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Biography
refimprove|date=December 2007Infobox musical artist | name = BR549| image =| caption =| image_size =| background = group_or_band| origin = Nashville, Tennessee , USA | genre = country music|Country , Rockabilly , Western Swing , Alternative country | years_active = 1993–present| label = Arista Nashville , Lucky Dog, Dualtone Records|Dualtone | associated_acts = Hillbilly Casino| website = http://www.br5-49.com| current_members = Don Herron Chuck Mead Mark Miller "Hawk" Shaw Wilson| past_members = Gary Bennett Geoff Firebaugh "Smilin'" Jay McDowell Chris Scruggs Jim "Bones" Becker Mark Ude BR549 (originally spelled BR5-49 ) is an American country music band. Founded in 1993, the band originally comprised GaryBennett ( lead vocals|lead and background vocals , steel-string acoustic guitar|acoustic guitar ), Don Herron ( steel guitar , Dobro , fiddle , mandolin , acoustic guitar), "Smilin'" Jay McDowell ( upright bass ), Chuck Mead (lead band background vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar ), and "Hawk" Shaw Wilson ( drums , background vocals). Bennett and McDowell left the band in 2001, with Chris Scruggs and Geoff Firebaugh respectively replacing them. Both Firebaugh and Scruggs later left the band as well; Mark Miller has become the band's third bassist.
BR549 has released six albums and two EPs, including three albums on Arista Nashville and two on Dualtone Records . The band's self-titled BR5-49 (album)|debut album produced three chart singles on the Billboard (magazine)|Billboard country charts, of which the highest is the #44 "Cherokee Boogie" in 1996. The band was nominated three times for the Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal .
History
Expand section|More info on each album, critical reception, sound|date=January 2009Before moving to Nashville and forming BR5-49, Chuck Mead played in a band called Homestead Grays, a roots-rock outfit based in his hometown of Lawrence, Kansas . Gary Bennett, meanwhile fronted an informal band that played at Robert's Western Wear, a clothing store in Nashville, Tennessee , when he met Mead at a nearby bar.cite web |url=Allmusic|class=artist|id=p182034/biography|pure_url=yes |title=BR5-49 biography |accessdate=2009-01-15 |last=Huey |first=Steve |work= Allmusic The two then decided to form a band officially, and completing the lineup were electric bassist Jim "Bones" Becker, then upright bass ist "Smilin'" Jay McDowell (formerly of another band called Hellbilly), multi-instrumentalist Don Herron, and drummer "Hawk" Shaw Wilson. They assumed the name BR5-49 (from the telephone number of a used car dealer in a running Junior Samples comedy sketch on the television series Hee Haw ), and began playing for tips at Robert's before being discovered by Arista Nashville in 1995.
1995-2000: Arista Nashville
The band's first release for Arista Nashville was an extended play entitled ''Live at Robert's , which comprised originals and cover songs. Following it in 1996 was their full-length debut album, also titled BR5-49 (album)|BR5-49 ''. Despite minimal support from country radio, the album's lead-off single "Cherokee Boogie" (a cover of a Moon Mullican song) reached #44 on the Billboard (magazine)|Billboard country singles charts in the US, and #21 on the RPM (magazine)|RPM country charts in Canada. Following this song were "Even If It's Wrong" and "Little Ramona (Gone Hillbilly Nuts)", which respectively reached #68 and #61 in the US. The album itself was a #33 on the Top Country Albums charts. The band also toured with The Mavericks , JuniorBrown , and The Black Crowes and played on the Public Broadcasting Service|PBS music program Austin City Limits in 1997. http://www.pbs.org/klru/austin/artists/program78.html Mary Chapin Carpenter followed by BR5-49, Austin City Limits, 1997
BR5-49's second album, Big Backyard Beat Show , was released in 1998. Despite not producing a chart single, this album reached #38 on the Top Country Albums charts. After touring with Brian Setzer , the band issued a live album, Coast to Coast , in 1999 on Arista as well. The band left Arista in 2000 after the label was merged with Sony BMG .
2001-present
After being dropped from Arista, they signed to Lucky Dog Records, a subsidiary of Epic Records . Their first release for the label, 2001's This Is BR549 , also eliminated the hyphen from the band's name. Its only single, "Too Lazy to Work, Too Nervous to Steal", peaked at #11 on Country Singles Sales but did not enter the country singles charts proper. After this album, both Bennett and McDowell left the band, with Geoff Firebaugh succeeding McDowell as upright bassist, and Chris Scruggs taking over on guitar and vocals. The new lineup made its first appearance in 2003 on their self released album Temporarily Disconnected . In 2004, they signed with Dualtone Records and released Tangled in the Pines . Scruggs left the band to tour solo in 2005. Firebaugh also left to start his own band, Hillbilly Casino. Mark Miller replaced Firebaugh. A second album for Dualtone, Dog Days , was released in early 2006. The band is currently on hiatus, with Chuck Mead working solo with Mark Miller playing bass, and Don Herron touring with Bob Dylan .
Musical stylings
Initially, BR549's sound was influenced by 1950s honky tonk , as well as Western swing , rockabilly and Bakersfield sound . Steve Huey of Allmusic described their sound and appearance as "unabashedly retro", as the band's members dressed in "old, budget-friendly clothes".
Status of former members
Original co-frontman GaryBennett released his solo debut, Human Condition , in February 2006. In October 2010 Raucous Records released Gary's follow up album "My Ol' Guitar" co-produced by Kenny Vaughan and including several Br549 re-recordings. Smilin' Jay McDowell has gone on to work in post production in the music video world. He is now in charge of the video department for the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. He directed a DVD project for GaryBennett titled "Inside and Out". Former bassist Geoff Firebaugh founded a rockabilly band named Hillbilly Casino that are a crowd favorite in downtown Nashville on lower Broadway. Chris Scruggs released a solo album titled "Anthem" in 2009.
Chuck Mead released "Journeyman's Wager" in 2009 and toured with his Grassy Knoll Boys in support of the release. In 2006 Chuck began his association with the hit Broadway Musical Million Dollar Quartet (musical)|Million Dollar Quartet beginning in Florida as the Musical Arranger and Musical Director, he has also worked with the cast at The Village Theatre near Seattle, Washington, The Goodman Theatre in Chicago and The Nederlander Theatre on Broadway in New York City. He is currently working with the new cast in England as they prepare to open at The Noël Coward Theatre in City of Westminster .
Mark Miller was a founding member of The Ex-Husbands, formed in New York City in 1993 with lead singer Anders Thomsen and drummer Michael Smith. The band released two critically acclaimed albums on Tar Hut Records—a self-titled debut and the follow-up, "All Gussied Up." Both made the Gavin Americana top 20 and the latter reached that chart's top 10. Miller released the solo record "Dodsen Chapel" in 2005.
