Vintage Review: Bonepony's Feeling It (2006)

It should come as no surprise that Feeling It, Bonepony’s fourth studio album, should open with a song like “Home.” Although the band’s roster has shuffled a bit through the years, revolving around frontman Scott Johnson, the current line-up of Johnson, Nicolas Nguyen, and Kenny Wright represents decades of experience and tens of thousands of miles on the road. Grizzled veterans of countless local and regional bands, the trio has earned every right to be tired, fed up with the music business and worn down by the rigors of the road. Yet “Home,” at once both spry and weary, is a celebration of both those left behind and the brotherhood of the road, “singing in a traveling band.” The song offers the usual mixed genres of Bonepony’s sound, an overall bluesy feel complimented by a bluegrassy stomp and strum.

Concerned with relationships – with family, with friends, with fans – Feeling It is an affirmation of the band’s faith in the power of music. Relationships are hard to manage when you spend 100+ nights a year on the road, and the value of a family waiting for you increases with every mile traveled. Several songs here touch upon the subject, dissecting it from different perspectives. The guys are clearly reconciling the wanderlust of their chosen profession with the need for roots and romance. Whether directly addressing the issue, as with the Southern-fried funk of “She’s My Religion” or the mournful, high lonesome sound of “Colour Blue,” or indirectly, as with “Good News,” the question rises to the forefront of the album. The wonderful “Something Good” is classic Bonepony, sparse acoustic instrumentation matched with infectious vocal harmonies in the creation of a complex love letter that would translate well to both rock and country radio (if the medium wasn’t run by idiots).

The high point, in my mind, of Feeling It is the defiant “Farewell,” a recommitment to the muse that calls all three band members, a casting off of the ghosts of the past and the negative energy that would drag them down. Sung by Johnson with a deliberate hesitancy, the song brings the album full circle, where all roads lead back home. It jumps directly into the triumphant title song, the band finally succumbing to the siren of the stage, balancing family and fans with the magic of the music. It’s only appropriate that the album closes with “Park City Jam,” a brief yet energetic reprise of “Home” with whoops and hollers and handclaps that punctuate the joy and jubilation that is the root of Feeling It.    

Bonepony’s music, for those unfamiliar with the band, is an eclectic mix of rock, country, folk, blues, and bluegrass. It’s a sound as old as the Appalachian Mountains and as alien to today’s trend-driven, focus-group-created-frankenrock as you could possibly be. This is music for the heart and soul, not for corporate marketing. Bonepony’s sound translates well to the stage, where the acoustic instrumentation and the band’s dynamic performances can spark a fire hotter than a Delta roadhouse on a Saturday night. With no disrespect to former fiddle player Tramp, the addition of multi-instrumentalist Kenny Wright to the trio was a smart move, widening the band’s capabilities even as they strip these songs down to the basics. Feeling It will both satisfy longtime fans and earn the band new fans, the album’s honesty and energy an antidote to the restless dissatisfaction felt by many music lovers. If you’re looking for something new and exciting, look no further than Bonepony. (Super Duper Recordings, 2006)

Nashville Rock Memorabilia: Bonepony Photo Gallery

Stomp Revival, Bonepony's 1995 debut album

Bonepony (L-R): Tramp Lawling, Scott Johnson, Nick Nguyen

 Bonepony's Fun House album, released in 2001

Bonepony's Jubilee album, released in 2003

Bonepony (L-R): Kenny Wright, Scott Johnson, Nick Nguyen 

 All photos courtesy of Bonepony

Vintage Review: Bonepony's Traveler's Companion (1999)

It’s safe to say that Nashville’s Bonepony is, perhaps, the most unique band that you’ll ever experience. Comparisons don’t do them justice when there’s no band on earth that these ears have heard that sounds anywhere close to the original mix of rock, folk, country, bluegrass and blues that these guys have created. The folks at Capital Records evidently agree, dumping the band after a single fine album that the label obviously had no idea how to market. Undaunted, Bonepony founders Scott Johnson and Bryan Ward regrouped with new member Tramp on fiddle (ex-Cactus Brothers), the trio recording and releasing the excellent Traveler’s Companion on their own Super Duper Recordings label.

Hewing closer to traditional music forms than even many alt-country bands are willing to risk, Bonepony nevertheless rock with the enthusiasm and energy of any half-a-dozen heavy metal bands. Kicking out the jams with an unlikely mix of fiddle, mandolin, banjo, dobro and other folksy instruments and featuring excellent vocal harmonies, the raw spirit of the music serves to support the finely-crafted songs on Traveler’s Companion. Original songs like the sweetly spiritual “Sweet Bye And Bye,” the country-flavored “Savanna Flowers” or the witty and charming “Fish In the Sea” are smart, engaging affairs that tend to grow on you with each hearing, regardless of the sparse nature of the backing instrumentation.

Bonepony called upon some high-octane friends to assist in making Traveler’s Companion, among them Lucinda Williams, Reese Wynans, Brad Jones, and Wilco’s Ken Coomer. The band’s production works quite well, their light touch emphasizing the songs rather than any individual agenda. Since the band had complete creative control of the project, they released the disc in a package composed of industrial hemp, using soy ink for the printing, a smart choice in my book. If you’re tired of vacuous pop artists and cookie-cutter FM radio rock bands, treat yourself to something different and check out Bonepony. Traveler’s Companion is proof that you don’t have to be signed to a major label to produce major league music. (Super Duper Recordings, 1999)

Vintage Review: Aashid Himons & The Mountain Soul Band's West Virginia Hills (1999)

For almost two decades now, Aashid Himons has been Nashville’s most adventuresome musician. Sure, there are lots of players making $1,000 a session up and down “Music Row” who claim to be able to play varying styles of music, but few of them give up their cushy day jobs to blaze any new trails. From the moment Aashid first set foot in the “Music City,” however, he’s done whatever strikes his fancy, whether that might be playing reggae, blues, space music or even a bit of country.

From his work with the first incarnation of the wonderfully talented blu-reggae outfit Afrikan Dreamland through a solo career and various collaborations with other artists, Himons has reveled in the sheer joy of making music, commercial considerations be damned. Recently, with the release of Mountain Soul, Aashid sojourned back to his hillbilly roots and created an inspired collection of songs that draw upon a musical tradition almost as old as the Appalachian Mountains themselves.

Aashid’s West Virginia Hills

West Virginia Hills is a live document of many of the songs from Mountain Soul, performed by Himons and his Mountain Soul Band at Gibson’s Café Milano club in Nashville. Comprised of some of the most underrated musical talents that the Nashville scene has to offer, the Mountain Soul Band is up to the task of recreating these songs in a live setting. It is a testament to Aashid’s talents and the respect provided him by Nashville’s best musicians that Aashid can get artists of this caliber together for such a performance. (I count at least three successful solo artists on this roster as well as former members or players with artists like Lisa Germano, the Cactus Brothers and Bone Pony.)

The material on West Virginia Hills is a spirited mix of blues, bluegrass, roots rock and country with elements of Celtic and African music. With spiritual and musical influences that range from the highest mountaintop in Appalachia to the lowest cotton field in the Mississippi Delta, the performances here possess the soul and fervor of a church revival and the energy and electricity of a mosh pit at any punk show. Although many of the songs are originals, such as the joyful title track or the Delta-styled “Country Blues,” there are also the covers expected of such a project, musical homages to the artists who created this music: folks like Willie Dixon, Blind Willie McTell, and Muddy Waters. Aashid’s “The Captain’s Song” is another highlight of the Mountain Soul album performed here live.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

There are fewer and fewer artists these days willing to “walk on the wild side” and embrace styles of music that are completely without commercial potential. Some, like Bruce Springsteen’s flirtation with folk music or Steve Earle’s recent bluegrass project, are natural outgrowths of the artist’s roots. In other instances, however, as with Aashid Himons and the members of the Mountain Soul Band, it is done out of a sheer love and respect for the music they’re performing. The material presented with much skill and reverence on West Virginia Hills is more than a mere throwback to another era – it’s also the root of all the music we enjoy today. For that alone, Aashid and the Mountain Soul Band deserve a loud “thanks!” (Soptek Records, released 1999)

Nashville Rock Memorabila: Aashid Himons Photo Gallery

 

Afrikan Dreamland: Aashid Himons, Darrell Rose & Mustafa Abdul-Aleen

Aashid Himons & The New Dream

Aashid Himons & Ross Smith

Aashid Himons (All photos courtesy of Aashid Himons)

Vintage Review: Aashid Himons' Mountain Soul (1998)

Aashid Himons has been a fixture of Nashville’s non-country music scene for long that it’s easy to take him for granted. One of the founders of the near-legendary “blu-reggae” band Afrikan Dreamland during the early-1980, Aashid has been the voice of conscious of the Music City’s alternative culture for almost two decades now. Whether as a musician exploring the depths of reggae, space music, or the blues; a documentary filmmaker; host of the influential Aashid Presents television show; or as a crusader for many social causes, Aashid’s multi-media talents have always been intelligent, vital, and thought-provoking.

Aashid’s Mountain Soul

Nonetheless, Aashid’s latest musical effort – the Mountain Soul CD – comes as a surprise in spite of his past track record as an innovator and trailblazer. A collection of country blues, hillbilly folk, and other traditionally-styled music, Aashid has shown us yet another facet of his immense talent with Mountain Soul’s enchanting performances. An African-American with his roots in the mountains of West Virginia, Himons explains the lineage of this material in the CD’s liner notes. In the harsh hills of Virginia and West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, African slaves often played music alongside the poor Irish and Scottish immigrants of the area. The resulting collaboration created a folk music tradition that spawned such genres as gospel, bluegrass, blues and country music.

To be honest, there aren’t many musicians these days exploring the artistic milieu that Mountain Soul showcases so nobly. On Mountain Soul, Aashid works alongside some of Nashville’s best – and most underrated – musicians, folks like Giles Reaves, fiddle wizard Tramp, and bassist Victor Wooten. Himons has created a mesmerizing song cycle that incorporates original songs written in the authentic signature of the hills as well as a handful of timeless classics. Aashid’s commanding baritone is perfectly suited to this material, whether singing a soulful, blues-infused cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child,” the mournful spiritualism of Rev. Gary Davis’ “You Got To Move,” or on originals like the moving “Stranger In Paradise” or with the talking blues and nifty guitar work on “The Crazy Blues.”

One of my personal favorites on Mountain Soul is “Mr. Bailey,” Aashid’s tribute to the first star of the Grand Ole Opry, harmonica wizard Deford Bailey. A talented and charismatic African-American musician from East Tennessee, Bailey’s lively performances popularized the Opry radio broadcast in the thirties and helped launched the careers of such country legends as Roy Acuff and Bill Monroe. Tragically, Bailey’s contributions to the Opry and American music have been forgotten. It has long been Aashid’s crusade to get Bailey his long-deserved place in the Country Music Hall of Fame, and this song is just another reminder of that glaring injustice.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Mountain Soul is definitely not an album for the casual user of music, requiring more than a three minute, radio-influenced and MTV-bred attention span. Although the album’s style and often simple instrumentation might not seem so upon first listen, these are frightfully complex songs – musically multi-layered and emotionally powerful. This is music as old as the earth itself, its origins in the blood and sweat and tears of the common people who created it.

With Mountain Soul, Aashid Himons has paid an honor to both the roots of all popular modern music and the forgotten artists who wrote it. Mountain Soul is an artistically and spiritually enriching listening experience, a musical trip through time that will clear the cobwebs out of your ears, rekindle the fire in your heart and remind you of the reasons you began to love music in the first place. (Gandibu Music, released 1998)

Poster Time: Modern Music Mania 4 w/Basic Static, Practical Stylists, In Pursuit

Nashville Rock Memorabilia: Praxis International Christmas Card w/Jason & the Scorchers, Tim Krekel & the Sluggers, The Georgia Satellites (mid-1980s)

Vintage Ads: New Life Records 1979 advertisement

Vintage Ads: Sound 70 concerts advertisement