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Four Guys
(And One Gal) Walk Into a Bar…
Sander joined the overhauled group in March 2004 along with rhythm guitarist Tim O’Shea and bassist Dave Jones. Sander’s influences range from the obvious (Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham) to surprising choices like Steve Smith (one of the many fusion drummers he became aware of during his studies at the Berklee College of Music). Sander describes his job as “just holding the whole thing together,” further explaining that “some folks want to go fast, some wanna go slow, and I have to know where to be. I have to listen and know what everyone else is doing.” What they’re doing is shaking the walls of the popular Destin restaurant-bar five nights a week. Veterans Kim Brown and Josh Blackburn round out the current lineup. Vocalist Brown remains tireless and especially effective on songs by Stevie Nicks and Bonnie Raitt. Her vocal resemblance to Nicks on the Fleetwood Mac classic Gold Dust Woman is remarkable. Brown worked
with Sander years ago and performed in a duo with O’Shea
while Blackburn was recuperating from an automobile accident two
winters back. She describes her new bandmates as “constant
professionals,” the kind of players who can do up to 45
songs a night for enthusiastic crowds of locals and visitors.
Having recently contributed her fine vocals to an album of songs
written mostly by Greg Barnhill and former Hog’s Breath
Band member Tim Jackson (2004’s Ain’t No Doubt About
That), Brown hopes to put together a CD with the band as well
as a disc of her own compositions. Lead guitarist Blackburn continues to sound better and better every time I hear him. O’Shea’s power chords provide the perfect backdrop for Blackburn’s often innovative solos—no note-for-note transcriptions for this guy, who plays and sings from deep within his soul. Blackburn continues to make solo appearances at Funky Blues Shack Tuesday nights, with occasional gigs at Harbor Docks. Jones moved here with retirement as his goal and ended up playing music full time. Back in San Antonio he played with the legendary Tex-Mex organist Augie Meyers (Sir Douglas Quintet, Texas Tornados) among other greats. Jones’ influences range from Paul McCartney and inimitable Yes-man Chris Squire to the jazzier sounds of Stanley Clarke. Jones is a helluva singer, too, giving ZZ Top’s La Grange just the right amount of rabidity. Last but certainly not least among the new guys is O’Shea, who first came to the Emerald Coast back in the early ‘90s when he played in the Red Bar’s first house band. After that, he bounced around from Athens, Ga. to his hometown Cleveland, Ohio before a six-days-a-week gig at Schooner’s in Panama City Beach came his way. When Tim Jackson left the old Hog’s Breath Band, O’Shea was at the top of everyone’s replacement list. They couldn’t have made a better choice. O’Shea not only brings an encyclopedic knowledge of classic rock and roll to the band—“I was lucky to have a couple older brothers and sisters who kept me fed with the good stuff—I was singing the Beatles walking to kindergarten,” he says—but he also appears to be up on the newer stuff, too. Indeed, a recent gig found him singing Los Lonely Boys’ crossover smash Heaven; he also puts his stamp on songs made famous by Jack Johnson, Coldplay, and U2. I should note that O’Shea is quite convincing as a honky-tonk hellion when he sings the Georgia Satellites/John Anderson crowd-pleaser Keep Your Hands to Yourself. “Every night people tell me, ‘You sound great!,’ and I say, ‘It’s easy to sound great playing with these musicians,” O’Shea says. “Everyone brings their own flavor to the table and it makes a nice stew.” O’Shea also performs with percussionist Clayton Simmons on Tuesday nights at Hog’s Breath. “We do a lot of different stuff than what we do in the band. And we put an acoustic twist on some of the songs that we do play in the band.” He’s also recording an album of originals with an unusual twist. “I don’t plan on recording it all in one studio. I’ll do each song with a different person in town. I think I’m the last person in Destin to put out a solo album.” The Hog’s Breath Band gives the audience what they crave—unadulterated, high-energy rock and roll. But even more impressive, they are a “band’s band.” O’Shea mentions that their pals from Flash Flood, Jones & Company and SYN-R-G often stop by after their own appearances to jam with the group. SIDEBAR: WHO? The Hog’s
Breath Band: Josh Blackburn (guitar/vocals); Kim Brown (vocals);
Dave Jones (bass/vocals); Tim O’Shea (guitar/vocals); Greg
Sander (drums). |
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Never
underestimate the power of a strong backbeat. Even on the slower
songs, drummer Greg Sander of the Hog’s Breath Band pounds
away like a man hell bent on converting every last soul in the
place to the Church of Good Ol’ Rock and Roll.
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