Nashville Honky Tonk Orchestra

(Karma King) The Honky Tonk Orchestra brings together 9 outstanding musicians with musically varied backgrounds for this diverse disc that combines elements of honky tonk, western swing, rockabilly and country-rock with flourishes of Mexican, ragtime, rock, blues and jazz, and blends it all into a unique sound.

The impressive lineup for the Honky Tonk Orchestra reads as follows:

LIN POULSON- "The Oregon Boy" – Cowboy crooner and hillbilly rendered. Poulson brings his years of experience from northwest honky tonks and grange halls to the forefront as a lead vocalist and guitarist.

JERRY PREVOST- Prevost provides a unique style of song oriented drumming honed by work with the likes of Bobby Bare, Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer: Sam Moore, and the terrific talent throughout the lower Broadway Nashville strip.

JIMMY CLARK- Clark brings fiddle, trumpet, steel guitar, his own 4-string guitar tuning and songwriting to the band. His touring credits include: Johnny Paycheck, Loretta Lynn and Hank Thompson. In addition to co-producing The Orchestra, Clark appears on recently released albums by Acoustic Alchemy, Brasilbilly, and the Dorados as well as little Hollywood Studio Projects for Johnny B and Joni Bishop.

RANDY KOHRS- Kohrs mixes in his high-energy brand of dobro/steel guitar and bluegrass inflected harmonies to the band. He is currently touring with John Cowan after a successful stint with the award-winning group: Continental Divide.

JAY D. WEAVER- Weaver is one of Nashville’s premier bass artists. He is a member of Tanya Tucker’s touring band and has recorded with Hank Thompson, Kitty Wells and Scotty Moore. Weaver plays electric and acoustic bass on this project.

ROBERT CHEVRIER- Robbie is a very versatile writer, vocalist, and pianist who can flip from dance band to pop and r&b to jazz. A native Canadian, he grew up like band mates, Lin Poulson and Jimmy Cark, playing with his dad at dances.

DAN MONTGOMERY- Montgomery is a Gary Burton inspired jazz vibraphonist who brings a unique style to the Honky Tonk Orchestra. Montgomery manages Green Hills Music (Nashville, TN) and also works with fiddle great: Buddy Spicher in his western swing/jazz group.

JOHN MC TIGUE III- An amazing percussionist, arranger and drummer with varied recording and touring credits: Wylie and the Wild West Show, Keith Gattis & Hank Williams III. McTigue plays bells, chimes and triangle on this project.

MARK UDE/"TEX AUSTIN"- "Tex" is a saxophonist in the tradition of Don Markham and Merle Haggard or Clarence Clemmons with Bruce Springsteen. He lends his trucker style vocals to "The Truck Drivin’ Song".

The disc opens up with the jazzy western swing number, "New Broken Heart In Texas." They then shift gear into the instrumental "Mr. Paranoia," which starts off in Ventures/surfer rock mode, where mid-stream the melody switches over to a bit of Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (think The Lonely Bull), and then back again into Ventures mode. They give a breezy, swinging, almost European flavor to the shuffling "You're Nobody's Fool." With blistering guitar licks and pounding piano, "Honky Tonk Jail" is a pure, driving rockabilly rave-up. Mark Ude's way-down-deep baritone on "The Truck Drivin' Song" makes for some campy fun.

"Easier To Do" is a country-rocker which has a more contemporary feel to it, with strong harmonies and an infectious groove. Here Mark Ude shows off his 'Clarence Clemmons' sax style, as this one has a strong, jangly Springsteen/E Street influence to it. The band then turns on a dime and delivers a shuffling "Don't Knock On My Door," with ragtime flourishes. "Mama Bear" is an old time honky tonker. They then shift back to a more contemporary country sound with the ballad "I Should Have Known, What I Know Now," but carefully avoids saccharine territory with a strongly written song and well performed arrangement. To close things out, they crank it up loud and deliver my personal favorite, "17 Things." This one reminds me of everything that was so great about those old Sun recordings. They throw everything into this stew- from rockabilly to R&B, wailing guitars and hot fiddle licks, fat bass lines and tasty trumpet & sax, soulful lead vocals and strong harmonies.

The Honky Tonk Orchestra has delivered something that's been greatly missing from music for a long time- unrestrained creativity. With 9 members there's a lot of musical influences there, and they've found a way to blend them all together, resulting in a disc of music that captures and holds your attention with it's sheerly innovative and imaginative approach, you never know where they're going or what to expect with each song. Nashville Honky Tonk Orchestra isn't straight up anything, but a unique, tasty stew that includes everything, for those who appreciate music that's not only great, but dares to be different.

www.karmaking.com/artists/honky_tonk/honky_tonk_music.htm

AnnMarie Harrington Take Country Back February 2003