THE BEAT DADDYS
''THAT WE DO''
2015
39:13
1 These Chains (Maxwell Russell) 02:49
2 Sorry (Larry Grisham, Tommy Stillwell) 03:37
3 You Made Me Cry (Larry Grisham, Tommy Stillwell) 04:42
4 The Moment (Tommy Stillwell) 03:13
5 Pie or Cake (Larry Grisham) 03:26
6 Hoodoo Woman (Larry Grisham, Tommy Stillwell) 03:03
7 D.U.I. Love (A.D.Prestage, Tommy Stillwell, Larry Grisham) 03:51
8 Been Thinkin' (Larry Grisham, Tommy Stillwell) 03:30
9 Luck's Got To Change (Larry Grisham, Tommy Stillwell) 05:09
10 The Blues Can Heal Ya (Tommy Stillwell) 02:36
11 I Need A Woman (Larry Grisham, Tommy Stillwell) 03:12
Larry Grisham - Vocals, Harmonica
Tommy Stillwell - Guitars, Backing Vocals
David Parks - Drums, Percussion, Chains
John Gillespie - Additional Bass Guitar Tracks
Greg Franzman - Percussion
Patrick Preston - Organ On 4, 8
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REVIEW
Lawrence Specker, al.com
Some blues bands try too hard. From the opening notes of The Beat Daddys' latest release, it's blissfully clear that this isn't that kind of blues band.
"Hoodoo That We Do" opens with the swampy, slow-steaming "These Chains," one of only two songs on the disc that weren't written entirely by vocalist Larry Grisham and guitarist Tommy Stillwell. The song is by Maxwell Russell, but Grisham and Stillwell get credit for the utter confidence they bring to it, and for the way its irresistible steamboat churn drives into the next track, "Sorry," and the one after that, "You Made Me Cry."
Grisham has been at this long enough that he doesn't need to scream to get emotion across. Stillwell doesn't feel compelled to wail over the top of every track. Yet they both bring heavyweight punching power into the ring. These guys don't really swagger. They just walk the walk.
Let's be clear: "Hoodoo That We Do" isn't a revolutionary album. It doesn't push the blues envelope or stray outside traditional subjects and tones. It delivers the goods without posturing or exaggeration. And it covers the bases, ranging from "my woman done me wrong" laments to the blurry humor of "DUI Love" and "Pie or Cake" to the ballad "Luck's Got to Change."
Out of 11 songs, "Luck's Got to Change" is one of just two that are longer than four minutes long, and two run less than three minutes. That adds up to an engaging album that wins you over quickly and doesn't wear out its welcome.
The 39-minute run time is pretty clear evidence that Grisham and Stillwell didn't feel the need to overstate things. In fact, Grisham says, he was a little worried the project would come off as too understated. He's been pleased by early response.
"We just tried to write how we write," he said. "It just came out that way."
Gulf Coast fans will remember a time when Mobile-based Britt Meacham handled lead guitar duties and Grisham lived just up the road in coastal Mississippi. Hurricane Katrina drove Grisham north to Nashville, and the band's current home state, more or less, is Indiana: Stillwell resides in Owensboro, and what wasn't recorded at his Twin Lakes Sound Studio was done in at 77 Recording in Evansville.
When Meacham retired from the road, Grisham reconnected with Stillwell. Since he was an original member of the band, the new partnership was more of a continuation than a departure from the familiar Beat Daddys vibe.
Grisham says he hopes to book a Mobile-area show as a CD release party for Gulf Coast fans, maybe in October.
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BIOGRAPHY
Richard Skelly
An amalgamation of blues and Southern rock, the Beat Daddys are comprised of Lewis Ross (drums), Brill Morris (bass and vocals), Larry Grisham (guitar, harp and vocals), and Britt Meacham (guitar and vocals). Meacham, from Mobile, Alabama, was a member of Jackson Highway, a group that recorded for Capitol Records, and also toured with soul-blues man Little Milton Campbell. Bassist Morris was part of Mercury Records' David and the Giants and performed in a popular regional Gulf Coast band, Magik. Drummer Ross, also from Mobile, was a founding member of Wet Willie, and he was involved in co-writing the band's hits "Keep on Smilin'," "Red Hot Chicken" and "Macon Hambone Blues."the Beat Daddys formed in Evansville, Indiana in the mid-1980s and released their own self-produced album before signing with Malaco Records. Their two mid-1990s Malaco/Waldoxy releases, No, We Ain't From Clarksdale and South to Mississippi, are not straight-ahead blues, to be sure, but fans of blues, roots-rock and Southern rock can find much to appreciate in either of them.
**********
WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP
**********
''THAT WE DO''
2015
39:13
1 These Chains (Maxwell Russell) 02:49
2 Sorry (Larry Grisham, Tommy Stillwell) 03:37
3 You Made Me Cry (Larry Grisham, Tommy Stillwell) 04:42
4 The Moment (Tommy Stillwell) 03:13
5 Pie or Cake (Larry Grisham) 03:26
6 Hoodoo Woman (Larry Grisham, Tommy Stillwell) 03:03
7 D.U.I. Love (A.D.Prestage, Tommy Stillwell, Larry Grisham) 03:51
8 Been Thinkin' (Larry Grisham, Tommy Stillwell) 03:30
9 Luck's Got To Change (Larry Grisham, Tommy Stillwell) 05:09
10 The Blues Can Heal Ya (Tommy Stillwell) 02:36
11 I Need A Woman (Larry Grisham, Tommy Stillwell) 03:12
Larry Grisham - Vocals, Harmonica
Tommy Stillwell - Guitars, Backing Vocals
David Parks - Drums, Percussion, Chains
John Gillespie - Additional Bass Guitar Tracks
Greg Franzman - Percussion
Patrick Preston - Organ On 4, 8
**********
REVIEW
Lawrence Specker, al.com
Some blues bands try too hard. From the opening notes of The Beat Daddys' latest release, it's blissfully clear that this isn't that kind of blues band.
"Hoodoo That We Do" opens with the swampy, slow-steaming "These Chains," one of only two songs on the disc that weren't written entirely by vocalist Larry Grisham and guitarist Tommy Stillwell. The song is by Maxwell Russell, but Grisham and Stillwell get credit for the utter confidence they bring to it, and for the way its irresistible steamboat churn drives into the next track, "Sorry," and the one after that, "You Made Me Cry."
Grisham has been at this long enough that he doesn't need to scream to get emotion across. Stillwell doesn't feel compelled to wail over the top of every track. Yet they both bring heavyweight punching power into the ring. These guys don't really swagger. They just walk the walk.
Let's be clear: "Hoodoo That We Do" isn't a revolutionary album. It doesn't push the blues envelope or stray outside traditional subjects and tones. It delivers the goods without posturing or exaggeration. And it covers the bases, ranging from "my woman done me wrong" laments to the blurry humor of "DUI Love" and "Pie or Cake" to the ballad "Luck's Got to Change."
Out of 11 songs, "Luck's Got to Change" is one of just two that are longer than four minutes long, and two run less than three minutes. That adds up to an engaging album that wins you over quickly and doesn't wear out its welcome.
The 39-minute run time is pretty clear evidence that Grisham and Stillwell didn't feel the need to overstate things. In fact, Grisham says, he was a little worried the project would come off as too understated. He's been pleased by early response.
"We just tried to write how we write," he said. "It just came out that way."
Gulf Coast fans will remember a time when Mobile-based Britt Meacham handled lead guitar duties and Grisham lived just up the road in coastal Mississippi. Hurricane Katrina drove Grisham north to Nashville, and the band's current home state, more or less, is Indiana: Stillwell resides in Owensboro, and what wasn't recorded at his Twin Lakes Sound Studio was done in at 77 Recording in Evansville.
When Meacham retired from the road, Grisham reconnected with Stillwell. Since he was an original member of the band, the new partnership was more of a continuation than a departure from the familiar Beat Daddys vibe.
Grisham says he hopes to book a Mobile-area show as a CD release party for Gulf Coast fans, maybe in October.
**********
BIOGRAPHY
Richard Skelly
An amalgamation of blues and Southern rock, the Beat Daddys are comprised of Lewis Ross (drums), Brill Morris (bass and vocals), Larry Grisham (guitar, harp and vocals), and Britt Meacham (guitar and vocals). Meacham, from Mobile, Alabama, was a member of Jackson Highway, a group that recorded for Capitol Records, and also toured with soul-blues man Little Milton Campbell. Bassist Morris was part of Mercury Records' David and the Giants and performed in a popular regional Gulf Coast band, Magik. Drummer Ross, also from Mobile, was a founding member of Wet Willie, and he was involved in co-writing the band's hits "Keep on Smilin'," "Red Hot Chicken" and "Macon Hambone Blues."the Beat Daddys formed in Evansville, Indiana in the mid-1980s and released their own self-produced album before signing with Malaco Records. Their two mid-1990s Malaco/Waldoxy releases, No, We Ain't From Clarksdale and South to Mississippi, are not straight-ahead blues, to be sure, but fans of blues, roots-rock and Southern rock can find much to appreciate in either of them.
**********
WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP
**********
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