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Raging forest fires are but
one obstacle the six guys who comprise
LARRY have circumvented to be what they
are today: one of the fastest-rising
names in the jamband scene. Over seven
years and three records (Here I Am,
A Family Album and the new, live Among
Friends) their sound has evolved into
a psychedelia-inflected mix of Tex Mex,
Western swing and country that reflects
their Austin, Texas roots. The past three
years they've roughed it on the road,
slowly but steadily branding their
all-caps name in the minds of jam fans
everywhere.
LARRY's story begins with a 17 year old
Tom "Fee" Watts leaving his
father's home on less-than-amicable
terms. "I was the total guy you
bought pot from in high school," Fee
says. "I never skipped school -- I
had to go, that's where I made my money!
I was the kind of kid that if my dad took
my keys away, then I would get his keys
and take his car," he remembers,
adding, "But I'm not like that now.
I've mellowed out a lot since then."
Rebellious but responsible, Fee rejected
his family's financial help and payed his
own way to Concordia Lutheran College and
eventually earned a degree in classical
guitar.
After Concordia Fee landed in Austin,
Texas' famous Sixth Street party zone
where he managed a bar called The White
Rabbit. There he met future LARRY
vocalist Jeff Bradberry, a sometime
actor, comedian and Future Farmers of
America member who was everything from
bartender to bouncer at the Rabbit. The
two began making notes that would launch
the success of LARRY, "We got to see
a lot of things that we didn't like from
bands that played the club,"
Bradberry says, "So when we started
we had a list in our press kit of
'Reasons You Want to Hire LARRY,' like we
start on time, we stop on time, we play
at a reasonable level, etc. So we've
always had a pretty good working
relationship everywhere we go and we
always get asked back. Our whole thing is
that we kill `em with kindness."
Fee played guitar and Bradberry sang in a
band called Thelonius Funk. Meanwhile two
local brothers -- Tom Vickers, guitar and
Andy Vickers, drums -- had put together
the first version of LARRY. "LARRY,
as a name, started as a joke," says
founding member Tom Vickers. "We had
first show jitters and we were all
saying, 'What are we going to call
ourselves?' and we said, 'Let's say LARRY
for now.' Everyone was like, 'That's a
great name!' and we were like, 'No, its a
horrible name!' We went through a list of
terrible names before we decided LARRY
really is more 'us;' We're really just a
bunch of regular guys."
Bradberry points out the unifying aspect
of the name, saying, "Its singular,
even though we're six guys."
Vickers continues, "We don't feel
that we're the most amazing musicians on
the scene, but when we come together we
make something special. Its reminiscent
of what people around the world can do
when they come together with the right
consciousness; they can make amazing
things happen."
Watts was invited to join the band on
guitar, and insisted Bradberry be allowed
to join on lead vocals. Bassist Bob
Perkins and harmonica player Rick Cannon
moved up from San Antonio to complete the
lineup. Fee recollects, "It started
as friends getting together, smoking herb
and jamming out. It was three or four
years before it came to, 'We do have
something no one else has and people seem
to like it.' But even though we've been
around a long time, I consider us to be a
new band."
Bassist Bob Perkins says LARRY is his
first touring band and an amazing
experience, "Its like a
roller-coaster ride; its big highs and
big lows. I've met a ton of my musical
heroes and met a ton of interesting
people. I've seen places that I wasn't
able to see before, so its been great
because I can go out on the road with the
band with a dollar and still survive for
a couple of weeks. It's been a blast.
I've had the best three years of my
life."
Sitting at the bar during the opening
act, Bradberry explains his level of
dedication to LARRY, "I tell my
wife, 'I've been married to these guys
for seven years, and I've been married to
you for three!'" he laughs, then
turns serious, "The other day I got
a message on my cell phone and my wife
had put my daughter on the phone, and she
was saying, 'Daddy come home, daddy come
home,'" he pauses, "It can be
tough."
Backstage harmonica man Rick Cannon,
sporting a cowboy hat, talks effusively
about the up side of touring for a young,
single guy, describing a visit to a hot
springs spa in Utah. "Lying in a
tub, looking up at the stars, getting
back rubs from hippie girls --
YEAAAH!" he says with a giant grin.
Still proudly independent, Fee says of
the freedom of the musician's life,
"I'm not in debt for anything
because I don't own anything. I have my
guitar and my life, and that's it."
The band has hit Atlanta on a Saturday
night. Their name is well known due to
appearances at festivals like Planet
Salmon and Hookahville, and they drew
over 300 people the last time they were
in town. An acoustic set at a record
store earlier in the evening brought in a
little over a dozen people, and during
soundcheck we've learned that String
Cheese Incident is appearing in
Charlotte, North Carolina. An appearance
by String Cheese or Widespread Panic
anywhere in the South threatens to leave
Atlanta clubs deserted. Fortunately LARRY
doesn't play to a concrete floor tonight,
however: the crowd is significant, and
most of the people stay until the end of
the three-hour show. Maybe they've been
wooed by the band's motto, "LARRY
Loves You!"
Picking up his guitar case after the gig,
preparing for a non-stop drive back to
Austin, Fee says, "Well, you should
have a good idea of what we're like
now."
And so should you.
******
Visit
LARRY on the Internet at
www.LarryLand.com
LARRY has had some last-minute lineup
changes. Tom Vickers and Bob Perkins have
both left the band.
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