by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
It’s no secret that Arty and I are close friends, dating back to his days with Lynyrd Skynyd and later. Artimus is one of the survivors of the 1977 plane crash. Last year, Arty along with other surviving and dead members of Skynyrd were inducted into the Rock’n’roll Hall of Fame. These days, Arty continues to tour with his own band, the Artimus Pyle Band (APB), and after four years of the typical rock hassles, is now playing drums with the all-star Southern rock supergroup Deep South, which is performing at the St. Johns County Fair in St. Augustine, Saturday, Nov. 18th.
Yes, Arty has been busy touring with APB, playing selected dates with Deep South, and with the music scene in his hometown, Asheville, North Carolina. Talking to Arty can be exhausting, he has a photographic memory and tends to digress from the subject matter, so I pinned him down to the evolution of Deep South.
“We’ve been trying to get this project off the ground for four years. Finally, after losing band members because of the usual BS, we now have an awesome lineup of superstars. The backbone of the band is Jimmy Hall on vocals and harmonica. He played harmonica and lead vocals with Wet Willie. He’s also a top notch songwriter and performer. Completing the two drum configuration, Robert Nix is playing drums and percussion. Of course, Robert was the founder of the Atlanta Rhythm Section and has many gold and platinum records. Robert is our Nashville connection. Also from ARS, Dean Daughtry plays keyboards. On Lead guitar, we have Hal McCormack. Hal was a member of Survivor and was nominated twice as Memphis’ best guitarist by NARAS. Also on lead guitar, we have Chris Hicks of the Marshall Tucker Band. In 1997, Chris left MTB to promote his solo CD Funky Broadway.”
“This band has had at least two incarnations that worked up an album and tour, only to see it dissolve. So, we’re glad this time we can be a vehicle for playing an all-star lineup and carrying on the tradition of Southern rock. Recently, Hal broke his leg in Memphis. But he is playing anyway. We play a repertoire that represents the band members’ various bands and we are an all-star platform for other legendary players. We play Sweet Home Alabama, So Into You, Goin’ Down, Dixie, Keep On Smiling’ etc. This project has gone full circle and this is the best of the best playing Southern rock.”
”As you know I’ve been working on my Artimus Venomous album for a number of years, and I’m finally getting ready to release it in December, 2006. Its 14 songs were inspired by my bitter break-up and legal problems. I took out ads in Spin magazine and I’m prepared to tour to support it.” Artimus said.
Remarkably, today Southern rock is enjoying a resurgence. Assembling this high caliber of talent into one band was a hard struggle. But now, it’s the number one purveyor of the Southern rock sound by its core inventors. Arty’s years with Skynyrd are legendary. And after he left the band, he continued to make cutting edge music including his stint with the Fenwicks-- a famous ska, yiddish, rock, alternative, reggae band led by Steve Schub, who is an actor, now living in California. Steve will join the cast of 24 next season as a Jihadist.
The third annual St. Johns County Agricultural Fair runs November 14-19 at the St. Johns County Fairgrounds. The Adam Tucker Band performs on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Highway 101 takes the stage on Friday and the Basic Rock Outfit plays on Friday and Saturday before Deep South performs material from its self titled CD-DVD on Saturday. Don’t miss Saturday’s Horse Show beginning at 9:00 am and on Sunday get your thrills with the Bull Riding Rodeo. There will be hot air balloon rides on Saturday and helicopter rides daily. Call 794-7287 for more information.
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