Kevin Abernathy Band: Press

Local musicians crafted a decade of great music
Dec. 31--Choosing the decade's best local releases is just about as hard as picking the top releases of the decade overall. The music from the local scene has risen to such a high level that it often rivals and even surpasses the national buzz acts. While several artists released more than one great disc during the decade, I forced myself to choose only one disc per artist. And at least one Knoxville great, R.B. Morris, skipped releasing a full-length album for the entire decade. Still, here are 10 reasons to be glad you were in Knoxville during the aughts and probably 10 reasons to end the year with fist fight-size arguments over the choices:

1 "Heartbreak & Duct Tape," Todd Steed & The Suns of Phere, 2005
While it was "Knoxville Tells" that was the watershed for Steed's talent and musical diplomacy, this follow-up cemented that Steed had transitioned from a lovable punk to a major talent.

2 "At This Point In My Life," Donald Brown, 2002
Everything great about jazz pianist/composer Donald Brown is contained in this package, from the irresistible retro-funk opener to the sweet and strange melodies and adventurous arrangements (on this album for septet) that follow. If you wonder why people like Dave Brubeck, Joe Henderson and Wynton Marsalis all give Brown props, here is the best place to find out.

3 "Last Call for Vitriol," Superdrag, 2002
The swan song of the second Superdrag lineup and surely the emotional nadir of the group featured some of lead singer-songwriter John Davis' most biting, beautiful and distinctive work, along with great contributions from emerging singer-songwriter-bassist Sam Powers. It didn't hurt that drummer Don Coffey produced the disc with a clean, punchy sound that made it all sparkle.

4 "Rock-n-Roll Fiasco," Kevin Abernathy Band, 2007
A veteran guitar slinger of the hair-metal scene, Kevin Abernathy haunted Nashville singer-songwriter nights before returning to Knoxville to combine jarringly true songs with in-your-face guitar chops. This album left me shaking my head wondering, "Why I hadn't heard of this guy before?"

5 "Citation," Scott Miller, 2006
When the V-Roys split on the eve of the millennium, it robbed Knoxville of its most beloved rock groups. However, singer-songwriters Scott Miller and Mic Harrison both went on to create terrific music on their own. This disc, produced by legendary Memphis producer Jim Dickinson, is Miller's most riveting album to date, and the foul-mouthed and utterly entertaining "8 Miles a Gallon" pretty much sums up the decade.

6 "The Guilty Party Rages On," Senryu, 2008
Senryu is certainly Knoxville's most artistically ambitious and peculiar rock act. Most of the group's releases were only available at shows -- and only at the specific shows when the song was released! This crazed and beautiful creation (now available for free) is packed with great pop songs that are buffeted by strange, sometimes gorgeous, sometimes spooky, little numbers and recurring themes.

7 "New Ways to Butcher English," The Tenderhooks, 2008
The Tenderhooks broke up in November just when the band seemed to be on the verge of a national breakout. Too bad. This album was packed with great material and proved the band had the stuff to win over the world.

8 "On the Right Side of the Grass," Mic Harrison and the High Score, 2008
Mic Harrison and the High Score had been on the edge of a making a classic honky-tonk album for years. This time they did.

9 "Pieces of the World," Dixie Dirt, 2005
Before calling it quits, Knoxville rock band Dixie Dirt delivered this dark and ambitious opus that centers on a disintegrating relationship.

10 "Redistilled: 25 Years of Knoxville Rock," Various Artists, 2008
This benefit CD for UT radio station WUTK, brings together generations of Knoxville rock artists performing each other's songs with such affection and attitude that it would be hard to not love it. It's a great sampler and an important piece of history.

“Kevin Abernathy just does what he does, very freakin’ well: writes killer songs, makes great records, and watches everything with the wry wit, poignant introspection and simmering-below-the-surface sarcasm of Darkness On The Edge Of Town-era Springsteen.”

"He may not be Christian rock, but his songs sure do make you wanna hate Satan"

“Far from being a fiasco, the Kevin Abernathy Band's sophomore release proves that as a songwriter Abernathy belongs in the top tier of East Tennessee's best (and that's a pretty exalted group). The trio is tight. The playing is smart. Americana mixes with metal licks and classic rock. From a redneck "Brawl On Scottish Pike" to the mournful explanation of "The South Knoxville Blues" to too-late epiphany of a meth head as he bleeds to death on the highway (Noticed The Moon), each of these songs could be the basis of a fine novel.”

“He’s a great guitarist and stellar songwriter. You gotta love any record that reminds you both of Steve Earle and Hot For Teacher, sometimes in the same song. Kevin's just an amazing guitar player, songwriter, and band leader.”

“Singer/songwriter/hotshot guitar slinger Kevin Abernathy has years in the music biz and it shows on his latest, Rock –n– Roll Fiasco, where he’s alternately world-weary and pissed off and sometimes a little of both. Uniquely, a force to be reckoned with. Quality stuff to listen to on a rainy day, a road trip or a drunken Sunday.”

“A very talented singer/songwriter/guitarist that’s been hiding right in our own backyard”

“His delivery and cadence, combined with the mix of ballads and rockers cooked up in a soup of country and blues laid over a rock n roll foundation make it easy to imagine that if Lucinda Williams had been born a guy, she might very well have turned out sounding like Abernathy.”