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5 Questions with Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers

Several talented musicians at some time or another have gone along for the ride with Drive-By Truckers. Among them: singer-songwriter Jason Isbell; his former wife, bassist Shonna Tucker; pedal steel player John Neff, and keyboardist Spooner Oldham, who used to record with the legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (more on that later).

But at the core of the group, taking turns driving the truck, have always been the band’s co-founders, Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood, who have been playing together for ages, even before the band started in 1996.

We caught up with Hood by phone last month, in advance of Drive-By Truckers’ March 28 show at The Queen. He sounded jovial and energized. It was seven dates into the band’s 2018 tour and just a few nights after their concert in Portland, Ore., which has become Hood’s home after moving there with his family in July 2015—far from his longtime residence in Athens, Ga.

“I love Portland,” Hood says, adding that the transition from Athens was relatively easy. “They’ve got more in common than they do different, honestly. Obviously Portland’s a much bigger city, and I’m enjoying that a lot. But they have a very similar vibe. Athens has more in common with Portland and Brooklyn and Austin than it does most small southern towns.”

Drive-By Truckers is on a roll at the moment. The band is touring for the second time on the success of its most recent album, 2016’s American Band, which not only was one of their most critically-acclaimed albums—appearing on many best-of-the-year lists – but also one of their most overtly political. Sample lyric: “Ronnie Reagan must be spinning his grave; Putin’s on the rise, Ukraine’s under siege; Fascism’s knocking and Trump says ‘Let them in.’”

“This record has legs,” Hood says. “We’re out touring right now, and the route we’re on is really similar to what we did [right after American Band]. We’re playing a lot of the same rooms, and, in some cases, bigger rooms. And in every single town, attendance has been up.”

On that note, here is Hood, talking about the power of song-writing, recording, and his long-standing relationship with his musical partner, Cooley.

O&A: You really do have southern music in your blood. Your dad, David Hood, was the bass player for The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and later was a co-founder of Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. What was it like growing up in that environment, with all these famous bands coming in and out (of the studio) and your dad being a southern rock legend in his own right?

Hood: Yeah, I was well aware of what was going on. I really kept up with it as much as I possibly could because I was really interested in it. I always wanted to do this, too. But, at the same time, I wasn’t really there. I was at home; I was a kid; and I wasn’t really allowed to be [at the studio].

Getting info from my dad about what was going on was sometimes next to impossible. I’d have to find out from other means [chuckling]. Because Dad was very much into keeping home separate. He was old school. In his day, you didn’t take work home with you. I hardly saw him pick up an instrument at home or anything like that.

He really didn’t want me to go into music, either, so he wasn’t particularly supportive of me doing it for a long time. Probably up until Southern Rock Opera. [The band’s third album, released in 2001.]

O&A: Soon after Southern Rock Opera, you recorded Dirty South in FAME Studios, which is where your dad and The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section got their start. Was that an attempt by you to tap into or reconnect with that southern rock history?

Hood: Yeah, you know, I grew up practically down the street! I mean I always had wanted to record there. So once we had the means to do it, we just did.

I still now want to record at 3614 now that they’ve reopened that [3614 Jackson Highway, the location of Muscle Shoal Sound Studio, which his father helped start and run]. I really want to go record there. Just as I have a list of places I hope we can record, you know, before time runs out. We got to record at Electric Lady a couple years ago, and that was cool. And we made our last record at Sound Emporium, and that was really great. So I’ve got this list of legendary studios that I’d like to capture while they’re still around.

Drive-By Truckers play to an enthusiastic crowd during their 2016 tour for English Oceans. Photo Jay Blackesberg

O&A: Do you find that recording at different studios affects the vibe or the final output to the point that it influences the overall theme of the record?

Hood: Oh, yeah. I’m sure it does. Everything affects it. At the same time, we made one of my favorite records in my living room. So it has to do with so many things as far as what we bring to the table. But the room can certainly affect things, positively or negatively, depending on the experience.

O&A: You and Mike Cooley co-founded Drive-By Truckers in 1996. But before that you were in a band together called Adam’s House Cat, which Musician magazine had listed as one of its Top Ten Unsigned Bands back in the late ‘80s. What was it that brought you and Mike together, creatively?

Hood: Boredom and being broke. We met as roommates. I moved in with a guy I knew from college, and Mike was his other roommate. And that’s how we met. He had a guitar, and I had a guitar. We were broke, so we didn’t have money to go out. We’d buy a case of really cheap beer and sit in the living room and pick and jam.

I’d always written songs, so I was eager to mostly play my songs anyway, and he didn’t really want to play a bunch of covers. He kind of thought it was cool that I had a bunch of songs. Even before any of us were worth a shit at it, I liked what he did with my songs. I liked his approach to what I was writing. He attacked them in a way that I thought was very appropriate for what I wrote. It was kind of counter-intuitive because he would almost always do the opposite of what I heard in my head, but I liked that.

Shit, we’ve been playing together for 33 years! This is our fourth band. We had two bands between Adam’s House Cat and Drive-By Truckers that were, like, dismal failures. But we just kept coming back to it. It worked.

Ironically, we didn’t necessarily get along back then. It wasn’t like we were unstoppable close friends. We were close, because we played together forever. But it was kind of a—I don’t want to say stormy close—but we were like brothers who didn’t necessarily get along. I’ll put it that way.

It was that kind of relationship for a really long time. We were roommates for three different points of time, but we weren’t necessarily good roommates, either [laughs]. We were roommates that sometimes wanted to kill each other.

It’s all really funny now because I would say we’re super close now. We get along great now. But that was kind of the last piece of the puzzle. We figured out how to play together long before we learned how to get along [laughs].

O&A: You guys recorded the single “Perilous Night” in November. A lot of people have been talking about how political it is, how strongly worded it is. Then you donated proceeds of the 7-inch single to the Southern Poverty Law Center. How does it feel to do that—to come out and really say how you feel and, at the same time help an organization that you believe in like that?

Hood: Right. I mean to me that’s kind of the whole point to what we do. Writing was something I did because it made me feel better. It was a way for me to express what I was thinking about: either what was bothering me, or pissing me off, or hurting my feelings, or making me sad or depressed or whatever. Occasionally what makes me happy. But usually it’s a way of dealing with the more negative things.

So to be able to back it up with some modicum of action was good. Our donation to the Southern Poverty Law Center isn’t going to be a game-changer [laughs] Unfortunately. I wish it was. But at least I think we’re doing what we can.

We try to support various good causes. There’s no shortage of people who need support. We’ve been raising money for Nuci’s Space, a suicide-prevention non-profit from Athens, for 20-plus years now. That’s always been our pet cause. But it’s good we’re able to add a few more things, too.

This is the second thing I’ve done for the Southern Poverty Law Center. I did a song for them about a year ago—a solo thing—that was for a little EP they put out with Bonnie Prince Billy, myself, William Tyler and a couple of other artists. Really good artists. I was really proud to be part of that.

And it was the perfect use for a song like “Perilous Night,” because I’m not trying to profit from our country’s current failure of judgment [laughs]. I’m trying to support my family, but I’m happy to do whatever I can that helps fund the resistance.

I really didn’t see that song as being part of the next record. It’s more of an epilogue to the last record.

Patterson Hood and Drive-By Truckers play The Queen on Wednesday, March 28. For more info and tickets, go to TheQueenWilmington.com.

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5 Questions with…

Josh David Barrett of The Wailers

It’s hard to pinpoint another touring musician who has bigger shoes to fill right now than Josh David Barrett.

For the past three years, Barrett has been singing lead vocals for The Wailers, the legendary reggae band that backed Bob Marley from 1974 until his untimely death in 1981, and whose mastery of laid-back island grooves helped sell more than 100 million recordings worldwide.

It’s hardly lost on Barrett that, as a musician, he is in an extraordinarily esteemed and yet possibly precarious situation: performing with the world’s most recognized reggae band where once stood an artist that The New York Times suggested “may the most influential musician in the second half of the [20th] century” —the same artist who wrote all but one-half of a song on Exodus, a reggae masterpiece that Time Magazine declared “Best Album of the Century.”

At the same time, it’s not like Barrett was simply a name randomly picked from a hat-full of possible Bob Marley replacements. Sure, it helped that Barrett is a distant cousin of longtime Wailers bandleader Aston “Familyman” Barrett and that two previous additions to the band were descendants of original members. But of equal importance, Josh David Barrett already had made a name for himself as a multi-instrumentalist, recording and performing with other multi-talents such as Kanye, Stevie Wonder and Quincy Jones.

“My musical journey has been a long and blessed one,” Barrett says. “I’m grateful to have all those experiences to add to this current one.”

Barrett is looking forward to The Wailers’ new release on Feb. 6—Bob Marley’s birthday and just two days before the band’s much-anticipated performance at The Queen in Wilmington, a town Marley once called home.

We spoke to Barrett by phone last month, and here is what he had to say—in his Jamaican accent—about his upbringing, his outlook with The Wailers, and his Rastafari faith.

O&A: You were really on your way before you joined The Wailers. As a competent and up-and-coming musician you played with artists like Common, Mary J. Blige, Q-Tip and Solange. Which musical experience was the most important to you before joining The Wailers?

Barrett: I would have to say growing up and playing in church because I feel spiritual music is the essence of Rasta music as a brand of reggae. When one says reggae music, I want to think Rasta. It’s the spiritual “one love, one God, one aim, one destiny.” That is what we inspire and aspire to bring to the people. I think that is the most important part of my upbringing: that togetherness, that oneness, that making one sound giving glory to the Most High, Jah Rastafari.

O&A: You make a direct connection between [your upbringing] and what you are doing now. What does that connection mean to you? What does singing in The Wailers mean to you?
Barrett: Well, it means a lot because reggae music has three elements where we speak of as Rasta: word, song and power. The word is the message; the sound is the music; and the power is when we come together and sing and dance, as Bob Marley said, jammin’ in the name of the Lord.
That is what I find most valuable, that unity, how it brings people together throughout the four corners of the world. Seeing how it inspires people and liberates people—to be a messenger of that is a joy. To me, that is the greatest job me could ever have.

O&A: I know there are a lot of other reggae artists, and I’m not trying to diminish any of their roles. But Bob Marley is the king of reggae. How did you feel about trying to step into that role at first?
Barrett: I hold a great deal of respect for the legacy of Bob Marley and The Wailers. For years I felt the best way I could express my appreciation was through music—my own music—with which I’d formed a band called Judah Tribe with [other musicians]. Through that, we were able to express our joys, our woes and our great appreciation for this great work, the great message, Rastafari. So it was a natural progression.

Learning and understanding every day the magnitude of [Bob Marley] being the first one to do this great work, to make it reach where it did reach, is very important. And I understand, just a little bit, about the pressure that Bob Marley and the Wailers had to go through. I mean they were shot at for this music, for this struggle.

And I understand not everybody love reggae music or love Rastas when you are out there saying “one love.” So we’re out there to encourage those who love justice and hate aggression and counteract all the works of evil that seek to divide humanity.

O&A: How do you see the music you are performing fitting in with what’s going on in our country and throughout the world?

Barrett: As much as we love this music, this music and this struggle was born out of protest. While there is a joy to singing these songs, ina myself, I wish we didn’t have to sing these songs. But this message is still needed. Not all of it—some of it is more joyous. But when you sing “Them Belly Full” or “Heathen,” those are things we have to sing because we still see it prevalent on Earth. So the music is needed, and the message is needed.

The world I don’t feel is balanced. And if we are not wise, we’ll end up going backwards. All of us must take it upon ourselves to be a living example, be a Bob Marley, wherever you are in your sphere, in your work. It’s gonna take that to win this struggle.

O&A: Where would you like to see this go, playing with The Wailers? Do you have any long-term goals?
Barrett: Wow… I have a dream that one day The Wailers will play in Ethiopia when the royal dynasty of Emperor Haile Selassie and Empress Menen is restored. That would be a glorious day, and I would love to be there as a participant in this great affair and blessing being that, for Rasta, Ethiopian history is crucial. We don’t want to convert anyone, but correct the abuse. We want to see that world power, that knowledge, that grace, restored in Ethiopia with we, the singers and players of instruments to celebrate this great occasion.

Catch Josh David Barrett and The Wailers at The Queen on Thursday, Feb. 8, for what will surely be a memorable performance. For details, go to TheQueenWilmington.com.

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Shine A Light Celebrates 1968

The usual powerhouse lineup will play the music of half a century ago in the annual concert to support the Light Up the Queen Foundation

When it comes to music, yesteryear can seem like yesterday, and that’s the feeling the annual Shine a Light concert will aim for by rolling back the clock to 1968 to create warm memories for those lucky enough to secure a ticket. Sponsored by the Light Up the Queen Foundation, the concert is set for Saturday, March 3, at The Queen in Wilmington. Tickets for the annual event have always sold out, but there’s still time to purchase general admission or the highly-sought-after VIP tickets, which include a Celebrity Chef menu executed by The CROP Foundation, open bar featuring Tito’s specialty cocktails and Twin Lakes craft beer, exclusive balcony seating, front pit access and more. This year’s concert will once again bring together an all-star lineup of scores of the most popular and revered musical performers in the Wilmington area. For many, 1968 was a year of turmoil, but from that chaos arose some of the best music of the 20th century, and it’s reflected in the set list for this year’s concert. “We have rock, country, jazz, blues, Top-40, and more,” says “Harmonica” Pete Cogan, a veteran of the concert series. “The magic of the show is that it takes everyone out of their own bands and puts you with other people you’ve never played with before. You get to meet other band members and their followers and that really opens up a lot of doors for you as a performer.” “The Light Up The Queen Foundation began in 2008 with a single arts education program and has developed and diversified over the years,” says Tina Betz, the foundation’s executive director. “The concert is by far our biggest fundraiser, pulling in well over a half million dollars in its seven-year run. The money raised allows us to serve about 3,600 children and young adults a year—well over 10,000 in total—through our programs. And we are just picking up speed.” After tackling the Rolling Stones’ catalog for the first few years of the event, organizers decided to fete all styles of music of 1975 three years ago and followed that by celebrating 1976 and 1977 in subsequent years. This year, the decision was made to step back even farther, to 1968, in a salute to a golden year of music.

Kat Pigliacampi, lead singer for Kategory 5, will rock out at this year’s show. Photo Joe del Tufo

John Cassidy, multi-instrumentalist for Kategory 5, likes the idea of celebrating 1968, but says slyly, “I hope we don’t go back to 1959 next year.” When horn player Alan Yandziak jokingly frets they might eventually run out of years and songs, Shine A Light Executive Committee member Tom Williams laughs and says, “Don’t worry, we still have a lot of quality songs from which to choose in coming years.” Guitarist Nick Bucci, regarded reverently by many area musicians, says that 1968 is right in his wheelhouse. “I had the opportunity to play on some Steely Dan songs during previous years’ shows,” he says, “but having a chance to emulate Jimi Hendrix [this year] is a challenge I’m looking forward to.” Bucci’s exalted standing in the musical community contrasts with Cole Petrillo, who will make his debut in the concert series this year. “I used to sneak into practices when my dad (Mike “Pops” Petrillo) would be rehearsing for past shows,” he says. “I hope to get to play on a song with him and also with Pat Kane (guitar),” who played his first Shine a Light show last year. This constant infusion of new performers helps keep the show fresh year after year. Singer Nihkee Bleu also made her debut last year and says her experience was “fun and awesome.” It reinforced in her that “people really love music from 40-50 years ago,” she says. “I spoke to people who could not make it to last year’s show and they were very disappointed. I wasn’t even born in the 1960s, but I think music from that era is more relevant today than it ever was.” Drummer John DiGiovanni, of Steal Your Peach, can relate. “This is my music, the music I grew up on. I was in high school in 1968.” He considers it an honor to be included, especially since a scheduling conflict prevented him from performing at last year’s show. Kat Pigliacampi, lead singer for Kategory 5, has her hair color (sort of) to thank for her first invitation to perform at the show, back when it featured The Rolling Stones’ music. “(Shine A Light Planning Committee member Rob Grant) called me up and said they needed another backup singer,” says Pagliacampi. “He told me they have a blonde, a redhead and needed a brunette, so that was how I first got involved.” She says that back then, “it was a lot more rogue, but still well organized.” Since The Stones don’t feature female lead singers, it was more “guy-oriented,” but she says she will miss the chance to do more disco and prog rock by not continuing on to 1978. Like everyone else, Pigliacampi is looking forward to this year’s show, citing “the spirit of unity. It’s all about the music.” While everyone involved tries to make each show better than the previous year, they also recognize the true focus of the event—the Light Up the Queen Foundation. Kathleen Ford, co-chair of the Shine A Light Committee, says, “The focus on arts education has resulted in even more—and larger—sponsors than ever this year, which allows us to serve more children than before.” With this year’s show offering an enhanced video production with some surprises, tickets are—as usual—going fast to this local musical event of the year. Check availability at LightUpTheQueen.Org/ShineALight.

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Somethin’ About Christmas Tour

American Idol season 8 winner Kris Allen and pop artist Marie Miller come to Wilmington to help make the season bright

Pop artists Kris Allen and Marie Miller are coming to The Queen on Wednesday, Dec. 6, during Allen’s Somethin’ About Christmas Tour. Allen, the season 8 winner of American Idol (2009), released the album Somethin’ About Christmas last year but says he wasn’t able to play many shows for it, so he’s geared up for this tour.

“I played a couple shows with a small set-up, but none with a full band last year,” Allen says. “So I’m excited to bring these songs to life. We’ve also got some fun things lined up in the show that I think people are going to love.”

Christmas is a special theme for Allen. Before this album he had worked on a couple of Christmas projects: an EP in 2012 and an original Christmas song in 2014. Those releases fueled the fire for wanting to create a full-length holiday album, he says.

“More than anything, though, I just love that classic type of music. For some reason it has always stuck with me,” says Allen. “When I was making this album, I wanted it to feel like a classic—that jazzy and warm feeling you get when you listen to Burl Ives sing ‘Holly Jolly Christmas.’”

He wanted to try to create something similar for himself—and as a result, this album is one of his favorites among those he’s recorded over the years. His albums date back to 2007—before American Idol was a reality for him—with Brand New Shoes. Allen’s post-Idol self-titled album was released in 2009, which debuted at number 11 on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album’s lead single, “Live Like We’re Dying,” was released on Sept. 21, 2009, and peaked at number 18 in the U.S. with combined sales of more than 1.7 million. His most recent album, aside from the Christmas record, is his fifth studio album, Letting You In, released in 2016—and he says he wouldn’t be surprised if a new album found its way to listeners’ ears in 2018.

Meanwhile, Marie Miller, a folk pop singer-songwriter from the Shenandoah Valley, who is currently signed to Curb Records, is looking forward to being part of fans’ Christmas festivities while on tour, she says.

She is currently busy promoting her record Letterbox, an album featuring literary undertones.

“I grew up reading and loving old books, and so I have found that many of the characters from these books find themselves in my music,” Miller says. “My song ‘Story’ has references from The Iliad, The Lord of the Rings and Alice in Wonderland. Basically, I am a big nerd.”

The show starts at 7 p.m. and tickets are $25. Get them at thequeenwilmington.com.

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5 Questions with Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind

Stephan Jenkins (center) and Third Eye Blind look to rock The Queen on Wednesday, Oct. 11. Photo courtesy of Third Eye Blind

Audience.

It’s a word and a concept that comes up again and again during a phone interview with Stephan Jenkins, Third Eye Blind’s co-founder, lead vocalist, and force majeure.

As Jenkins explains, whether it’s older fans going all-in with the band’s newer music, or newbies discovering the band’s hits from the ‘90s, he’s overjoyed that there are enthusiastic and engaged listeners out there who enable the band to continue to play, tour, and record new music.

A little more than two decades ago, such a dream seemed unattainable for Jenkins. Living in a shared apartment in San Francisco with other struggling 20-somethings, he had dropped out of graduate school to pursue a full-time career as a musician.

It was years of struggling with little income, making do on coffee during the day and lots of cheap spaghetti dinners.

“Ramen noodles,” Jenkins says with a laugh. “Spaghetti dinners were for special occasions only!”

That special spaghetti dinner was surely on the menu the night the band signed its deal with Elektra Records, which led to a debut album that not only drastically changed the trajectory of Third Eye Blind, but featured songs that would define the late ‘90s.

“Semi-Charmed Life,” “Jumper,” and “How’s It Going to Be,” all hit the Top Ten, and the album itself remained on Billboard Hot 100 for two years.

The success shocked everyone involved. Particularly Jenkins.

“I come from the DIY, indie ethos,” he says. “That was always my mindset, and I was always surprised when anything other than that happened.” 

In advance of Third Eye Blind’s Wednesday, Oct. 11, show at The Queen, Jenkins, who is now 53, spoke to us about those early days, about the music business right now, and his metaphysical take on the spirit of the season.

Here’s what he had to say:

O&A: In a way, it’s kind of a trope: the starving musician who scores a hit album and suddenly becomes famous. But that really is the story behind the band, isn’t it? Or is that oversimplifying it?

Jenkins: Yeah, it does simplify it, because I spent years trying to get bands together to no avail. There was always a revolving set of musicians and trying to get studio time, with year in and year out, nothing to show for it—except that I was constantly developing as a songwriter and a producer. ?

By the time I actually had a record deal, I had developed real chops as a producer, enough so that a lot of my demos became songs on the first record, and I got to produce my first record. So, the time actually was well-spent, but it certainly didn’t feel that way when I was coming along.

O&A: From when you were first starting—and struggling all those years—to when it finally hit, how does it look 20 years later?

Jenkins: Time is always a blur. I still have lots of friends in San Francisco. I mean I have some who are 26 and 27, who are still living six or seven people to a flat and one bathroom, and just trying to make it all work.  That’s where I was [at their age]. And I’ll still come over and sit in the kitchen and make spaghetti. All of that is still something that I know.

But I also have all kinds of different access. Looking back on it, I think [whoever] I was at that time evolved and changed. I can look at that person and be more empathetic to who I was at the time than I perhaps I was for myself when I was actually living it.

O&A: From where you started to where things are today, the music industry has changed so dramatically. In 1997, you were there at the end of an era in terms of the big record companies. How do you compare the way things were to the way they are now?

Jenkins: Well, you were a lot more controlled [then]. There were a lot more gatekeepers [who] had a lot more control over what could happen. There was also the opportunity to actually make money selling records. And now there’s a lot more freedom and a lot less money.

I kind of prefer it now. I think these are the good ol’ days right now.  [Back then] I wanted to bite the hand that fed me, and I didn’t like it that you had to be on MTV—or that you had to be on radio—to reach an audience, [Or] that the record company could tell you what kind of music video to make.

Those things bothered me because, however it may sound, I actually am an artist. I’m not a song-and-dance man and I’m not there to fit into somebody else’s mold. I think I measure things more in terms of a happiness quotient now. I’m definitely a lot happier now.

O&A: Your last record, Dopamine [released 2015], got good reviews. And you’re a band that’s still touring 20 years after releasing its first record. How does that feel? I mean there aren’t a lot of bands from the ‘90s who can say that.

Jenkins: No, not very many. I mean there’s… [pauses to think] Green Day, Foo Fighters, Chili Peppers, Weezer and us. That’s about it. I mean, it’s great. I’m grateful. But I had nothing to do with it. It’s our audience that does that. I have an audience that keeps our music alive. The music resonates with our audience and illuminates as they are living now. And that’s probably one of the most beautiful, best-feeling gifts that I’ve ever received being a musician.

We have a bigger audience [than we did in the ‘90s]. We have a more dedicated audience. You just can see it at the shows. There’s an intensity, and we are comprehended in a way that is beyond what it was before.

O&A: This last question might sound like it’s coming from left field, but for this October edition we’re talking a lot about ghost stories and the paranormal. I’m curious: Have you ever had an experience that you would say was paranormal that you’d like to share with our readers?

Jenkins: What first comes to my mind is something different, which is that Sept. 22nd is the equinox. And October is the period of the equinox, and that’s a time, according to folklore, when witches’ powers are at their greatest because the day and night are evenly split. Anything can happen.

It’s this sense of ambivalence: witches’ powers come up at midnight and the crossroads. It’s all these kinds of things that I can actually feel. So it’s like your own magic, witchy powers become more available. This is why it’s my favorite time of the year because I have this sense that anything could happen. Magic could happen.

So I think it’s important for people to tap into their own sense of that. Because we are, in part, moved and influenced by the movement of the planets. It’s not a joke that when you got a full moon that you feel a little bit more crazy. And you didn’t even know it was full—you’re just acting that way. So, I invite everyone to celebrate their own magic powers.

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Changing of the Guard

Delaware leaders help welcome world’s largest producer of live music concerts to Wilmington

Dylan, Bowie, Sam Cooke and Sheryl Crow all sang about change—the need for it, the inevitability of it, how it will “do you good.” Now, an exciting change has come to Wilmington with The Queen’s new caretakers, Live Nation, a live-events company based in Beverly Hills, Calif., whose website boasts that “somewhere in the world, there is a Live Nation event every 20 minutes.”

On June 14, a healthy mix of musicians, music fans, neighbors, politicians, non-profits and business leaders crowded the 500 block of Market Street to help welcome the new owners. Celebratory sounds from the Wild Bohemians brass band filled the air and three stoic “British guards” stood at attention onstage. (I caught Gov. John Carney trying to converse with one of the guards, to little avail, as she embraced her role.)

The excitement was palpable, especially after an enthusiastic welcome from Buccini/Pollin Group Co-President Chris Buccini and rousing words from Gov. Carney and Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki. Live Nation’s executive vice president for clubs and theaters, Michael Grozier, then stepped to the podium, channeling the Pointer Sisters with his first words to Wilmington. “I’m so excited, and I just can’t hide it!” he shouted.

Live Nation’s Regional President Geoff Gordon (who previously oversaw bookings at Wilmington’s own Kahunaville) joined him to launch a gigantic burst of confetti onto Market Street and usher in a new chapter for The Queen and her city.

“The bones of this building are just fantastic,” Grozier said when I asked about his first walk-through. “And we feel that we’ve got the resources that can build upon that.”

Inside, most of the grand edifice will remain, as will a few familiar faces (e.g., former World Cafe Live talent buyer Christiana LaBuz has moved to the Live Nation team to continue in that role), but there’s also plenty evidence of what will be built with Live Nation’s “toolbox.”

Gathering at the soft opening were (L to R): Jazzi Hall, operations supervisor for The Queen; new General Manager Trenton Banks; Jason Bray, Live Nation Philadelphia Market general manager, and Angela Depersia, operations manager for the Queen. (Photo by Joe del Tufo)
Gathering at the soft opening were (L to R): Jazzi Hall, operations supervisor for The Queen; new General Manager Trenton Banks; Jason Bray, Live Nation Philadelphia Market general manager, and Angela Depersia, operations manager for the Queen. (Photo by Joe del Tufo)

New Bar by Thanksgiving

Guests were greeted by sleek architectural renderings of the new front bar and box office, which Buccini hopes to have completed by Thanksgiving. Walls and hallways were adorned with large music/pop culture-inspired, neon-tinged installations by artists Louis St. Lewis and Nate Sheaffer. Posters touted some of the shows that have already been booked, including Cheap Trick, The Alarm and comedian Jim Breuer as well as longtime local favorites Ben LeRoy and The Snap and Montana Wildaxe.

“From a talent perspective, our plan is to bring in a mix spanning all genres,” said Jon Hampton, Live Nation’s senior vice president for talent. “I expect us to book close to 100 shows annually, keeping the venue active and ensuring the calendar offers something for everyone.”

Grozier concurred: “We hope to bring over 100,000 people downtown for the best in international, national, regional and local talent—in all forms for all members of the community.” It seems that our new neighbor wants to celebrate the local scene as much as endorse Wilmington as a place to draw big-name acts.

“The level of financial, social and emotional investment in this city is amazing,” Grozier said, noting the enthusiasm he’s seen from surrounding businesses and residents alike. “We want to be sure to honor that.”

Community engagement will surely be part of the responsibilities of Trenton Banks, the new general manager of The Queen. Banks—now a downtown Wilmingtonian along with wife Jaclyn and their two young sons—has been busy discovering the surroundings of his new gig.

“We’ve definitely been exploring,” he said. They’ve traveled along Market Street, down to the Riverfront, and have made visits to La Fia and Chelsea Tavern. “As a [new] Wilmington resident, I’m excited to meet fellow residents and support neighboring businesses,” Banks said.

He seems enamored with his new venue and what it offers. “It’s such a gorgeous, spacious building, the possibilities are endless,” he said. “There is underutilized space; we’ll look at how best to serve the needs of the community as we get up and running.”

Banks and Live Nation have plans for concerts, special events and local nights. He noted the addition of the bar inside the corner of 5th and Market, which he envisions as a great enhancement to the neighborhood on both show and off nights, since it will be accessible to both concertgoers and the public.

Shine a Light to Return

Banks said that Live Nation’s involvement will encompass the larger community. “We’re 100 percent committed to supporting and advocating for local arts and community initiatives, and plan to be an active partner,” he said. In fact, at the June 14 event, the team confirmed Saturday, March 3, as the return of Shine a Light, the annual fundraising concert for the Light Up the Queen Foundation. Banks also announced a July 23 job fair for local staffing at all levels.

Asked how the community can support in return, he said, “We only ask that you come out to shows, embrace live music and give us your feedback and ideas so we can work to deliver a world-class venue in the heart of Wilmington.”

Buccini/Pollin Group’s overall vision for The Queen seems to align well with Live Nation’s plans. “Our goal is to fully maximize this space and the music experience in downtown Wilmington, but also to create a more varied talent base—everything from music to comedy,” said Buccini. “Live Nation has the ability to make that happen for us.”

Smiling, he added, “Wilmington is growing up.”

Later, I walked back to my car at 6th and Shipley and noticed a band of blue confetti had migrated there. I smiled myself, hoping it was a symbol of the burgeoning excitement, liveliness and transformation that will benefit all parts of Wilmington.

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Montana Wildaxe: 30 Years and Still Jammin’

And they’re as popular as ever. Catch them at The Queen Dec. 29.

There are a handful of Delaware bands that have been around for years and years: Love Seed Mama Jump, The Bullets, Dr. Harmonica & Rockett 88 and The Cameltones are just a few that come to mind. They all include plenty of cover songs in their acts, and they’re all still playing regular gigs, whether it’s throughout the summer at the beach or even this month in Trolley Square.

But Montana Wildaxe trumps them all, having played the local scene for more than 30 years. Their unique blend of Grateful Dead and Allman Bros. covers, psychedelic rock, and jam band improvisation attracts hippies and hipsters alike. It’s a style and vibe that’s difficult to describe unless you’ve seen them live.

These days, “Montana,” as fans affectionately call them, are as popular as ever, even though they play less than a handful of dates each year. While that statement might not make sense on the surface, it’s a matter of simple economics; the diminishing supply of live performances has resulted in an increase in popularity and demand, both with diehard fans and the venues still fortunate enough to host the band.

Uncovering the Cover Band

Back in the ‘80s, the music scene was a whole lot different, according to Montana Wildaxe bassist and vocalist Tony Cappella. Original bands dominated the scene in the tristate area, and now-defunct Wilmington hotspots like The Barn Door and The Coyote Café featured live and local originals most nights of the week.

“There were a ton of original bands back then, really, and if they had any chops, they had no problem finding venues to play in Delaware,” Cappella says. “I think a lot of it sparked from acts like George Thorogood and The Hooters, who really opened the door. Everyone who could play an instrument jumped on the bandwagon, hoping to be the next big thing.”

Cappella joined Montana Wildaxe in 1987, just a few years after Kurt Houff (lead guitar, vocals) and Chip Porter (rhythm guitar, lead vocals) had started the band with a few other musicians. The current lineup that includes keyboardist Dan Long, percussionist Tim Kelly, and drummer/vocalist Glenn Walker would form in full by 1991.

Porter says he and Houff decided to become a jam band for two reasons: they wanted to improvise musically, rather than being boring or repetitive, and their vocal and guitar abilities somewhat mirrored the godfathers of the jam band, the Grateful Dead.

“I’d probably seen the Dead 100 times by the time we started the band,” says Porter. “Jerry Garcia’s guitar solos were the most beautiful thing I’d ever heard. Plus, we could sing like Garcia and Bob Weir, who were some of rock’s greatest poets ever.”

Houff says the arrangement of the songs and the style of the music are big reasons why the band has stayed together for so long, even if in a somewhat limited capacity the last decade or so. “Each song, each night is up for specific interpretation. Each and every moment is the product of all the preceding moments.”

Houff says he knew the band would be successful from the get-go, but didn’t know it would be a lasting part of his life until sometime in the ‘90s. For Cappella, however, the first gig he played with Montana Wildaxe set the tone for decades to come.

“I remember my first show with Montana, downstairs at the Logan House. The place was packed and the smell of weed was in the air,” Cappella says. “I’m not sure I’d ever seen a cover band get a crowd like that before. From then on, any Deadhead within spitting distance knew about us, and they came out in droves to see us play.”

Low Supply, High Demand

After nearly 20 years of hitting it hard on the local circuit, the members of Montana Wildaxe decided to play fewer shows as they moved closer to middle age, with families and full-time jobs taking up much of their time. But rather than fade into the music scene ether, they’ve continued to show up.

“I think our musical chemistry is the main element that has kept us together for so long,” Walker says. “We are all very good listeners while we play and can pick up and follow subtle variations in the music as it’s being played. The crowds are proof that it works.”

Staff members at World Cafe Live at The Queen on Market Street feel as if it works pretty well, even though Montana only plays there two or three times a year (including an upcoming annual holiday show on Thursday, Dec. 29). Director of Programming Christianna LaBuz is a longtime fan who is especially looking forward to jamming with Montana.

“Their shows are a social event that everyone—the fans and our staff alike—always look forward to,” LaBuz says. “They’re wonderful humans to deal with on a professional level from beginning to end and their music is phenomenal. The guys also play with so many other folks and contribute their talents toward many of the collaborative shows we present throughout the year.”

When Kelly’s Logan House General Manager Tim Crowley was asked to plan a 60th birthday party for one of the bar’s most esteemed guests, the idea of featuring a live band upstairs was suggested. Crowley booked Montana Wildaxe without blinking an eye.

“They’ve been playing here for years, so there is certainly a longstanding connection between Montana and Kelly’s, but it’s more than that,” Crowley says. “If we have a big event and I have my druthers, Montana Wildaxe is my first choice because they always have a great crowd and bring an incredible, fun vibe.”

For Cappella, the high praise comes as a welcome surprise. “I think we can actually be a pain in the ass to deal with,” he says, laughing. “But I guess that’s with each other since we’ve been together so long. It’s nice to hear, though.”

A Literal Connection

So, what’s with the name, many people ask. Who is from Montana, and what does “Wildaxe” even mean? The genesis, it turns out, goes back to the band’s college days in the ‘80s at the University of Delaware. One of Porter’s roommates, an English major, coined the name while reading the Kurt Vonnegut classic, Slaughterhouse-Five.

“It was a big house, and one of the many people coming and going gave the name to our bassist at the time, who was always wearing a cowboy hat while he was practicing,” Porter says. “The character from the book was named ‘Montana Wildhack,’ but we changed the ‘hack’ to ‘axe,’ to reference the guitar. The ‘Montana’ part fit because of the big hat he wore.”

It’s a story that every band member is familiar with, even if they’re not familiar with Vonnegut’s sci-fi story. Neither Porter, nor Long, nor Walker, nor Cappella have read the book. Only Houff, who coincidentally shares the same first name as the novel’s author, has read the World War II satire.

“The biggest parallel I made when we stuck with that name is that Vonnegut writes the book in these flashes of going back and forth in time,” Houff says. “I’ve always felt like music has the ability to do that, to transport us to different places in our minds.”

Tickets to Montana Wildaxe’s Dec. 29 show at The Queen are on sale at worldcafelive.com for $13, or $15 the day of the show. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show begins at 8.

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The More the Merrier: New Eateries on the Horizon for Market Street

Restaurants are springing up all over Market Street, giving redevelopment a boost

In 2013, when Bryan and Andrea Sikora opened La Fia on the 400 block of Market Street, they had no intention of creating a restaurant group focused on LOMA, the nickname for the lower end of Wilmington’s main commercial corridor. La Fia was so well received, however, that the Sikoras decided to expand.

In 2015, they opened Cocina Lolo at 405 N. King St., which has been a hit with the lunch and happy hour crowd. Also that year, Merchant Bar, which opened at 426 N. Market St., quickly debunked the complaint that there’s nothing to do after 9 p.m. on Market Street.

The Sikoras appreciate Market Street’s diverse scene. “There’s a nice representation of various arts groups—arts, theater—we thought that was a good match for the customer base that we are trying to reach,” says Andrea Sikora, whose restaurants are just steps from World Cafe Live at the Queen. And there are enough office workers to sustain the lunch hour.

That’s also the case at the upper end of Market, where the Grand Opera House holds court. For a pre- or post-show pint, the Grand’s customers often make a pit stop at Chelsea Tavern, located at 821 N. Market.

While diners still drive in from the suburbs, particularly if they are going to a show, a growing number live just around the block. “We see many more residential regulars than we have in the past,” says Joe Van Horn, owner of Chelsea Tavern.

In the past six months, Sikora has also seen more local traffic. She largely credits The Buccini/Pollin Group, or BPG, whose Market Street corridor project includes 114 existing apartments, liberally sprinkled from the 400 to the 800 blocks—and more are on the way.

BPG in June broke ground on the Residences at Midtown Park, a $75 million complex that will include 200 apartments, 12,000 square feet of retail space, and a 500-space underground parking garage. In September, BPG announced the acquisition of three properties with more than 60,000 square feet that will include apartments above retail/restaurant space.

“When we bring new apartments to the area—and they get filled—then there’s the next wave of restaurant-retail activity,” says Sarah Lamb, director of design and marketing for BPG. “And we’re in that next wave right now.”

In short, the Sikoras and Van Horn are about to get some more culinary company.

Breaking the Barriers

For decades, Market Street restaurants have been dependent on office workers and theatergoers. But even when the DuPont Co. and MBNA were in full swing, it was an inconsistent customer base that exacerbated the challenges of restaurant ownership.

A short walk from Market Street, the Washington Street Ale House, Mikimotos, and Domaine Hudson persevered. Dan Butler’s Deep Blue, which he’s recently reinvented as Tonic, also displayed longevity on 10th Street. These restaurants benefit from proximity to the Wilmington Hospital and the Midtown Brandywine residential, as well as corporate offices.

Market Street, however, witnessed a series of high-profile casualties in the early 2000s. Remember 821, The Maine Course and National? Stalwarts such as Cavanaugh’s at 703 N. Market and Govato’s at 800 N. Market are open only for lunch. If the theaters were dark and the offices were closed, you could chase tumbleweeds down Market Street.

BPG’s approach puts an emphasis on residential as well as commercial development. The developer has a range of options along the Market Street corridor, from 76 studios and one-bedroom units at 6 E. Third St. to The Residences at Rodney Square, an office-to-residential conversion with 280 apartments.

Marketing materials for the 200-unit Residences at the Midtown Park, which is under development where the Shipley Street parking garage once stood, show hip urbanites riding bikes and standing on corners checking their phones.

If that rendering becomes a reality, these are the folks who want a bite, a beer, and conversation, preferably with some live music nearby.

From Top to Bottom

The northern end of Market Street has traditionally seen the bulk of restaurant activity. In 2010, Chelsea Tavern took over space formerly occupied by Restaurant 821, a fine-dining establishment that rode in on the coattails of MBNA. Chelsea took the opposite approach by espousing an alehouse concept. Owner Scott Morrison also opened Ernest & Scott Taproom, at 902 N. Market. Van Horn manages both.

Morrison planned to open a brewpub three doors down from Chelsea Tavern. Then, in February, he suffered a fatal heart attack. Van Horn has since purchased Chelsea Tavern and is in negotiations to acquire Ernest & Scott.

Joe Van Horn, owner of Chelsea Tavern. (Photo by Joe del Tufo/Moonloop Photography)
Joe Van Horn, owner of Chelsea Tavern. (Photo by Joe del Tufo/Moonloop Photography)

Van Horn is planning an expansion for Chelsea that will include indoor and outdoor seating in what is now a thruway linking Market and Shipley streets. The building at 815 N. Market is coming down, allowing the tavern to open a small beer garden in the future plaza. “We hope to be up and running in early spring,” Van Horn says.

If all goes as planned with the Ernest & Scott deal, he will renovate the space and partner with a local chef to reopen with a new concept.

Meanwhile, Daniel Sheridan has picked up the baton and is running forward with a brewpub concept for 829 N. Market St.: Stitch House Brewery.

Sheridan’s name is fairly familiar around town—he’s an owner of Locale BBQ Post and Wilmington Pickling Company. And he’s no stranger to Market Street, having worked with chef Bryan Sikora at La Fia for nearly two years while planning Locale.

“It put me at ease about being on Market Street because I saw that he could bring in clients after downtown [office workers] cleared out,” Sheridan says. “We’re confident that with a nice brewery and a nice menu we can bring people downtown. Plus, with the Midtown Park project, we’ll have a parking garage right behind us and more apartments right behind us.”

A rendering of Stitch House Brewery at 829 N. Market St. It's expected to open next spring. (Photo courtesy of Buccini/Pollin Group)
A rendering of Stitch House Brewery at 829 N. Market St. It’s expected to open next spring. (Photo courtesy of Buccini/Pollin Group)

Stitch House Brewery, which will have 90 to 100 seats, is named for the building’s former occupants, a tailor and a linen shop. (It’s also been a coal house and an icehouse.)

Sheridan, who hopes to open next spring, says to expect some barbecue; there will be a smoker on the premises. But barbecue isn’t the star. To cater to the lunchtime crowd, the menu will include paninis and sandwiches. Sheridan is also incorporating a fun factor: dishes prepared and served in mini cast iron skillets, such as dips, lasagna and warm vegetable salads with goat cheese.

LOMA, at the lower end of Market Street, got its boost from La Fia’s opening. The restaurant and its siblings have created a bustling couple of blocks in the evenings.

Last summer, Twisted Soul Restaurant & Bar joined the trio. Steve and Khim Taylor, who received assistance from the Market Street Corridor Revitalization Fund, own the 80-seat restaurant, located at 413 N. Market.

Filling in the Gaps

Now BPG and city stakeholders, including Downtown Visions, are turning their attention to the blocks between Fourth and Eighth streets. Not only will this appease those who live in those areas, but it will create more activity from one end of the street to another instead of at either end, making it more inviting for those who wish to walk the corridor at night.

Starbucks is scheduled to open a location early this month at 629 N. Market. The restaurant, which sports a high-level design similar to the décor in the Riverfront site, will be open seven days a week. “It’s something our residents are demanding,” says BPG’s Lamb.

A rendering of Arde Osteria at 629 N. Market St., also expected to open this spring. (Photo courtesy of the Buccini/Pollin Group)
A rendering of Arde Osteria at 629 N. Market St., also expected to open this spring. (Photo courtesy of the Buccini/Pollin Group)

Across the street, Ardé Osteria, an Italian concept, is in the works. The restaurant is owned by Pino DiMeo, Scott Stein and Antimo DiMeo, whose first Wilmington venture, DiMeo’s Pizzaiuoli Napulitani, is a destination for pizza-lovers at 831 N. Market.

To offer an enhanced menu, the partners first looked at the space now occupied by Merchant Bar. Meanwhile, a location in Wayne, Pa., became available, and they opened Ardé Osteria as a BYO.

“Always the vision—the next evolution—was to have a wine bar, craft beer, and creative cocktails,” Stein says. “We always knew we would go back to Wilmington with this concept.” The buffalo mozzarella bar, a highlight of the Wayne location, will be available in Wilmington.

The Ardé Osteria on Market Street will reside in what some today know as the Kennedy Fried Chicken building, which is situated at the corner of Seventh and Market streets. But old-timers will recall it as Snellenburg’s Department Store. Atop the restaurant will be 15 one-bedroom and two-bedroom-den apartments. If all goes well, Ardé Osteria will open in spring 2017.

Moving Forward

The Italian concept joins a melting pot. The Market Street corridor and the surrounding area have a significant number of small ethnic restaurants featuring sushi, Chinese, and Indian cuisine. More than a few, though, close around 6 p.m.

Sheridan wants the corridor to become better known for diverse dining during all hours, including happy hour and late night. “There’s not one restaurant that will carry the whole street,” he says. “It needs to be a collective.”

But the pie is only so big, Sikora says. Some might say that’s especially true in the 800 block, where craft beer is already big. Van Horn of Chelsea Tavern isn’t worried about Sheridan’s new brewery. “It was going to be great for business when we were going to do it, and it will be great for business when Dan does it,” he says.

On Market Street, the adage proves true: the more the merrier.