Slobberbone is an American
alt-country
Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style f ...
band from
Denton, Texas
Denton is a city in and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, United States. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 27th-most populous city in Texas, the 197th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous ...
, led by singer-songwriter Brent Best, Cody Garcia, Tony Harper, and Brian Lane.
Best continues to tour as a solo act, performing both songs by Slobberbone and The Drams, and songs from his solo record, but also reunites with both bands for shows with full band line-ups.
History
Slobberbone formed in early 1992 in
Denton, Texas
Denton is a city in and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, United States. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 27th-most populous city in Texas, the 197th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous ...
, where the band played for beer and had their first gig at the Park 'n' Go, a beer store in Denton. The best-known line-up consisted of singer-songwriter Brent Best on guitar and lead vocals, Jess Barr on
lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...
, Brian Lane on
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
, and
drummer
A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...
Tony Harper.
The band members met after attending
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...
, where they lived in a house together and played local shows in Denton. Bassist Brian Lane joined the band in 1996 and guitarist Jess Barr in 1997. They eventually signed with the Austin-based record label, Doolittle Records (which eventually merged with
New West Records
New West Records is a record label based in Nashville, Tennessee, and Athens, Georgia. It had offices in Burbank, California, and Beverly Hills, California. The label was established in 1998 by Cameron Strang "for artists who perform real music ...
).
Their name is a reference to a dog's chew bone.
From 1995 onwards, Slobberbone as a band solidified its lineup and began playing shows outside of Texas, becoming known for its extensive touring schedule across the United States.
Jeff Cole from Doolittle Records produced the first two Slobberbone records.
Jim Dickinson
James Luther Dickinson (November 15, 1941 – August 15, 2009) was an American record producer, pianist, and singer who fronted, among others, the band Mud Boy and the Neutrons, based in Memphis, Tennessee.
Biography
Dickinson was born in Lit ...
, who among other work is known for
The Replacements, produced ''Everything You Thought Was Right Was Wrong Today,'' working with the band to record at
Ardent Studios
Ardent Studios is an American recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee, United States.
History
Ardent Studios was founded by John Fry and were initially a studio in his family's garage, where he recorded his first 45s for the Arden ...
in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
.
Don Smith of
Tommy Stinson
Thomas Eugene Stinson (born October 6, 1966) is an American rock musician. He came to prominence in the 1980s as the bass guitarist for The Replacements, one of the definitive American alternative rock groups. After their breakup in 1991, Stins ...
's
Bash & Pop and
Cracker, produced ''Slippage'' in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, California.
In early 2005, the band announced that it was calling it quits because Lane was moving to Florida.
Slobberbone played a series of shows for their final farewell tour.
In 2009, the band (with the 2005 lineup) reunited for a series of shows. At the end of 2009, the reformed band, with Lane returned to Texas from Florida, announced that they plan on recording a new album in 2010 before going out on another tour.
In May 2011, the band's drummer posted a blog entry stating that the planned mini-tour and merchandise sales would help provide the necessary funding for the band's long-anticipated album.
Outside of the United States, the band is popular in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, where Slobberbone has toured intensively in the main clubs and on festivals since 1998.
The Drams
In 2005, most of the band's members reformed as The Drams when Best was scheduled to play a full band show as a solo act.
Two members from Denton, Texas' Budapest One, Keith Killoren and Chad Schlockslager, are members of The Drams. The Drams play rock with the inclusion of background vocals and keyboards. Their record, ''Jubilee Dive,'' was produced by
Centro-Matic's
Matt Pence
Matthew Louis Pence (born April 13, 1972) is an American recording engineer, producer, and drummer. He owns and manages The Echo Lab studio in Denton, Texas.
Early life and education
Pence is from St. Louis, Missouri.
In 1990, Pence moved to Den ...
and came out on mini-major
New West Records
New West Records is a record label based in Nashville, Tennessee, and Athens, Georgia. It had offices in Burbank, California, and Beverly Hills, California. The label was established in 1998 by Cameron Strang "for artists who perform real music ...
.
Brent Best
Best was born on September 1, 1970, in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
, although his family moved to a nearby small town in Texas shortly after. When he was young he played in a band with his friend, singer-songwriter Kevin Kerby, from his teenage years onwards.
They had a two-man band which they described as "Black Grass" that was called Sad Monkey Railroad. Best was able to co-write with Kerby, and produced the first self-released Slobberbone record with him.
In 2015, Best released a solo record called ''Your Dog, Champ'' on
Last Chance Records. The record which began its start in April 2010, took 5 years to make and was crowd-funded.
The record was well received. Grady Don Sandlin played drums and Ralph White (
Bad Livers
The Bad Livers were an American band from Austin, Texas, United States, whose inventive musical style defied attempts to categorize them according to existing genres.McLeese, Don. "Musical Mayhem: Bill Monroe, Metallica inspire Bad Livers' High-S ...
),
Petra Kelly
Petra Karin Kelly (29 November 1947 – 1 October 1992) was a German Green politician and ecofeminist activist. She was a founding member of the German Green Party, the first Green party to rise to prominence both nationally in Germany and wo ...
, Scott Danbom (
Centro-Matic,
Sarah Jaffe
Sarah Allison Jaffe (born January 29, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter from Denton, Texas. Known for her distinctively clear vocals, she has worked as a singer-songwriter across many musical genres, including acoustic-folk, indie pop and ...
) and Claude Bernard (
The Gourds
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
) also contributed to the record.
Best contributed the song "Robert Cole" to the
Bloodshot Records
Bloodshot Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, which specializes in alternative country.
History
Bloodshot Records was founded in 1994 by Nan Warshaw, Rob Miller, and Eric Babcock, who knew each other from jobs ...
compilation, ''Just One More, A Musical Tribute to Larry Brown.''
Recognition
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
mentioned the band's song "Gimme Back My Dog" in his novel ''
Black House.''
He also listed the song as one of the top three greatest rock and roll songs ever in his column in ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
.''
Although never publicly confirmed, the album ''Slippage'' could very well be Slobberbone's nod to King. The word 'slippage' is an important term in ''Black House.''
King also mentions Slobberbone as a favorite of protagonist Richard Sifkitz in the novella Stationary Bike.
Drive-By Truckers
Drive-By Truckers are an American rock band based in Athens, Georgia. Two of five current members (Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley) are originally from The Shoals region of northern Alabama and met as roommates at the University of North Alabama ...
front man
Patterson Hood
Patterson David Hood (born March 24, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter and co-founder of the band Drive-By Truckers.
Early life
Hood was born in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the son of Jan Patterson Adams and David Hood, the longtime bassist ...
sang on the Slobberbone song "Lazy Guy" on ''Everything You Thought Was Right Was Wrong Today.''
Slobberbone often toured with the
Drive-By Truckers
Drive-By Truckers are an American rock band based in Athens, Georgia. Two of five current members (Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley) are originally from The Shoals region of northern Alabama and met as roommates at the University of North Alabama ...
early in both bands' careers.
Discography
Slobberbone
* 1994: ''Crow Pot Pie'' (self-released)
* 1996: ''Crow Pot Pie'' (Doolittle); contains different songs than original
* 1997: ''Limited Edition'' EP (Doolittle)
* 1997: ''Barrel Chested'' (Doolittle /
New West Records
New West Records is a record label based in Nashville, Tennessee, and Athens, Georgia. It had offices in Burbank, California, and Beverly Hills, California. The label was established in 1998 by Cameron Strang "for artists who perform real music ...
)
* 1998: ''Your Excuse'' Live-EP (Doolittle /
New West Records
New West Records is a record label based in Nashville, Tennessee, and Athens, Georgia. It had offices in Burbank, California, and Beverly Hills, California. The label was established in 1998 by Cameron Strang "for artists who perform real music ...
)
* 2000: ''Everything You Thought Was Right Was Wrong Today'' (
New West Records
New West Records is a record label based in Nashville, Tennessee, and Athens, Georgia. It had offices in Burbank, California, and Beverly Hills, California. The label was established in 1998 by Cameron Strang "for artists who perform real music ...
)
* 2002: ''Slippage'' (
New West Records
New West Records is a record label based in Nashville, Tennessee, and Athens, Georgia. It had offices in Burbank, California, and Beverly Hills, California. The label was established in 1998 by Cameron Strang "for artists who perform real music ...
)
* 2016: ''Bees and Seas: The Best of Slobberbone'' (
New West Records
New West Records is a record label based in Nashville, Tennessee, and Athens, Georgia. It had offices in Burbank, California, and Beverly Hills, California. The label was established in 1998 by Cameron Strang "for artists who perform real music ...
)
Compilations
* 1997: "
Dark as a Dungeon" by
Merle Travis
Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rosewood, Kentucky, United States. His songs' lyrics often discussed both the lives and the economic expl ...
on ''Straight Outta Boone County Cowboy Songs, Home Songs, Western Songs, Mountain Songs'' (
Bloodshot Records
Bloodshot Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, which specializes in alternative country.
History
Bloodshot Records was founded in 1994 by Nan Warshaw, Rob Miller, and Eric Babcock, who knew each other from jobs ...
)
* 1999: "Scuffed" on ''Band-Kits: A Compilation of Denton, Texas Music'' (Quality Park)
* 1999: "Piece of Crap" by
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
on ''This Note's for You Too! A Tribute to Neil Young'' (Interstate Records)
* 2005: "Some New Town" by
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
on ''Thunder Road Tracks Inspired by the Boss'' (
Uncut
Uncut may refer to:
* ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship
* ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997
* '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
)
* 2010: "Placemat Blues" on ''Suburban Home Records Mixtape 5: Someone's Gonna Die'' (Suburban Home)
The Drams
* 2006: ''Jubilee Dive'' (
New West Records
New West Records is a record label based in Nashville, Tennessee, and Athens, Georgia. It had offices in Burbank, California, and Beverly Hills, California. The label was established in 1998 by Cameron Strang "for artists who perform real music ...
)
Brent Best
* 2015: ''Your Dog, Champ'' (Transient Camp Recordings for
Last Chance Records)
References
Further reading
* DeRemer, Leigh Ann. ''Contemporary Musicians. Profiles of the People in Music'' Volume 38. Detroit, Mich: Gale, 2003.
* Gordon, Rev. Keith A. ''Rock Talk: On the Record with Rock Music's Most Interesting Talents''. Franklin, TN: Anthem Pop/Kult Publishing, 2004.
External links
SlobberboneBrent Bestat
Last Chance Records
*
*
{{Authority control
American alternative country groups
New West Records artists
Musical groups established in 1992
Musical groups from Denton, Texas