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

Vintage Review: David Olney’s When the Deal Goes Down (2014)

You may not have heard of singer, songwriter, and guitarist David Olney and, if not, that’s your loss, and your soul is that much poorer for it. While young flash-in-the-pan indie rockers a third of his age grab blog headlines and barrels of virtual ink on the web, Olney has quietly been building a catalog of some of the most impressive music ever created on this spinning orb.

When the Deal Goes Down is as good – if not better – than anything Olney has done to date, partially because the guy’s a true blue talent whose muse seemingly never shuts up, and partly by his decision to bring Nashville blues guitarist Mark Robinson into the fold to play on, and co-produce the album. The inclusion of Robinson’s immense talents adds another dimension to Olney’s enormous musical palette, and he puts his co-producer to good use playing alongside longtime musical foil Sergio Webb – one of the most spectacular six-string talents on the planet who you’ve also never heard of – as well as his band of usual suspects, skilled musicians capable of breathing life and energy into Olney’s creations.

David Olney’s When the Deal Goes Down

Olney opens When the Deal Goes Down with a bang, the title track a shady entreaty that sets the stage for the songs that follow, the singer setting down the rules with the almighty, a sort of prayer set to an energetic soundtrack propelled by Justin Amaral’s vigorous drumbeats and spotlighting the six-string talents of Webb and Robinson. The song leaves more questions behind than it answers, but it’s an up-tempo romp that Olney gets to really work out on, his defiant vocals more demanding than pleading. By contrast, “Little Bird (What I Do)” is one of those densely atmospheric, almost eerie folk-blues analogies that Olney excels at, his somber vocals perfectly matched by Webb’s elegant fretwork and Tomi Lunsford’s angelic backing harmonies.

The laid-back vibe of “Soldier of Misfortune” takes on an exotic air thanks to Webb’s intricate guitar lines, but it’s Olney’s gift for wordplay and his sonorous vocals that drive the romantic tale into truly emotional territory. Jen Gunderman’s delicate piano fills emphasize the lyrics, while Robinson’s acoustic guitar adds welcome texture to a truly enchanting performance. Olney’s cover of Australian folk-rock guitarist/songwriter Bill Jackson’s wonderful “Something In Blue” fits like a glove, Jackson’s lyrics displaying more than a little Olney influence, and Olney’s performance here honoring the song nicely. The song takes on a Western lilt with Webb’s banjo plucking and Olney’s acoustic fretwork, while Olney’s mournful vocals are matched perfectly by Robinson’s expressive, bluesy solo, which rides low in the mix alongside Amaral’s lively percussion.  

Scarecrow Man

The opening lyrics of Olney’s “Scarecrow Man” describe a coming storm, and that’s exactly what the song sounds like…the fearful, silent calm before the thunderclaps and the falling curtains of rain. The song sits on the edge of a knife blade throughout its entirety, Olney’s forceful vocals slowly reeling out a tension-filled, tragic tale while the percussion rumbles and the guitars strike like lightning behind the menacing vocals and the swelling danger. You just know that somebody’s not going to get out of this story alive. “Why So Blue?,” on the other hand, is a smoky ballad that emphasizes Webb’s weeping lap steel guitar and Amaral’s even-handed brushwork, the song’s rhythmic foundation held down by Daniel Seymour’s underrated and often understated bass lines. Robinson throws in some scraps of guitar for effect, and the result is a jazzy little vamp that would be equally at home in 1954 as it is in 2014.

Olney swerves onto blues-rock turf with the raucous “Roll This Stone,” the song picking up a sort of 1990s Bonnie Raitt groove with its deep rhythms and Robinson’s slinky slide-guitar licks. Olney’s vocals here are gruffer and grittier than anywhere else on the album, growling and barking their way above the mix as the band lays down a muscular, but not overpowering rhythmic backdrop. The lovely “No Trace” brings Olney back to more familiar territory, the song’s Spanish flavor enhanced by Gunderman’s subtle accordion riffs and the singer and Webb’s intertwined acoustic guitars. It’s a gentle ballad that displays one of Olney’s more wistful set of lyrics and world-weary vocal performances.

When the Deal Goes Down ends with “Big Blue Hole,” the song itself a complete 180-degree turn from the opening track, and one of the odder entries in Olney’s extensive songbook. Lyrically, it sounds more than a little like a Tom Waits screed, Olney’s seemingly stream-of-consciousness lyrics alluding to the finality of oblivion, delivered above a cacophonous soundtrack that is scrubbed to a rough grit by Webb and Robinson’s serrated-edge guitars. Olney’s vocals become surprisingly kinetic as the singer name checks talents like Amy Winehouse and Kurt Cobain above an instrumental abyss, concluding that “heaven ain’t nothing but a big blue hole.” It’s a powerful, moving performance and a heck of a way to close the album.   
    

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

The bottom line is that David Olney is the true heir to Townes Van Zandt, a thoughtful and thought-provoking songwriter and mesmerizing performer that wears his hard-won experience like a badge of honor. Much like Van Zandt, Olney brings country and folk influences to his songs, but he also imbues his performances with a punk-rock intensity and attitude.

Young songwriters would do well to listen up, because Olney puts all of you wannabe whippersnappers to shame with the vision and storytelling insight that only a grizzled veteran of four decades in the trenches can bring. It’s a testament not only to Olney’s talent but his enduring muse that some 20 albums into a career spent flying beneath the mainstream radar, he can deliver a musical tour de force like When the Deal Goes Down and hold his head up proudly! (Deadbeet Records, released July 8, 2014)