Cody Dickinson sounded happy to talk over the phone, saying that his day had been productive. “I just got out of a meeting. It was great. How are you?” he said rapidly as if an interview was the most exciting experience on Earth. The guitarist, drummer and vocalist of the North Mississippi Allstars, seemed to echo the personality of a traditional Mississippi musician: a storyteller, a laid-back talker, a hard worker. Not a surprise. Neither are his performances.
The talented trio of Luther and Cody Dickinson and Chris Chew plays like Mississippi’s rich historical musicians. But their sound is all their own. That’s not a contradiction. Watching the band play brings memories of ’60s and ’70s rock.
They just play. They have no image worries or hair gel to mess with. Though they’ve cultivated the tradition of Mississippi, reinvention is key to this changing sound. It’s all their own. Oh, the sound of raw Southern rock! Yes, they are a spontaneous jam band, like Phish, but their sounds have had other influences. Let’s start from the beginning.
Two Memphis boys in diapers were driven to Ardent Studios to watch their dad produce a little music. Jim Dickinson was laying down tracks for credible groups, like The Replacements and Spiritualized.
Before long Cody and Luther Dickinson’s father moved with them to North Mississippi. Here, in this hot bed of local rockers and blues artists, came the influence of good ole Southern rock, hill country blues, gospel and, let’s not forget, the Delta blues.
R.L. Burnside was one of the heaviest influences of the boys, as they matured in musical skill and taste. In high school after touring with The Replacements and The New Gospel Choir, they formed a punk trio with a friend. But later they came to the rescue of bassist Chris Chew at the prom. Then and there, the smiling, carefree band known as the North Mississippi Allstars was conceived. Eventually, Burnside’s son Dwayne Burnside toured with the band.
From their first gig up to now is just a bio full of impressiveness. At their first concert after the prom they performed with loyal friend R.L. Burnside, who is now 79 and still breaking blues boundaries. Also on the stage was 91-year-old fife and drum corps legend and mentor Otha Turner.
Upon hearing their broad flavor of sound, Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher offered them his voice for Cody’s song, “One to Grow On,” from their 2003 release Polaris. Gallagher had caught a few of their shows in London and later, invited Cody to watch Oasis write and record songs.
“Shake Hands with Shorty” (2000) received a Grammy nomination, as did “51 Phantom” (2001).
Credited writer Nick Tosches said that their sound “was a formidable and measuring force.” Rolling Stone’s David Fricke described the Allstars as “pureeing historical precedent into exuberant modernism-manic cottonfield psychedelia.”
The North Mississippi Allstars have been showing their stuff at Bonaroo since it began. Bonaroo, a summer music party much like Woodstock, keeps growing in bands and fans.
“Bonaroo sells other rock festivals out because it isn’t commercialized,” Cody said. “The theme of the festival isn’t what type of music you can play; it’s if you can play.”
They’ve toured all over the world, including Australia and Japan. Tonight, they are hitting Starkville again. Until 1 a.m. at Rick’s Caf on U.S. Highway 82 they will perform songs from all three albums.
After a thousand shows and two albums, they are proud of their work on their newest compilation, Polaris. Instead of recording it in Mississippi, like they usually did, they went back to Ardent Studios and worked with Jim, Cody and Luther’s father. Plugging in a dusty 30-year-old amp, when they were trying get that old guitar sound, Brian said, “That’s the Big Star sound right there, boy.”
Later, when it was all done, Luther expressed excitement. “In the end we took everything we can do and used it to nail down a whole new Southern rock. And we don’t feel bashful about it at all.”
They certainly aren’t. He said that this was the best stuff the band had ever done, straightforward and from the heart.