Backwater (band)

Last updated

Backwater
Backwater 1976 Birmingham.jpeg
Background information
Origin Mobile, Alabama, U.S.
Genres
Years active1975–79, 1997 (reunion)
LabelsBongwater
Past members
  • Robby Catlin
  • Larry Hardin
  • Trippe Thomason
  • Scott Pettersen

Backwater was an American jazz fusion band formed in Mobile, Alabama, that was active in the 1970s.

Contents

The group was founded by Robby Catlin and Scott Pettersen, with Larry Hardin and Trippe Thomason completing the lineup. The quartet formed in 1975, playing clubs and working as session musicians in Birmingham, Alabama. The group's first album, Backwater (1976), sold well throughout the Southeast and received radio airplay, leading to touring with B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, and Emmylou Harris. Lineup changes plagued the band for much of the rest of their career. Pettersen, Catlin, and Tom and Myra Woodruff produced one more album (North of the Mason-Dixon and the Heart of Dixie in 1978) before breaking up as the decade ended. The band's original members reunited for a concert in 1997.

History

Formation and debut album (early to mid 1970s)

The quartet came together on the south side of Birmingham, Alabama, in 1972. Birmingham skyline with smog 1972.jpg
The quartet came together on the south side of Birmingham, Alabama, in 1972.

In the early 1970s, Robby Catlin formed Backwater as a trio playing cover music. The Mobile, Alabama-based trio (with guitarist Bob Bishop) performed covers of top 40 singles and became staples of fraternity parties and high school dances. [1] In 1975, childhood friends Larry Hardin and Catlin formed a band with Scott Pettersen, Steve Ferrell and Jim Reid (with whom Catlin had performed in junior high school as part of the band Free Will) along with high school friend Jim Henderson and Bishop. The band moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where they played cover music at The Morris House club. Ferrell, Bishop, Reid and Henderson left the band (some to return to college) and Catlin, Hardin and Pettersen met Trippe Thomason, who would be incorporated into the band as keyboardist in late 1975. [2]

Guitarist Gerry Groom also joined the band in early 1976, but left following the recording of their debut. [3] Groom, who had been a child prodigy that studied under and performed with Duane Allman, was instrumental in pushing the group into a more blues-based improvisational style and encouraged the band to find its own voice. Groom also introduced the group to John Hammond Jr., whom they backed in a 1975 concert. The group only owned one vehicle — a bread truck — and they lived together in a condemned home on the south side of the city. [1] Eight months after forming, the band decided to record their first album. [2] The band was largely inspired by artists such as Herbie Hancock, Weather Report, and Mahavishnu. [4]

Rather than sign to a record label, Hardin, Pettersen, and Catlin formed their own independent label, Bongwater Records. According to the group, it was formed after receiving offers from labels who desired to change their sound. [3] Bongwater Publishing Company was incorporated on September 2, 1976. [5] The five musicians worked as session musicians at New London Recording in Homewood in exchange for studio time for themselves. [1] The resulting self-titled album was released in September 1976 and contained a studio side and a live side recorded at the Birmingham nightclub The Midnight's Voice. Edgar Winter performed live with the band during recording (but was not recorded) and encouraged the band to go national. [2] [3]

The band mailed copies to radio stations across the country. The exposure helped Backwater land opening slots for B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, and Emmylou Harris. [1] The album was aired on radio stations in Mobile, [1] Auburn, Tuscaloosa, Montgomery, New Orleans, and on WAPI-FM, WENN-FM and WERC-FM in Birmingham. [3] Medusa and most of the other major record stores in Birmingham stocked the record alongside "artistically designed" tees. [3] "Alto Ego" proved to be the biggest airplay hit, while "A Song for Don" also received rotation. [2] [3] "Southern popular music is often typecast as refried boogie produced by a faceless series of Allman Brothers clones," wrote A.J. Wright of The Auburn Plainsman . "Backwater will soon change that false image." [6]

Lineup change, second record and breakup (late 1970s)

In 1977, Hardin and Thomason quit for "creative differences." Hardin later remarked, "We were full of ourselves [...] It was a matter of having too many kids with too many egos." [1] Catlin and Pettersen forged ahead with a long series of replacement players (most notably Tom and Myra Woodruff) who helped cobble together another release, North of the Mason-Dixon and the Heart of Dixie (1978). [1] The studio side of the release was recorded at Fifth Floor Recording Studios in Cincinnati, Ohio, during the Great Blizzard of 1978, while live tracks were recorded at both Mobile's Saenger Theatre and Solomon Alfred's Night Club in Memphis, Tennessee. [7] [8] The album also included a 7" EP, Punk Jazz, containing experimental songs. The album, like Backwater, sold well locally. [9] The band continued to 1979 with new member Frank Garcia, playing a mix of John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Little Feat, and Billy Joel covers alongside originals and contemporary music. [9]

As the decade closed, the band would eventually decide to part ways. "It got to the point where we were just another bar band," Pettersen recalled. [1] "Our basic problem is that our sound is too diversified," Catlin said in a 1979 interview. "There is a recognizable style, but it's not real hip — to a record company — to go from a 1940's tune to a modern one. They don't quite know where to put us. They could put us in the funk category, but we're not quite enough commercial disco." [9]

In 1997, the group's four principal members reunited for a concert at Mobile's Saenger Theatre, sponsored by radio host Catt Sirten. [10] The band's debut album, Backwater, was remastered and released on compact disc the same year. [1] Co-founder Robby Catlin died in 2006, [11] while original drummer Scott Pettersen passed in 2021. [10]

Band members

Former members

Discography

Related Research Articles

Alabama has played a central role in the development of both blues and country music. Appalachian folk music, fiddle music, gospel, spirituals, and polka have had local scenes in parts of Alabama. The Tuskegee Institute's School of Music, especially the Tuskegee Choir, is an internationally renowned institution. There are three major modern orchestras, the Mobile Symphony, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra; the last is the oldest continuously operating professional orchestra in the state, giving its first performance in 1955.

Legion Field Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, United States

Legion Field is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States in Birmingham, Alabama, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but occasionally used for other large outdoor events. Opened in 1927, it is named in honor of the American Legion, a U.S. organization of military veterans.

War Eagle

War Eagle is a battle cry, yell, or motto of Auburn University and supporters of Auburn University sports teams, especially the Auburn Tigers football team. War Eagle is a greeting or salutation among the Auburn Family. It is also the title of the university's fight song and the name of the university's golden eagle.

Dixie Dregs American rock band

The Dixie Dregs is an American rock band from Augusta, Georgia. Formed in 1970, the band's performance consists entirely of instrumentals that fuse elements of diverse genres such as rock, classical music, country, jazz and bluegrass into an eclectic sound that is difficult to categorize. Recognized for their virtuoso playing, the Dixie Dregs were identified with the southern rock, progressive rock and jazz fusion scenes of the 1970s.

Backwater or Backwaters may refer to:

Patrick Joseph Sullivan was an American professional football player and college coach. An All-America quarterback for the Auburn Tigers, he won the Heisman Trophy in 1971 and then played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins. Sullivan was a head football coach at Samford University, a position he held from 2007 to 2014. He was previously the head football coach at Texas Christian University (TCU) from 1992 to 1997 and the offensive coordinator at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) from 1999 to 2006. Sullivan was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1991.

The University of Alabama is a school with many traditions. This article describes several of these traditions.

Cleveland Eaton American musician

Cleveland Josephus Eaton II was an American jazz double bassist, producer, arranger, composer, publisher, and head of his own record company in Fairfield, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham. His most famous accomplishments were playing with the Ramsey Lewis Trio and the Count Basie Orchestra. His 1975 recording Plenty Good Eaton is considered a classic in the funk music genre. He has been inducted into both the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

Joe Beckwith American baseball player

Thomas Joseph Beckwith was an American baseball pitcher who played seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Kansas City Royals from 1979 to 1986. He threw right-handed and served primarily as a relief pitcher.

<i>Live at the Hollywood Bowl</i> (The Doors album) 1987 album by The Doors

Live at the Hollywood Bowl is the third official live album by the American rock band the Doors, released in May 1987 by Elektra Records. The concert was recorded on July 5, 1968, at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, the Doors' hometown.

Marching Pride of North Alabama

The Marching Pride of North Alabama, is the official marching band of the University of North Alabama. The band is the largest organization on campus, and performs at all North Alabama Lions football home games, as well as local parades and high school competition exhibitions across the state.

TCB Band American band

The TCB Band is a group of professional musicians who formed the core rhythm section of Elvis Presley’s band from August 1969 until his death in 1977.. The initials TCB stands for Taking Care of Business, a personal motto Presley adopted in the early 1970s. Although personnel changed over the years, the original members were James Burton, Jerry Scheff (bass), John Wilkinson, Larry Muhoberac (keyboards) and Ron Tutt (drums). They first appeared live at Presley’s first Las Vegas performance at what was then known as the International Hotel on July 31, 1969.

Million Dollar Band (marching band)

The Million Dollar Band is the official marching band of the University of Alabama. Founded in 1912, the Million Dollar Band is the largest student organization at the University of Alabama. The band performs during pregame and halftime of every home and neutral-site Alabama football game; it also supplies at least a pep band to every away football game, as well as home men's basketball, women's basketball, women's gymnastics, and volleyball games. In 2003, the band was awarded the Sudler Trophy, recognizing it as one of the top college bands in the United States.

Auburn University has several notable traditions, many related to its varsity teams, the Auburn Tigers.

Frank Webb "Buddy" Gardner, Jr. is an American professional golfer.

Wayne Greenhaw American journalist

Harold Wayne Greenhaw was an American writer and journalist. The author of 22 books who chronicled changes in the American South from the civil rights movement to the rise of a competitive Republican Party, he is known for his works on the Ku Klux Klan and the exposition of the My Lai Massacre of 1968. Greenhaw wrote for various Alabamian newspapers and magazines, worked as the state's tourism director, and was considered "a strong voice for his native state".

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Carol Cain (March 21, 1997). "Hot Mobile Band of '70s, Backwater Reunites for Show". Mobile Register .
  2. 1 2 3 4 Kim Roberts (November 11, 1976). "Backwater concert set". The Auburn Plainsman . p. A-14.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Stephanie Melonas (October 14, 1976). "Backwater — Best In Birmingham". The Kaleidoscope : 6.
  4. Normand, David A. (January 13, 1977). "Backwater: Live And Vinyl". Azalea City News.
  5. "Bongwater Publishing Company, Inc. – Alabama Domestic Corporation". Bizapedia.
  6. A.J. Wright (November 11, 1976). "Jazz cooked up on disc". The Auburn Plainsman .
  7. North of the Mason-Dixon and the Heart of Dixie (liner notes). Backwater. US: Bongwater. 1978. 0004.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. "Backwater Cuts LP Side at Saengar". Mobile Register : 6. April 19, 1978.
  9. 1 2 3 Carl Wernicke (July 19, 1979). "Backwater Gives You Varying Styles, Sounds". Pensacola News . pp. 5–6.
  10. 1 2 "Obituary: Scott Allen Pettersen 1956 - 2021". Press-Register. February 23, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
  11. "Obituary: Robert Ashley "Robby" Catlin". The Eagle . July 20, 2006. Retrieved February 3, 2014.