Montgomery Gentry has always looked to classic rockers for inspiration, but the country duo never took things quite this far.
For their seventh album, ''Back When I Knew It All,'' they holed up at Memphis' Ardent Studios, where Led Zeppelin, the Allman Brothers, ZZ Top and Bob Dylan recorded.
The pair -- Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry -- were looking for a meatier sound after their last release, the more subdued ''Some People Change.''
''We purposely stepped up the tempo,'' Gentry said. ''It was one of the conversations we had with [Sony/BMG chairman] Joe Galante when we sat down to talk about this record. He said one of his favorite productions by us thus far was the 'My Town' record. So we were trying to get back more to that sound and feel.''
And, of course, they soaked up the vibe in Memphis, where blues, country and gospel converged to help create rock 'n' roll.
The city on the Mississippi River has been a musical mecca ever since, with Ardent Studios one of its cornerstones. It's where ZZ Top cut ''Tres Hombres,'' Zeppelin made ''Led Zeppelin III,'' James Taylor did ''Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon'' and Steve Earle recorded ''Copperhead Road.''
''Their ghosts were in there all over it, man,'' Montgomery said.
The new issue of the Oxford American just hit the stands, with stories about “superheroes, the wildest river in America, jailhouse cuisine, skinny-dipping in the Big Easy, two larger-than-life world explorers, a Texas con man who discovers the biggest oil field in America, war art from the front lines, the best damn football book, and a detailed guide to thrilling events and sights you won’t want to miss on your summer road trips” from writers including Bronwen Dickey, Roy Blount Jr., Hal Crowther, Sean Rowe, Gene Lyons, Jessie van Eerden, Sam Stephenson, St. John Frizell, Ada Liana Bidiuc, Pia Ehrhardt, John Jeremiah Sullivan, Will Clarke, and Stephen Marion. Also included: a southern movies DVD, which includes this incredible footage of Memphis’ own mythical Big Star cutting “Thank You Friends” at Ardent.
EDITORS NOTE: The Big Star segment is actually 1971 footage of the 4 piece band and other scenes edited to the 1976 Big Star 3 recording of Thank You Friends. -John Fry
Local musicians learn secrets to success with “Backstage Pass”
The new Memphis Music Resource Center recently launched a program to provide the local music community with rare access to renowned industry experts. The first “Backstage Pass” event featured a conversation with legendary producer Terry Manning and drew more than 100 attendees.
Held at Ardent Studios, the conversation with Manning lasted two and a half hours with topics ranging from the very technical, such as the best microphone for a female singer, to insider stories about Memphis music history.
Backstage Pass is one of many resources the new Memphis Music Resource Center will offer to help artists and industry professionals grow their businesses. Since opening in early June, the Center has enrolled more than 380 members, exceeding its 2008 goal of 200 members in its first month of business.
For More Information Contact: Dean Deyo (901) 527-1029
Ardent Studios is renowned as a place where everyone from REM and the Replacements to ZZ Top and the White Stripes cut great albums, but for many pop fans the name Ardent is associated with the Memphis-based independent label from the '60s and '70s, the one that put out the three beloved albums by power-pop legends Big Star. Ardent has a history that stretches back far before Big Star, as they issued their first single in 1960, a full 12 years before #1 Record. This history is chronicled on Ace's astounding double-disc set Thank You Friends: The Ardent Record Story, the first thorough document of Ardent and, along with it, the Memphis underground pop movement of the '60s and '70s.
Ardent functioned as the fulcrum for all the Memphis misfits obsessed with the British Invasion and thereby not part of the city's soul and blues-drenched music scene, which was as true at the start of the '60s as it was during the label's power-pop heyday of the '70s. In fact, Thank You Friends makes a convincing case that the power-pop glory years couldn't have happened without the foundation that Ardent head honcho John Fry laid during that first stretch of the '60s, when he was cutting garage bands and folk-rock. After cutting the stomping, gleefully moronic "Geraldine" with the Ole Miss Downbeats, Fry let the label lie for several years, during which time he became obsessed with the British Invasion -- not the gritty blues of the Rolling Stones, which he disdained, but the sterling pop of the Beatles, the crunching camp of the Kinks and the modern pop art of the Who and the Yardbirds. Eventually, Fry found a fellow traveler in maverick producer Jim Dickinson, who helped jumpstart Ardent in '66 with sneering singles by Lawson & Four More. These, along with the Avengers' trippy tremeloed "Batarang," the Bitter Ind's odd viola-infused "Hands Are Only to See" and especially the Beatles-meets-Byrds treat of the Wallabies previously unreleased "White Doors," hinted at the tremulous, trebly pop of the Big Star heyday in its sound but it was the songs recorded the next few years -- the 18 songs that fill out the remainder of the first disc -- that truly established the Memphis pop sound and sensibility.
Of these 18, only four were released at the time, a startlingly low ratio that suggests the extent of how underground this scene really was. Fry tried to place these singles at larger labels, getting few bites, and soon the resident producer torch passed from Dickinson to Terry Manning, a pop guy who let other pop guys record late into the night in Ardent, learning how to navigate the studio and create the signature sound of Memphis, where guitars rang and clanged in equal measure. This is a key to how isolated this scene was, not just from the rest of Memphis but the world at large; they were shut off in the studio, creating their own sound, the precursor to indie kids holed away in the basement with a guitar and four-track. This scene eventually wormed its way into such solipsistic navel-gazing in the form of the endless unfinished sessions for Big Star's Third -- its darkness brushed upon with the inclusion of an original mix of "Holocaust," but for the most part ignored as the Big Star-centric second disc focuses in their brilliant, blinding pop, often present in alternate mixes or demos, some of which are revelatory (Chilton's spoken asides during the original version of "Mod Lang" are disarming), all of which help their very familiar music seem fresh again.
Big Star is clearly central to the Ardent story and Thank You Friends, which is appropriate as they are at the core of the label's mythology and legacy, as there were countless bands in the next decade as indebted to them as they were to the Beatles. The band dominates this collection, via these alternate mixes and rarities from both Chris Bell and Alex Chilton (the original mixes of "Free Again" and "The EMI Song (Smile for Me) are particular highlights). This may hook in the Big Star fanatics who may not realize the depth of the band's scene. They might not know the prehistory of Rock City and Icewater, they might know their peers Cargoe and the Hot Dogs were, they might not know that Tommy Hoehn and the Scruffs carried on the tradition after the band splintered in the mid-'70s. All that evidence is here on this glorious and important reissue, one that makes a convincing case for the uniqueness of the Ardent-based pop scene -- not just through Big Star but beyond -- through its wealth of ageless power-pop.
The Soulsville Foundation, which operates the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Stax Music Academy, and The Soulsville Charter School, is so deeply saddened by the passing of Isaac Hayes. We are in state of shock. Isaac is one of the most beloved members of the Stax family and we all cherish him. He will be missed not only by us, but also by the entire world and the millions of people who love him as much as we do.
Marc Willis, President and CEO of the Soulsville Foundation, said, "Isaac was unique and an inspiration to us all. His accomplishments as a musician are unparalleled. But more than that, he was a very dear friend and great supporter of the Soulsville Foundation mission, particularly the work we do with children. We will miss him and his wonderful presence more than we can convey at this time."
Isaac Hayes was one of the most genuine, humble, and sweet people we have ever known. He was always cheerful and ready to help anyone in any way that he could. He did that on a daily basis. Helping others was a tremendous part of his life.
Our thoughts go now to his family, particularly to his wife Adjowa and his children. Our thoughts are also with his dear friend and Stax pioneer, David Porter.
SunTrust Rock for Love 2 benefit for Church Health Center planned for August 22-23 at the Hi Tone
Lord T and Eloise, Snowglobe to headline respective nights
SunTrust Rock for Love 2, the second-annual concert to benefit the Church Health Center, is set for Aug. 22-23 at the Hi-Tone, 1913 Poplar Ave.
The concert – actually two back-to-back nights of music – will not only raise vital funds for the Center, but it will also celebrate the diversity of Memphis music with performances by some of the city’s best bands.
Friday, Aug. 22 – Lord T and Eloise, Al Kapone, Two Way Radio, J.D. Reager and the Cold Blooded Three and Vending Machine. Emcee: Chris Vernon, host of “The Chris Vernon Show” on 730 Fox.
Saturday, Aug. 23 – Snowglobe, the Coach and Four, Antenna Shoes, Oh No! Oh My! and Royal Bangs. Emcee: Janet Wilson, host “Janet’s Planet” on WEVL, FM 89.9.
Tickets are on sale at Goner Records and Shangri-La in midtown and online at HiToneMemphis.com. Tickets for each night are $10, or tickets for both nights can be purchased together for $18. Cost to get in each show will be $10 at the door if tickets are available.
A limited number of supertickets will also go on sale for $100 each. Each superticket is good for both Hi Tone shows plus access to an exclusive barbecue reception for bands, sponsors and VIPs at Ardent Studios on Thursday, Aug. 21. The reception will feature a performance by the Subteens.
In Studio C, L to R: Keyboardist Lester Snell, drummer Steve Potts, engineer Adam Hill, Al Green, assistant Lucas Peterson, Bobby Green, bassist Jimmy Kinnard, producer/guitarist Bobby Manuel, and organist Charles Hodges.
The Green Brothers just finished their second stint at Ardent this year, doing work on their forthcoming project with producer Bobby Manuel, engineer Adam Hill, and assistant Lucas Peterson.
The guys are from Florida and recorded with Bobby Manuel years ago at Stax. Their demos went unfinished until now, when they are back in Memphis recording with many of the same players originally on their sessions. They will return to Ardent soon to continue work.
Rob Jungklas Records Mapping the Wreckage at Ardent
In the Picture, L to R: Engineer Jeff Powell, Rob Jungklas, and guitarist Steve Selvidge.
Rob Jungklas was in the studio with a who's who of Memphis musicians recording his new record, to be entitled Mapping the Wreckage. The group was here for five days and tracked 11 songs. Jeff Powell was the engineer, with Lucas Peterson assisting.
The players on the session included guitarist Steve Selvidge, John Whittemore on pedal steel, lap steel, baritone guitar, guitar, and acoustic, Harry Peel and Robert Barnett on drums, Sam Shoup on bass, Jonathan Kirkscey on Cello.
Isaac Hayes looked like he was 35 years old. I would run into him occassionally at Wild Oats and we would talk about healthy diets. I was really shocked when I got the news about his passing. My two favorite pairs of writers were Hayes/Porter and Lennon/McCartney.
Years ago my wife, Diana, and a friend of hers were in line at the old Squash Blossom (a health food store). They had been busy talking as they approach the counter and didn't notice that Isaac Hayes was just in front of them, that is, of course, until he spoke. He was ordering a carrot juice for himself. My wife turned to her friend and said that she had never had carrot juice before...sounded interesting. Apparently Isaac heard her comment, turned around and started telling her about the virtues of "juicing" then bought her a carrot juice. He was a sweet, healthy soul.
The new issue of the 
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