Printed in Sherman Herald Democrat, 12/3/10
By Mary Jane Farmer
Miles Penhall
He’s been a side man for several area-wide bands for years, and now he is stepping up to front and center stage. He has recorded a CD, developed his own band, and booked himself into venues across Texoma and farther south, into the Metroplex.
Miles Penhall, Bonham born, Sherman bred, and now an Oak Cliff-ite, is a lead guitarist, singer, and songwriter who has played with the Kevin Deal Band, Grant Jones & The Pistol Grip Lassos, Jerry Audley, Class Act, Robby White, and, as he said, “anyone else who calls me when they need a good lead guitar player for hire.” He’s worked as a solo artist in further development of his career. He’s been in several recording studios.
Now Penhall has advanced to another level, the lead guitarist and singer for the Miles Penhall Band. His father, Bob Penhall, plays bass; Rick Hood is on pedal steel guitar; David Fiegelman on drums; and Robert Payne plays keyboards in the band. Tipped with blues and country rock, one could simply call Penhalls’ music “Americana,” some uniquely his writing, and others classic.
“My aspirations for this project are to use it as an another avenue for positive expression. I love playing all types of music, and with my band — this is just the newest outfit that I can be proud of,” Penhall said. “I still play with Kevin Deal, Grant Jones, and others, but I can do my own thing, too. Playing with my dad is special, too, and I’m proud of him.”
His CD, titled “Shelter,” was released Thanksgiving Night. It consists primarily of songs he has written or co-written, and filled with catchy lyrics, catchy beats, and good hooks, the secret to successful writing. The drum portion was recorded elsewhere, and the remainder of the recording was finished at Bob and Vicki’s home in Plano. Bob Penhall did 90 percent of the mixing and mastering himself, Miles Penhall said, and the rest was done at Bent Leaf Studios in Denison. “I’m really proud of how the record sounds and all the credit goes to my dad, Bob,” the younger Penhall said. He emphasized that his father mixed and produced Fred Spears’ recent CD. Spears, he said, is among his greatest teachers and influences.
“I was blessed with a family who listened to and played a variety of musical genres,” Miles said, talking about his instinctive ear for music. “My earliest memories of my dad are listening to his bluegrass group rehearse and play, and his teaching orchestra at Piner (Middle School) and Sherman High. My earliest memories of my brother are listening to Depeche Mode and playing tuba in the Sherman Bearcat Band.” His mother, Vicki Penhall, is a writer and singer in her own right, being active, as Bob Penhall is, in several gospel and bluegrass groups.
Miles Penhall
“I’m really getting into soul, old school R&B, and 80s mainstream pop right now. My heart will always be with the music of the South, blues, country, and rock & roll,” Miles Penhall said.
Penhall is one who makes all musicians his family. The tragedy of losing one of his band members in a fatal accident earlier this year has helped him realize the value of loving relationships. He said that two weeks after the Grant Jones band released its CD, the band, including bass player Ace McNeely, were staying at a friend’s house near Austin after a show. “Ace slipped and fell off a steep cliff. He was rushed to the hospital and died the next day in Austin,” Penhall said. “His kidneys were donated to two people awaiting transplants. When Ace passed away in August, we took about two weeks off. Grant Jones & The Pistol Grip Lassos have since found a great bass player in Rocky Garza, a friend of Ace’s (and ours), and he has been a great addition. We are still going strong, playing almost every weekend and expanding our fan base.”
The Kevin Deal Band keeps him hopping, too, sometimes hopping as far away as New Mexico, Colorado, and Tennessee. But music is Penhalls’ primary vocation, and so when the open road beckons, he answers.
“What makes my personal project (The Miles Penhall Band) special to me is the look that people in audience have the first time they see me play. I’ve seen it a hundred times,” said the guitarist with one of the more animated faces in the business. “Something in the music will catch their attention and they start to watch what is going on on-stage. People will laugh and chuckle a little bit about the faces I make, and that has never bothered me. It lets me know they are having a good time and enjoying the music.”
The Miles Penhall Band is not with any particular booking agency or management service, but, Penhall said, he has been contacted by a couple of national booking agencies, and the negotiation process is still developing. “I am not currently signed to any record label, as well. My goal is to have a record label pick up my new album and have them release and distribute it.”
Ambitious? Maybe, but this Texas music guitarist who has been called “a star” by several major players in the music business, is making all the right moves in that direction.
The Miles Penhall Band is playing Saturday night at One Eyed Jack Saloon in Whitewright. Watch the Music Scene Calendar for upcoming local events for Penhalls’ and the three bands with which he most usually plays.