Tommy Stillwell & The Beat Daddys

The Beat Daddys have been around the Evansville nightlife scene since the mid-80s, but not everything has been peaches ‘n cream for the boys. Tommy Stillwell knows all too well about the bumps in the road you encounter on the way to the top. He is a ramblin’ man but considers Evansville his home, so much so that TBD gave up a gig with ZZ Top to play at the upcoming W.C. Handy Festival. He’s a hell of a guitar player, folks… and The Beat Daddys is a hell of a band…

Our current line up is: Larry Grisham: Guitar, Harp, & vocals, Tommy Stillwell: Guitar & vocals, Jon Rochner Bass guitar & vocals, & Jeremy Clement: Drums, Percussion, & vocals. Of course most people will recognize Jon from all the time he has spent playing locally & on the road. He presently lives in Newburgh. Jeremy lives in Nashville. He does a lot of session work in various studios around Nashville. Larry lives outside Nashville (has a nice quiet little farmhouse), and I still live here in Evansville.

How long has the TBD been together?
The Beat Daddys actually first came together in 1986. We were doing mostly cover R&B & old 60s & 70s Rock & Roll. We started out playing weekends in a pizza place on the near east side called The Sportsden. Our friend Don Huff owned the place & was kind enough to give a venue from which to launch our new band. Larry came up with the name.

Photography | Mark McCoy

  How did you get into southern blues when so many musicians are doing the cover band thing?

Well, like I said, we started out doing a lot of cover material, but it was from the 60s & 70s. We did a lot of songs with our own arrangements, and held on to some of the more popular original songs from our previous band "The Phonz" (pronounced phones). When Larry & I started writing new material we sort of migrated toward the Southern Blues sound that was popular when we were growing up. You know Elvis, The Stones, even Fleetwood Mac were heavily influenced by the Blues. The more we played out in other cities the more demand there was for original material. Next thing we knew, we had enough material for a CD release & the time appeared to be right for what we were doing. We started doing tracks at Wasson Studios in Booneville. Things just kind of started rolling from there. We met Bashar in 1990 & it was he that actually got our first Beat Daddys CD release going. That resulted in the "Houserocking Rhythm & Blues" CD that was recorded at TRC studios in Indianapolis. 

I know the group split up a few years ago. What did you do with yourself during this time and what made you decide to get back together?

During my time away from the band. Larry had moved down South & continued the Beat Daddys with a group of new players. I stayed in Evansville & formed a group with former Beat Daddys band mates Eric Duke (drums) & Joe Grissom (bass). We called the band: Tommy Stillwell's Serious Business. The band went through several member changes over time. We played in several different cities & went over well, but I was never really happy or comfortable "fronting" a band & doing most of the vocals. Finally in 1997 I teamed up with Carl Rodenberg, Danny Erkman, & Fred Bassett in "Stillwell Rodenberg & Co." I enjoyed that because I didn't have to sing so much. The last year or so before I rejoined The Beat Daddys I fronted "The Hellcats" with Fred Bassett & my son Tommy played drums. That just never quite took off & that was a shame because I really loved working with my son. Larry in the mean time was living on the Mississippi Gulf coast. When Hurricane Katrina came through, his home was completely destroyed. People talk so much about New Orleans when you mention Katrina. But New Orleans was flood damage due to failed Levies. Where Larry lived was a direct hit when the storm came ashore. With that, Larry decided to remove himself from the possibility of that ever happening again. He wanted to move closer to Nashville & the music scene. The guitarist for the band (Britt Meacham) still lived in Mobile, AL, so travel became an issue. As it happened Larry & I had been talking about getting started on writing some new material, & Britt was wanting to get off the road. The timing just seemed right for a change.

How did you develop your sound, which has a southern rock, retro blues feel to it?
Well as I said before, it all came from the influences of the artists we heard growing up, and, where we grew up. Back then music was more regionalized. We grew up between Chicago, Nashville, St. Louis, We picked up AM radio stations from those towns as well as Detroit, Memphis, & Cincinnati. As any music buff can tell you, that was fertile ground for great music back then. You had the Chess records sound out of Chicago, Stax Records out of Memphis, Blue Thumb out of St. Louis, and here we were growing up right in the middle of it all. You couple that with the influences of the British Invasion (which was fueled by American Blues), and that's where out writing comes from.

What kind of equipment do you use?

I have a collection of guitars, but my sunburst Fender Stratocaster is the guitar of choice if I could only have one. Larry plays a couple of custom "Strat style" guitars. Larry & I both play through & endorse Bluetron amps. Those amps have phenomenal tone. You can check them out at bluesamps.com. We also play & endorse GHS guitar strings. 

What legends have helped you mold your sound?
To many to name them all. From Carl Perkins to John Mayer. My big guitar influences were Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Johnny Winter, Freddie King, & Albert King. Luther Allison had a major impact on my playing & writing. And of course Stevie Ray Vaughan, who showed us that the Blues can always live in popular music.

Do you write your own music? What inspires you?
Yes. Songwriting can play a major part in ones musical career. Writing good songs can sustain a musician long after his playing days are over. Who knows, another artist may make more of an original song than the writer. Bob Dylan wrote All Along The Watchtower, but Jimi Hendrix truly brought the song to life. Inspiration comes from anywhere at ant time. Usually when you least expect it. We may go through times when not one original thought can produce a song. Then at other times it's hard to sleep because of all the ideas in your head. Life experiences play a part, but many times it's better to write after things have resolved themselves & your head has cleared a bit. Unless of course you want to come off as dark, depressed & bitter :-).

Who is your fan base? 
Anyone who likes good honest music & appreciates solid musicianship. Typically our audience is, shall we say, post twenty something. But I do see a lot of younger people who come out to see us play. I love to see younger players come out to see me play. They usually want to see what all the fuss is about, but I love it when we connect. It tells me good music is timeless.

Can you tell me about the sequence of events that took place to be picked up by a national label?

Sure. We record for Waldoxy/Malaco Records. They are based in Jackson, MS. This label is home to some of the biggest names in the Blues. We are currently doing demos for a new project due to start production sometime this summer. We were originally brought to their attention by accident. We had been in Texas where another group was recording one of our original songs & we were invited down to check out the progress. Bashar was actually with us at the time acting as our business manager. On our return trip we decided to stop in Jackson, MS and visit the offices of a booking agent for possible booking representation. They turned us down, but when we asked them to recommend a restaurant, they sent us to a Bar BQ place called Red Hot & Blue. It was a great place with a blues theme. We left them a copy of our recently released "Houserocking Rhythm & Blues" CD to play in the restaurant. Little did we know, the place was owned by The Malaco Records group. One of the execs from the label was in there having lunch one day & heard us on the sound system. When he inquired as to whom we were, it led to a call to Bashar's office. Of course we wound up signing with them. We are looking forward to doing our new project with them. I personally feel it will turn some heads.

What made youall decide to be based in the area?

We were originally from here.

Where do you ultimately want to go with your music? 
As far as possible. We love playing, especially the big shows. It would also be nice to have other artists cover some of  our songs to see where they take them. We have had some of our songs covered by Dorothy Moore & Little Milton. It would be nice to see more of that happening.

I hear you have an new album out... what is it about?

It's a live project recorded at  The Quincy Blues Festival in Quincy IL. last year. It's doing quite well, especially over in Europe. It's a good representation of what we are live.

Fav song from the album?

I have two actually. Evil Memory & Where is She.

What upcoming shows do you have booked for spring and summer?

Several Festivals & outdoor shows. We will be at The W.C. Handy Fest in Henderson this June. We always look forward to that one although we did have to turn down an opportunity to play with ZZ Top. We also have shows at the Ky Blues Festival in Bowling Green, KY & in Owensboro on August 22 at the McConnel Plaza next to The Executive Inn. I hear the label has some things in the works later this year, and of course, we will continue our dates in some the area night clubs. We are regulars at Club Royale here in Evansville. And The Time Out Lounge in Owensboro. We also play several Casinos. We will be headed back out to Colorado in August I believe. We have also been approached by a couple movie makers about using some of our music in their films. I can fill you in on that more later.