Slobberbone

Slobberbone is an American alt-country band from Denton, Texas, led by singer-songwriter Brent Best, Jess Barr, Tony Harper, and Brian Lane.[1][2] Best continues to tour as a solo act, performing both songs by Slobberbone and The Drams, and songs from his solo record, but also reunites with both bands for shows with full band line-ups.[3]

Jess Barr and Brent Best at Dan's Silverleaf in 2005

Slobberbone The Drams
Slobberbone at White Water Tavern in Little Rock, AR in 2012
Background information
Origin	Denton, Texas U.S.
Genres	Alt-country Rock
Years active	Slobberbone 1992–2005; 2006–2014 The Drams 2005–2006 Brent Best 2015–present
Labels	Doolittle Records New West Records Last Chance Records Transient Camp Recordings
Associated acts	The Drams Brent Best Centro-Matic South San Gabriel Two Cow Garage Gravel Truck
Website	slobberbone.com
Members	Slobberbone Brent Best Jess Barr Tony Harper Brian Lane The Drams Brent Best Jess Barr Tony Harper Keith Killoren Chad Stockslager
Past members	Mike Hill (Slobberbone guitarist) Lee Parsons (Slobberbone bass player)

History

Slobberbone formed in early 1992 in Denton, Texas, where the band played for beer and had their first gig at the Park 'n' Go, a beer store in Denton. The best-known line-up consisted of singer-songwriter Brent Best on guitar and lead vocals, Jess Barr on lead guitar, Brian Lane on bass guitar, and drummer Tony Harper.[4] The band members met after attending University of North Texas, where they lived in a house together and played local shows in Denton. Bassist Brian Lane joined the band in 1996 and guitarist Jess Barr in 1997. They eventually signed with the Austin-based record label, Doolittle Records[5] (which eventually merged with New West Records).[6][7] Their name is a reference to a dog's chew bone.[2][4]

From 1995 onwards, Slobberbone as a band solidified its lineup and began playing shows outside of Texas, becoming known for its extensive touring schedule across the United States.[8]

Jeff Cole from Doolittle Records produced the first two Slobberbone records.[1] Jim Dickinson, who among other work is known for The Replacements, produced Everything You Thought Was Right Was Wrong Today, working with the band to record at Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee.[7]

Don Smith of Tommy Stinson's Bash & Pop and Cracker, produced Slippage in Los Angeles, California.[2][9]

In early 2005, the band announced that it was calling it quits because Lane was moving to Florida.[10] Slobberbone played a series of shows for their final farewell tour.[11]

In 2009, the band (with the 2005 lineup) reunited for a series of shows. At the end of 2009, the reformed band, with Lane returned to Texas from Florida, announced that they plan on recording a new album in 2010 before going out on another tour.[10] In May 2011, the band's drummer posted a blog entry stating that the planned mini-tour and merchandise sales would help provide the necessary funding for the band's long-anticipated album.[9]

Outside of the United States, the band is popular in the Netherlands, where Slobberbone has toured intensively in the main clubs and on festivals since 1998.[6][9]

The Drams

In 2005, most of the band's members reformed as The Drams when Best was scheduled to play a full band show as a solo act.[6] Two members from Denton, Texas' Budapest One, Keith Killoren and Chad Schlockslager, are members of The Drams. The Drams play rock with the inclusion of background vocals and keyboards. Their record, Jubilee Dive, was produced by Centro-Matic's Matt Pence and came out on mini-major New West Records.[12]

Brent Best

Best was born on September 1, 1970, in Austin, Texas, although his family moved to a nearby small town in Texas shortly after. When he was young he played in a band with his friend, singer-songwriter Kevin Kerby, from his teenage years onwards.[6][13] They had a two-man band which they described as "Black Grass" that was called Sad Monkey Railroad.[14] Best was able to co-write with Kerby, and produced the first self-released Slobberbone record with him.[2]

In 2015, Best released a solo record called Your Dog, Champ on Last Chance Records.[15] The record which began its start in April 2010, took 5 years to make and was crowd-funded.[9][13] The record was well received.[16] Grady Don Sandlin played drums and Ralph White (Bad Livers), Petra Kelly, Scott Danbom (Centro-Matic, Sarah Jaffe) and Claude Bernard (The Gourds) also contributed to the record.[13]

Best contributed the song "Robert Cole" to the Bloodshot Records compilation, Just One More, A Musical Tribute to Larry Brown.[17]

Recognition

Stephen King mentioned the band's song "Gimme Back My Dog" in his novel Black House.[18]^:420,429 He also listed the song as one of the top three greatest rock and roll songs ever in his column in Entertainment Weekly.[19] Although never publicly confirmed, the album 'Slippage' could very well be Slobberbone's nod to King. The word 'slippage' is an important term in Black House.[18]^{:40–42,46,48–49,60,80,91,484,715} King Also mentions Slobberbone as a favorite of protagonist Richard Sifkitz in the novella Stationary Bike.

Drive-By Truckers front man Patterson Hood sang on the Slobberbone song "Lazy Guy" on Barrel Chested.[1] Slobberbone often toured with the Drive-By Truckers early in both bands' careers.[9]

Discography

Slobberbone

• 1994: Crow Pot Pie (self-released)
• 1996: Crow Pot Pie (Doolittle); contains different songs than original
• 1997: Limited Edition EP (Doolittle)
• 1997: Barrel Chested (Doolittle / New West Records)
• 1998: Your Excuse Live-EP (Doolittle / New West Records)
• 2000: Everything You Thought Was Right Was Wrong Today (New West Records)
• 2002: Slippage (New West Records)
• 2016: Bees and Seas: The Best of Slobberbone (New West Records)

Compilations

• 1997: "Dark as a Dungeon" by Merle Travis on Straight Outta Boone County Cowboy Songs, Home Songs, Western Songs, Mountain Songs (Bloodshot Records)
• 1999: "Scuffed" on Band-Kits: A Compilation of Denton, Texas Music (Quality Park)
• 1999: "Piece of Crap" by Neil Young on This Note's for You Too! A Tribute to Neil Young (Interstate Records)
• 2005: "Some New Town" by Bruce Springsteen on Thunder Road Tracks Inspired by the Boss (Uncut)

The Drams

• 2006: Jubilee Dive (New West Records)

Brent Best

• 2015: Your Dog, Champ (Transient Camp Recordings for Last Chance Records)

References

1. Renshaw, Jerry (28 July 2000). "Barrel Chested Again: Denton's Slobberbone". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
2. Koepenick, Sean (29 March 2003). "Slobberbone: Interview with Brent Best". Ear Candy Magazine. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
3. Poet, J (13 October 2015). "In Profile: Brent Best". Lone Star Music Magazine. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
4. Copetas, Jeff (31 August 1997). "Slobberbone - Common Sense". No Depression. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
5. Hess, Christopher (8 September 1998). "Doolittle Records". The Weekly Wire via The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
6. Guarino, Mark (31 August 2006). "The Drams - Back from the Bone break". No Depression. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
7. Crain, Zac (13 April 2000). "The Replacements' Replacement". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
8. Falcon, Jaime-Paul (5 August 2015). "Brent Best Comes Out the Other Side After Having His Life Turned Upside Down". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
9. Smyers, Darryl (6 April 2012). "Brent Best Talks About Going Solo, The Legacy of Slobberbone and Having Rachel Maddow As a Fan". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
10. Caligiuri, Jim (12 May 2010). "Five Years: Back to the 'bone". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
11. Campbell, Chris (30 November 2009). "Over the Wires: Brent Best". Bandwagon. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
12. Caligiuri, Jim (11 August 2006). "The Drams: Record review". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
13. Best, Brent (2015). "To all donors to my solo album effort, far too long in the making". Last Chance Records. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
14. Kerby, Kevin. "Kevin Kerby: Bio". Kevin Kerby Loves You. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
15. Horowitz, Hal (3 August 2015). "Brent Best: Your Dog, Champ". American Songwriter. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
16. Jones, Preston (4 August 2015). "Lone Star Sounds: New music from Brent Best". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
    - Toland, Michael (7 August 2015). "Brent Best – Your Dog, Champ". Blurt. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
    - Childs, Bryan aka Romeo Sid Vicious (17 August 2015). "Brent Best – Your Dog, Champ – 2015 – Nine Bullets". Nine Bullets. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
17. Paste Staff (5 February 2007). "Bloodshot to Release Larry Brown Tribute". Paste. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
18. King, Stephen (2012). Black House. New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 978-0-375-50439-6. OCLC 875060598. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
19. King, Stephen (1 February 2007). "Stephen King on why he loves Ahnuld and hates Celine". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 30 December 2015.

Further reading

• DeRemer, Leigh Ann. Contemporary Musicians. Profiles of the People in Music Volume 38. Detroit, Mich: Gale, 2003. ISBN 978-1-414-41321-1 ISSN 1044-2197 OCLC 527366128
• Gordon, Rev. Keith A. Rock Talk: On the Record with Rock Music's Most Interesting Talents. Franklin, TN: Anthem Pop/Kult Publishing, 2004. ISBN 978-0-972-04551-3 OCLC 869012537

External links

• Slobberbone
• Brent Best at Last Chance Records