Bassist Karl Magers (L) of Downslave puts the pedal to the metal Saturday night with the help of vocalist Brad Parker and guitarist Scotty Kirkland (R). Photo by David Grimes
When the weekend arrives, you can count on great music at Big Mama’s Karaoke Café in Seymour, where the Battle of the Bands continues to put on display an incredible array of talent.
Some come to compete in the contest, some for a chance at the
incredible prizes, some to appear on Knox Rocks.TV, a brand-new
television show airing each Saturday night at 11:30 pm on MyVLT2,
and some just come to have fun, but each of them gets the chance to
showcase their best licks in the competition, sponsored by Big Mama’s
Karaoke Café and Tennessee Production, Inc.’s family of businesses, and
co-sponsored by the South Knox · Seymour Times.
Friday night’s slate opened with classic funk/R&B outfit Eastwind,
a sizzling quintet of veteran music men. Firing off from the beginning
with a “Wonder”-ful cover of Superstition, the band combined
their considerable talents and extensive experience to blast out an
energetic, upbeat performance that was equal parts James Brown, Earth, Wind and Fire, and the Jam Band.
With smooth vocals reminiscent of an upper-register Lou Rawls,
frontman Terry Preston played off the lead guitar of Pete Moulden and
the double-keyboard attack of Rick Lomax and James Hawkins to riveting
effect. With the keyboards carrying the basslines, and Darrell
Littlejohn’s fabulous skins tripping through number after thrilling
number, the fivesome in fedoras soon had the crowd eating out of their
hands.
Straight blues from the band Reigns Trio
followed, pitting lead vocalist Evan Reigns’ guitar against Brian
Flynn’s solid bass and the blistering backbeat of Kevin Rhodes. With a
style on tunes like Texas Flood delving into the depths of Stevie Ray
Vaughan, and a punk-rock version of Rocky Top, the threesome ranged in scope from Led Zeppelin to country blues, never missing a step.
Metal monsters Saturday Night Preacher
blazed across the stage next. Casting forth a fire of hot rock fueled
by Dale Fordham and Scott Oxendine on guitar, bombastic bassist Melvin
Haynes put the pedal to the metal, supported by the able Greg Ivey on
drums.
Friday night was capped by soloist Erik Dail, who twisted his way
through a set of original compositions, accompanying himself on the
acoustic guitar. Hailing all the way from Nashville, Dail, who fronts
the rock trio Hurts to Laugh,
pulled it all together with a very moving performance, culminating in
the heartbreaking and deeply personal “Cut Your Losses”, before signing
off for the evening with a respectful hush from the crowd.
As has often been the case, Saturday night’s show began with a
Christian rock outfit. Faithful Endeavor, who call Grace Baptist in
Seymour their home church, kicked off the evening right with a chorus
of joyful voices. Seven members strong, Faithful Endeavor filled the
sunlit air at the state-of-the-art outdoor stage with close high
harmony and downbeat tempos, showcasing a reflective and introspective
art.
Fronted by the vocal talents of Alex Minter, Madison and Felicia Brown,
and Pam Gibson, the up-front vocals were ably supported by the guitar
of Mike Arnold, while the inimitable Gary Schuldt brought the low tones
on bass and backing vocals, and straightforward Julian Hall laid down a
series of low-key rhythms.
Christian rock quartet Stutterbox took the stage next and the crowd by
storm. With a sound as big as the night sky and a foundation as solid
as the Smoky Mountains, Justin Abbott cranked his copper Stratocaster
and plied the audience with his self-crafted faith-based tunes, while
bandmate Matt Davis kept the fretwork fast and furious. With Mac
McCelvey’s thrumming basstones and Max Taylor’s clockwork drums keeping
time in Creed-like form, Stutterbox never stammered as they delivered a
first-rate set.
But the evening was far from over. Downslave,
a metal quartet out of Knoxville, set fire to the night with a fearsome
blaze not seen in the south since General Sherman. Delivering a caustic
crunch like a battleaxe to the face, the hard-rocking outfit filled
forty-five minutes with molten metal mania with the clipped vocals of
Brad Parker’s gutsy growl over the glittering grind of Scotty
Kirkland’s guitars. With Karl Magers bottoming out the subwoofers and
Eric Mason’s leadfooted bass drum landing thud after maniacal thud,
Downslave forged an upbeat upswing as darkness fell in Seymour.
To top off the night’s entertainment, pop quartet The Unashamed
brought forth their own brand of electric/acoustic brew, fronted by
fresh-faced John Wilson, backed by Bryan Baker on guitar, Josh Cochran
on bass, and Michael Knopff on drums. Fielding a select couple of
original tunes and a range of covers running the gamut from Nirvana to The Who to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the foursome crafted their signature sound to put their own final stamp on the evening.
You should never miss a single exciting moment of the Battle of the
Bands at Big Mama’s Karaoke Café every Friday and Saturday night,
but you can recap each performance by logging onto www.karaokecafe.com,
where you can view and download audio and video of every band’s live
performance and post-show interview to your computer or handheld
device, and vote for your favorite performers.
