The Boxmasters Monday, April 17, 2077 Merrimack Hall Huntsville, Alabama
Onstage
Wednesday, April 19, 2017 Douglass Theatre Macon, Ga
The Boxmasters never fail to create a large
impression. This L.A. based band simply rocks out at every single show, which is why the biggest part of their Summer Tour has been played to sold-out audiences from Las Vegas to Sedona. From California to Canada, and of course, the South. Ah, the beautiful sunny south! It’s got to be like a homecoming for lead singer Bud Thorn- ton who was born and raised in Hot Springs, Arkansas, where he grew up listening a wide vari- ety of great music from The Allman Brothers Band to Frank Zappa, leading to an early career as a drummer in a ZZ Top cover band as well as a gig as roadie for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. I think its safe to assume that his road crew days are behind him now as he and his band mates have taken both the USA and Canada by storm, releasing a string of excellent albums and touring relentlessly. Bud’s “right hand man” is the uber-tal-
ented L.A. producer and engineer J.D. Andrew, who co-writes the songs with Bud, and the third “official” Boxmaster is keyboard wizard Terry An- dreadis. aka: Teddy “Zig Zag,” who has toured with everyone from Alice Cooper to Guns n’ Roses. The most recent touring Boxmasters in- clude smoking hot guitarist Kirk McKim (Pat Tra- vers Band), bassist David Fowler and drummer Eric Rhodes. Together, the guys seriously rock the joint. For the Huntsville show, the opening act
was The Wood Pickers, which includes Merri- mack Hall honcho Alan Jenkins on drums, and an array of amazingly talented acoustic players. They brought the house down baby! I was hon- ored to be invited to join them for a couple of songs at the end of their set, and boy howdy was
J.D.
it fun! In
Macon, I was again blessed, first by being the opening act for the Box- masters, and secondly be- cause I was
joined onstage for my show by my hero Tommy Talton (Cowboy) playing lead and slide for my all-original set. We were also treated to a Tommy song called “When I Fall Asleep Again,” from his latest album. The Boxmasters set was almost the same
both nights, other than Bud’s always fun improv raps with the audience, and they wore their “Bea- tles” suits in Huntsville and their “psychedelic” outfits in Macon.
The Bud
band played a wide vari- ety of tunes that in- cluded many of their best loved hits from
“Emily” to “Providence” to “Desperation Parade,” and came back out for a hoe down on “That Mountain” for the encore. The only difference was that in Huntsville, they also did their rocking version of Dr. Hook’s “Sylvia’s Mother” right be- fore “That Mountain,” and I was honored to join Bud onstage to sing. Dreams do come true, sports fans. A good time was had by all. When the boys come around your neck of the woods, do yourself a solid and go see ‘em. You’ll be glad you did!
-Michael Buffalo Smith Photos by Gilbert Lee
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