PARMALEE
''FEELS LIKE CAROLINA''
DECEMBER 10 2013
40:28
1 /Musta Had a Good Time
David Fanning / Barry Knox / Josh McSwain / Matt Thomas / Scott Thomas/3:36
2 /Day Drinkin'
Blair Daly / Matt Thomas/3:14
3 /Move
Arlis Albriton / Ben Daniel / Brandon Kinney/3:19
4 /Close Your Eyes
Adam Craig / Shane Minor / Trent Tomlinson/3:34
5 /Dance
Tommy Cecil / Landis Frier / Barry Knox / Matt Thomas/3:12
6 /Carolina
Rick Beato / Barry Knox / Josh McSwain / Matt Thomas / Scott Thomas/3:21
7 /Think You Oughta Know That
Jason Sever / Rachel Thibodeau / Matt Thomas/3:03
8 /Back in the Day
Jaron Boyer / Preston Brust / Chris Janson / Ben Stennis/3:17
9 /My Montgomery
Ben Glover / Kyle Jacobs / Randy Montana/4:07
10 /Already Callin' You Mine
Wade Kirby / Barry Knox / Phil O'Donnell / Matt Thomas / Scott Thomas/3:04
11 /I'll Bring the Music
Keith Anderson / Craig Wiseman/3:22
12 /Another Day Gone
Barry Knox / Josh McSwain / Bobby Pinson / Matt Thomas / Scott Thomas/3:19
Smith Curry /Dobro
Dan Dugmore /Guitar (Steel)
Tony Harrell /Keyboards
Mike Johnson /Guitar (Steel)
Barry Knox /Guitar (Bass), Vocals (Background)
Rob McNelly /Guitar (Electric)
Josh McSwain /Guitar (Electric), Keyboards, Vocals (Background)
Jason Mowery /Banjo, Fiddle, Guitar (Acoustic)
Russ Pahl /Guitar (Steel)
Danny Rader /Banjo, Bouzouki, Guitar (Acoustic)
Adam Shoenfeld /Guitar (Electric)
Matt Thomas /Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Vocals
Scott Thomas /Drums, Percussion
REVIEW
By Steve Leggett
Parmalee is a tight-knit band consisting of brothers Matt Thomas (guitar, vocals) and Scott Thomas (drums), cousin Barry Knox (bass), and childhood friend Josh McSwain (guitar, keyboards), all of whom grew up together near Greenville, North Carolina, and what they play is rock, full of big drums and slashing, fuzzy electric guitar runs, overlaid with country vocals and themes, a hybrid that both contemporary country and rock/pop stations are undoubtedly happy to embrace. A veteran band (whose members have been playing music together in various configurations since they were teenagers, with some ten years of gigging and touring under their belts, plus an independent album and a pair of EPs), Parmalee was poised to break through to the next level when drummer Scott Thomas was shot three times during a robbery of the band's RV after a show in Rock Hill, South Carolina, spending ten days in a coma and a month and a half in the hospital. He recovered enough to play a showcase for Stoney Creek Records, which signed the band to a record deal. Following a pair of singles, "Musta Had a Good Time," which peaked at 38 in the Top 40 country charts, and the poignant "Carolina," which went Top Ten, Parmalee's second album, and first on a nationally distributed label, Feels Like Carolina, shows a band that, at its best, combines gritty Southern garage rock with lead singer Matt Thomas' pure country vocals. A few tracks here feel generic, but the standouts, like the post-party anthem "Musta Had a Good Time," the heartfelt and striking "Carolina," and the beautiful "My Montgomery," present a band more than ready for a prime-time audience.
BIOGRAPHY
By Steve Leggett
Parmalee is a tight-knit Southern country-rock band consisting of brothers Matt Thomas (guitar, vocals) and Scott Thomas (drums), cousin Barry Knox (bass), and childhood friend Josh McSwain (guitar, keyboards), all of whom grew up together near Greenville, North Carolina. The brothers' father had a local band, and by the time they were teenagers, they were a part of it, gigging as Jerry Thomas & the Thomas Brothers Band, and Knox was recruited aboard as well. When the elder Thomas retired from playing, the brothers and cousin continued as the Thomas Brothers Band, working the local bar circuit, where they often crossed paths with guitarist, keyboardist, and longtime friend McSwain, who was in a successful cover band at the time. McSwain sat in with the Thomas Brothers Band one night in 2001 and the rest, as they say, was history. Rechristened Parmalee, the band meshed bluegrass, traditional country, Southern rock, and blues into a crisp, professional country-rock sound, spurred by solid songwriting and the fact that each member was a multi-instrumentalist. An EP, Daylight, appeared in 2002, followed by a full-length, Inside, in 2004. A second EP, Complicated, arrived in 2008. The band next signed with Stoney Creek Records and released a pair of singles, "Musta Had a Good Time" in 2012 and "Carolina" in 2013. Their first album for Stoney Creek, Feels Like Carolina, was released at the end of 2013.
''FEELS LIKE CAROLINA''
DECEMBER 10 2013
40:28
1 /Musta Had a Good Time
David Fanning / Barry Knox / Josh McSwain / Matt Thomas / Scott Thomas/3:36
2 /Day Drinkin'
Blair Daly / Matt Thomas/3:14
3 /Move
Arlis Albriton / Ben Daniel / Brandon Kinney/3:19
4 /Close Your Eyes
Adam Craig / Shane Minor / Trent Tomlinson/3:34
5 /Dance
Tommy Cecil / Landis Frier / Barry Knox / Matt Thomas/3:12
6 /Carolina
Rick Beato / Barry Knox / Josh McSwain / Matt Thomas / Scott Thomas/3:21
7 /Think You Oughta Know That
Jason Sever / Rachel Thibodeau / Matt Thomas/3:03
8 /Back in the Day
Jaron Boyer / Preston Brust / Chris Janson / Ben Stennis/3:17
9 /My Montgomery
Ben Glover / Kyle Jacobs / Randy Montana/4:07
10 /Already Callin' You Mine
Wade Kirby / Barry Knox / Phil O'Donnell / Matt Thomas / Scott Thomas/3:04
11 /I'll Bring the Music
Keith Anderson / Craig Wiseman/3:22
12 /Another Day Gone
Barry Knox / Josh McSwain / Bobby Pinson / Matt Thomas / Scott Thomas/3:19
Smith Curry /Dobro
Dan Dugmore /Guitar (Steel)
Tony Harrell /Keyboards
Mike Johnson /Guitar (Steel)
Barry Knox /Guitar (Bass), Vocals (Background)
Rob McNelly /Guitar (Electric)
Josh McSwain /Guitar (Electric), Keyboards, Vocals (Background)
Jason Mowery /Banjo, Fiddle, Guitar (Acoustic)
Russ Pahl /Guitar (Steel)
Danny Rader /Banjo, Bouzouki, Guitar (Acoustic)
Adam Shoenfeld /Guitar (Electric)
Matt Thomas /Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Vocals
Scott Thomas /Drums, Percussion
REVIEW
By Steve Leggett
Parmalee is a tight-knit band consisting of brothers Matt Thomas (guitar, vocals) and Scott Thomas (drums), cousin Barry Knox (bass), and childhood friend Josh McSwain (guitar, keyboards), all of whom grew up together near Greenville, North Carolina, and what they play is rock, full of big drums and slashing, fuzzy electric guitar runs, overlaid with country vocals and themes, a hybrid that both contemporary country and rock/pop stations are undoubtedly happy to embrace. A veteran band (whose members have been playing music together in various configurations since they were teenagers, with some ten years of gigging and touring under their belts, plus an independent album and a pair of EPs), Parmalee was poised to break through to the next level when drummer Scott Thomas was shot three times during a robbery of the band's RV after a show in Rock Hill, South Carolina, spending ten days in a coma and a month and a half in the hospital. He recovered enough to play a showcase for Stoney Creek Records, which signed the band to a record deal. Following a pair of singles, "Musta Had a Good Time," which peaked at 38 in the Top 40 country charts, and the poignant "Carolina," which went Top Ten, Parmalee's second album, and first on a nationally distributed label, Feels Like Carolina, shows a band that, at its best, combines gritty Southern garage rock with lead singer Matt Thomas' pure country vocals. A few tracks here feel generic, but the standouts, like the post-party anthem "Musta Had a Good Time," the heartfelt and striking "Carolina," and the beautiful "My Montgomery," present a band more than ready for a prime-time audience.
BIOGRAPHY
By Steve Leggett
Parmalee is a tight-knit Southern country-rock band consisting of brothers Matt Thomas (guitar, vocals) and Scott Thomas (drums), cousin Barry Knox (bass), and childhood friend Josh McSwain (guitar, keyboards), all of whom grew up together near Greenville, North Carolina. The brothers' father had a local band, and by the time they were teenagers, they were a part of it, gigging as Jerry Thomas & the Thomas Brothers Band, and Knox was recruited aboard as well. When the elder Thomas retired from playing, the brothers and cousin continued as the Thomas Brothers Band, working the local bar circuit, where they often crossed paths with guitarist, keyboardist, and longtime friend McSwain, who was in a successful cover band at the time. McSwain sat in with the Thomas Brothers Band one night in 2001 and the rest, as they say, was history. Rechristened Parmalee, the band meshed bluegrass, traditional country, Southern rock, and blues into a crisp, professional country-rock sound, spurred by solid songwriting and the fact that each member was a multi-instrumentalist. An EP, Daylight, appeared in 2002, followed by a full-length, Inside, in 2004. A second EP, Complicated, arrived in 2008. The band next signed with Stoney Creek Records and released a pair of singles, "Musta Had a Good Time" in 2012 and "Carolina" in 2013. Their first album for Stoney Creek, Feels Like Carolina, was released at the end of 2013.
