You know what?....I get absolutely stoked beyond belief when i find someone new to add to the music collection, and on this occasion I was thumbing through a recent issue of the worlds greatest music mag, Classic Rock, and I saw a picture of this dude with some exceptional sideburns and he was surrounded by equally hairy gentleman, these guys turned out to be Blackberry Smoke,
I read the story and nigh on immediately jumped onto YouTube to see what I could see as related to this group of blokes.
Suffice it to say I was 1000% impressed, enough to buy some content and upon its arrival, i was won over totally.
Now, I cant honestly say I'm a humongous southern rock fan, a smattering of Skynyrd and a couple of Molly Hatchet tracks with a smidge of Allman Brothers and a couple of tracks from the Little Ol band from texas, have been about it up to now....
BUT...I reckon Ronnie Van Zant is smiling like a madman whilst looking on from wherever he is, if you listen real close, your not only gonna hear a bit of ZZ Top and Skynyrd but you might even catch a whiff of Aerosmith, a hint of Van Halen and a dash of Led Zep....
yep the boys favourites are all in there....it cant be in anyway argued that them boys aint got a groove going on...yep, Im hooked ....
and I think its fair to say that Charlie and the boys are truly four right on Southern gents who have lept to the top of my southern rock list ....
SO here is the story of Blackberry Smoke
Blackberry Smoke is (mostly) from Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The lineup consists of Charlie Starr (Lead Vocals, Guitar), Richard Turner (Bass, Vocals), Brit Turner (Drums), Paul Jackson (Guitar, Vocals), and Brandon Still (Keyboards).
They have performed both headliner and as the supporting act for artists such as Zac Brown Band, Eric Church, ZZ Top & Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Building on the Lynyrd Skynyrd Southern rock template, with a good dose of outlaw honky tonk country and a little bit of bluegrass, gospel, and R&B mixed in, Blackberry Smoke formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2000 and quickly built a loyal fan base on the Southern tour circuit.
The group released a debut album, Bad Luck Ain't No Crime, in 2004 on Cock of the Walk Records, then followed it with the self-released EP New Honky Tonk Bootlegs in 2008. A second EP, Little Piece of Dixie, appeared from Big Karma Records that same year.
A full-length album, this one also called Little Piece of Dixie, was released in 2009 by BamaJam Records. The band then signed with Zac Brown's Southern Ground Records, which released The Whippoorwill in 2012. The Whippoorwill was picked up by Earache, who formally signed the band in 2013. A deluxe live audio and video package entitled Leave a Scar: Live North Carolina was issued in the summer of 2014.
Taking a short break from touring, they entered the studio with producer Brendan O'Brien and emerged less than two weeks later with Holding All the Roses, then went straight back to working on the road. The album was issued in February of 2015.
ALBUMS
Bad Luck Ain't No Crime
Little Piece of Dixie
The Whippoorwill
Holding All the Roses
Live Albums
Leave a Scar, Live: North Carolina
EP's
New Honky Tonk Bootlegs
Little Piece of Dixie
Singles
2009 "Good One Comin' On"
2013 "Pretty Little Lie"
"Ain't Much Left of Me"
2015 "Living in the Song"
Music videos
Year Video Director
2009 "Good One Comin' On"
2013 "Pretty Little Lie
2014 "Shakin' Hands with the Holy Ghost
"Six Ways to Sunday
2015 "Too High"
