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(April '05), I got a call from a record producer in Nashville. He and his partner were putting together
a band of former "classic Southern Rock artists". He was looking for a singer for the band and was
calling at the request of an old friend from the Marshall Tucker Band, George McCorkle. I said yes
and about a month later I was on my way to Nashville to rehearse and play with
The Renegades Of Southern Rock
| I have to say, it was a great deal of fun playing with my old friends, George (founding Marshall Tucker Band member), Danny Toler (Allman Bros., Dickey Bett's Great Southern) and Jack Hall (Wet Willie founding member). I also met some new guys who were also killer players: Taylor Caldwell (Billy Joe Royal) and a great Atlanta session drummer, John McKnight. |
Danny's brother Frankie Toler had started as our drummer but bowed out due to some health issues. Love Frankie. Hope he's doing better. Rehearsals went great and in no time we found ourselves on stage. Our first show was at a fairground by a river somewhere in Arkansas. It was evident from the first 8 bars of the first song, that this was gonna be good and also a great deal of fun. |
SEE THE GALLERY PAGES | We were performing many of the successful songs that we'd all been involved with over the years; Smoke From A Distant Fire, Can't You See, Fire On The Mountain, Whippin' Post, Keep On Smilin' and on and on. We played an hour and a half of hits and just smoked 'em all. We did quite a few gigs in '05 and '06 and had a freakin' blast. But what was starting to occur to us was we couldn't see sustaining ourselves for any length of time as well..... basically, a copy band. |
Granted, these were all songs we'd been involved with but there was nothing new there for us to create our own identity with. We tried going in the studio and that's where it started going downhill for me. The producer had come up with a bunch of Nashville, hillbilly bar room songs for us to record and it just didn't work for me.
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I couldn't imagine them getting together all these guys of legendary status in one genre and trying to make us into something we just weren't. Now, I've been called head strong, arrogant and much worse in my life. But I've always fought for the best. I've also chosen to never be a part of something that I didn't feel comfortable with or right about. I've turned down a lot of offers that might have made me rich but I'm the guy that coined the phrase "rich is a bitch" if you can't look at yourself in the mirror. |
We also had other issues with the "management team" like 'WHERE DID THE FUCKIN' MONEY GO", that never got resolved. But after all, it was Nashville. Why was I not surprised. I miss being on stage with the Renegades but after a while, rehashing the old stuff gets to be that proverbial horse you just can't whip anymore.
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There were times though, when I'd be standing back in the shadows, looking across the stage during one of Danny's solos that were just perfect moments. The hair would stand up on the back of my neck and I'd say to myself "Sweeeeet". But that ride is over for me. Sadly, George McCorkle passed away a little over a year after the demise of that version of The Renegades. Godspeed George. You'll be missed by many. |
| I've learned over the years not to let a bad taste in my mouth put a stop to personal progress. I think being able to divine the positives from any situation, and apply those as lessons for the situations to come can aid that progression. I try to keep in mind that at any given moment the phone could ring, my life could turn on a dime (as it has so many times before), and I need to be ready to go. Ain't it so Danny, ain't it so....... |
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