Posted 10:36 pm Friday, August 17, 2012
Send to Kindle
JB and The Moonshine Band hit the road to Billy Bob's
|
By Stewart Smith
ssmith@tylerpaper.com
It's been a crazy two years for JB and The Moonshine Band and there are no signs of things slowing down just yet.
ssmith@tylerpaper.com
It's been a crazy two years for JB and The Moonshine Band and there are no signs of things slowing down just yet.
The band hit the proverbial ground running last year when the group went from complete unknowns (they didn't even know each other when they first formed) to inking a record deal, and now they're touring from Austin to Georgia and everywhere in between. Frontman JB Patterson acknowledges they could never have gotten this far without the cadre of dedicated fans in Tyler and East Texas, and he's put together a party bus expedition to Billy Bob's in Fort Worth as a unique way of saying “Thanks.”
Patterson said the band has been working hard to make sure this will be a show worthy of fans' time and money.
“We actually have quite a few surprises in store. We're rehearsing every night this week to make sure that we bring some new and fresh aspects to the show,” Patterson said. “One thing I can divulge is that we will at least one new band member on-stage with us, and maybe more. But that's about all I can say right now.”
While he wouldn't say whether this new addition would be permanent, Patterson did admit that he brings the band a little more “Texas legitimacy.”
“He plays quite a few instruments, but the one I'm most excited for is the fiddle. They say that if you're going to play in Texas, you have to have a fiddle in the band, so we finally meet that criteria,” he said.
This year also saw the release of the band's sophomore album, “Beer For Breakfast.” While some groups sweat such a release – there's always the persistent fear of the dreaded “sophomore slump” when coming off of a successful debut – Patterson said their second go 'round in the studio yielded better results than the first.
“I feel so good about it. If sales are any indication, we haven't hit a sophomore slump. In fact, we're doing numbers that far outweigh our freshman album,” he said. “Furthermore, I intend on releasing as many singles as possible from this album. We have done our best to make sure that every song is a good song with no filler on the album. I intend to release as many singles to the public as I can, as opposed to two or three, which is the norm.”
Patterson said he's quite proud of the album, especially in the way that it reflects who and what the band is. As in the first album, all of the songs are written or co-written by Patterson, a creative priority.
“It's very diverse. There are party songs. There are drinking songs. There are love songs. There is something for everybody on this album. If I had to give one specific accolade, that's what it would be,” he said. “What (the album) means to me is, I'm very proud of this album. I wrote most of the songs by myself. I co-wrote three or four of them, but I wrote or co-wrote every single song. This is basically my thoughts on a CD and, to me, that's very important that we are being authentic and I think that comes through on the album, whether we like it or not.”
Patterson said he's looking forward to having the opportunity to experiment the next time the band goes into the studio.
While he wouldn't say whether this new addition would be permanent, Patterson did admit that he brings the band a little more “Texas legitimacy.”
“He plays quite a few instruments, but the one I'm most excited for is the fiddle. They say that if you're going to play in Texas, you have to have a fiddle in the band, so we finally meet that criteria,” he said.
This year also saw the release of the band's sophomore album, “Beer For Breakfast.” While some groups sweat such a release – there's always the persistent fear of the dreaded “sophomore slump” when coming off of a successful debut – Patterson said their second go 'round in the studio yielded better results than the first.
“I feel so good about it. If sales are any indication, we haven't hit a sophomore slump. In fact, we're doing numbers that far outweigh our freshman album,” he said. “Furthermore, I intend on releasing as many singles as possible from this album. We have done our best to make sure that every song is a good song with no filler on the album. I intend to release as many singles to the public as I can, as opposed to two or three, which is the norm.”
Patterson said he's quite proud of the album, especially in the way that it reflects who and what the band is. As in the first album, all of the songs are written or co-written by Patterson, a creative priority.
“It's very diverse. There are party songs. There are drinking songs. There are love songs. There is something for everybody on this album. If I had to give one specific accolade, that's what it would be,” he said. “What (the album) means to me is, I'm very proud of this album. I wrote most of the songs by myself. I co-wrote three or four of them, but I wrote or co-wrote every single song. This is basically my thoughts on a CD and, to me, that's very important that we are being authentic and I think that comes through on the album, whether we like it or not.”
Patterson said he's looking forward to having the opportunity to experiment the next time the band goes into the studio.
“What I would like to do on the next album is to experiment more, production-wise. There have been several albums over the years of my life that have been what I would categorize as revolutionary, and I would say that on the next album as far as production goes I want to move away from mainstream production and experiment with revolutionary production,” Patterson said. “I want to do something different. I want us to be us to the fullest extent.”
That said, Patterson wants to bask in the success (creatively and otherwise) of “Beer For Breakfast” before the band goes back into the studio. When they do, however, he's hoping they get a little more time to tweak and tune.
“Instead of trying to hurry up and record an album within a set amount of time. Our first album we did in three days, next in two weeks. I would like to spend six months at our leisure. I want to take our time with it and experiment,” he said.
More than anything, Patterson seemed truly aware of how indebted he and the band are to the support shown by fans and expressed a heavy amount of gratitude.
“We've seen so much support from East Texas and Tyler specifically, I just want to thank everybody for being so supportive,” he said. “It means so much to us to see our friends and family and fans to support us. Our family, friends and fans in East Texas are the best.”
The Billy Bob's show will take place tonight at 10:30. Tickets are $12 per person.
For more information, visit jbandthemoonshineband.com or billybobstexas.com.
That said, Patterson wants to bask in the success (creatively and otherwise) of “Beer For Breakfast” before the band goes back into the studio. When they do, however, he's hoping they get a little more time to tweak and tune.
“Instead of trying to hurry up and record an album within a set amount of time. Our first album we did in three days, next in two weeks. I would like to spend six months at our leisure. I want to take our time with it and experiment,” he said.
More than anything, Patterson seemed truly aware of how indebted he and the band are to the support shown by fans and expressed a heavy amount of gratitude.
“We've seen so much support from East Texas and Tyler specifically, I just want to thank everybody for being so supportive,” he said. “It means so much to us to see our friends and family and fans to support us. Our family, friends and fans in East Texas are the best.”
The Billy Bob's show will take place tonight at 10:30. Tickets are $12 per person.
For more information, visit jbandthemoonshineband.com or billybobstexas.com.
