Don’t Look Back: The Muscle Shoals
Sessions
Produced by Tom
Hambridge and Blessed by FAME founder Rick Hall
Cyril Neville’s Royal
Southern Brotherhood Eyes May 26th
For 3rd
Studio Album
“They
are not a band – they are an extravaganza” – John
Hiatt
Atlanta, GA – Ruf Records
recording group, Royal Southern Brotherhood (RSB) preps for their much
anticipated third studio album, Don’t Look Back: The Muscle Shoals
Sessions for release on May 26th.
This album was recorded at the legendary FAME Studios (est.
1960 - Aretha Franklin, Little Richard, Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Otis
Redding) in Muscle Shoals, AL with Grammy award-winning producer Tom Hambridge
and the band’s new guitar line up as Cyril Neville leads the charge forward.
Don’t Look Back is a spiritual journey that
only Cyril Neville can lead. The elite percussionist’s experiences combined with
these talented, energetic players create a new sound that remains reverent to
the blues traditions. This highlights the magic that happens when great songs
are performed by great bands.
The magic of FAME was not lost on
band leader, Cyril Neville. The longtime musical icon almost sounded like a star
struck upstart when speaking of the experience, stating, “I stood in the same
place (vocal booth) as Wilson Pickett!”
The energy and excitement was not lost on the rest of
the band. The process began when the band gathered at a rented house along the
Tennessee River. The river is famous for the singing-like sounds it makes as the
waves lap against the shores. According to the legend of The Singing River, which
is associated with the Yuchie tribe, it
is believed the flowing waters sounded like a woman singing. The time in
the rented house not only inspired much of the material, it allowed the band to
develop the chemistry that separates a band from a group of musicians.
For their third effort, RSB
brought in two new fiery guitar slingers, Bart Walker and Tyrone Vaughan, to
breathe new energy into the band's sound. The new blood is there to help the
venerable Cyril Neville on percussion and vocals with the thunderous rhythm
section of Yonrico Scott and Charlie Wooton to up the funk while maintaining the
blues and rock that has brought Royal Southern Brotherhood a growing, worldwide
audience.
The constant touring and
recording has paid off: in 2014, the band won a Blues Music Award for BEST DVD
for Songs From The Road – Live In Germany. This year they are
nominated for BEST ROCK BLUES CD for their sophomore effort,
heartsoulblood and that will be decided in Memphis at the Blues
Music Awards held in May.
Songs like “Big Greasy” recalls old school funk and
Go-Go music, a sparse “Anchor Me” is a tender love ballad while the Neville
autobiographical “Hell or High Water” is filled with the showman’s life and its
struggles. The banjo-tinged title track, “Don’t Look Back” which is sung by
Bart, brings in a country texture to give it a traveling feel.
Listen to a sneak peek of three songs: RSB - 3 Song Teaser
All these great songs came from various places as the
band toured. Whether it was a sound check in the mid-west or a cheap hotel lobby
or some studio in Europe, the band fleshed out their ideas (often recorded on
their cell phones), so they had structure and hooks worked out before reaching
FAME. This allowed the band and Hambridge to concentrate on performance instead
of spending time developing ideas.
Hambridge was so mesmerized by the quintet’s cohesiveness he
didn’t want to touch a thing but the record button. The other cats on tape are
Dumpstaphunk’s Ivan Neville on keyboards/organ and legendary Jimmy Hall on harp
scattered about adding flare to the tunes.
Bart Walker, with his tinted
glasses and curly hair, has a powerhouse voice that cuts through the music.
Classically trained as a formal opera singer, Walker hails from the Nashville
area and he spent time in both Mike Farris from The Screamin’ Cheetah Willies
and Reese Wynans (and old SRV bandmate) musical outfits. His 2013 release,
Waiting On Daylight, garnered both national and international
acclaim. This attention gave Bart the cache to see a lot of the world via Ruf
Records President’s, Blues Caravan Tour, which spotlights new talent to sizable
audiences. Now a seasoned player, Walker was ready and able to join the
Brotherhood. “Joining RSB was the best idea anyone had for me,” said the affable
Walker.
This was Tyrone Vaughan’s second time collectively playing
with the others and he fell into place as if he were a longtime bandmate. Being the son of Jimmie Vaughan and
the nephew of the iconic SRV can be a heavy burden to bear. Fortunately,
Tyrone is unaffected by the adulation for his family, and developed his own
gifted style and signature tone. Tyrone cut his own path by working his way up
through the Austin (a town drenched in guitar heroes for the uninitiated) club
scene in his teens, eventually packing clubs around Texas. Through hard work,
studying the masters and a tip or two from the family, Tyrone has developed a
soulful voice along with a guitar tone that mixes blues, rock and country.
As for the 65-year-old Neville, a world-renowned
percussionist has long been considered New Orleans royalty for his stints in the
Grammy Award winning Neville Brothers, Galactic and The Meters. Neville’s
career has spawned 45 some odd years and has included performances with music
icons such as Bono, Joan Baez, Dr. John and Tab Benoit. His philosophical
beliefs and activist voice blend effortlessly when Cyril sits down to write. His
intuition to the world and people are reflected within his soulful singing voice
which creates a magnetic force between the listener and him.
In 1989, Cyril penned “Sister Rosa,” about the Civil Rights
icon, Rosa Parks. USA Today honored Neville by choosing the song as one of the
most inspirational song about Martin Luther King’s, “I Have A Dream,” speech on
the 50th anniversary of the historical oration given during the march
on Washington (Parks was in attendance). “Sister Rosa” may not have had a change
on the movement at the time, but Neville’s composition reminded a country of the
thousands of souls that risked their lives to bring an end to a shameful
tradition in the U.S.
This past year, Cyril found
himself being interviewed by another drummer, Dave Grohl, of the Foo Fighters,
for the “Sonic Highways” documentary on HBO. This eight-part series that
followed the Foo Fighters around to various US cities, capturing the music scene
and history that is unique to that city. Grohl, who directed the series,
interviewed other Nawlins luminaries Dr. John, Allen Toussaint and Troy
“Trombone Shorty” Andrews to gain an understanding of the Crescent City’s unique
musical sound.
Cyril will lead the charge into
the next Royal Southern Brotherhood crusade with this new album, Don’t
Look Back with eyes narrowed. And just like John Hiatt says, “They are
not a band, they are an extravaganza!” A sound and sight event of pure talent
mixed in with love for their art, the music and their fans, the Loyal Royals.
The band will be in full touring
mode throughout the year with radio and media campaign behind them.
Please see their website for further information: www.royalsouthernbrotherhood.com
