Grady Crumpler: The songwriter, guitarist, singer, and driving force behind Shady Cats. Paid dues in a number of bands, most notably the popular Chapel Hill group, SPECS. Has totally choked his 40 GB iPod with everything from Mozart (just a little) to Motörhead (lots!). Grady received a tremendous music education when his uncle took a job in England and entrusted him with a large record collection, heavy on British Invasion and seminal American acts. Inundated with great music, he couldn’t help but come up some new angles on classic sounds.
Bill Eagen: The amazing drummer and music lover. Bill received his own tremendous music education hands on – playing gigs with his father and grandfather. Incredibly versatile, he plays jazz, rock, standards, and heavy metal in the course of a typical week. In addition to being a Shady Cat, he is currently performing with Leadfoot.
The Shady Story...
Shady Cats didn’t happen overnight. The band’s foundation dates back to the fall of 1997 when the next door neighbors of singer-guitarist Grady Crumpler went out for a beer… or twelve. They came back and told Grady about a pub called One More Time, where the owner was installing a small stage – perfect for a solo performer. They also mentioned a possible logistical problem regarding mic stand and speaker placement due to the pole that the owner was screwing into the middle of the stage. Curiosity aroused, Grady went there and talked his way into a regular gig. Thanks to beer.
While playing one of his Friday night shows at One More Time, Grady struck up a conversation with a fellow who had brought a couple of friends to the pub in search of, you got it, beer. The fellow really enjoyed Grady’s music, so he hired him for a private party, with a casual mention that his son-in-law was a drummer and might want to sit in on some tunes along with his bass playing friend. So, Grady and the two other musicians played together at the private party and hit it off. And drank some beer. This was Grady’s first introduction to drummer Bill Eagen. One week later, they played their first cover gig – a notorious Halloween party at One More Time. At this point, the band was called Grady Crumpler & Last Call.
The band started gigging regularly and was in demand due to a song list that included forgotten classics and one-hit-wonders that hadn’t been played to death by every other group on the circuit. A wild selection of music was burning itself into Grady’s brain and influencing his songwriting. In 2000, Bill went back to college in addition to working a fulltime job. This lead to a revolving Last Call lineup that introduced Grady to a number of the musicians who would contribute to Love Callin’. In 2001, Grady made his first attempt at recording professional quality tracks, enlisting the aid of some of these intermittent Last Call members. From March to October, 5 songs were tracked at the now defunct Sonic Wave Studios, 2 of which were re-recorded for Love Callin’. The songs were good, but the production values were average because there wasn’t a professional producer running the show.
Fast forward to 2004, and Grady has amassed a catalog of promising demos. He sends them to a number of producers with the idea that they will cherry pick the songs they really like. It’s an unorthodox approach – to use multiple producers on a single rock-pop album – but idea was about showcasing the songs rather than the sound of a band.
The Producers
Fist up was John Plymale. Working primarily at Overdub Lane Recording Studios, he had gained notoriety as a musician in the Pressure Boys and later with the Sex Police. John had already produced bands that were successful on the international level (Squirrel Nut Zippers, Meat Puppets, Superchunk, Alejandro Escovedo) as well as critically acclaimed national and regional acts (Hobex, Dillon Fence, Athanaeum, Kim Richey). John produced 3 songs for Shady Cats: Lines, Till The Rain Comes, and In The Moment. He was the one who arranged for Don Dixon (yes, THE Don Dixon!) to sing lead vocals on In The Moment.
Next up was Dick Hodgin. After paying dues as a band manager and spending time on countless recording sessions, Dick began gravitating toward producing. He is best known for his work with Hootie and the Blowfish. Dick has a great ear for arrangements and contributes 3 songs to the album: All The Way, Take Me, and You Got A Way.
Finally, John Custer made a tremendous contribution to the record. John has won record deals, radio play, and accolades for Corrosion of Conformity, Cry of Love, and Dag, among the other artists he has shaped. He is one of only two people Grady personally knows who can whip him at rock trivia! John produced 5 songs on the Shady Cats debut: She Kisses Me With Her Eyes, Lost Myself, Love Callin’, I Want Independence, and Desperation. The album versions of these songs are exponentially better than the demo versions. Just listen to the vocal harmonies!