(BOONEVILLE, KY) – It’s not often that a bluegrass band comes around sporting tattoos and singing about things that some radio stations of that genre might find a bit too left of center. But that’s exactly what Randall Deaton liked about Shotgun Holler, the new five-piece bluegrass band with an edge, when he signed them to his Dry Lightning Records.
Shotgun Holler was founded by mandolinist Shawn Brock and vocalist/guitarist Matt Jones out of a desire to create substantive music in the genre they love. The duo then brought on bassist Rod Lunger, banjo player Nathan Treadway, and fiddle player Evan McGregor who all hail from various cities around the Midwest. On the new record, Loaded, Jones penned three of the album’s 11 tracks: “I’ve Got Ramblin On My Mind,” “Miners Grave,” and “One Lone Tree.” The rest of the record showcases the band’s modern take on bluegrass songs, as well as their unique renditions of the alt-country song, “Methamphetamine” by Son Volt, and “Relatively Easy” by singer/songwriter Jason Isbell, who is a former member of alt-country band Drive-By Truckers
Of the Son Volt and Isbell covers, Deaton says, “I think these drug-abuse-related songs are good examples of the band doing non-traditional bluegrass themed material and are some of the most interesting cuts on this record.”
“We don’t really fit the typical bluegrass mold of today. Instrumentally we are pretty recognizable as bluegrass. We’re using the traditional bluegrass instruments – banjo, guitar, upright bass, mandolin, and fiddle. Where we tend to cross into other areas is the content that we choose to sing about, which can be very non-traditional. Lyrically, all of the songs aren’t necessarily wholesome,” Brock said.
Loaded was produced by Mountain Heart founding member Jim Van Cleve at Lonesome Day Studios in Booneville, Kentucky and is set to be released and distributed by Dry Lightning Records and Sony Red on June 30. Van Cleve has produced award winning projects spanning a variety of genres for acts such as Mountain Heart, Newfound Road, Del Shields, Celebration of Life II (Musicians Against Childhood Cancer), Annabelle Road, his own Grammy Nominated solo project, and the IBMA Awards Show Theme, among others. Van Cleve engineered the album with Greg Lawrence. Van Cleve, Brock, and Jones mixed the project.
Available now via Airplay Direct, Loaded is ranked #9 for the month with “My Bucket’s Got A Hole In It,” in the Top 50.
album cover: Loaded
Loaded Track Listing
- “Out In The Parkin’ Lot”
- “I Hope Heaven Has a Holler”
- “My Bucket’s Got A Hole In It”
- “Methamphetamine”
- “Clovis Johnson’s Old Red GMC”
- “Relatively Easy”
- “I’ve Got Ramblin On My Mind”
- “This Side Of The Grass”
- “Miners Grave”
- “One Lone Tree”
- “I Should Have Started Yesterday”
Shotgun Holler on tour:
May 29, Wick’s Pizza, Louisville Kentucky
May 31, Kentucky Railway Museum, New haven Kentucky
June 4, Miami University concert series, Oxford Ohio
June 11, Parlay Social, Lexington Kentucky
June 13, State Theater, Point Pleasant West Virginia
May 14, private event, Brookville Indiana
June 18, Columbus Convention Ctr., Columbus, OH
June 27, venue TBA CD release party, Cincinnati Ohio
July 4, Fountain Square, Cincinnati Ohio
July 4, Gypsies, Covington Kentucky
About Dry Lightning Records
Dry Lightning Records was established with the goal of giving a broader range of artists from Lonesome Day Records their own home while allowing the Lonesome Day brand to continue to emerge in the bluegrass market where it has already made a mark over the last 12 years. Randall Deaton has put as much passion and energy into Dry Lightning Records as he has Lonesome Day Records since its origin in 2002. Like Lonesome Day Records the inspiration for the name Dry Lightning Records comes from the title of a Bruce Springsteen song. In partnership with Sony/RED Distribution, the label also includes the critically acclaimed acts Girls Guns and Glory and Sarah Borges.
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