Southern Lite Bluegrass
Live at European St.
Roots Touch The Evans
By Rick Grant
Southern Lite carries the banner of the roots music traditions of bluegrass into the modern world. Steeped in tradition, this quartet stretches the boundaries of 
blue- grass to a whole new generation of young people who are seeking truth in roots music. The core of the Southern Lite band is made up of Ernie Evans on mandolin and vocals and his lovely wife Debi Evans on upright bass and vocals, with Anthony Poli on acoustic guitar, and Nick Ball on banjo and vocals.
The Evans reside in Jacksonville, but have been touring the bluegrass circuit for 20 years, picking up gigs in North and South Carolina and other pockets of bluegrass popularity in the South. Of course, now that the price of gas has shot up to ridiculous levels, the Evans are finding it economically unfeasible to drive too far. “We used to have a bus, but now we tour in an SUV, but even filling that up is expensive,” Ernie said at the gig.
To me, bluegrass is a more evolved version of what I call mountain music, harkening back to the turn of the Twentieth Century when mountain people entertained themselves on their front porches with old ethnic folk songs that morphed into what we now call bluegrass. Years ago, in the early 50s, I encountered this music when I visited my dad’s family in Danville, Virginia. They had no electricity or indoor plumbing, but they managed to acquire guitars, fiddles, and banjos. They would sit on their front porch and make music for entertainment. As a kid, the music had a big impact on me, and I loved those people.
When I hear the rich acoustic sounds and vocal harmonies of bluegrass, I conjure up images of my childhood visits to my dad’s relatives in Virginia. The sweet sounds of Southern Lite was a rare treat for me to cover. Since now I’m calling my own shots as to whom I cover, witnessing some good old bluegrass warmed my heart. However, Jacksonville has been a difficult market for bluegrass artists, compared to cities in North and South Carolina. And I don’t know why. Still, the Evans find gigs in other Florida cities like Mims, Waldo, (yeah, that speed trap Waldo) and Perry. It’s just Jax does not have a large bluegrass following.
Southern Lite’s CD, Building Bridges is a great primer for folks who are not familiar with bluegrass music. The vocals come through loud and clear. Nick Ball’s “mashing” styled five string banjo playing is always prominent in the mix. Like a pedal steel in country music, a banjo in bluegrass is a defining instrument. And Nick Ball is a master-blaster with the out-front style of banjo mashing.
“Jagged Edge of A Broken Heart” is a modern take on the traditional bluegrass style. The song crosses-over into country with that prominent bluegrass rhythm driving home the lyrics. On this cut, Ernie is smoking on mandolin. It’s a keeper cut on this seminal album.
On “Cincinnati Rag” Ernie cuts loose on his mandolin and there is a surprise fiddle in the mix. Rags are always jumping fun in the bluegrass repertoire, harkening back to Scott Joplin’s ragtime era in the early 1900s.
Overall, Southern Lite is a contemporary bluegrass band that has performed as the late Vassar Clements backup band, and has carved out a name for itself in the bluegrass genre. Hopefully, people will come out to see Southern Lite when they play at the European Street Beach Blvd. again in the near future.
Larry Mangum and Ray Lewis have created an exciting music scene at this venue on Saturday nights for Songwriters’ Circle, starting at 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. Yes, its short and sweet but always enjoyable.
Kenny Neal -- Back on The Road
with Blistering Blues
Coming to Mojos Kitchen May 10th
By Rick Grant
I first met Kenny Neal back in the 80s when he came through town to play Applejacks. Back then, he was one of the hottest young blues acts in the world. Born in 1957 in New Orleans, Kenny grew up in Baton Rouge. Kenny is the son of famous harmonia player Raful Neal. I covered Kenny’s act at Applejack and various outdoor festivals, which was enough contact to become friends with this congenial blues artist.
At that time, Kenny had already toured with Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, and Muddy Waters. Kenny was 13 years old when he toured with Buddy Guy, and to him, Buddy was his dad’s friend, so he didn’t realize Buddy’s star power until one night in London, Kenny stepped onto stage to play guitar with Buddy, and there were 10,000 people in the audience. Kenny looked at Buddy and said, “who is the headline act all these people have come to see?” Buddy looked annoyed and said, “I am, kid.”
Last Friday I talked to Kenny while he was waiting for a flight to Chicago. He had been caught-up in the chaos that was created when American Airlines took most of their planes out of service for an inspection they didn’t carry out on schedule. So, we chatted for thirty minutes. Since I last crossed paths with Kenny, he had gone through 4 years of illness and tragedy that would put any person down. But, his positive attitude and strong will to survive saved him.
“I’ve been off the road for a year and a half recovering from liver cancer. But for the last 4 years I’ve gone through hell. First, my dad, Raful died of bone cancer. Then, my brother died of liver cancer. A short time later, my sister was murdered in her beauty salon by a stalker. So, given the obvious genetic predisposition for cancer in my family, I got checked out and I discovered I had liver cancer. It was quite a shock, but I kept a positive attitude and fought it. It worked and after a long recovery, I was ready to crank up a full time touring schedule. But I didn’t rush back into work. I wanted to make sure I was ready. The brilliant ontologists at Stafford University Hospital took great care of me with the latest cutting edge treatments.”
“During my convalescence, I worked on writing a book of all my years playing with legends titled I Remember When. I also began the tedious task of editing 80 hours of video footage of my various concerts with Buddy, Muddy, and John Lee. During my down time, I produced my own TV show on which I interviewed blues artists. So, although I was tired from all the treatments, I didn’t waste the time. I hope to launch the book and DVD together as a package deal in September. I’m doing surprisingly well selling my CDs, and merchandise on my website www.kennyneal.net. Now, I’m looking forward to touring again, which after so long at home, I missed the contact with live audiences. I have a new CD titled Let Life Flow.”
Kenny went on to say that he is living in the terrible ruins of Katrina in Baton Rouge.
“I live in the middle of the aftermath of Katrina. In Baton Rouge, there are 80,000 people still living in FEMA trailers that are contaminated with toxic fumes. All the government does is treat the symptoms and not the cause. It’s a maddening scandal which I’m committed to helping resolve,” Kenny said.
On May 10th, Kenny will roll into Mojos Kitchen for an evening of his eclectic style of blues infused with Cajun, rock, and traditional influences. And, I’ll be there to chronicle the action.
May 10, 2008
