Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice

	PHOTO COURTESY OF: JACK ROWELL

by Dan Bolles (10/17/07).

Ah, summer in Vermont. Rest and relaxation. Camping trips. Barbecues. Languid afternoons at the swimming hole. We take our brief summer seriously in these parts because we earn it, dammit. But for some folks, the season spells work, and lots of it. In summer 2007, few people in the Green Mountain State were busier than the Starline Rhythm Boys — they average 150 shows per year.

This weekend, the band is busy rustling up a live recording, over two nights at that inestimable honky-tonk, Charlie-O’s in Montpelier.

The reigning kings of Vermont’s country and rockabilly scene, Danny Coane, Billy Bratcher and Big Al Lemery reached new heights this year with the release of their wildly successful album, Red’s Place. Reviewing it on these very pages, Casey Rae-Hunter had this to say: “Somehow it all sounds effortless, as if they’d been cryogenically frozen in 1945 and thawed out to save humankind. Or at least keep music honest.”

Seven Days’ former music editor wasn’t the only one to take notice: Red’s Place has maintained a lofty perch on one of the only American music charts that really matters: Freeform American Roots (FAR), which monitors the playlists of Americana radio programs across the country. Starline’s disc debuted at lucky number 13 in July, alongside such notable company as Steve Earle and Merle Haggard. In August, the CD assumed the chart’s top spot. It’s still there.

I wonder how Dwight Yoakam, Emmylou Harris and Jim Lauderdale feel about looking up-chart to the Vermont sensations? Not to jinx them, but SRB’s last album, Honky Tonk Livin’, garnered the 2002 FAR Album of the Year Award.

With that sort of success, most bands would be content to sit back, throw on a comfy sweater, and wait for winter to set in. But Starline are not most bands. This Friday and Saturday, the ’tonkers will hole up at Charlie O’s to record a live album for their new label, Cow Island Records. Which, incidentally, is also releasing a special SRB “Best Of” collection on 12-inch vinyl just in time for Christmas.

As they do with all their projects, Starline are pulling out all the stops for their first-ever live record, slated for a spring ’08 release. Venerable studio whiz Chuck Eller will handle engineering duties, while Sean Mencher —longtime SRB producer and former member of the renowned rockabilly trio High Noon —will contribute his expertise and maybe a nifty guitar lick or two. Saratoga Springs-based pedal steel player Kevin Maul will add that high-lonesome country sound.

Starline’s wide selection of music will include a healthy mix of covers and originals. You might hear “Folsom Prison Blues” on either night. But don’t expect the Johnny Cash classic to show up on the record. Rather, the group will focus on a slew of obscure cover tunes culled from their encyclopedic knowledge of all things rockabilly. The goal is to produce a recording that accurately reflects the atmosphere of a Starline Rhythm Boys show, and the band has its bases covered. All that’s left is you.

The quality of a live album is nearly as dependent on audience enthusiasm as is the performance of the band itself. As such, Charlie O’s was SRB’s obvious choice to record the new release. If you’ve never been there, now would be a good time to go. From the surly bar staff to the obligatory kooky crap on the walls, no joint in Vermont brims with such authentic Americana kitsch as the second-floor dive on Montpeculiar’s main drag. Order the

“Happy Meal” — a beer and shot for $5.75 — and, by all means, super-size it. Get hustled at pool. But most importantly, show up and dance the night away to the vintage sounds of the one and only Starline Rhythm Boys.