Slobberbone
The Drams
Slobberbone at White Water Tavern in Little Rock, AR in 2012
Slobberbone at White Water Tavern in Little Rock, AR in 2012
Background information
OriginDenton, Texas, United States
GenresAlt-country
Rock
Years activeSlobberbone
1992–2005;
2006–2014
The Drams
2005–2006
Brent Best
2015–present
LabelsDoolittle Records
New West Records
Last Chance Records
Transient Camp Recordings
MembersSlobberbone
Brent Best
Cody Garcia
Tony Harper
Brian Lane
The Drams
Brent Best
Tony Harper
Keith Killoren
Chad Stockslager
Past membersJess Barr
(Slobberbone guitarist)
Mike Hill
(Slobberbone guitarist)
Lee Parsons
(Slobberbone bass player)
Websiteslobberbone.com

Slobberbone is an American alt-country band from Denton, Texas, led by singer-songwriter Brent Best, Cody Garcia, Tony Harper, and Brian Lane.[1][2] Best continues to tour as a solo act, performing both songs by Slobberbone and The Drams, and songs from his solo record, but also reunites with both bands for shows with full band line-ups.[3]

Jess Barr and Brent Best at Dan's Silverleaf in 2005

History

Slobberbone formed in early 1992 in Denton, Texas, where the band played for beer and had their first gig at the Park 'n' Go, a beer store in Denton. The best-known line-up consisted of singer-songwriter Brent Best on guitar and lead vocals, Jess Barr on lead guitar, Brian Lane on bass guitar, and drummer Tony Harper.[4] The band members met after attending University of North Texas, where they lived in a house together and played local shows in Denton. Bassist Brian Lane joined the band in 1996 and guitarist Jess Barr in 1997. They eventually signed with the Austin-based record label, Doolittle Records[5] (which eventually merged with New West Records).[6][7] Their name is a reference to a dog's chew bone.[2][4]

From 1995 onwards, Slobberbone as a band solidified its lineup and began playing shows outside of Texas, becoming known for its extensive touring schedule across the United States.[8]

Jeff Cole from Doolittle Records produced the first two Slobberbone records.[1] Jim Dickinson, who among other work is known for The Replacements, produced Everything You Thought Was Right Was Wrong Today, working with the band to record at Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee.[7]

Don Smith of Tommy Stinson's Bash & Pop and Cracker, produced Slippage in Los Angeles, California.[2][9]

In early 2005, the band announced that it was calling it quits because Lane was moving to Florida.[10] Slobberbone played a series of shows for their final farewell tour.[11]

In 2009, the band (with the 2005 lineup) reunited for a series of shows. At the end of 2009, the reformed band, with Lane returned to Texas from Florida, announced that they plan on recording a new album in 2010 before going out on another tour.[10] In May 2011, the band's drummer posted a blog entry stating that the planned mini-tour and merchandise sales would help provide the necessary funding for the band's long-anticipated album.[9]

Outside of the United States, the band is popular in the Netherlands, where Slobberbone has toured intensively in the main clubs and on festivals since 1998.[6][9]

The Drams

In 2005, most of the band's members reformed as The Drams when Best was scheduled to play a full band show as a solo act.[6] Two members from Denton, Texas' Budapest One, Keith Killoren and Chad Schlockslager, are members of The Drams. The Drams play rock with the inclusion of background vocals and keyboards. Their record, Jubilee Dive, was produced by Centro-Matic's Matt Pence and came out on mini-major New West Records.[12]

Brent Best

Best was born on September 1, 1970, in Austin, Texas, although his family moved to a nearby small town in Texas shortly after. When he was young he played in a band with his friend, singer-songwriter Kevin Kerby, from his teenage years onwards.[6][13] They had a two-man band which they described as "Black Grass" that was called Sad Monkey Railroad.[14] Best was able to co-write with Kerby, and produced the first self-released Slobberbone record with him.[2]

In 2015, Best released a solo record called Your Dog, Champ on Last Chance Records.[15] The record which began its start in April 2010, took 5 years to make and was crowd-funded.[9][13] The record was well received.[16] Grady Don Sandlin played drums and Ralph White (Bad Livers), Petra Kelly, Scott Danbom (Centro-Matic, Sarah Jaffe) and Claude Bernard (The Gourds) also contributed to the record.[13]

Best contributed the song "Robert Cole" to the Bloodshot Records compilation, Just One More, A Musical Tribute to Larry Brown.[17]

Recognition

Stephen King mentioned the band's song "Gimme Back My Dog" in his novel Black House.[18]: 420, 429  He also listed the song as one of the top three greatest rock and roll songs ever in his column in Entertainment Weekly.[19] Although never publicly confirmed, the album Slippage could very well be Slobberbone's nod to King. The word 'slippage' is an important term in Black House.[18]: 40–42, 46, 48–49, 60, 80, 91, 484, 715  King also mentions Slobberbone as a favorite of protagonist Richard Sifkitz in the novella Stationary Bike.

Drive-By Truckers front man Patterson Hood sang on the Slobberbone song "Lazy Guy" on Everything You Thought Was Right Was Wrong Today.[1] Slobberbone often toured with the Drive-By Truckers early in both bands' careers.[9]

Discography

Slobberbone

  • 1994: Crow Pot Pie (self-released)
  • 1996: Crow Pot Pie (Doolittle); contains different songs than original
  • 1997: Limited Edition EP (Doolittle)
  • 1997: Barrel Chested (Doolittle / New West Records)
  • 1998: Your Excuse Live-EP (Doolittle / New West Records)
  • 2000: Everything You Thought Was Right Was Wrong Today (New West Records)
  • 2002: Slippage (New West Records)
  • 2016: Bees and Seas: The Best of Slobberbone (New West Records)

Compilations

  • 1997: "Dark as a Dungeon" by Merle Travis on Straight Outta Boone County Cowboy Songs, Home Songs, Western Songs, Mountain Songs (Bloodshot Records)
  • 1999: "Scuffed" on Band-Kits: A Compilation of Denton, Texas Music (Quality Park)
  • 1999: "Piece of Crap" by Neil Young on This Note's for You Too! A Tribute to Neil Young (Interstate Records)
  • 2005: "Some New Town" by Bruce Springsteen on Thunder Road Tracks Inspired by the Boss (Uncut)
  • 2010: "Placemat Blues" on Suburban Home Records Mixtape 5: Someone's Gonna Die (Suburban Home)

The Drams

Brent Best

References

  1. 1 2 3 Renshaw, Jerry (July 28, 2000). "Barrel Chested Again: Denton's Slobberbone". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Koepenick, Sean (March 29, 2003). "Slobberbone: Interview with Brent Best". Ear Candy Magazine. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  3. ↑ Poet, J (October 13, 2015). "In Profile: Brent Best". Lone Star Music Magazine. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Copetas, Jeff (August 31, 1997). "Slobberbone - Common Sense". No Depression. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  5. ↑ Hess, Christopher (September 8, 1998). "Doolittle Records". The Weekly Wire via The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Guarino, Mark (August 31, 2006). "The Drams - Back from the Bone break". No Depression. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  7. 1 2 Crain, Zac (April 13, 2000). "The Replacements' Replacement". Dallas Observer. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  8. ↑ Falcon, Jaime-Paul (August 5, 2015). "Brent Best Comes Out the Other Side After Having His Life Turned Upside Down". Dallas Observer. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Smyers, Darryl (April 6, 2012). "Brent Best Talks About Going Solo, The Legacy of Slobberbone and Having Rachel Maddow As a Fan". Dallas Observer. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  10. 1 2 Caligiuri, Jim (May 12, 2010). "Five Years: Back to the 'bone". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  11. ↑ Campbell, Chris (November 30, 2009). "Over the Wires: Brent Best". Bandwagon. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  12. ↑ Caligiuri, Jim (August 11, 2006). "The Drams: Record review". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  13. 1 2 3 Best, Brent (2015). "To all donors to my solo album effort, far too long in the making". Last Chance Records. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  14. ↑ Kerby, Kevin. "Kevin Kerby: Bio". Kevin Kerby Loves You. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  15. ↑ Horowitz, Hal (August 3, 2015). "Brent Best: Your Dog, Champ". American Songwriter. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  16. ↑ Jones, Preston (August 4, 2015). "Lone Star Sounds: New music from Brent Best". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
    - Toland, Michael (August 7, 2015). "Brent Best – Your Dog, Champ". Blurt. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
    - Childs, Bryan aka Romeo Sid Vicious (August 17, 2015). "Brent Best – Your Dog, Champ – 2015 – Nine Bullets". Nine Bullets. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  17. ↑ Paste Staff (February 5, 2007). "Bloodshot to Release Larry Brown Tribute". Paste. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  18. 1 2 King, Stephen (2012). Black House. New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 978-0-375-50439-6. OCLC 875060598. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  19. ↑ King, Stephen (February 1, 2007). "Stephen King on why he loves Ahnuld and hates Celine". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 30, 2015.

Further reading

  • DeRemer, Leigh Ann. Contemporary Musicians. Profiles of the People in Music Volume 38. Detroit, Mich: Gale, 2003. ISBN 978-1-414-41321-1 ISSN 1044-2197 OCLC 527366128
  • Gordon, Rev. Keith A. Rock Talk: On the Record with Rock Music's Most Interesting Talents. Franklin, TN: Anthem Pop/Kult Publishing, 2004. ISBN 978-0-972-04551-3 OCLC 869012537
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