Athens, GA boogie woogie kings Allgood have been one of my favorite bands for nearly 20 years and it seems that 2010 has been a great year for them. Allgood has been enjoying some much deserved new found success these days as they make their return to the stage. I was thrilled to once again catch up with singer Corky Jones to talk about Allgood’s awesome return to the stage in 2010 and what lies ahead for the band and us, the fans. Pop open up a cold one and enjoy it!
Allgood will be performing THIS SATURDAY NIGHT the 16th at The Melting Point in Athens, GA so get out there! You don’t wanna miss this show! A facemelt will definitely be on the menu that night!
Last time we spoke you were living in the New Orleans area. Are you back in Georgia and if so, how does it feel to be back home?
Actually I spent the last year living up in Delaware in an old family place my wife and I fixed up. I grew up nearby which made it cool to hang with my family and old friends. However, we missed the New Orleans weirdo factor too much and decided to hit undo. We are back in the Crescent City now and super glad we made the decision to return.
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Corky, since we last talked you guys managed to once again do a handful of shows here in the Georgia area. How did the shows go and how did they go?
We played two shows earlier this year (7/30/10 and 7/31/10). The first one was in a little joint in Columbus called the Loft. Really great room for a warm up gig. We tried to keep it under radar with no local promotion just to keep things loose but still ended up with a full house. It was the first time we played since the 2006 shows. The next night we played at this unbelievably cool classic southern theater that has been totally redone and kitted out with a primo sound system. The Cox Capitol Theatre in Macon GA. The place was humming with excitement all day and they sold it out before we even got to the venue. The place was so alive when we hit the stage I felt stoned by the crowd’s energy. There seriously is nothing like that feeling of being elevated by raw enthusiasm. We weren’t sure what to expect when we booked the show and Macon did us so right. We are talking with the guys that run the place about trying to get back over there sometime this winter. Macon has always been a receptive place for us to play but after 20 or so years we had no idea how much they really get us.
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With a handful of “reunion” shows under your belts, you guys all sound like time hasn’t touched you one bit. Any chance that we may see more of Allgood?
Two words – “Hell yes.” Mike, Clay and I are really into getting back out there. We have received tons of encouragement from fans to do more shows and so that’s exactly what we’re setting up now. We are focusing on booking interesting venues and festivals. Our NEXT SHOW is in Athens at the Melting Point on October 16th.
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Were the shows captured on audio and/or video to share with the fans that could not be there?
Yes the Columbus shows were recorded on both video and soundboard audio. These are both in post-production. Me or someone will post something on our Facebook page when these are available.
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The line up for these shows consisted of yourself and original Allgood members Mike Sain (bass) and Clay Fuller (guitar) along with Jupiter Coyote drummer Noel Felty, Neal Lucas (Guitar) and Patrick Smith (Keys). Why did Charlie Pruitt (drummer) and John Carter (guitar) sit these shows out and is this a tender subject?
It’s pretty tender. The three of us spoke at length with Charlie and John prior to the shows to gauge their interest in playing. It’s one thing to think about it and want to be onstage, it’s totally another thing to be able to commit the time and energy to making sure we put on a show that knocks people over. Of course we have a long terrific history together and we wanted to see if we could recreate that vibe 15 years later. I really have a lot of love to Charlie and John. Charlie has been focused on a career and had not been playing regularly enough to join. However during a practice that we held in Athens he stopped by in and the four of us played for awhile. First time we did that in more 18 years. It was really great to see him and play a little together. John was scheduled to come up for that same practice but something (not sure what) came up at the last minute which caused him to cancel. Then he was going to sit in during the Macon show but we got our wires crossed and that didn’t happen which was definitely a bummer for all of us. The three of us decided to go out and redo the lineup and see where that led. With absolutely no disrespect to John and Charlie, I can say that the guys that are onstage now are monster players that we were very lucky to find. Every one of them brings a top-notch work ethic and professional attitude to everything they do. Not to mention they are terrific people and fun as hell to share the stage with. I guess what it comes down to is that at some point you have to let go of the past and allow the band to evolve. Nostalgia is great but by definition it’s limited. It is much more exciting and rewarding to push off in a new direction. Scarier too. Most Allgood fans seem to be real musicologists and I expect that once they get over the weirdness of seeing new faces up onstage that they will agree that Allgood has never been better musically.
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If Allgood was to hop on the touring circuit again, what bands would you like to see yourself sharing the stage with and why?
Great question. I’d love to play with Ben Harper, Panic, moe, Deathcab for Cutie, MMJ, Black Crowes, Cracker, Counting Crows, Sheryl Crow (any band with the word “crow”), Umphrey’s, anything with Col. Bruce Hampton.
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Just this year, God Street Wine from NYC reunited for 4 shows thatwere extremely well received and they sounded absolutely amazing. I was saying to a friend that it would be awesome if we could get Allgood, God Street Wine, The Spin Doctors, Blues Traveler and Widespread Panic to do a HORDE class reunion of sorts. Who can we call to make this happen?
Maybe Ghostbusters? Seriously hang in there. We are looking at something very similar to this now.
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Corky, would you guys please consult with me before booking anymore shows? I’m tired of you guys booking shows on dates that I’m either out of town or have my own gig booked!
No can do. We’ll get you though. Stay tuned.
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Corky, thanks again for checking in with The Brainfart! What can we expect from Allgood in the next year?
More touring. And a new studio tracks. We are hoping to go into the studio sometime after the first of the year to lay down some new ideas. I’ll get in touch with you and we can go through the songs’ deeper meanings one-by-one. I really appreciate you giving me the chance to run on a bit about the band. We have some really exciting plans in the works and I am hoping that people will continue to respond so enthusiastically to what we are putting out there.
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