Seymour rocked, rolled and stomped in delight on Wednesday and
Saturday, June 6 and 9 as Seymour and south Knoxville’s best and
brightest bands brought their magnificent noise and dulcet strumming to
the Karaoke Café and Seymour’s first Battle of the Bands in conjunction with Spring Fling, sponsored by Tennessee Production Center’s family of businesses and the South Knox · Seymour Times.
Wednesday’s Battle kicked off at 7 pm, and saw the introduction of
Southbound Express, a five piece country outfit with a flair for
crowd-pleasing cover tunes.
“We’re happy for the opportunity to be here and perform,” said Jim
Eller, steel guitarist for the combo, which also plays a regular gig at
the Handy Dandy on John Sevier Hwy. and the Wears Valley General Store.
“It was a lot of fun,” remarked Gary Schuldt, vocalist and bass player
for the band, and exhorted the fans to vote for Southbound Express on karaokecafe.com,
where video and audio of every band’s performance at Spring Fling
can be viewed and downloaded. Southbound Express will also be
performing in Newport for the Ronnie Holloway benefit.
Later that evening, Melanie Hayes took the stage for a rollicking set,
playing a collection of original compositions perfectly suited to
Hayes’ lilting voice.
Hayes, a bon vivant with a charming stage presence, told the
Times “We appreciate the chance to enjoy the exposure that the Battle
of the Bands is offering us, and hope to come back later in the season
for a repeat performance.”
Already with the album “Apple Trees”to her credit, Hayes expects her latest collection of songs to be recorded soon.
Saturday’s slate blasted off with the metal mastery of the Sons of
Madmen, a four-piece outfit that hails from Seymour. Blistering through
a set that included originals as well as a couple of classic covers,
Sons of Madmen torched the outdoor stage to roars of approval from
Spring Fling attendees.
“We’ve been together for about five years,” Josh Noble, drummer for the
band, told the Times, “and we’re looking to get our sound out there.”
“It’s great for Norbert and Debi [Stovall, owners of the Café] to have
us down,” Noble said. Combining classic metal influences with their own
unique vibe, Sons of Madmen hope to have an album on the racks by
summer.
The follow-up performance by Lost Mountain Sound,
who next took the stage, was short but oh-so-sweet. Bringing a
bluegrass virtuoso performance to the outdoor venue, LMS immediately
brought to mind the Grand Ole Opry,
clustering around a common mike and picking their way into the hearts
of the crowd, who howled in delight at the classic bluegrass tunes
mixed with original compositions.
The band came into the Battle fresh from a morning gig, and made tracks
to Gatlinburg for a night performance immediately following their
appearance at Battle of the Bands, some members hauling themselves and
their gear on a 109-mile round trip to make sure that their fans in
Seymour didn’t miss out on their classic sound.
The band’s eponymous album is available at the Disc Exchange now, and they can be seen at their website at www.lostmountainsound.com.
The Saturday afternoon music extravaganza was capped by The End
of the Sky, an eclectic/experimental rock four-piece with a wide
variety of influences, from metal to rap to classic rock. The band laid
down a vicious and musically-rich mix of sounds, reflecting their name,
which lead guitarist Logan Davis described as “like watching a sunset,
no one knows where the end of the sky lies.” The outfit hails from
Seymour, with members originally from as far away as Chicago and
Dearborn, Michigan.
Fan Kimberly Foli told the Times that The End of the Sky’s accomplished
musicianship stems from their deep dedication to crafting a great
sound. “I was really blown away the first time I heard them,” Foli
said, “They take the music apart and put it back together again.”
Davis agreed, stating that they had overhauled all of their former
material with different members, and “put it in a blender, poured it
out,” and found it tasty indeed.
Sporting an incredibly tight performance considering Battle of the
Bands represented only their fifth public performance, the technical
expertise of the combo impressed an appreciative crowd late Saturday
afternoon. The band keeps a website at www.myspace.com/theendofthesky.
Voting for all the Spring Fling’s Battle of Band’s performers is going on right now at karaokecafe.com.
Each week will see new bands added to the ballot, as the events are
slated for every Saturday throughout the summer, to culminate in the
announcement of a winner on August 25, and the awarding of a raft of
prizes to make any band, professional or amateur, envious.
Bands who wish to join the contest can find entry forms online at
karaokecafe.com. Competition categories are open for both
professional/semi-pro bands, as well as amateur performers who have
never played a paying gig.
Battle of the Bands continues at noon next Saturday at Seymour’s
premiere entertainment venue, Big Mama’s Karaoke Café, and all summer
long at select locations throughout the south Knoxville and Seymour
area.
Melanie Hayes closed Wednesday night’s performances with her unique style of mellow and uplifting folk-rock. Photo by David Grimes
