Road Band (past & present) :
GUITARS: Dave Coleman, Eric Fritsch, Jon Byrd, Mason Vickery;
DRUMS: Paul Griffith, Tim Blankenship, Matt Crouse, Casey Sanders, Martin Lynds;
BASS: Chop Blevins, Tim Marks, Alex Mccollough, Willy Domann.
Influences
Hank, Cannon County, Factories, Gravel Roads, The Boss, Geodes, Willow Trees, The Moon, Woody, It's A Wonderful Life, Waylon, Uncle Glenn, Danny O'Keefe, The Dividing Ridge, Mark Twain, Scars, Steinbeck, Turning Leaves, Cash, Locke Creek, Robert Frost, Slatten Acres, Splendor In The Grass, Don Williams, The Stones River, Four Roses, Uncle Dave Macon, John Dobbs Hollow, Jackson Browne, Carpenters, Don Northcutt, The Heart
Sounds Like
* "a singer-songwriter of marked depth and commitment, (he) recalls a more subdued Steve Earle, a more grounded Ryan Adams and any aggregation of three-named Texas troubadours you'd care to recall."
-- Bill Friskics-Warren, THE NASHVILLE SCENE--
* "Tennessee native raised in the Church of Christ amid an extended family of hellraisers, Simmons channels that mixed-up childhood into hard-hitting ballads that owe as much to Jay Farrar as they do The Man In Black. Drunk, sober, or somewhere in between, Simmon’s words ring true."
-- Andrea Lisle, MOJO MUSIC MAGAZINE--
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. Now a singer-songwriter based in Nashville, Tennessee, Stephen’s vision entails more than just reflections of rural America. The songs on his new recording, Something In Between, deal with existential realities that are familiar to country and city dwellers alike: redemption, heartbreak, hangovers and the loneliness of the road.
Like Stephen’s previous records, The Superstore, Last Call and Drink Ring Jesus (which were compared to everyone from Johnny Cash to Ryan Adams), Something In Between combines virtuosic songcraft and musicianship with unparalleled artistic honesty. “Don’t Mind Me,” for example, turns a jaded eye toward the perils of drunken conversation and the frustrations of a barroom troubadour. “And don’t mind me,” he sings, “Just keep it moving along/ The last thing in this world that I need/ Is a bar full of yapping jaws/ And don’t mind me/ Man I’ll pay when I’m done/ Already owed everybody/ Before I ever begun.”
Something in Between differs somewhat from Stephen’s previous work. If anything, the new recording focuses more on the microcosm of human relationships and less on the broader questions of faith and redemption that defined Last Call and Drink Ring Jesus. The title track, for instance, articulates the shifting emotions felt at different times during a relationship. In “We’ll See,” there’s a dark cloud hanging over a new connection. Then there’s the worn and weary lover and his collection of new scars in the rocker “New Scratches,” which is perhaps Stephen’s most confessional work to date.
An all-star cast backs Stephen on Something In Between. Produced by Richard McLaurin (Maura O’Connell, Matthew Ryan) at David Briggs’ legendary House of David studio, the recording makes the most of that facility’s live-in-your-living-room sound. Joining Stephen and Richard are guitarist Joe McMahan (Allison Moorer, Kevin Gordon), steel guitar great Al Perkins (Crosby Stills & Nash, The Rolling Stones), fiddler Tammy Rogers (Reba McIntire, Trisha Yearwood), bassist Billy Mercer (Ryan Adams, Todd Snider) and drummer Ken Lewis (Holly Williams, Amy Grant). David Briggs himself plays on several tracks. The pianist, who’s best known for his long stint with Elvis Presley, has played on recordings by a virtual Who’s Who of pop and country, including Linda Ronstadt, Eric Clapton and Loretta Lynn.
--Bio by: Paul V. Griffith
I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4
WOW, I just found you on Living with War Today... Here's hoping you keep moving up!!! Atchya'Later, Ms.Goody (www. MellowMelodies. com) Internet Raadio Show from Tampa Bay
i hope things are going well out in music city, don't forget to come back and see us this summer. gloria and i will promise to not embarrass you in front of the soundguy again.
I'll bump you up my friend list any day of the week...lol
I'm counting the weeks until you come back my way......I'm so happy that 44 Love is going to be playing with you in August!!! It is the weekend of my birthday and the entire 44 Love crowd will be out! It WILL BE CRAZY.
How is the thick southern summer heat treating my favorite TN boy? ~~T~~
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