Album Notes

Stephen Simmons was raised in the small town of Woodbury, Tennessee. His mother was a schoolteacher and his father held a factory job (In his family, they were the first generation that didn’t work the farm). Humble and soft-spoken, Stephen at first seems to exemplify this rural, Church of Christ upbringing. As a songwriter, however, his vision is much more complex. His songs tell stories of country life’s dark side and serve to remind listeners how it feels to stand at the intersection of piety and sin.

“When you’re raised in the Church of Christ, if you’re sensitive at all, it leaves you with a lot to struggle with,” says Stephen, who now lives in Nashville. “You grow up to see that there are gaps and holes in what you’ve been taught; there are questions where there are not supposed to be questions. On the one hand, I was exposed to small community religious life, but on the other, I was exposed to my wild-ass relatives. My songs are an attempt to get all those contradictions out.”

'The Superstore' is a re-release of Simmons' initial 2001 ep offering. Recorded with just a guitar and a harp in a dingy bar in Murfreesboro, TN (with the occasional racking pool-ball noise), 'The Superstore' offers a glimpse into the early development of Simmons' songwriting. Originally a 5 song ep (that featured a few songs that made it onto his proper debut, 2004's 'Last Call'), The re-release has been expanded to a lengthy 14 tracks and remastered at Yes Master Studios in Nashville, TN. The new tracks feature earlier songs which had previously gone unreleased, as well as an appropriate cover of the Bruce Springsteen classic "Highway Patrolman" from his plaintive 'Nebraska' album (and one that 'The Superstore' recordings have frequently been compared to).

Simmons would go on to record his band debut, 'Last Call' which was praised by critics on both sides of the Atlantic. It led to his signing with Rounder Europe Records and their release of his sophomore record, 'Drink Ring Jesus' in 2006 (as well as re-releasing 'Last Call' in 2007). 'The Superstore' offers a peek into the artist's work prior to his more well-known recordings.