They had the big show booked, the studio time slotted, the songs poised for production.
What they didn’t have was the time.
It was the start of March, and the seven members of The Futurebirds were rushing to record an EP to showcase at their March 4 gig opening for Blitzen Trapper at the 40 Watt. Playing in different groups of varying degrees over the years, the band members had a good feeling about their brewing, underground sound.
But something else was brewing overhead.
“We wanted to record in two days, but we had to record in two and a half days because we got snowed out,” said Carter King, the Futurebirds’ “grease-stained monkey wrench” (code for vocals, guitar, banjo and keys player), of the freak snowstorm that left Athens in a deep carpet of white. “It never snows in Athens. We were just trying to crank that out. We got some cardboard sleeves, I made a stencil, and we spray-painted the stencils all crazy — some of them sucked, some were cool — and just gave them out.”
In a few furious days, the Futurebirds’ good feeling was confirmed. And now flocks of listeners are heading in their direction.
Fresh yet reminiscent, the eponymous six-track EP (available for download at futurebirds.bandcamp.com) is exactly what the seven sought. A mixture of melodies accompanies a healthy helping of guitar, banjo, mandolin, keys and pedal steel in a wide-ranging free-for-all difficult to describe — though King gave it a shot.
“What I’ve heard, which I like the best, is we’re psychedelic cowboy countryesque but with a definite weirdo edge to it,” he said. “Everybody plays something different on every song.”
For some the sound evokes Athens of a dozen years ago, when the denizens of the scene were ruled by Elephant 6 and Kindercore bands. King was intrigued after hearing his band compared to Olivia Tremor Control and Masters of the Hemisphere, though notes there was never any intention to mimic them.
He hardly knew who they were.
“I knew a little bit about them being an Athens resident, you kind of have to, but I didn’t really do a bunch of investigating until after we heard all that comparison stuff,” he said. “People go “you sound like these bands,’ but I haven’t really listened to those bands. I guess Athens just has that kind of feel.”
Joining King in this latest enterprise are buddies from previous (and present) ventures, and buddies who moved from other projects. Payton Bradford (drums), Thomas Johnson (mandolin, guitar) and Brannen Miles (bass, who took over for China-bound Reid Scott) anchor The Futurebirds, and also play with King in The Interns, a folk rock outfit started after they met as (you guessed it) interns at Chase Park Transduction Studios. Daniel Womack (guitar), Dennis Love (pedal steel) and Jessica Holt (percussion, vocals) round out the crew.
An online roster of band members lists an eighth Futurebird, one with a curious yet familiar name — Reverend Cleophus James, master of the doom stick. After a little investigating, the truth is revealed: Rev. James was the name of James Brown’s character in the movie cult classic The Blues Brothers.
“Yeah, James Brown is in the band,” King said with a laugh. “He’s our spiritual adviser.”
Summertime saw the band line up dates in Nashville, Atlanta, New Orleans and Austin, Texas. And while the wanderlust is the sign of a band raring to go, unlike the recording of the auspicious EP, King said this time they’re not in any particular hurry.
“We all met in college and had all been in a few different bands, but no one was getting the kind of sound they were after,” King said. “But we found it. It was a slow evolution and it is all working itself out. We’re all still young and fresh, we’re not in a rush.”
