A respected Nashville musician is leaving Music City for the Pacific Northwest this month. Larry Knechtel, the studio pro and virtuosic instrumentalist whose résumé reads like an encyclopedia of classic American pop recordings, is moving to a ranch near the Canadian border in Washington state. A former member of the ’70s pop group Bread, Knechtel is rejoining lead singer David Gates for a Bread reunion and tour this summer, and he reportedly decided to put his house on the market rather than leave it empty for the duration of the tour.
Knechtel isn’t leaving Music City quietly, however. This Monday night, bassist Dave Pomeroy is converting his weekly “Monday Night Madness” gig at the Exit/In into a “musical bon voyage” for the renowned sideman. Joining Pomeroy to bid Knechtel happy trails will be Duane Eddy, songwriter Todd Cerney (“I’ll Still Be Loving You”), blues musician Junior Markham, and any number of well-wishing studio players. The Memorial Day show will begin at 9 p.m. sharp—which, if it happens, will in itself represent an historic occasion at the Exit/In.
Best known for playing piano on Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Waters,” Knechtel rose to prominence as an all-purpose sideman with the legendary L.A. studio unit known as “the Wrecking Crew,” playing bass on the Beach Boys’ “Help Me, Rhonda” and the Byrds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man” and keyboards on Ike and Tina Turner’s “River Deep, Mountain High” and the Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds.” He also played in the house band at Monterey Pop and backed Elvis Presley in his televised ’68 comeback special. In recent years Knechtel toured and recorded with Elvis Costello and performed on any number of Nashville country sessions. In other words, the guy probably won’t be hurting for work.
Tall and lanky, with a soul patch and a deep voice that says outta my way, Sonny George looks and sounds every inch the rockabilly hepcat he is. The former Planet Rocker released a fine solo CD last year, Sonny George’s Rockin’ Country and Western Roundup Vol. 1, with a cast of buddies and former bandmates that included guitarists Eddie Angel and George Bradfute, multi-instrumentalist Fats Kaplin, and drummer Steve Ebe. George and his band, the Tennessee Sons, will dish out more of what he calls “rockabilly with a capital B” June 1 at the Captain’s Table, the cool Printer’s Alley nightspot that hosted the dynamic recent show by the Kaisers. Expect several Planet Rockers tunes to appear in the set.
On Sunday, the Cannery helps Kick Off the Summer with a benefit concert featuring five local performers. Money raised at the roots/country music extravaganza will go to help Kevin Warner, a young Nashvillian with cerbral palsy, pay for expensive biofeedback treatments. The treatments may enable Warner—who, along with his mother Lisa, is an active fund-raiser for United Cerebral Palsy and Easter Seals—to walk for the first time in his life. Leading off the Sunday-night bill is Susan Marshall, whose My Own Time on Reptile Records recently cracked into the top 20 of Gavin’s Americana chart. The record features the talents of several esteemed Nashville-area residents, including Duane Eddy, Warner Hodges, Jerry Dale McFadden, and ace steel guitarist Weldon Myrick.
Also on the bill are Dignus, who just this month celebrated the release of their debut LP, In Your World; country-rockabilly outfit The Billygoats; Murfreesboro’s Hank Flamingo; and J.T. Blanton, whose debut solo LP is due out soon (see below). A donation of at least 10 bucks will get you into the affair, which will also feature a celebrity silent auction of items donated by such luminaries as Brooks & Dunn, Blues Traveler, Lorrie Morgan, Joan Osborne, and the Allman Brothers.
Jazziz magazine released its reader’s poll this month, and Nashville resident and banjoist extraordinaire Bela Fleck is a repeat winner in the miscellaneous category. Veteran organist Jimmy Smith, also a Middle Tennesssee resident, won again in the organ category. Other winners include Pat Metheny, Joshua Redman, Abbey Lincoln and Christian McBride. Meanwhile, Fleck and his Flecktones will perform on the soundtrack of the upcoming Demi Moore film Striptease.
Brentwood-based contemporary Christian labels Sparrow and Star Song celebrate their 20th anniversary this summer with a special giveway promotion. Beginning June 15, consumers will be able to get a free copy of a limited-edition sampler CD, Hear and Beyond, featuring 17 tracks by CeCeWinans, Charlie Peacock, Newsboys, Lisa Bevil and others, when they buy selected releases on Star Song and Sparrow. You probably won’t need to rush to your nearest retailer if you want one, though: The labels plan to make more than 400,000 copies available.
Watch for a rare local club appearance this Tuesday at the Sutler by Gwil Owen, one of Nashville’s most underrated songwriters. In the late 1980s, Owen led the local pop band the Thieves, who released a swell Marshall Crenshaw-produced LP called Seduced By Money in 1989; since then, Owen has recorded singles for Brooklyn’s Diesel Only rig-rock label and penned songs for blues singer Toni Price. Owen is signing with D’Ville Records here, and he’ll record his upcoming album with producer Garry Tallent (The Floating Men, Steve Forbert). Owen performs Tuesday night with R.B. Morris, Marc-Alan Barnett, and Suzette Rene and the Neon Angels at the Western Beat Barndance.
It’s been a while since the glory days of Royal Court of China, but J.T. Blanton’s still plugging away, albeit in a somewhat more countrified vein. This month sees the release of the singer-guitarist’s debut solo recording, J.T. Blanton Live From the Bullpen, on Renegade Records. The LP captures a sold-out March 11 performance at the famed Stock-Yard lounge. “Songwriting and oil painting are essentially the same thing to me,” muses Blanton in his very enthusiastic press kit. “You push and pull the colors or words from your soul around until they make sense and hopefully bring something new to a very traditional medium.” Sounds messy. Blanton will play a record release party Wednesday, May 29, at Douglas Corner.
Elliptical dispatches: Coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the release of Wanted: The Outlaws, country’s first million-selling album, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson have both signed recording contracts with labels located outside of Nashville. Nelson has become the first country artist ever signed to Island Records. He will release an acoustic album and then begin work with producer Don Was on an album of reggae versions of his own hits. Jennings has signed with Texas-based Justice Records. His first album for the label, Right for the Time, is due out this week....
Reba McEntire has been working in the studio on her next album with coproducer John Guess, who has worked with Linda Davis for the past three years. McEntire had been coproducing with MCA president Tony Brown since 1990’s Rumor Has It, but Brown says both he and McEntire felt it was time for her to work with someone else....
In other recording news, Garth Brooks has been recording several East Coast concerts with plans to release a live album before the end of the year. Iris DeMent has been working with producer Randy Scruggs at his Scruggs Sound Studio. It will be her first album without studio help from producer Jim Rooney....
Collin Wade Monk has a track on Bam Balam Explosion Vol. 3, a Spanish compilation of American pop groups. The song, “If She Comes Again,” was recorded with the Memphis groove band DDT. Monk and his band, which includes guitarists Dan Baird and George Bradfute, keyboardist Jack Irwin and drummer Steve Ebe, open for Donkey at 12th & Porter on May 31....
Nashville singer-songwriter Doug Hoekstra will perform at New York City’s famous club the Bottom Line in late June. A track from Hoekstra’s Rickety Stairs LP is slated to appear on an upcoming compilation by influential New York deejay Vin Scelsa, who has recommended Hoekstra on his WNEW radio show....
