I remember one of the first gigs was in Elberton, Georgia at the Sub n’ Pub. I would say that, at that time, you were no longer a Southern Rock band, but had more of a classic rock sound. I remember the cover songs all changed – “No Matter What” by Badfinger; “The Kid is Hot Tonight,” you even covered a song from the Artimus Pyle band’s first album called “Town to Town.” Our covers and our originals changed. And we were going further out – Georgia, Alabama, Vir- ginia. West Virginia. Just all over – during that time we covered some ground.
And then there was the last-minute trip to Virginia to play. They were calling for snow, but the day of the show we all piled into the bus and hit the road. It was a big adventure, but it ended up being the last gig for the band because the bus broke down and all of the money had to go to pay for the bus repair. That didn’t set well with some of the band members. But we were always one big happy family then. We still are.
The survivors, anyway. After the band broke up what happened? Well I played some with Mike Satterfield and his
uncle Don at The Boars Head lounge in Spartan- burg. Randall was writing gospel music. I went back to school, but as I had time I did things like Buffalo Hut Coalition with you, Greg Yeary and David Haddox. Dave taught me so much. Later on, I played with him and his wife Inge, doing jazz and dinner music and Dave taught me how to play that style. So, I owe a lot to Dave and also to Joe Bennett, the guitar teacher. (And leader of the 1950’s rock and roll band, The Sparkletones.)
So, in 2004 the band reunited and recorded your first ever CD, One Monkey Don’t Spoil the Show, released in 2005. You went through a couple of personnel changes, with Danny Siegfreid leaving and John Gillie coming in on guitar. Later on, Terry Collins left and you got Brad Dur- den, who left to go full time with the Ar-
timus Pyle Band. Then last year, John Gillie left followed by Rick Cash. Daniel Jackson joined on guitar and vocals, and most recently you added vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Carey Upton. How would you compare the 1982 version of the band with the 2017 version? The best way I can compare is to say, in the be- ginning, everybody in the band was giddy and ex- cited all the time, and now, after all of these years, it’s that way again. Everybody is excited, we have multiple songwriters, twin lead guitars, three singers, tight harmonies – it’s really excit- ing.
What would you say have been the high- lights for the band since reforming in 2007? Playing out, meeting people we wouldn’t have normally got to meet like Bob Burns (Lynyrd Skynyrd), Larry Howard (Grinderswitch), Alan Walden, Billy Bob Thornton, 38 Special – so many- and hearing how mature the songwriting has gotten. But the best part is the brotherhood. Think about it. How many people do you know who had friends and bandmates in 1980 that they have maintained a brotherhood with? We are a family. It’s crazy, but we really are.
Tell me about the two new guys in the band. Let’s start with Daniel Jackson. Daniel comes from an Americana and Bluegrass background. He’s an excellent singer songwriter, and he brings a lot to the table. Then there’s Carey Upton. Carey can play so many instru- ments and sings and is a great songwriter. To- gether, they have helped to redefine the sound of Silver Travis. It really does remind me of the be- ginning when we were trying new things, putting it out there you know? Creativity was real high. Now, it’s that way again.
I know you are working on a new album. What’s the status of that project? We have six songs recorded. We have several shows to play, and then we will go back into the studio and finish up. I’m really excited about get- ting the new songs out and letting the people hear them. I really believe they are going to like what they hear. •
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