Jon Byrd lived his formative years in small town America in the piney woods of south Alabama, one county over from the birthplace of legendary country artist Hank Williams. When Jon was eight years old, his dad was diagnosed with TB and began singing Jimmie Rogers' "TB Blues" around the house. That same year Jon saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, and his obsession with the musical tension between country and rock was born. The very next year he was conscripted into the drum corps of his tiny school's marching band and played Booker T. and the MG's "Green Onions" while the majorettes held the cymbals and danced. There was no turning back.
In the 1990s Byrd became a central figure in Atlanta's infamous Redneck Underground movement as lead guitarist for the seminal and storied country band Slim Chance and the Convicts (Letters to Mama, 1993, and Twang Peaks, 1996). He also formed the hard country band the Ratchet Set as a musical outlet for his love of old trucking songs and two chord honky-tonk gems. In 1998, Byrd helped country traditionalist Greta Lee record her first full-length cd This Ain't Over Yet, and in 2001, he co-produced and handled lead guitar duties on her follow-up You Must Be Present to Win.
That same year, Byrd relocated to Nashville, Tennessee where he continued to work with the Greta Lee Band. He has also quickly made a name for himself in Music City as talented country singer and Telecaster slinger recording with such fine country and alternative country artists as the dangerously soulful Davis Raines and his Faders, Texas country singer Buck Jones, extraordinary folk-rock songwriter Stephen Simmons, and the rockabilly whirlwind Suzette and her Neon Angels. Byrd has found a musical kinship performing with other fine writers and performers such as Carissa Lee Broadwater, Suzanna Spring, and Ben Blankenship.
In 2004, Byrd began his own musical project "BYRD'S AUTO PARTS" to showcase his songwriting and singing while providing an opportunity to play with his friends, some of the finest young musicians in Nashville. In 2006 the AUTO PARTS crew ventured into the studio to produce a recording many felt was long over due! The result was the CD BYRD'S AUTO PARTS that was officially released Spring '07 and release to Americana Radio that Summer. The critically acclaimed recording reflects Byrd's eclectic tastes in music and a fun-loving performance style.
Jon Byrd has recently lent his authentic voice to a duo with Amelia White on her latest release, and harmony vocals on Eric Brace and Peter Cooper's current project. 2009 has meant more studio time on his next release expected in early 2010. With it, Byrd continue to bring music lovers of all stripes out to hear great country songs sung and played with heart and soul. He's a little more accomplished now, but he's still that little kid playing for the hometown crowd.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Byrd’s Auto Parts~~ The Record and the Band
Category: Music
BYRD'S AUTO PARTS ~~ THE CD
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
The new cd produced by Milan Miller includes 11 songs.
Here are the tracks with times and songwriters:
1. JACKKNIFE (j. byrd) 4:03 ~~
2. REPUTATION (j. byrd) 3:28 ~~
3. IN A PERFECT WORLD (g. simmons/m. miller) 3:51 ~~
4. FREIGHTLINER FEVER (t. lankford) 2:48 ~~
5. DON'T LET ME DOWN (j. lennon/p. mccartney) 3:26 ~~
6. BE REAL (d. sahm) 2:33 ~~
7. STAY (j. byrd) 3:35 ~~
8. (WHEN YOU'RE ON) THE LOSING END (n. young) 4:50 ~~
9. MARK MY WORD (d. primm) 2:52 ~~
10. ONE FINAL ROUND (j. byrd) 3:14 ~~
11. BLISTERED (b. wheeler) 3:20 ~~
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
CD Credits:
JON BYRD: Lead Vocal on all songs; Tenor Vocal on track 4 ~~
Electric Guitars on track 8; Acoustic guitar on track 9 ~~
MILAN MILLER: All Electric & Acoustic Guitars on tracks 1- 7, 10 & 11 ~~
Acoustic Guitar on track 8; Tenor/Harmony Vocal on tracks 1, 2, 5 & 10 ~~
Keyboards on tracks 1- 8 & 10; Mandoin on tracks 1, 2 & 7 ~~
Dobro on track 1; Bass on track 8 ~~
ALEX McCULLOUGH: Bass on all tracks except track 8 ~~
TIM BLANKENSHIP: Drums on all tracks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EDDIE LANG: Pedal Steel Guitar on tracks 2, 3, 4, 6, & 10 ~~
PAT SEVERS: Pedal Steel Guitar on tracks 5, 7, & 8 ~~
BUDDY MELTON: Tenor Vocal on track 6 ~~
ADAM WRIGHT: Tenor Vocals on track 7; Keyboards on track 8 ~~
SHANNON WRIGHT: High Baritone Vocal on track 7; Duet Vocal on track 8
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
BYRD'S AUTO PARTS ~~ THE BAND
It's a band name AND a cd. The origin? The name comes from the small business my Dad and Mom owned and operated for nearly 35 years in Hank's and Dan Penn's beautiful home State of Alabama. It seems somehow to also reflect the challenges of maintaining a band in Music City, U.S.A. Did you know that many bands come here to die? Yep. And a band that finds a way to survive here has to be carefully and lovingly assembled-- with proper and regular maintenance, and still, new parts are needed from time to time to keep the damn thing running! Lot's of tune-ups and TLC. Waylon sang about "the pleasures of life in a hillbilly BAND" and that's what the band BYRD'S AUTO PARTS strives to be, a band.
Their first gig took place August 26, 2004 at the late, illustrious Sutler in Nashville, TN. That band included Tim Marks on bass (who you can hear on some early demos), Alex McCollough on pedal steel, Adam Wright on Wurlitzer piano, Milan Miller on electric guitar, and Matt Crouse (see demos) on drums.
The best known version of the AUTO PARTS has included producer Milan Miller on electric guitar, engineer Alex McCollough on pedal steel, Tim Blankenship on drums (all on the recording), and Duane Blevins on bass. Over the last couple of years we've included such fine musician-pals as Jimmy Lester, Ben Blankenship, Mark Horn, Pete Finney, Pat Severs, Tim Lorsch, Ward Stout, Guthrie Trapp, Tom Mason, Tim Carrol, Paul Griffith, Jim Gray and Justin Amaral. (The next recording includes many of these friends plus contributions from Shannon Wright, Sara Beck, Ed Adkins, Marty Lynds, engineer Joe Martino and award winning producer R.S. Field. )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JON BYRD--BYRD'S AUTO PARTS
"AMERICANA THE WAY IT WAS AND THE WAY IT SHOULD BE"
"...His vocal sound-- a touch of Haggard here and a smear of Willie there-- is wonderfully dated, old Opry and much the better for it. His original songs, such as Jackknife and Reputation, sound like old friends and when he opts for something a mite more contemporary, such as Neil Young's The Losing End or The Beatles' Don't Let Me Down, they emerge like something from a roadside diner's jukebox left untouched since the 50's. Which is exactly why he's worth hearing."
Fred Dellar, MOJO MAGAZINE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The surprise of the listening session was JON BYRD. His CD shows it's time for him to step out of the shadows and as a sideman. A well-deserved DisCovery Award. *****
JON BYRD/Jackknife
Writer J. Byrd; Producer Milan Miller; Longleaf Pine Records (track) (www.jonbyrd.com)
--This fellow is best known around Nashville's Americana community for his deft guitar backing of other artists. But as this BYRD'S AUTO PARTS CD and his appearances on Billy Block's Western Beat showcases confirm, he is also a singer and songwriter of considerable warmth and personality. This lead-off track on his solo CD sounds an awful lot like a for-real hit song to me. Elsewhere he ably covers tunes by Doug Sahm, Lennon & McCartney, Neil Young and others. Take it from me, his originals can stand on their own two feet. This one's gonna be hanging around my stereo for awhile."
Robert K. Oermann, MUSIC ROW MAGAZINE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"On the inside of Byrd's Auto Parts, the debut album for this well-traveled
guitarist, his cowboy boots are photographed propped up against a Fender amp, his Telecaster leaning on the other side. That might suggest that his style of country music leans on the Bakersfield sound and shows off this in-demand sideman's six-string work—and it does. But the real news comes in how distinctly his original songs blend with several cleverly chosen remakes, from the crisp, Buckaroos-style drive of Red Sovine's "Freightliner Fever," Johnny Cash's "Blistered" and Doug Sahm's "Be Real" to crafty, dirt-road arrangements of The Beatles' "Don't Let Me Down" and Neil Young's great, rarely revived "(When You're on) the Losing End." The album suggests Byrd deserves not only to be plugged into an amp, but also to be standing behind the microphone at the center of the stage."
Michael McCall, NASHVILLE SCENE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Watching Byrd perform is like watching a veteran country music icon performing for his friends... Byrd's vocals are a beautiful mixture of Willie Nelson's sweet vibrato and Kris Kristofferson's warm and woody timber... don't be surprised if you catch yourself saying, 'Oh yeah, this is why I used to like country music.'"
listen!nashville.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"'Old Country' - Alive and Well! If you like your country music in back to basics, strictly non - alt mode, delivered in a weathered,"lived in" voice a la Nelson/Williams/Kristofferson, then this could be the record for you."
John Hinshelwood, Americana UK
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE NASHVILLE SCENE CRITICS PICKS
BYRD'S AUTO PARTS Hard work, solid chops and wry charm have already earned Tele slinger Jon Byrd a sterling reputation on the honky-tonk side of Nashville's Americana community, but even those familiar with his work to date are likely to find Byrd's Auto Parts' debut, self-titled CD an elegant surprise. Four originals, including the wistfully humorous, steady-rollin' opener, "Jackknife," show off his sinewy writing skills, while the entire set justifies the relaxed self-confidence of his vocals. The backing, which prominently features producer Milan Miller, along with Alex McCullough (bass), Tim Blankenship (drums) and a handful of steel-playing and vocal guests (Adam and Shannon Wright among them), is spare but not sparse and exceedingly well-crafted.
Jon Weisberger, NASHVILLE SCENE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE TENNESSEAN TOP PICK
Byrd's new album [Byrd's Auto Parts] helps keep career on schedule [and] finds him realizing his own soulful country vision. Jon Byrd moved from Atlanta to Nashville in 2001, and since then he's been kicking around Music City stages, playing fine guitar, singing soulful lead and harmony vocals, leading his Byrds' Auto Parts band and providing sideman-style assistance for a circle of music-minded friends.
...a can't miss evening of good, gritty, soulful country music.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jon Byrd's prowess with honky-tonk and hard country material as an instrumentalist and vocalist have earned him a sizable following, and his forthcoming new CD Auto Parts fully chronicles his skills in both areas. Byrd also has a cut on a current compilation of music from East Nashville artists.
Ron Wynn, THE CITY PAPER
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JON BYRD's now found a home amongst Nashville's rollicking crew of alt-country and hard-edged Americana writers.
ALL THE RAGE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Byrds Auto Parts serve up an enjoyably loose but keenly felt take on classic honky-tonk and country-rock styles."
NASHVILLE SCENE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The music swings from retro-honky-tonk to country soul to surprise covers washed in both."
Barry Mazor, NASHVILLE SCENE
Read more...