Jamie Davis & Soul Gravy will celebrate the release of their first album, Mississippi Moonshine, with a concert tonight at the State Theatre.
Drummer John Staggers said the new album was recorded at Nashville’s historic Studio 19, which was owned in part by Scotty Moore, Elvis’ guitarist for about 11 years in the ’60s and ’70s.
The studio has been used by artists like Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson and Allison Krauss.
“We recorded most of the tracks at Studio 19 in Nashville, and we tracked two of them at Music Alley in Columbus,” Staggers said.
He said he co-owns Music Alley with his brother, Robert, who mixed and mastered the CD.
For Mississippi Moonshine, the group went for a live approach, foregoing the lengthy and tedious instrument-by-instrument recording commonly used by bands, he said.
“For the most part, we did the CD live,” Staggers said. “All the rhythm tracks were done live and a couple of the songs we got vocals and solos in one take. We wanted to get a live sound.”
Staggers described the band’s sound as a blend of genres he called “Funktry.”
“It’s kind of a mixture of country and soul with a little bit of funk,” lead singer and guitarist Jamie Davis said, “but we’ve got a lot of country-based lyrics.”
The band’s foundation was established when Davis and guitarist Dan Isbell met while in community college.
“[Isbell and I] met at Northeast Community College in a music scholarship program,” Davis said.
Davis and Isbell played with a variety of different musicians before establishing their current line-up about two years ago.
The band also includes lead guitarist Jerry Carnathan and bassist Mitch Shurden. The group’s newest addition is keyboardist Mark Goldbeck.
“[Goldbeck] recorded all the keys, organs and piano parts on the album,” Davis said. “He’s a really talented musician; he’s part of the group now. He played with us at our last show in Starkville.”
The site of the CD release show, the State Theatre, is a favorite venue of the band, Davis said.
“They keep us booked pretty regularly, about once a month during school,” Staggers said. “I like the atmosphere there, and the crowd is always nice.”
Davis said the State Theatre has been an important part of the band’s history.
“[The State Theatre was] the first big bar to give us a chance,” Davis said. “We’ve played acoustic shows around town, but Emilio [Garma, manager of the State Theatre] has supported us a lot. It’s the only place we’ve played in the last six months with the full band in Starkville. We call this place home; we’re all MSU boys.”
The new album boasts 13 tracks, some of which have already become favorites among fans, Staggers said.
“The crowd favorite is probably ‘Mississippi Moonshine,’ the title track, while mine might be ‘Louisiana’ or ‘Sweet Love,'” Staggers said.
The band is looking to branch out to reach a wider audience.
“We’re hoping the CD release will help us extend the area we are playing at [for] more gigs,” Davis said.
Opening for the band is Sleep til May, an all-female singing trio featuring two guitars and a violin. Davis said he met the three members through Campus Country at Northeast as well.
“They’re out of Nashville now and have been there for about two years,” Davis said. “They play all original material. They’re really cool.”
Davis, Staggers and Carnathan will accompany the trio on their set.
Before Sleep til May takes the stage, singer-songwriter Joe Whaley will perform an acoustic set.
Cover is $5 and CDs will be on sale at the show for $10. The band plans to also make the CD available online for $15.