The Alabastards, with Todd the Fox
WHERE: One Eyed Jacks, 2638 Colonel Glenn Highway, Fairborn
WHEN: 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23
Cost: Free
MORE INFO: (937) 426-3400 or www.oneeyeddayton.com
ARTIST INFO: www.thealabastards.com
Call it alt-country, Southern rock or Americana — the tag doesn’t really matter. The fact is there’s a large local fan base for rocked-up, country-flavored music and a real shortage of area bands plowing that sonic terrain.
Enter The Alabastards, a seven-piece roots rock wrecking crew comprised of Greg Shaddix (vocals, acoustic guitar), Matt Bourelle (electric guitar), Justin Farrell (bass) Brett Parsons (banjo), Mark Combs (harmonica), Jeff Harbour (steel guitar) and Chris Tilley (drums).
“I didn’t feel like anybody was doing what we’re doing,” Shaddix said. “There’s not really an all-original country band around, especially not the kind of music we’re playing. For me, I don’t necessarily call it country. It’s just what we do. It’s obviously got a country vein to it, you can’t help that, but I think we had something to offer that wasn’t out there.”
The Alabastards — which began practicing as a seven-piece group in October 2009 — mix traditional country, bluegrass, Western swing and blues with a healthy dose of rock. And despite the acoustic instrumentation, this group does kick up a ruckus.
“We all came from playing different styles of music,” Bourelle said. “We’ve all played rock ’n’ roll for years. Our drummer was in the heavy metal band Fluwid, and the other guys have played bluegrass and traditional country.”
The group is working with Brian Whitten at Center City Studio on its debut album, which should be released in early 2011. Until that’s completed, the band members are focused on refining their stage show.
“We want it all to be cohesive so we usually have Todd the Fox open for us,” Bourelle said. “The music starts at 9:30 and goes until at least 1:30. It starts with Todd and rolls into us. Me, Chris and Justin come up and play with Todd for his last few songs and then it goes right into our set. It’s definitely a show.”
The Alabastards and Todd the Fox perform at One Eyed Jacks in Fairborn on Saturday, Oct. 23.
“I’d consider One Eyed Jacks our home bar,” Shaddix said. “It’s definitely my favorite place to play. We always get a big response there. The crowd is there to hear music. The bands at One Eyed Jacks run the gamut and they’re really open to it. They enjoy music — it doesn’t matter what it is.
“That works good for us because we’re an all-original band,” he added. “A lot of places want cover bands. We’re not a cover band and we’re not going to be a cover band.”
CONTACT contributing arts and music writer Don Thrasher at donaldthrasher8@aol.com.
About the Author