JB and the Moonshine Band

| July 4, 2015 | Reply
Courtesy artwork

Courtesy artwork

Originally printed in the July 2015 issue, Buddy Magazine

Mary Jane Farmer, Scene In Town

A man of conviction, JB Patterson, leader of the East Texas band JB and the Moonshine Band, lives those convictions in his life. That is apparent in the music he and the band puts out there, and by the swarms of fans who surround them at shows.

They just released their third album, appropriately titled Mixtape. And a mix it is — a reflective mix of each band member’s styles and influences, a mix of songwriters, a mix of genres, and a cohesive mix of messages.

JB holds down the lead vocal duties, and with him in the band are Gabe Guevara on drums, Hayden McMullen on lead guitar, Nathan on keyboards, and Chris Flores on bass and vocals. If it holds to the pattern set by their first two CDs, Mixtape songs will likely be seen on national charts.

Patterson said of this project, “Mixtape is indeed country; but more specifically, it’s traditional country, outlaw/alternative country, pop country, rock, and Americana, all at the same time.”

Songwriters

JB himself wrote eight of the 13 songs here, co-wrote three others; and two songs are by other songwriters.

Remember in the beginning here, Patterson was called a man of conviction? He talked about some of those convictions recently, predicating them with his knowledge that speaking about them is not always the popular thing to do. “It’s scary for an artist to speak his mind, because we have been made to feel like that if we do, there is the potential to ruin our career.” Himself a media major, JB added, “The media can spin you up, down, left, right and burn you up.”

But, he added, people are made to feel like it is unpatriotic to question the government. “It is patriotic to question the government and keep them in check. We are the people, we are over the government, and along the way that message has become convoluted and people are weary of speaking out and, I’m tired of it.”

The 2nd-Amendment-oriented song that opens and closes this recording project, “Shotgun, Rifle, and a .45,” reflects his conviction that the U.S. Constitution, along with the Bill of Rights, are documents written to stand the test of time. “I believe our founding fathers nailed it on the head,” Patterson said.

“It’s about our right to bear arms; but more importantly, it’s about the need for people to make sure we are good stewards of the liberties which people have sacrificed and died to give to us. I don’t have any delusions I can change the world, but believe I can do my small part to be a part of the solution and not part of the problem.”

At that time in the conversation, McMullin added, “To me, when I first heard the song it was talking about the 2nd Amendment right, but it also encompasses every right we have, such as free speech and all our civil rights.” Patterson agreed, saying, “Historically, if we don’t have the right to bear arms, it makes it easier for our other rights to slowly erode.”

JB mixed tapeAnother song on this project, “Where’s Woody Guthrie,” written by Nashville songwriter Allen Shamblin (House That Built Me) and Rob Crosby came from a chance encounter between Patterson and Shamblin that bonded the two through music. Patterson said that he was flying into Nashville when the “the nicest guy” seated next to him asked what JB did for a living. Singer/songwriter, of course, was the answer. Patterson returned the question to him. Also a songwriter, Shamblin said he answered. “Have you written anything I’ve heard?” JB said he asked, and was amazed when Shamblin mentioned “The House That Built Me,” “He Walked On Water” (Randy Travis hit) and a lot more hits over the years. So, “we hit it off, and I was trying to draw all the knowledge I could have from him while I had the opportunity.”

Shamblin left the proverbial door open for the two to stay in touch. When Patterson was back in Nashville six months later, he called Allen up for another visit. “He said come out, and I drove out at his invitation, and we began talking and getting to know one another better,” Patterson said. And those convictions came up in conversation.

“Somehow, I got on this soap box about how we songwriters are all leaning toward more superficial things and I was starting to feel irresponsible because I was also writing about superficial things,” JB said. “We talked about things like…that the people should pay attention and take issue with a lot of things the government is doing. Crazy, crazy things that are going on right now.” He said that tirade turned toward his self-imposed obligation about his music and what he could do with it. Then, Allen spoke up, saying (according to JB), he had gotten together with another songwriter (Crosby) and written “Where’s Woody Guthrie,” putting those same beliefs into lyrics. “Then, he played the song for me,” JB said, obviously still stunned.

“He wasn’t trying to get me to cut it, but it made sense. I came away really knowing I had this obligation to cut it.

And if it sounds like the admiration is one-sided — it isn’t. Shamblin said, “When I first met JB and saw the fire in his eyes and heard some of his songs, I heard his heart as well as his backbone. I became a fan.

“JB and I have had some great conversations, and I can see he wants to write out of the courage of his convictions.” — There’s that word ‘convictions’ again! — “It wasn’t a hard choice to offer him the song. I knew he would give the song a great home and do it right. And when I heard the recording of it, I was thrilled. I am thrilled.”

Songs of conviction

Photo by Mary Jane Farmer

Photo by Mary Jane Farmer

There isn’t a song on Mixtape that couldn’t be played with the kids in the room. Songs on this project also envelop the band members’ lives. Family, church, get-togethers and yes, there is a backroads song, but it’s not like the Nashville versions involving pretty girls in cut-off and everybody drinking beer. Rather, it’s about the traditions and lessons learned on the back roads of East Texas. Hope, fishing, bar-b-que on the grill (“Light It Up”), God and goodliness.

“Back then, we were all brought up in church,” Patterson said. “I’ve strayed from it over time, but I always think back over it. When I look at families in church compared with families not in church, there is something wholesome, something to be said about growing up with the church,” said this man of conviction.

There’s lost-love songs, such as one JB wrote 10 years ago, “How Can I Miss You (if you won’t go away).” Patterson he never was really crazy about it, but when they would play it at shows, someone always asked for a recording of it. So they recorded it. “More for the fans than for us,” JB said smiling across the telephone lines. And there’s the hopeful “Keep A Couple (of) Beers Cold,” loosely about hoping the absent loved one returns to a familiar loving home. When asked who in the band had suffered heartache, all four hands shot up.

There’s true love songs, such as the cover song, “Mixtape” and “Close Enough to Heaven.”

There’s the solid “Wagon,” about the attempt to beat the bugger bear (alcohol) by staying sober in spite of old Satan’s attempts to push the singer off the wagon.

“Our roots are country. We all are born-and-raised East Texans, and we have influences outside our traditional country genre. In this album, we let the song dictate the production, instead of us. If the song called for a particular style, we made sure it we gave it what it was asking for, instead of putting it under one category to sell it.”

Photo by Mary Jane Farmer

Photo by Mary Jane Farmer

Back to those convictions — “I would be rather hated for standing up for my belief than be loved for being a fake.

“There’s something for everybody on Mixtape — party, love, serious.

Basically one of the things we like is we didn’t put any filler on it. Everything met our standards. If it didn’t, it had to go.”

JB and the Moonshine Band played July 5 on Love & War in Texas’ and at Hank’s Texas Grill in McKinney on August 1. To follow their tour schedule, go to the Website JBandtheMoonshineBand.com.

The new CD Mixtape can be purchased on iTunes and other such Internet sites; from their Website; and, of course, at their live shows.

 

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Category: *- Features, Love & War in Texas

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In the music production business, including event production, booking, photography, reporting, and other such essentials, since 1980.

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