As I’ve mentioned before, blog posts that aren’t political in nature will have the “PERSONAL BLOG” header so you’ll know to skip over if you aren’t interested.
Those who have been around Yellowhammer for a while will know that prior to launching the communications firm that I run now and doing real estate… prior to being married… prior to Yellowhammer… in what seems like a lifetime ago… I worked in the music industry. I was the frontman for a couple of bands that had some success on MTV and on the radio and toured all over the country for several years. That’s us in the picture above at our last show at the Dothan Civic Center Arena.
We can get into those stories another time.
Although I was the lead singer and songwriter for the group, I was far from the most talented member of the band. That distinction without question belonged to our drummer — who also happens to be my little brother, Brian.
When Brian was 17 and our band was just getting off the ground, my mom wrote him what I still think is one of history’s coolest school absence excuse notes…
Brian is about four years younger than me and can play any instrument he picks up. He’s a world-class drummer, but after our band disbanded he decided to go to the University of North Alabama on a music scholarship to play the trombone. He also plays the guitar, piano and just about whatever else you want. If you want to see something truly hilarious come to my grandparent’s house during the holidays and watch him play rap songs on a dulcimer. Awesome.
Some of the most well-known music of the 20th century came out of North Alabama. And in recent years bands like The Civil Wars and Alabama Shakes have kept the area on the music industry map.
So as you would expect, when my brother showed up on campus at North Alabama, a lot of musicians sought him out to play on their records or join their band.
He politely turned down almost all of them.
He was just being nice when he told a classmate of his named Spencer he’d listen to a few of his songs to see if he’d be willing to play drums for Spencer’s new band, The Old Souls. Then Spencer sat down and began singing a song called “Doomsday.” Before he was done with the first verse, Brian had made up his mind to join the band.
The Old Souls just released their first EP. You can check it out below and pick it up on iTunes by clicking HERE. “Chasing Blues” and “Haunted” are two of my favorite songs on the EP, but I’d suggest starting with “Doomsday,” just like my brother did.
