Local Music Notes (TLV #225 – March 19, 2015)

Another House Party!
The 1980s Synth Pop revival continues Saturday, March 21 in Oxford. The Cats Purring Dude Ranch is hosting a show featuring two Canadian electronic bands, Doomsquad (doomsquadmusic.com) and Phèdre (phedreamour.com), plus Oxford’s own And The Echo (andtheecho.com). The cover is $5. Please park on the same side of the road as the house.

OHM: The Oxford House of Music
OHM is now open in the former location of Austin’s Music store at 305 Heritage Drive in Oxford, Mississippi. If you are looking for serious music lessons for your children or yourself that include music theory, reading notation, and instrument mastery, OHM has some of the best teachers around. The new school features lessons by Robert McGehee (piano, guitar), Clint Jordan (guitar, banjo, mandolin, piano), Donna Downie (piano), Nick Spiller (guitar, banjo, mandolin, piano, bass), and Jeremy Starborough (vocals). Co-Owner Robert McGehee is quick to point out that lessons are tailored to each individual’s goals in music and personal attention is key at the Oxford House of Music. The new location in Oxford is also the home of the area’s only instrument repair shop (as far as we are aware, anyway). So, if you are having an issue with your guitar, bass, or amplifier, or if you just need a piano tuned, call the Oxford House of Music at 662-234-4553 or 901-828-5379.

New release from Jimbo
Jimbo Mathus will soon have a new addition to his already impressive discography. The 12-track Blue Healer was recorded at Dial Back Sound in Water Valley by Bruce Watson and will be released on Big Legal Mess/Fat Possum on April 21. Born in Oxford in 1967, Mathus is a true treasure of the musical scene of Mississippi, his musical canon reflecting the good (and a little bit of the janky) about this fine state. We’re very much looking forward to this album.

Thacker Mountain Goes to Sumner, Mississippi
Thacker Mountain Radio is teaming up with the Emmett Till Memorial Commission (ETMC) for a special show in Sumner, Miss. at 2 pm on Saturday, March 21. The show will be part of the festivities commemorating the historic reopening of the newly restored Tallahatchie County Courthouse and the Emmett Till Interpretive Center and will, in fact, be held in the new courtroom. The show will feature R&B legend Dorothy Moore, Pulitzer Prize winning photographer/author Alysia Burton Steele, the Tutwiler Community Center Student Blues Band, and the Yalobushwhackers (led by Dr. Alphonso Sanders of the BB King Recording Studio at Mississippi Valley State University), plus host Jim Dees. Admission is free and the show will be recorded to air later on Mississippi Public Broadcasting. Following the Thacker Mountain Radio hour will be a short dedication of the Sumner Courthouse by co-chairs of the ETMC, Frank Mitchener and John Wilchie. Click here to read the full press release on our website.

Former Oxonian Thrives in Nashville
Austin Marshall has teamed up again with hit singer-songwriter Dallas Davidson to found Play It Again Publishing. Austin serves as Executive Vice President and has worked with Davidson for several years as Executive VP of 2 Chord Georgia Music. Austin played in several Oxford bands, including Dickey Do & The Don’ts, Jimbo Mathus & The Tri-State Coalition, and Shady Deal; he was the music director and original host of Local Mail Radio, which aired on Bullseye 95.5 and streamed on TheLocalVoice.net, and was founder of the Oxford Music Festival (2008–2010). He moved to Nashville in 2011. He could also be seen on last year’s TNT reality series, Secret Lives of Nashville Wives.
Play It Again Publishing launches with the addition of four songwriters to the roster, including Maggie Rose, Houston Phillips, Brian Kolb, and Kyle Fishman.
“We feel like we’re all a family here and we’re all after the same goal, and that goal is to make an impact on music,” said Davidson, who serves as Play It Again’s president and CEO. “We don’t have fences around this company. I don’t care if they write a rap song, a pop song, or a country song. This is all about music at Play It Again. We’re not focused on one certain genre. I want our writers to feel as creative as they can.”
Davidson has garnered more than 250 cuts for artists including Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, Lady Antebellum, and Jason Aldean.

Percussion Guru Gives Concert
Ricky Burkhead, the director of percussion studies at the University of Mississippi, will perform his Faculty Recital at Nutt Auditorium on the Ole Miss campus on Monday, March 23rd at 7:30 pm. Admission is $10, $8 for students, and $5 for children.

Jukin’ Season Begins!
It’s that time of year again—live music at Foxfire Ranch on Sunday afternoons (and awesome soul food). March 22 will feature DuWayne Burnside, and on March 29 you’ll get the chance to hear Anthony “Big A” Sherrod. Music starts at 5 pm each week.