Holman Autry Band

“The Hoose is Loose VanHoose: Best band in Athens? Athens Banner-Herald Published Sunday, February 13, 2011   It took me long enough, but I think I get it now. And now that I think I get it, I think I owe you, the readers, an apology. You see, when you voted the Holman Autry Band the best band in Athens last year in the ABH Readers' Choice Awards, I thought there must be some sort of mistake. After all, this is Athens. How does a band from Madison County win an award for the best band in Athens? It didn't seem possible. Coming from Florida, I suspected voter tampering. This is the land of a thousand bands, and yet they all got passed up for a band from the land of Anthony Dove? Rubbish, I thought. Then I saw this quintet play a set on a cold, rainy night at The Melting Point last week. The weather almost kept me home, and I had a free ticket. Certainly, the crowd would be light, right? Once again, I was wrong. A healthy gathering with a female majority packed the floor, and I quickly realized no one was there on accident. Holman Autry Band has fans - lots of them - who sing every word of every song and dance like no one is watching. The group opened up with a cover of The Band's "Ophelia," which I found a tad strange. Then there was another cover. Then another. As the evening progressed, Holman Autry - that's the name of a road, not a band member - played more songs it didn't write than songs it did. Yes, the best band in Athens is half cover band. This band does have a few albums' worth of originals, some of which have monster hooks and are quite catchy. The sound is that modern, commercial, kind-of-Southern rock country that Jason Aldean makes gazillions playing. Holman Autry tells stories of drinking and drifting and the country, all of which I can relate to a bit - the best parties I ever went to were in cow pastures. The covers Holman Autry plays complement those original tales. Last Friday, I heard some Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Clapton and even a little Fleetwood Mac. Some covers were better than others, but they all put me off just a bit. There are a lot of good songwriters in this town, and they shouldn't get shown up by a band that plays a lot of songs that it didn't write. That being said, I get why this band that practices on Holman Autry Road has such a following. It has all the intangibles. There's an energy within that is not only undeniable but contagious. These guys play hard and loud and interact with their audience. The three-guitar setup features a Fender Telecaster and a Gibson Les Paul, and the hands on that Les Paul are truly great. This band has something special, and that special something is Brodye Brooks. Brooks never looked like he was trying too hard as he milked out solo after solo, but his efforts lift a band that already is sailing pretty high. That being said, I want to see this band play a show full of originals on a night that's not filled with rain. These guys are good, but I'm not quite ready to declare them the best band in town. But after seeing them play, I can see why a lot of you have. • VanHoose is the features reporter for the Athens Banner-Herald. Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Sunday, February 13, 2011 ” - Joe VanHoose

“The 2010 Readers' Choice The Best of Athens congratulates the Holman Autry Band for being chosen as the 1st Place Best Local Band. This is a prestigious Award and is awarded annually in September. This Award is sponsored by the Athens Banner Herald and onlineathens.com. The Holman Autry Band would like to especially thank everyone involved for this honor.” - onlineathens.com

“Madison County Band Rides Southern Rock Wave "Southern Vibrations" By Wayne Ford | Staff Writer On a late evening in October, five guys who always have called Madison County home, gathered in a small room with their guitars and drums. When the door was shut, the sound resonated through the walls, but inside it was a force to be felt in the flesh. The pinched strings and the pounding percussion spewed forth vibrations from young men inspired by the likes of Southern rock musicians Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers, bluesman Stevie Ray Vaughn and country legend Hank Williams. They gather at least twice a week to polish their sound, to create new songs and to plan their next road trip. This Saturday, they will perform on an already familiar stage at the Georgia Theatre in Athens, a venue they have sold out on two previous occasions. The Holman Autry Band is just a year and a half old, but these guys already find their weekends booked for concerts and have their first CD on the shelf. Their rising success is not built on a breakthrough song, rather they have gained a following by repeated performances in a college town chock full of fledgling bands. When the Holman Autry Band began in April 2006, they started playing wherever a stage afforded itself. "We played three or four times a week in Athens whether it be DT's (Down Under,) the Library or JR's (Bait Shack). It didn't matter as long as we got to play," said the band's drummer Brandon Myers. "We'd play as much as possible. There were times we'd play Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. That's the biggest reason this band is still together. Everybody here is committed to doing what we have to do." On this evening, the band had gathered for practice at the home of their manager, Don Brooks, who is the father of the band's lead guitarist Brodye Brooks. Besides Myers and Brooks, the other members are vocalist and bass player Casey King, guitarist and vocalist Josh Walker and guitarist and vocalist Daniel Sartain. These guys all graduated from Madison County High School. While Brooks was raised on Holman Autry Road, Walker is the from the Shiloh community north of Danielsville, while Myers grew up in Ila. King lived in the Paoli community until he was 13 and moved to Colbert, while Sartain grew up off James Adams Road near the Franklin County line. Some are boyhood friends. Sartain, Myers and Walker, for instance, went to the same church. Sartain and Walker played guitars together long before Holman Autry. And the Walker and Brooks families have long known each other. Myers and King played together on the same baseball team. And their musical influences reach back to varied beginnings. "My grandpa and my grandma had a gospel band and I'd go and watch them play and wished I could play," Walker said. "I got a guitar for Christmas and I haven't' stopped (playing) yet." One day he heard Stevie Ray Vaughn on the radio. "It's like 'who is this on the radio?' My buddy's dad told me and he had like five CDs. That was it. I fell in love with it that night and I bought a (Vaughn) CD the next day. And my guitar playing changed." Brooks remembered that about five years ago, his sister's friend brought a guitar over to the house and his father picked it up and played a tune by Grand Funk Railroad. "I was like, 'what's that?' He said, adding he started learning the basics for guitar and hasn't stopped." Myers never played music through high school, but his roommate at Montreat College in North Carolina was a drummer and introduced him to the drums. Then his brother got a set to play at a church in Danielsville. When his brother stopped practicing the drums at home, Myers would then take over and it didn't matter if it was midnight, he'd practice until 4 a.m. "It fell right into my lap," he said about his leap into music. It was almost the same for Sartain, who was given an Allman Brothers Band CD in the sixth grade. That sound was all it took for Sartain to get hooked on Southern rock and expand his way of playing the strings. Holman Autry had its beginning in early 2006, when Sartain, Myers, Walker and Brooks got together to form a band, with the idea of practicing every day. When King was recruited as lead singer, the band was complete. King also plays the harmonica. Sartain stated that the band's name came from the road where they congregate every week to make music, Holman Autry Road, right here in Madison County, Georgia. The guys then began discovering each other's musical skills and talents. "I never knew Josh could sing," Myers said. "I never knew I could sing," Walker interjected with a laugh. Their first show as the Holman Autry Band was at the Library in downtown Athens. The band admits they were nervous about that first show, but when it ended they felt good. "After that show I was like - things will be all right," Walker said. When the first CD was released in April, it was another step to solidify the band. "To finally hold it in your hand is definitely an accomplishment. It was a lot of hours," Brooks said. King tagged their music "Black Label Country," something that Myers interprets as "country, but with an edge to it. It's a little louder, but still it's cool." Myers said Walker, King and Brooks write most of their songs, most based on the universal themes laced in country music such as women, drinking and tough times. One member might write lyrics for a song and the others will develop the sound. Today, they have about 35 original songs, enough to put together a second CD. Like many bands, Holman Autry does cover songs - made famous by other artists - but these guys put their own mark on these songs. "We do a cover like we want to do a cover. We don't try to make it sound like the person who did it, with the exception of one song "Free Bird." That's the only song we haven't changed up. We play it the way it's supposed to be played," Myers said showing a reverence for this classic Lynyrd Skynyrd song. For instance, their take on "The Ride," by David Allen Coe, doesn't sound like anything coming from Coe, who also has played many times at the Georgia Theatre. "I absolutely love our version of that song," he said. Currently, the band plays mostly in Northeast Georgia. They held two concerts during October in their home county, including a free concert at the Danielsville Fall Festival. They have traveled as far south as Milledgeville and north to Clayton, but they'd like to branch out to the Atlanta market, South Carolina and Statesboro. They have songs that have aired locally on WNGC and their Web site gets plenty of comments from a wide range of fans. But becoming a band where its members can quit their day jobs takes work and maybe the right break. This week, the band is preparing its music for its Georgia Theatre performance, which falls near Halloween. "It's one of my favorite places in Athens to play," Brooks said. "You can't say you've played Athens until you've played the Georgia Theatre," Myers added. But in Madison County, as the sun sinks beneath the Georgia horizon, the guitars twang as a bunch of country boys put a new sound and words on women and hard times.” - Wayne Ford

“Holman Autry Band "Sways From Hard Country to Twangy Rock By: TYRONE RIVERS Straying from the trends and aiming to be true, Southern rock/country band Holman Autry Band of Danielsville, Ga., takes pride in being different and bringing real Southern music back. No one does what we do. We don't go too far to the left or too far to the right," said Josh Walker, rhythm guitarist and background vocalist of the band. We're stripped down rock and roll. You [the listener] tell us what genre we are after listening to us. The Holman Autry Band vows to be itself - to be original - with a sound inspired by multiple styles of music. We're not the country on the radio or the rock 'n' roll your parents listened to growing up," said lead vocalist and bassist Casey King. "We're somewhere in between. We're the redheaded stepchild of rock 'n' roll. Getting its start in early 2006, the band's five members include King, Walker, Brodye Brooks (lead guitarist), Daniel Sartain (rhythm guitar, background vocals) and Brandon Myers (drums), who all met while attending Madison County High. They started performing together shortly after forming. The Georgia Theatre, before it burned down, was our sanctuary," said Walker. "The crowd was well above the fire code on many nights, to [the point] where we would have to turn people away. Despite indicating the group's considerable popularity, The Holman Autry Band never enjoys turning people away at shows since the fans are the reason they perform. Once there was a woman who was going through a trying time, Sartain said. There was a death in her family, so she wasn't going out at all at that time [in her life]," he said. "Our show was the first show she had been to in a while. After she consistently traveled an hour to see us perform, one day she approached me and told me that our music helped her to be herself again. When all the members of the band were made aware of the woman's comments, they realized their music was serving a real purpose. We want, after someone has listened to our songs, to be like 'Yep, I've been there. I know how that feels,'" King said. Besides providing encouragement to listeners, the band also likes to party. Their lyrics focus on everything: women, drinking, love, experiences, where they come from, having fun, and living life. Their chief influences come from known acts like Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers Band, Bob Dylan and Gov't Mule. Two years ago, The Holman Autry Band opened for the Academy of Country Music Award-winning Zac Brown Band at The Library just before the group became so famous. Now Zac and the guys are in a league of their own. The evolving chemistry [our] band attains when performing is my favorite part of doing live shows," Sartain said. Besides selling out shows, having music on iTunes, and selling records all over the world, the unsigned group admits that it has never really had a large University student following - but they would like one. Our first fraternity performance was for the fraternity Sigma Nu," Sartain said. "We loved their energy, because we have a lot of energy. And if the rest of UGA is like that, then we want that." © Copyright 2009, The Red and Black” - Tyrone Rivers

“Southern Rock - Madison County Style "Local Band Shares Name With County Road" Ben Munro - Staff Writer When it came time for these guys from Madison County to select a name for their high-amped southern rock-fueled collective, the Holman Autry Band looked no further than a familiar road sign. Holman Autry Road located off Hwy. 29 South near Danielsville, GA.. Madison Countys Holman Autry Band, which is drawing crowds for shows as far away as Augusta and the north Georgia Mountains, is Casey King (lead vocals), Brooks (lead guitar), Josh Walker (rhythm guitar, background vocals), Sartain (rhythm guitar, background vocals) and twin brothers Nathan Myers (bass) and Brandon Myers (drums). And with its name, this ambitious band takes a piece of Madison County with it each time it takes the stage. Drawing influence from whiskey-drenched rock standards like Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers, Govt Mule and blues virtuoso Stevie Ray Vaughn, HAB (Holman Autry Band) says it lands somewhere between Southern rock and country rock on the rock-n-roll spectrum. But the black label country tag fits best says King, who says he draws equal vocal influence from both Metallicas James Hetfield and Hank Williams, Sr. Whatever the musical classification, theres no lack of energy and drive welling up from HAB whos already thinking big. Championing black label country with a clinched fist, the members of the Holman Autry Band say they are out to lay waste to all they find objectionable in pop country. The stylings of Kenny Chesney, Big and Rich and Rascal Flatts are clearly taboo around HAB. King says. I think we are trying to bring back Southern rock, how it should be, like real music, Sartain says. This band of self-taught musicians in their early 20s marks its one-year anniversary today (Thursday), a short time for it to have already written 50-60 songs, played all over North Georgia, beaten over 70 competitors in a 2006 Athens battle of the bands contest, performed before as many as 5,000 fans at fall festival and recorded an album. What is more, on Saturday, June 2, HAB and its three-pronged guitar attack will headline Athens renowned Georgia Theatre, holding the same stage once graced by such icons as the Police, R.E.M. and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. It has been a whirlwind year says Brooks, the great grandson of an Autry, for which Holman Autry Road was named. We never thought about how much we accomplished until like, just now, he says. Like most bands, Holman Autry, which said it sees 50 to 100 of the same fans at each show these days, rose from assorted parts of various bands and other informal musical affiliations. Brandon Myers and Brooks, who had played together in a previous band, merged with Sartain and Walker, who have shared guitar jam sessions since middle school. The group then invited Nathan Myers to sit in on bass one evening broken wrist and all that night and hes been playing ever since. For some reason, they just never asked me to leave, he says. Now, Im the bassist. HAB added the final piece by recruiting King, a former member of Road to Nowhere and Pale Horse, for emergency vocals the night before an April 5, 2006 show. It was amazing, Nathan Myers remembers. After that night, from then on, it was the Holman Autry Band. We never gave it a second thought. Creative night for the band may run until 2 a.m. The guys of HAB can be found regularly working on material at the kitchen table of Don and Jan Brooks, managers. By now, the band has written around three albums worth of material, not counting the one they just finished. On a bad week, we write one song, Brandon Myers says. Dark Haired Woman is the most often requested of the catalog of originals according to band, while HAB also speaks proudly of cuts like Whiskey Wagon, and Fruition, both which are included on the debut album, a 13-track self-titled CD recorded between October and January and due out in the middle of this month. (The band thanks its management for putting away enough money from each HAB show to fund the production costs). While the first CD is all HAB originals, covers are part of the bands repertoire. But they try to make you perhaps forget about the original while they are at work. We dont cover a song, Brooks clarifies, we make it our own. Adjourning to a small make-shift practice space marked only with the disclaimer, Caution: High Voltage, the Holman Autry Band breaks into an impromptu set on this night. The guys start by ripping through their own AC/DC-tinged rocker, Long Nights, Hot Beers and Cold Women where King cranks out the Hetfield-influenced vocals, Sartain and Walker usher in the powerhouse rhythm guitar, the rhythm section of Brandon and Nathan Myers lift the song off the ground and Brooks sets it all ablaze with his Gibson. Holman Autry then pulls back the reins a while for its slower, self-penned, St. Andrews Cross which drifts into the bands favorite cover, the Allmans classic, Midnight Rider. The shift goes from back porch blues rock to outlaw country when the band puts its own imprint on David Allen Coes The Ride (This is the song that started us wanting to make cover songs our own, Brooks explains). HAB shows off its soulful harmonizing skills on the Allmans Come and Go Blues, and then burns the little room back up again, channeling Ronnie Van Zant for Lynyrd Skynyrds aggressive On the Hunt. Then, the six-piece reworks a classic country selection, amping-up and belting out Alabamas Song of the South, resulting in a song perhaps reflective of a new south. Finally, HAB ends with Fruition, an original piece that shows off the bands exploration into instrumentals. No doubt, HABs six members have fun with their craft, but make no mistake; they have a steadfast musical agenda: reviving what they consider the souths true musical roots and hopefully transcending boundaries that go far beyond Holman Autry Road, Madison County, Georgia or even the South. But first things first, Walker reminds. You have got to raise the dead of Southern rock before you can jump the pond, Walker says. But it appears that wherever Southern rock or black label country takes HAB, the band is proud to be flag bearers for Madison County. That much is already evident in the name. All six of us came from Madison County, all six of us grew up together, all six of us know each other, Brandon Myers says, and we have got pride in our Madison County. We really do.” - Ben Munro

“Holman Autry Band Holman Autry Band Danielsville, GA... Holman Autry Band sounds as if its members were raised on a hearty diet of brown liquor, black vinyl and lots of Skynyrd. Named for the Madison County stretch of road that one of its members call home, the Southern-rocking six-piece has only been together for a little over a year, but is beginning to cultivate an enthusiastic following around the Athens area. Vocalist Casey King, bassist Nathan Myers, drummer Brandon Myers and triple-attack guitarists Brodye Brooks, Daniel Sartain and Josh Walker won Last Calls 2006 Battle of the Bands competition and released their first album last month. A self-titled slab of big 'n' meaty heavy rock featuring originals like Dark Haired Woman, "Whiskey Wagon and St. Andrews Cross, the disc is not just an endless showcase of riffs and bravado. King and his band mates prefer to think of the band as a heavy metal meets hardcore country meets redneck rock hybrid and that description is not far off base at all. I usually tell people we play black-label country music, says King. If they ask what that is, I usually tell em its like Southern rock, but with a heavy metal tinge. The guys in the band are all from different musical backgrounds. Some of us like the blues, some hard rock, and some metal. When we cover a country song, we tend to make it more our own and rock it up a bit, then I throw the heavy metal vocal style in there. The H.A.B.s originals send an open invite to raise the devil fingers high - the members know their hardcore country and also have been known to cover iconic badasses like Coe and Cash. With black label proudly affixed, the boys from Danielsville will likely become more familiar to Athens audiences in the next few months. They started out here in 2006 at small venues like DT's and J.R.'s Baitshack and have moved on up; this week's CD release show takes place at the Georgia Theatre with the band Diamondback opening. Michael Andrews, Flagpole Magazine” - Michael Andrews