the East Coast, and recorded two albums. The Williamsburg natives have gained a large following and carved out a niche in the local music scene with their unique sound of soulful Southern rock which draws in younger and older generations.

I guess you can say vocalist Brady Heck has come a long way from raising chickens on the farm with his grandma. But the band will soon face a bittersweet moment this weekend as they say farewell to their drummer and founding member, Chandler Matkins, who will play his last show with the band.

Embracing his studies and trying his hand in professional acting, Matkins, along with the band, has decided to host a fundraiser for TheatreVCU’s Senior Showcase as his farewell show.

All of the proceeds will go toward sending VCU theatre students to major cities like New York and Los Angeles to get them in front of agencies and casting directors to propel them forward in their occupational endeavors.

“I just wanted to do something important to me for my last show, and all the guys agreed that it was fair, so the best idea I could come up with is giving the proceeds to something that not only I but many close personal friends of mine have put a lot of work into,” Matkins said.

Matkins will be passing the torch (or the sticks you could say), to drummer and close friend Isaac Friend of local folk/rock band Lady Empire of which Heck is also a member.

“We had auditioned a few other drummers that were all incredibly talented musicians, but there was always a disconnect,” Heck said. “When we brought Isaac in it just felt natural. There was no acclimation period, just playing music with your buddies. We have already played together on separate occasions, and he has a similar musical background, so all signs pointed to Isaac.”

Friend had nothing but great things to say about his new opportunity with Big Mama Shakes. “There’s a rare dynamic of raw talent and dedication with these guys that you don’t see too often. There are equal parts dirty rock and roll and fleshy heart. I can’t wait to sweat and bleed all over everything,” he said.

Although having to say goodbye to a fellow band member is something almost every band dreads, Big Mama Shakes remains optimistic for the future of the band and are incredibly supportive of Matkins’ journey to pursue professional acting.

“Even though Chandler is leaving, it is an opportunity for growth and we are excited to keep pushing forward. Everybody is doing what they need to do; there are absolutely no hard feelings,” said Heck.

Speaking of new changes, although there are no dates confirmed, Big Mama Shakes has plans to start recording their new album.

“The new album is going o be different than what we’ve done in the past,” said Heck. “Of course, it’s still going to have some upbeat sweaty rock songs, but we are exploring a deeper part of ourselves this time. I believe our folk/country songs have always been our best material and where we are most true to ourselves, so we’re practicing our five-part harmonies and restringing our mandolins.”

This mysterious forthcoming album will be the first new album we’ve received from them since 2016’s EP, If I Try.

Big Mama Shakes has been writing material for their new album since before recording If I Try, but they decided to leave the new music out of the EP and let it marinade for a while. If you want a taste of the new album, they have recorded one song “Coming of Age” that has already been released and will be featured on it.

In addition to a new album, there have also been some rumors circulating around a new band for the group. “It was briefly discussed, but we couldn’t seem to come up with any name that wasn’t a complete joke. If a name change does come about, we would do it when we release the new album- and that’s if we even do it,” said Heck.

During our chat, bassist Peter Cason reminisced about their favorite memories and cities to play in, from the world’s most amazing pinball machine to lighting a hotel on fire in Ohio. “After our last show in Boston, our good friends in a band called These Wild Plains had representatives of Jagermeister take us out drinking under the official company tab which was an utter catastrophe,” said Heck. “It was monumental, I didn’t even know bar tabs could get that high,” Cason added.

Although Matkins said there is nothing that quite compares to playing for their “heaven sent” fan base in the New England area, they attribute a lot of their success to the diverse and incredibly supportive music scene here in Richmond.

“Richmond is a city that loves every single aspect of music. You have music on both completely different ends of the spectrum, and they both can be just as popular with completely different fan bases or the same exact fan base,” said Matkins.

Cason described the empowering Richmond music scene as a city that loves uniqueness and authenticity. “If you are true to yourself, the scene is going to accept you for it. It’s something that bleeds outside of art and music; it’s just how Richmond is as a whole,” he said.

As for tour plans, “Big Mama is keeping her secrets close,” according to Heck. As for now, the band has been in cahoots with These Wild Plains and the two will play together in Boston later in March. Heck has also been setting up some new potential venues in the Richmond area and said he has high hopes for this new lineup.

Big Mama Shakes’ final show with drummer Chandler Matkins will be this Sat., Jan. 20 at The Broadberry, with $8 presale tickets and $10 tickets at the door. The band will be joined by Dog Lagoon, Minor Poet, and Walkerton Brothers, comprised of two other members of Big Mama Shakes, Caleb Austin, and Elijah Righter. Doors open at 7:00 pm. Tickets here.

Big Mama Shakes on “Coming of Age” Ahead of Release Show at The Camel Saturday

Amy David | October 18, 2017

Topics: Big Mama Shakes, Sound Of Music Studios, southern rock, The Camel

It’s been a year since Big Mama Shakes gave fans any new tunes, but not to fret, Richmond’s Southern rock/roots five-piece has been quietly working on some new material, and we will get to hear the first single, “Coming of Age” this weekend.

Their last EP, If I Try, was released in April 2016 and as usual, the boys brought their raw, energetic, no-frills vibe. And from the snippet below it looks as though they are still bringing that same energy and upbeat, feel-good sound fans have come to know and love since they formed in 2013. However, vocalist/guitarist Brady Heck said they’ve definitely grown musically since we heard from them last year.

“It’s a little bit different than stuff we’ve done in the past, I think it’s a little bit more mature as far as our music goes,” Heck said. “It’s about growing up, it was written to be a piece of advice for my nephew, who is the nine-year-old on the dirt bike on the cover.”

Big Mama Shakes recorded, mixed, and mastered the single at Scott’s Addition’s Sound of Music Studios with Greyson Gene of local desert rock band Suneater in early August.

“We had the horn line from Dharma Bombs’ Clay Trinkle and Stephen Moser, so that all came together in the studio. The big production quality of it that made it so unique and different, compared to some of our other stuff, that’s what really came together in the studio,” said vocalist/drummer Chandler Matkins.

Even though Big Mama Shakes only got into the studio a few months ago, Matkins said the band had played the song live initially on tour this past summer and received great feedback from fans. The song, thus, paved the way for the tone for the rest of the album.

“The idea behind the album and what we’re going for, is encapsuled in this single,” Matkins said. “This is a great segway into the album, this is what Big Mama’s doing this time around, this is the kind of thing you can expect from the new album.”

Heck compares the song to having a Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street or Jackson Brown influence to it and as far as the album as a whole, he said they have improved stylistically.

“To me, it feels like a song from the mid-70s,” he said of ‘Coming of Age’. “I feel like in the past, we’ve been hap-hazard with arranging albums, and this time I think we’re really trying to hit it home, I think we’re going to do a good job of that this time.”

The band hit the road earlier this summer for a tour up and down the East Coast, and back in January, Big Mama Shakes made their way through the Midwest which is where a lot of the music for the new album first made its debut. But the guys are eager to get those songs recorded, so they plan to have production on the new album done by the end of the year.

“It felt like, as excited as we were about the song and getting it out, it seemed equally important to get some new material out,” said Matkins. “We’ve been on the road so consistently since that EP came out, time has just flown by for us and we’re sitting on so much new music, it just seems like the right time to do it.”

The group hopes to release the new album by spring and then embark on yet another tour in the summer.

In the meantime, you can catch Big Mama Shakes at their single release show this Saturday at The Camel, a first since they ended their residency there in 2016. Charlottesville’s Lord Nelson, and Boston’s Haley-Thompson-King and These Wild Plains will also perform. Doors at 7. Show at 8. $8 Pre-Sale, $10 Door. Tickets here.

“Coming of Age” will be available on all online platforms Oct. 27.

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

Amy David | May 26, 2017

Topics: Americana, BLUES & ROCK, country, rock, southern rock, The Trongone Band

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.