On April 14th, the Old Crow Medicine Show rolls into town for a 7:30 pm performance at the Louisville Palace. You can look forward to a foot-stomping, career-spanning set from these not-quite-bluegrass boys. That's because this time around they won't have a new record to focus on. In fact, they are actually scheduled to play Bob Dylan's "Blonde on Blonde" album at some venues, but alas, this isn't one of them.
In our conversations with Ketch Secor, the band's spiritual director and raucous fiddle master, we've learned a few things you might be interested to know about this affable confederation of youthful old-time pickers, before you head down to the concert:
#1 Contrary To Popular Belief, They Are Really A Rock & Roll Band!
“Since our inception, we’ve never seen ourselves as a bluegrass unit. We're more like a rock band with claw-hammer banjo skills.”
#2 Arthel "Doc" Watson Gave Them Their Big Break
“We were really fortunate to have spent some time with Doc as a band, and, of course, we are indebted to him for giving us our first big break. In terms of style, the man definitely had the sort of swagger we’ve tried to capture.”
#3 "Levi" Was A Real U.S. Serviceman Who Loved OCMS
“I wrote ‘Levi’ after listening to a radio program about an American boy who was killed by a suicide bomber in the city of Baghdad. It was a great NPR story in which they talked through the life of this one U.S. G.I. At the conclusion of the piece, they said that at the funeral, Levi Barnard’s family played a song by his favorite band, and it turned out to be (our) ‘Wagon Wheel.’ I recognized right away that the fella they were talking about would’ve been my kind of man. The kind of guy you would have seen at our shows dancing down by the stage with a ball cap on his head, a pretty girl on his arm, and a Bud Light in his hand.”
#4 The Drug Songs They Sing Are Part Of A Folk Tradition
“People have been singing songs about shooting up and/or shooting their spouses for centuries. But I feel like some of ours, ‘Methamphetamine,’ for instance, are more about social injustice. That one in particular is about all of those numbing devices that take folks away from the harsh reality of life in the places, some of them in Kentucky, where drinking water is blurry muck, and the schools are terrible, and the kids are totally full of inopportunity. The places where you can’t even grow a garden in your backyard, and there’s just nothing to do. Obviously, any time you have a drug epidemic, there’s so much more involved than the person who’s got the flame to the spoon.”
#5 In Their World Nothing Stays The Same
“We started out all those years ago as a 12-piece or something, if you count all the guys selling knickknacks and the girl that painted your caricature. At one time, we actually had three banjo players. But we’ve evolved to the point where we are REALLY happy with our current lineup.”
Tickets are still available to catch the current lineup of OCMS with opening act Margo Price. Visit louisvillepalace.com for all the details.
