In this edition of Rock 94 And ½'s I Rock, you give you an American made feature. From Nashville Tennessee, American Bang and straight outta the lone star state of Texas, The Texas Hippie Coalition!
Jaren Johnston -— vocals, guitar
Ben Brown — guitar
Kelby Ray — bass
Neil Mason — drums
American Bang’s self-titled, loud, sexy, and soulful major-label debut album is a memorable and melodic introduction to the Nashville-based rock group. The album successfully captures all the amazing grace and guts of their deep musical roots and Southern accent. From the pounding and gritty opening of “Whiskey Walk,” to the instantly anthemic “Wild & Young,” to the messy, Stonesy romance of “Hurts Like Hell,” it’s clear that American Bang shoots straight at the heart of great American rock ‘n roll.
Produced by the legendary Bob Rock, American Bang has been crafted by a wildly talented gang of young rock ‘n rollers who’ve been playing together in assorted combinations all their lives. The son of a respected Grand Ole Opry drummer, Jaren Johnston (lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist) literally grew up backstage at Nashville’s illustrious Grand Ole Opry. He first followed in his dad's footsteps by playing drums, but soon decided to follow his father’s advice instead: "If you want to pay the bills, you play the drums. If you want to make a living, you'll learn how to write songs.” And with that, a young Johnston picked up the guitar and began to hone his songwriting skills.
After many incarnations of local bands, all four members – Johnston, lead guitarist Ben Brown, bassist Kelby Ray, and drummer Neil Mason – came of age musically as students of rock ‘n roll in the heart of Music City, which has paid off in the group’s confident sense of song craft.
“If you’re playing any kind of music in Nashville, you really can’t get away with having a bad song because people around here will notice, and they will call you out on it in a heartbeat,” explains Johnston. In fact, with a grimace, Johnston still recalls the very first review that the band received – one that criticized a song for having “a b-level rock riff” and a lyric that was “cliché.” As Johnston remembers, “I was so furious that it was all I could do not to go down to the paper and whup that critic’s ass! Instead, I decided to spend a little more time on writing the songs.”
That time soon paid off in a big way. Before long, American Bang was earning straight A’s from the local press and rock fans. That same excitement was gradually shared by some extremely high-profile folks – including producer Bob Rock. After recording at Blackbird Studios in Nashville, the band moved on to work closely with Rock at his home studio in Hawaii. “We were living in a little surf house exactly 208 steps from the ocean,” recalls Ray. Ultimately, though, Rock had a lot more to offer American Bang than just some nice days at the beach.
As Ray explains, “Bob’s a true mad scientist of music and we all loved what he did. He captured us as who we are, and who we want to be too. This is the album that we’ve all waited to make.”
“From the first demos that were sent to me, I felt there was something special and different about this band,” Rock says. “They had a connection to some of my favorite classic rock bands – like Tom Petty, Humble Pie, and Lynyrd Skynyrd – but it wasn’t just nostalgia. There was a modern side to them as well. It actually kicked my ass, which doesn't happen much these days. After I saw them live, I knew I had to produce their album. It was really important for us to capture their live feel in the studio. When you hear the album, you’ll know what it’s like to see them live. And when you see them live, you’ll understand what I see in American Bang. That rock ‘n roll is alive and well in America.”
Clearly others agreed, as American Bang was invited to go on the road to open for some of rock ‘n roll’s most respected artists, including ZZ Top and The Pretenders, whose audiences gave them standing ovations on several occasions. “Opening up for these acts is not just an honor,” says Brown, “it’s also a really great test for a band because their audiences are really not there to see you. So if you don’t own the stage, they will let you know."
And so it is that American Bang have been owning stages nationwide in recent years, having already established themselves as a consistently popular attraction in Nashville, while also joining the ranks of many well-known rock counterparts on the national festival circuit, including Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, SXSW, Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Voodoo Festival. Drawing upon a wide range of influences (you may hear the occasional echoes of some of the many bands they collectively love, such as The Faces and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers), American Bang gradually forged their own distinctive sound in their own surprisingly classic yet decidedly fresh brand of rock ‘n roll that shines through.
Not long ago, being a rock band from Nashville might have been seen as a liability. “There’s always been some prejudice because certain people still think Nashville makes nothing but country music, but that’s far from true,” says Mason. “Everyone from Bob Dylan to Neil Young made some of their best rock ‘n roll records ever right here.” And now with Nashville area acts on the top of the charts—the stage seems set for another Music City act to make some noise.
American Bang will be released Summer 2010 on Reprise Records.
Upon first glance of the Texas Hippie Coalition, one may come to the conclusion that they are an intimidating group that lives up to the cliché of their nickname “band of outlaws.” However, looking a little closer at lead vocalist Big Dad Ritch, bassist John Exall, guitarists Randy Cooper and Crawfish, and drummer Ryan Bennett; it’s hard to ignore that they are indeed much more than meets the eye. They are a loyal and talented “band of brothers” who consider themselves just as much family as they are band mates.
“We’re as southern as southern can be,” says ‘Big Dad’ Ritch, the behemoth front man and driving force behind Texas Hippie Coalition. “Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, ZZ Top, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson – we’re as outlaw as we can get, while at the same time having the power of that Texas groove, like Pantera. We’re metal with a southern rock and roll spirit. We are a band of outlaws.”
Not outlaws in the bad-boy sense, outlaws in the artistic sense, drawing their inspiration from the vast tapestry of musical influences that spans the great state of Texas and beyond. While there’s no denying the band’s metallic epicenter, there’s also no denying their kindred spirit with the original man in black, Johnny Cash. “My dad raised me on cool stuff like Jimi Hendrix, Steve Miller and Alice Cooper, and he took me to see Johnny Cash at a young age,” says Ritch. “The way he talked to the crowd between songs and the way he communicated with the audience, he left no separation. He made people feel like he was part of them and they were part of him – ever since, that’s what I’ve always wanted to be.”
It wasn’t difficult for Big Dad Ritch, Randy Cooper and John Exall to find each other in Denison, Texas. Being a small town with a very limited amount of musicians, rival bands were forced to work together to set up road trips to cities, such as Dallas, in order to play shows and expand their musical aspirations. Originally starting in rival bands, Ritch, Randy and John found themselves bonding over their craft and the fact that the art of storytelling had become lost in heavy music. They started playing, writing and eventually recording together.
Shortly thereafter, Texas Hippie Coalition emerged from The Red River Valley that borders Northern Texas and Southern Oklahoma and ripped their way on to the metal scene with their self-released album Pride of Texas. Supporting the album and through their determination to put themselves in front of music fanatics from coast to coast, they’ve earned the respect of fans and peers with their hard-hitting style of music dubbed “red dirt metal.” It was this momentum that led the band to guitarist Crawfish and drummer Ryan Bennett. Crawfish was introduced to the group by a mutual friend and although loyal to the band he was touring with at the time, the moment there was a break from the road; THC knew it was their window of opportunity and invited him to join the band. When the group met Ryan as the graphic designer at their management company, they had no idea what talents he possessed as a musician himself until they had an opening for a new drummer, which he quickly jumped at the chance to audition for. Impressed, it was an easy position to fill when the band and their original drummer parted ways.
While the band was touring the country, brand new Dallas label, Carved Records took notice of THC’s increasing success. Label owner Tim Porter and VP of Operations Phil Thomas felt the band’s approach to success was congruent with their own for Carved Records and they immediately made Texas Hippie Coalition their inaugural signing at the end of 2009.
The group teamed up with multi-platinum producer, David Prater (Dream Theater, Firehouse) and headed to his studio in Oklahoma to record their second album, Rollin’ to be released via Carved Records on July 6th, 2010.
The first single will be the already familiar and consistently requested band anthem “Pissed Off and Mad About It.” A powerful song from the day it was written, it’s come to full fruition in the studio with the band’s current lineup adding the official Texas Hippie Coalition seal.
A highlighted track on Rollin’ is “Intervention,” a song the band unanimously chose as one of their favorites from their new recordings. "A driving tune with the feel of old Sabbath, the song hits you right in the chest and doesn't let up,” says Ryan. Adds Ritch of the lyrics, “Everybody is sitting around waiting for everyone else to have an intervention these days, but this song is about realizing that you need to stop, stand up and get yourself through it on your own.”
Cooper calls “Cocked and Loaded” one of the best representations of his band – “we’re fired up, we’re gonna hit it, we’re cocked and loaded…” he says. But it’s “Groupie Girl” that Ritch thinks just might be the best song he’s ever written. “It’s got Guns N’ Roses with a ZZ Top swagger, and is beautiful from beginning to end – it’s about being in a town, being with a girl for a day or two, then you’re gone. She may have been the love of your life, but you don’t have the time to devote to the relationship. Instead of being shady, it’s about being a southern gentleman – “I wish I could stay and always be here to wipe your tears away, but I’ve got to go on down the road…”
And when Texas Hippie Coalition aren’t on the road? “You’ll probably find us in an armchair drinking a beer, fishing on the river,” says Exall. “We’re not too good for anybody – we are everybody.”
“We’re just like you all,” says the band’s ‘Big Dad’ - “our rent’s due, and our electricity is a month passed due...”
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