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1956

by The Demon Beat

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1.
Movement 1 09:43
2.
Movement 2 06:55
3.
Movement 3 03:46
4.
Movement 4 08:40
5.
Movement 5 08:33

about

Sooner or later, you have to face it - change will happen. It will seek you. It will find you. It will shit on you. Happy New Year.

I'll spare you some of the history lesson and just say that 1956 was a year that represented change that was to come. On New Year's Day of '56, Carl Perkins released, “Blue Suede Shoes”. The song would go on to be Sun's first million record seller and sit atop the Billboard Country charts. In March, Perkins, his brothers, Clayton and Jay, and drummer "Fluke" Holland headed to New York City to appear on the Perry Como Show to support their single. They wrecked outside of Dover, Delaware around dawn of March 22. The wreck killed the other driver and severely injured Jay and Carl.

One month later, while still recovering from the injuries sustained during the crash, Carl Perkins watched Elvis Presley perform “Blue Suede Shoes” on the Milton Berle Show. For Presley, it was yet another rung on his ladder of early number one hits stretching from '56 to '58. For Perkins, it was a stinging twist in a story that would lead to years of alcoholism. Buzzkill.

Perkins' story was representative of a generation of people that found themselves somewhere between antique, rural simplicity and a new, New York paced lifestyle that was creeping up and down the East Coast. Perkins was the son of a Jackson, Tennessee farmer and he and his brother Jay had started playing local juke joints out of boredom and young restlessness. After hearing Sun Recordings singles on the radio, Perkins knew that there was a place for him in Memphis. Soon enough he found himself shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley, men that would be remembered as the monumental kings of the era. He didn't choose success, but it quickly found him near the top of the rock, country, and r&b Billboard charts.

The turn of events that left Perkins reeling and maintained Presley's ascension to "royalty" would have never happened to Perkins had the television not become the newfound medium of the day. Interesting example of change proverbially shitting on a simple Tennessee man. That turn of events would haunt Perkins for the rest of his life.

I don't know that I necessarily believe that things happen for a reason. I also don't know that I believe that you can prescribe a certain belief system to the shit that happens to you. I certainly know that a rock band probably isn't the place to look for the answers. Either way, I chose Perkins as a subject for two reasons: (a) he's a cool motherfucker, and (b) he had grossly fortuitous shit come his way and had to deal with it. While not all of us have such a twisted story going on in our lives, shit happens in some magnitude to everyone. And we must deal.

This record was arranged and recorded on November 22nd and 23rd with overdubs added on November 27th and 30th of 2010. We did two takes on the 22nd, with the second one becoming the master and one take on the 23rd. Movements 1-3 come from the first session and the remaining two came from the second night. There's one additional guitar track that shows up in Movements 1, 3, and 4. The vocals were done in one take on the 30th of November. It was then mastered in Nashville, Tennessee by Justin Francis over a few days from December 6-9.

I'm very proud of this record and I know the other boys are as well. Hope you enjoy it. Also, I apologize for getting so mixolydian at the end, but I know no other way.

- Adam L. Meisterhans

credits

released December 31, 2010

Guitar/vocals - Adam L. Meisterhans
Drums - Jordan Hudkins
Bass - Tucker Riggleman

Recorded and mixed by Adam L. Meisterhans

Mastered by Justin Francis in Nashville, TN

Artwork/screen-printing by Jordan Hudkins

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The Demon Beat West Virginia

The Demon Beat aren’t here to shock or alienate anyone. They’re here to make you believe in what they believe, a kind of spirit so many of the cookie cutter indie rock bands of today can’t seem to grasp. It should hit you right in the pit of your stomach, should take risks, should be more about the music than following some kind of aesthetic. More about creating than pretending. ... more

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