Kentucky HeadHunters credit rundown 'practice house' as inspiration for latest album
John Michael Montgomery Country Fest
Noon Sept. 23 and 10 a.m. Sept. 24 at Lykins Park in Winchester. Daily: $20 in advance, $30 at gate. Weekend pass: $30 in advance, $40 at gate. Free for ages 10 and younger. (859) 771-9612. JMMcountryfest.com.
Richard Young was doing some dusting in the beloved "practice house" that has long been a refuge for the veteran Metcalfe County rockers of The Kentucky HeadHunters.
For more than four decades, from the days when the band was known as the roadhouse rock troupe Itchy Brother to the 1980s Grammy-winning beginnings of the HeadHunters to today, the practice house is an almost purposely primitive homestead for guitarist/ vocalist Young and his mates, drummer Fred Young, guitarist Greg Martin and bassist/vocalist Doug Phelps.
Calling the practice house rustic doesn't begin to convey its homey appeal. It's a farmhouse near Edmonton with no running water, no insulation and only a few oil heaters to provide a sliver of warmth. Nonetheless, the HeadHunters convened last year at the practice house two days after Christmas to be begin recording their 12th album, Dixie Lullabies. The album, due out next month, will be introduced when the band plays its first Central Kentucky show in years at the weekend-long John Michael Montgomery Country Fest in Winchester's Lykins Park. (Montgomery, along with Jamey Johnson, Montgomery Gentry, Exile, Colt Ford, Jake Owen and many others also will perform.)
"We're very lucky to have this place," Richard Young said of the practice house's role as the recording setting for Dixie Lullabies. "It's just an old, rundown place. But to us, it's like a boy's tree house.
"We've wanted to make a record here all of our lives. There is just something that comes across in the music when we're in this house. It's a little hard to portray to the audience. But we're never uptight here. Studios are great things, but it makes a difference when you have a little hideaway. We're home when we're here."
The HeadHunters had the benefit of a few modern gizmos to help make the record, like a portable Pro Tools kit. There was also some tweaking in a Nashville studio. But the bulk of the recording process was gloriously low-tech.
The vibe Young speaks of has always been present in HeadHunters hits like Dumas Walker and its gleefully electric makeovers of the Don Gibson hit Oh, Lonesome Me, Bill Monroe's Walk Softly on This Heart of Mine and Norman Greenbaum's Spirit in the Sky. But on Dixie Lullabies the mood abounds during the Rolling Stones party charge of Tumblin' Roses and the Lynyrd Skynyrd-flavored, guitar-drenched Little Miss Blues Breaker.
"We put a bass amp up in the attic for Doug and put some pillows and mattresses around it," Young said. "We put one guitar amp in one room and one guitar amp in the other. And in the main room where we usually rehearse, we set up the drums. From there, we just played these tracks and sang with them as we went along. This created a real homey feel.
"The record portrays the whole spectrum of where we've been, from that Itchy Brother sound from the '70s on through the early HeadHunters music. But there are also some surprises to show people just where we're going."
For a complete performance schedule for the John Michael Montgomery Country Fest, go to JMMcountryfest.com.
J.D. Crowe and the New South, Balsam Ridge
7:30 p.m. Sept. 24 at University of Kentucky Memorial Hall. $20. (859) 266-1572. BGpride.com.
Grammy-winning Nicholasville banjo hero J.D. Crowe continues to be a regular performance fixture throughout Central Kentucky. Granted, that might not have been the case last winter and spring. Crowe broke his arm in two places after a fall from a tour bus in February. But he's well mended and back on the road.
That, of course, is the best news of all. Coming in a close second, however, is the opportunity to see Crowe and the latest lineup of his long-running band, the New South: guitarist/ vocalist Rickey Wasson, vocalist/mandolinist Dwight McCall, bassist Kyle Perkins and dobroist Matt DeSpain — in a sit-down, indoor setting as opposed to larger summer festival outings in the great outdoors.
This weekend, Crowe and company, along with Blue Ridge Mountain-bred Balsam Ridge, perform at UK's Memorial Hall. The performance honors the 10th anniversary of the non-profit Bluegrass PRIDE (Personal Responsibility in a Desirable Environment). Proceeds from the performance will go to further the organization's environmental education initiatives in 18 Central Kentucky counties.
This story was originally published September 22, 2011 at 9:04 AM with the headline "Kentucky HeadHunters credit rundown 'practice house' as inspiration for latest album."