Southern Gothic Revival will be performing at the Drunken Unicorn on Saturday, January 8th as the headliner.
Southern Gothic Revival is an all original Voodoo Rock, Smokey Jazz and Bordello Blues Band
Southern Gothic Revival on Facebook
Cadillac Saints are the second act of the evening.
The Cadillac Saints is a five-piece southern rock/blues band based in Chattanooga, TN. The band consists of brothers Matthew and Jeremy Walley, Jeff Copeland, Brett Nolan, and Jeremy Muse. The band began with the brothers, Matthew and Jeremy, growing up playing guitar and writing music together.
The addition of bassist and vocalist, Jeff Copeland, came in the summer of 2009. Shortly before fall of that year, the addition of local veteran drummer Jeremy Muse came about. After the first rehearsals, the four realized that there was something special about the journey they were embarking on together.
Brett Nolan, a long-time Chattanooga musician, on keys joined the band in February 2010 for a few dates and became a permanent member the next month.
The Cadillac Saints have in a short time achieved what, in some bands, takes a lifetime, synchronicity and a love for fans that drives them.
Cadillac Saints on Facebook
To Light A Fire are the opening act.
Although the story of To Light A Fire may seem to have just begun, in truth it began many years ago in the form of a burning passion for music, sown into the heart of a child.
Ben Smolin was born into a musical family and began playing violin when he was 5 years old. By high school, when asked what he was going to be when he grew up Ben would plainly state that one day he was going to be a rock star. "Thinking back, people would always laugh but I wasn't trying to be funny or anything," Ben explained, "I guess people could have taken it the wrong way like I was trying to show off or something. . . . . I just knew in my heart that I was born to play music and no matter what it took I was going to make it happen."
He played in several different projects but his sincerity and drive was not quite usual for someone in high school and the results were often less than stellar. "I remember this one group I started with another guy in my class," Ben recalls, laughing, "I was convinced we were going to be the next U2 even though we had never played before. I got to this kid's house and he told me that we couldn't practice because his parents said he had to mow the lawn and clean his room. I was so excited about playing music that I spent two hours mowing his front lawn and cleaning his room for him. After all that he told me that he had homework to do and so we couldn't practice anyway. I was always getting crushed like that." Meanwhile the answer he was seeking was surprisingly closer than he realized. Tyler Cody attended the same school two grades below Ben and they played on the same snare line together. Tyler began playing drums when he turned 12 but his musical revelation came a year earlier. "I remember walking into this big music store and seeing all the guitars up on the wall. There was this one guitar up at the top of the display and for some reason it just sucked me in. I couldn't stop staring. I didn't know how to play at all," Tyler remembers, shaking his head, "But somehow at that moment I understood that my purpose here on earth was to play guitar."
At 13 Tyler began practicing constantly, working his way through tab books full of Megadeth and Metallica licks. "Name any 80's metal song," he laughs, "I knew it."
During Ben's senior year the two became friends and when their joint love for music was realized they decided to try joining forces. The chemistry was immediately evident although their musical influences were far from similar. "It was interesting," Ben remembers, "We would write a song and I would be like 'How can we make this sound more like Coldplay?' Tyler would be like, 'This needs to sound more like Metallica.' "
After frequenting the local coffee house scene for a couple of months the need for other players became apparent. At the time Ben was dating a girl named Alison who enjoyed singing harmonies. It wasn't long before Alison joined the group, singing and keeping time with a shaker and a bass drum. Alison's inherent understanding of the drums became more and more evident and soon she began playing set, learning as she went. "It was awesome for me," Alison points out, "Most people learn an instrument and search for years before they ever find the right group of people to play with. I got to learn drums specifically to play in a band."
About a year later the trio met Shane and within a couple of weeks he had officially joined the group. "We all knew that Shane was right from the start," remembers Tyler. "There was something about him that just fit. From the time that he first walked into the practice room we all knew that he was meant to play bass with us." With Shane's added influences the group started to write wholeheartedly and began performing in the local bars.
Andrew Flickinger had played guitar and sang in other projects with Ben and after hearing the fledgling group perform at a local open mic night he began regularly attending their shows. "Something about them just drew me in," Flick remembers, "It wasn't that they were perfect or anything. It was more that they seemed to approach the music from such an open perspective. I knew it was something that, if given the chance, I could really add too" He was not alone in his thinking. A couple of weeks later he received a phone call from Ben asking if he wanted to try playing with the group. "I was at the beach with Alison's family and we were sitting in Wendy's," recalls Ben, "I don't know why I thought of it, but I just knew it was what was supposed to happen next. I got so excited that I couldn't even finish my sandwich. I just got up, ran out of the restaurant and called him."
In January 2009, after a couple of months of playing together, the group self-recorded their first CD, a 5 song EP of mellow indie music. That summer they played shows almost every weekend, performing in the surrounding states. The response was encouraging, but as the group continued to evolve musically, the need for a new CD soon became quite clear. In January 2010 the group teamed up with local producer Joseph McQueen (Dos Amigos Recordings), and recorded their first full length CD, Inward Dwelling.
"I think our first EP could best be described as a stepping stone," explains Flick, "We are all proud of what that it represents but its not who we really are. Part of the reason we are all so excited about Inward Dwelling is because it is a record that really does accurately portray who we are and what we are about."
With the CD coming out in a couple months and new plans just around the corner, the members of To Light A Fire like to think that they are on the right path. "I think we are right where we need to be," says Ben, "We have a long road ahead of us but we've also come a long way. Right now everyone just feels very blessed to be a part of this group and to be able to do what we were put on this earth to do: to play music."
To Light A Fire on Facebook
$5, 21+
Doors @ 9 pm
