Story and Photos by Shelly Swanger
May 27, 2010 Issue

It’s Sunday night in Grayton Beach, and the Red Bar is shaking. Literally. I know this because I can feel it from my seat on the bench just outside.

Inside, Balder Saunders, Kyle Ogle, Kenny Oliverio and John Reinlie—collectively known as Dread Clampitt—tear through the last song of their “Sunday Double,” two shows from noon to 3 p.m. and 7-10 p.m. that are a tradition here. The night set is a little more raucous than the day—it’s a stomping, dancing, sing-along with a few hundred of your closest friends. The set’s closing song is “Livin’ Outta Leaving,” an original tune from the band’s upcoming CD that whips the crowd into a frenzy that could go on all night if the law allowed.

Thirty minutes later I get the privilege of sitting down with the band to talk about the long awaited release of their third CD Learning to Live. Much has been written about the history of Dread Clampitt, but on this night we talk mostly of the excitement that the future holds. The new CD has been a couple of years in the making and came with some challenges. As Saunders and Ogle explain, “We had most of the record written and recorded when we parted ways with fiddle player Justin Price-Rees in May of 2008.”

That also happened to be about the time the legendary Sam Bush—one of the group’s huge musical influences—had agreed to come down and play mandolin on the track “Sisters and Brothers.” The guys had met Bush back in 2003 after Bush read a review of Dread Clampitt in the Beachcomber and decided to go check out their show at the Funky Blues Shack in Destin. Sam stayed for the whole performance that night, and a lasting friendship was formed.

When Bush arrived in July 2008 to record his track and found out the group no longer had a fiddle player, he said, “Well, I guess I know what I’ll be doing.” So they got back to work with Bush on fiddle and Saunders playing a special Gibson mandolin that Bush had gifted him.

During this time, the group began the searching for a drummer. According to Saunders and Ogle, they didn’t have to look too far. “We asked around and kept hearing the same name come up—John Reinlie.” The band invited Reinlie to a rehearsal, and he proved right away that he was the guy they were looking for.

Over the course of the following year, Reinlie’s drumming enhanced the songs so much that a creative decision was made to include drums on the entire record. With all of the pieces in place, the group began re-tracking the whole CD.

“Sam playing with us just helped raise everyone to a new level, and we wanted the record to reflect that,” says Ogle. The group began re-recording at Neptone Studios in Destin with local music great Donnie Sundal co-producing and Brian Peet working as sound engineer. This spring, Learning to Live was finally finished.

With the CD ready to go, Dread Clampitt now begins the task of promoting it, starting with a big CD release party planned for May 27 with Bush at Nashville’s Station Inn. The still-unsigned group hopes to attract some attention with the high profile event. Four days later, the hometown boys return with a local CD release party at the Red Bar May 31, a place only fitting for the local unveiling of the new disc. There are also plans for a July 4 concert in Seaside with Bush joining them onstage. Learnin’ to Live will be available for purchase through the band’s website www.dreadclampitt.com and iTunes.

The band has several other projects in the pipeline and would very much like to tour as well. They are already planning for their next record with many songs already written and others that they are actively working on. Bassist Kenny Oliverio explains, “We all bring different musical ideas and contributions to the table and go from there.”

With an overwhelming desire to grow and evolve as musicians, one thing is certain. We have only just begun to hear the best of the homegrown band from Walton County.

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