South By Southeast

by | Nov 19, 2006


The Sundogs courtesy of Adam Smith

I was in Charleston Friday night to interview Lucero and review their show. The interview went well. I sat in the band’s Dodge Sprinter parked outside Cumberland’s on King Street and turned on my new Edirol R-09 for the first time. Ben Nichols, Lucero’s lead singer gamely picked the device up and recorded his thoughts about working with producers David Lowery and Jim Dickinson, life on the road, the music business and the scene in Memphis.

I was also able to interview Will Haraway from opening band The Sundogs, a four-piece from Atlanta via Oxford, Mississippi. I prepared for the Lucero interview by purchasing their two most recent records, “Rebels, Rogues & Sworn Brothers” and “Nobdoy’s Darlings.” Whereas, The Sundogs music was totally new to me. I’ve since picked up their first release, “BB Gun Days,” off of iTunes.

Here’s a selection The Sundogs’ are offering for download from their site: Bitter Tears.

It was a real pleasure to see these bands live and to discover how genuine and nice they are off-stage. When you consider the work of these two bands, and the contributions of bands like Mofro, Drive-By Truckers and Tishamingo it’s easy to see that Southern Rock is alive and well.