It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a show at The Casbah in Johnson City and I still don’t know if they’re open on a regular basis or not. Occasionally though, their name pops up in an obscure way and boom! They’re back in business.
That was the case a couple of weeks ago when we checked out another band having a coming out party in the new year. Abbi and Eric were celebrating her 20th birthday at The Casbah and had been telling me about a new band called Hot Carl for weeks. I found out that John McAmis is one of Hot Carl’s frontmen singing and playing guitar and he’s familiar in a couple of ways. Jared Bentley mentions him often as he was one of the original members of Yukon and Steve Thompson raved about John for a long time and knew him as a nephew of someone we all miss – Debbie.
Hot Carl have been forging their new sound rehearsing at Halo in downtown Johnson City for a couple of months now. That’s where Abbi and Eric had heard the band and urged me to help celebrate her birthday at The Casbah – and ultimately a chance to hear one of the more creative trios I’ve heard in months.
There was a small crowd on hand when we walked in on Saturday evening. We ordered an Amber Boch on draft at the small bar in the back of the room and settled into a corner near the sound board. The Casbah has a terrific stage with pro sound and the blue lights chilled the room with cool anticipation.
Hot Carl made their way to the stage about 10.30 with no opening act and I was completely surprised to hear instrumental music. That’s a rarity here in East Tennessee and since I’d been watching a Miles Davis documentary earlier in the day, the improvisations and solos had me mesmerized for most of the night. A lot of ingredients go into the making of a good band. The music is certainly the focal point of the players, but the chemistry is an all important element that brings something unique to any band and that’s something Hot Carl has going for them. It shows up best when there are no words too.
To create music without words is a special talent and the ability to express meaningful melodies in that context takes talent and is fine art. This may be the beginning of a long run for Hot Carl too as their songs rely on memorable riffs structured by bassist Robert Abercrombie and drummer Brian Prather. Hot Carl delivers a seductive new flavor of mountain fusion that very well might introduce them in the New Year as regional darlings to the area’s music critics.
McAmis (Johnny May) wore a baseball cap and shorts on stage and was lost in the music as he shape shifted his tones from obscure rhythms to creative melodies – evident of a rich vocabulary of chords and odd-meter. Abercrombie and Prather are the foundation of the musical soundscape with their persistent groove-oriented psychedelic sound that has plenty of potential to attract loyal fans. Their music was unpredictable in both substance and style – they mix a few covers in with their original music and in-between some of their solos you may hear anything from Parliament to a crazy country tune. Although the band continued to perform original instrumentals, the third song of the first set was a tribute to Widespread Panic and John was convincing on the mike as a vocalist too. He has a distinct vocal character that blends southern charm with a poetic timbre and as their Myspace attributes- he has the longest beard in the band.
One of my favorite memories on this night was the girl in front of the stage dancing in her hula-hoop. It was a surreal backdrop for the trio’s music and even more lofty as Abercrombie left the bass occasionally to work with his Apple laptop to work in several phat analog bass patterns and rich synth effects.
Brian was surprising on the mic too. When I finally figured out he was singing a trippy version of Al Green/Talking Heads song ‘Take Me To The River’ he was off in a unapologetic ramble that made everyone pay attention. His real talent was what he could on his own. The band dropped out and although it’s tough for a drummer to a solo that is not pase’ and predictable, but this guy was inventive and I help but believe these musicians have some jazz in their backgrounds. Their website honors Medeski Martin and Wood and although their songs and setlist are still evolving – their imagination and originality are a fresh find on the local music scene.
I spoke to John after the first set. He’s an approachable artist and I told him it was good to meet him face-to-face. I had to compliment him on his improvisation too and thank him for the fresh vibe and look forward to seeing how their act develops over the next few months.
It was late when the band began their second set and we had experienced a double-bill of live local music this weekend – the night before with T.H.O.R. so we left The Casbah around 1am and headed back into the Johnson City night. As we talked about the band over an early breakfast at Perkins we all agreed Hot Carl was plenty of fun and arguably one of the most unique sounds around right now. Their blend of fusion, rock and Appalachian groove is sure to conjure a good mood, so check out something new with Hot Carl. You’ll find them playing many local venues over the next several weeks and you can keep up with their schedule at their website.