Fenceposts (1999-2000) Seven hundred miles away, two young lions were
searching for the Promised Land in Nashville, Tennessee.
This happy duo
included Justin Cook, vocals and keys, and Jerry Jewell, vocals and
guitars; they were variously known as Grass and Anon, The Minuets, and
Grandest Day. With their own inspirational sources�from Sam and Dave
to Hank Williams�they would come to add tremendous resource to The
Peach Truck's approach to music and songwriting.Cook and Dismuke, being
first cousins, had long shared a love of music together. High school
friends in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Cook and Jewell were involved with one
another in both choir and theater. Likewise, it was together that Cook
and Jewell decided to leave college and family in pursuit of their
musical dreams. From the hills of Arkansas to Colorado's Roaring Fork
Valley, they tried their hand at an original mixture of pop and folk
music for nearly three years. Cook, in hopes of booking future shows
with the Peach Truck, shared a demo with Dismuke during the family's
Thanksgiving holiday in the fall of '97. A year later, Dismuke found
himself and his band staring out on a new horizon. He wanted a piano
player, and he needed a bass player and to come with him. An invitation
to join the band in the recording of its next record was extended during
the Christmas of '98. By March of '99, The Peach Truck had two new
members. The weight and effect of their presence became an immeasurable
factor in the band's further development.
Given time, distance, and
chemistry, Brightwell's role in the band took on a new direction. The
focus of his involvement and interest in music had begun to shift
towards the realms of business and support, and, late in the summer of
'99, an agreement was reached that required Brightwell to step down as
the band's primary drummer. Brightwell continued to serve as one of
three different session drummers who worked with the band during its
mapping of the new album. There were no real prospects for his
replacement at the time. The lack of a permanent member in the drum
slot eventually took its toll on momentum, and flagging spirits affected
the band's general opinion. The notion of continuing to work on the
album with part-time musicians was losing its appeal, and in light of
the project's encompassment, the option, it was decided, had become less
than feasible. The band needed to proceed beyond an interim line up.
Late in the fall, amidst a growing sense of gloom, The Peach Truck's
recording engineer, Jay "Jaimo" Jones, suggested yet another family
member, his brother, a drummer by the name of Evan Jones. He was taken
in as the band's newest member without so much as a song. Everything
seemed right for everyone, and, to be frank, the removal of desperation
superseded the need for an audition. Jones was best known for his
recreational performances with The Dead-Parrot Society (Grateful Dead,
Jimmy Buffett), a short-lived cover band from Denton, TX.
Though
lacking professional experience, Jones frequently sat in with informal
percussion ensembles and local live music acts, including, on more than
one occasion, The Peach Truck Republic. Accepting the role of drummer,
Jones was challenged to experiment with and apply an ever-widening
variety of rhythms. Existing members accommodated, scoffolded and
supported the new drummer in every way they possibly could, and so it is
truly to the credit of each that the bands' overall lineup was made
complete. As independents, in groups, as sidemen, leaders, session
players, and recording artists, The Peach Truck Republic came to possess
more than its fair share of experienced musicians; it was a second
marriage for everyone. A hybrid sound grew from a combination of the
circumstances and personalities involved in the reformation of the band.
Oddly enough, the inherent eclecticism congealed to collective and
became characterized by a far more singular musical approach than the
band had known before. There was a new formula in the making, organic,
often times immediate�layered rhythms, harmonized guitars, and
multi-part vocal harmonies. Categorization can be difficult; influential
enumeration, however, is easy enough: Delta and British Blues, Southern
Rock, Soul, Gospel, Jazz, Folk, Country and Bluegrass music. The
Peach Truck's second album, Fenceposts, was to be a test for the
limits of this classic repertoire. Thirty-seven songs from start to
end, the album is a triple-length concept piece based on Oliver Reed's
poem Like Fenceposts Down the Row. A colossal undertaking, the creation
of the album amounted to the members' life work, and its production,
often times, seemed unending.
Every penciled on matchbook, sketch,
chart, skeleton and closet from a hundred years of collective experience
went into the album's cauldron. There were moments of uncertainty and
question, conflict and indecision, but the music came out shining in the
end. Recorded both at home and in the studio, Fenceposts projects an
overall mood that has everyone exceptional�the individual, the
collective. Within a year of its release the band was receiving national
acclaim. And the critics concurred: these five musicians had reached an
obvious agreement about the music, how it was to be approached and how
it was to be presented. They set a remarkably high bar for themselves,
and then they jumped beyond it. Representing the new quintet's very
first record, Fenceposts opened up their eyes to even wider
possibilities.
Band Members:
Justin Cook, vocals and keys, and Jerry Jewell, vocals and guitars
AMERICA NORTH: USA: Texas (TX)