Piper & the Hard Times
The trio of vocalist Al “Piper” Green, guitarist Steve Eagon and drummer Dave Colella — better known as Piper & the Hard Times — had one modest goal in mind when they went to Memphis last year. Representing Nashville in the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge, the band simply wanted to make a good impression on a crowd composed of equal parts blues fans, competing bands, music journalists and industry insiders.
“Sure, we wanted to win, but no, we had no illusions or thoughts about that,” Eagon tells the Scene during a conversation with the whole group. “We just wanted to make a good showing.”
The Hard Times hit that mark and then some: They took first place in the competition’s band division. Not only has the win boosted the trio’s bookings and media coverage, but it’s also led to the seasoned ensemble, who’ve been playing together since the early 2000s, recording their debut album Revelation. They’ll celebrate the album with two performances on Friday, first at 3rd and Lindsley for WMOT Roots Radio’s Finally Fridays program, and later at Papa Turney’s BBQ’s venue Miss Zeke’s Juke Joint.
Cut over the course of a three-day marathon session at Music Row studio Ronnie’s Place, Revelation is a searing, musically delightful portrait that includes everything that makes Piper & the Hard Times special. They come across as a contemporary group steeped in and fortified by the blues, yet easily able to incorporate elements of rock, jazz, soul, pop and gospel into their blend.
“One of the things that we’ve always done is emphasize our own sound, something that’s very much a reflection of our different musical experiences,” Colella says. “For one thing, Al can sing the hell out of anything we give him. Then we’re very much into the groove and the storytelling aspect of the blues, plus the improvisational flavor of jazz, and all of us have grown up hearing rock, pop, funk and soul. So you get all those things as part of what we do.”
The mix of musical personalities is well in keeping with the trio’s diverse backgrounds. Eagon grew up in Northern Ohio and has been a guitarist since his teen years. His playing is equally influenced by Chicago blues and the British Invasion. Colella has been drumming since childhood — he once was a pupil of Dave Brubeck mainstay Joe Morello — and came to Nashville from New Jersey in the 1990s with the band Timberwolf. Green grew up singing in a gospel choir in Bolivar, Tenn., while also hearing soul, pop and rock on Top 40 radio. He touts his uncle, a Chicago resident, as a major influence.
“I remember him coming in for visits in this huge Cadillac,” says Green. “He’d have these blues folks with him. I got from him the color and the style — the essence of the blues.”
So it follows that there’s plenty of thematic variety throughout Revelation. But it is also grounded in hard-edged musical energy, driven by Green’s soulful, powerful lead vocals. There are aspects of Texas shuffle in “The Hard Times” and strains of rock and funk in “Heart for Sale”; gospel and R&B-flavored passion and fury color “Twenty Long Years”; and some Crescent City flavor infuses “Trouble Man.” All 12 songs are originals, something else that’s a group trademark, though Eagon says they’re certainly not opposed to doing covers, and points out that the blues world often judges groups, especially in their early days, on how well they do them.
“We certainly know a lot of the classics,” says Eagon. “But for us, we see the blues as a foundation to work off and from, and a way to enhance our own writing. Clearly we love those old songs, but for us the challenge is how we apply what we hear to the present.”
Despite the ups and downs, the band has stayed together for more than two decades. It’s a testament to their enjoyment of each other as bandmates and their belief that eventually things were going to happen for them. Now the band is at what feels like a turning point.
“We’re all from different backgrounds, and I grew up — and still live — in the country,” says Green. “That’s both my escape and my inspiration. I really enjoy that. But it’s also such a joy to get together with these guys and perform, and we’re really hitting our stride now as a group. It’s something that you can hear in the sessions, and I think on the album as well, that we’re now at a peak as a band musically, and we’re looking forward to keeping it going for years to come.”
