You know how thrilling it is to discover
something new and exciting but, as soon as you mention it to
someone, you hear, “Oh yeah, that’s been around for
years — where you been?”
When I first heard Mark Bilyeu’s new
album, First One Free, I couldn’t wait to tell my well-informed music
friends all about it. Of course, they knew he’d been around
since the mid-’90s in a band called Big Smith that hails from
Springfield, Mo., but, to my surprise (and theirs), they
weren’t aware that the multiinstrumentalist had made an
exciting excursion into classic singer/songwriter country. The new
disc, recorded in Monticello, Miss., was a long time coming, Bilyeu
says.
“This was bubbling inside of me for a
while,” he says of the album-birthing process, “and
it needed to get out.”
As successful as Big Smith was on the
folk/bluegrass circuit, the group of five first cousins was
naturally reaching a pausing point. “We’d been hitting
it hard and fast for eight or nine years,” Bilyeu says,
“and the guys were making additions to their families, so it
opened up an opportunity for me to do this CD.”
The CD gave him a chance to stretch.
“I’d been writing songs that weren’t quick
major-key bluegrass/hillbilly music,” he says. “Big
Smith fans aren’t used to that.”
Other pieces of the puzzle fell into place when
both Cary Hudson, the singing, songwriting guitarist behind seminal
alt-country band Blue Mountain; and drummer Ted Gainey were available
to play on the recording. Both live in Monticello, as does studio owner
Chris Hudson (Cary’s first cousin), who helped produce and
engineer the recording. Bilyeu’s cousin Bill Thomas played bass
and sang harmonies. The result is a soaring piece of work, each song
better than the one before it, loaded with guitars that meld and sing
and sensible yet profound lyrics.
Between running his record label, MayApple
Records, producing other artists (such as Friday’s opening
act, Cindy Woolf), and supporting his music plus that of Big Smith,
the man stays busy.
“I’ve got my hands in a lot of
places,” Bilyeu says, “but I’ll be focusing my
energies on this record for several months.”
Mark Bilyeu of Big Smith performs with a full
band at the Underground City Tavern, Hilton Springfield (700 E.
Adams St., 217-789-1730), Friday, Aug. 12. Cindy Woolf opens the
show at 10 p.m.
Music Notes
Springfield pays its respects and
says goodbye to a morning-radio fixture this Friday, when Ray Lytle takes
his last bow at the Warehouse Events & Convention Center (2548 S. First
St.) with Non Point and Ray’s own band, the Itchy Pickles (I’ve
always wondered what that name means). For years the controversial WQLZ
(92.7 FM) jock has fronted a hard-rocking band at night and kept the young
males of our community company every morning. He helped make Springfield a
better place for metal and rock bands by playing the music of deserving
local and national bands when others wouldn’t. See you, Ray.
There’ll be a big hole to fill when you are gone.
Let’s pretend
you’ve got a blind date this Saturday at Viele’s Planet (126 E.
Jefferson St., 217-525-9029). Your partner for the evening is a Chicago
band, Perfect Red. They have this to say about themselves on their
Myspace.com spot (kind of like a personals ad, you know): “We are one
of the loudest bands you will ever hear . . . one of the most intense bands
you’ll ever see . . . and the only band that you should be listening
to right now!” Perfect Red has just been added to the WQLZ playlist and would like it if
you came and had a good time. Interested?
Guess what? It’s time
for the Illinois State Fair, and you know what that means: Live music is
playing everywhere you stumble. Check out the beer-tent band exhibitions,
grandstand-stage concerts, street-fair performances, Ethnic Village gazebo
shows, and late-night bands playing until 3 a.m. at any Springfield bar
that gets a special fair permit. It’s nearly too much to take, but
somehow we survive, clean up the mess, and look forward to next year, year
after year, decade after decade. And while waiting for that magical moment
when we stroll into the air-conditioned Twilight Ballroom to receive our
reward for years of fair-going, please, Lord, keep those hot August nights
a-coming.
This article appears in Aug 11-17, 2005.
