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The Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies is a band from Nashville, Tennessee, US, which was formed in April 1991. The band features a heavy southern bluesy jam oriented style which led to comparisons with groups such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers Band, The Black Crowes, Brother Cane and Cry of Love.
The core of the band was started by college buddies, Rick White (guitarist) and Terry Thomas (drummer). After meeting Bob Watkins (guitarist), the three started occasionally jamming together in 1989. It wasn't until Rick White met singer Mike Farris, in 1991, that things really came together. Omitted Was Bass player Randy Threet . The five members of SCW assembled at a local warehouse loft studio in Nashville on April 24, 1991, for their first jam and writing session together. The band recalls it as Divine Dispensation. They immediately bonded and wrote five songs the first night which would end up being selected for the SCW self-titled CD. =
With the addition of Steve Burgess (bass guitar) replacing Randy Threet, the lineup was complete. The band chose their name from a The Far Side illustration by artist Gary Larson captioned "Cheetah Wheelies". The band added "Screamin'" (officially omitting the last letter in a nod to colloquial southern slang) and began playing local bars. The band was soon playing all the local venues including Ace of Clubs and 328 Performance Hall, but it was their residency shows at a small blues club called The Grapevine Cafe, next door to the world-famous Exit/In near Vanderbilt University, that gained industry attention. These shows were always a sold-out affair and led to the band being signed to Atlantic Records in 1993 by the infamous Jason Flom.
The band released their debut, The Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies, in Oct 1993. [1] The album reached #40 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. [2] The album was recorded at 315 Beale Studios in Memphis and produced by Paul Ebersold. Their single, "Shakin' the Blues", reached the album-rock top ten. [3]
In 1996, the band released Magnolia; this album's varied musical styles ranged from "Magnolia", a slow-burn build-up rock and roll epic, to "Gypsy Lullaby", a delicate ode showing Farris' blistering vocals at their best. "Magnolia" was produced by Michael Barbiero and featured a guest appearance by Warren Haynes of Gov't Mule. The band signed with Capricorn Records in 1997 and rereleased “Magnolia” with a different cover. Big Wheel, released in 1998, contained "Standing In The Sun" and "Boogie King", a song as much at home in the mosh pit as cruising the local drag. "Boogie King" was used on the soundtrack of the movie "Bride of Chucky." "Right Place, Wrong Time" was used in the "Malcolm in the Middle" episode "Home Alone 4" and included in "Songs from Malcolm in the Middle," the soundtrack to the television series which was released in early 2001.
The SCW went on to release five studio CDs, two live CDs total with two independent releases recorded at the Watkins home studio, Thundershack.
The band toured with many notable national acts through the 90s, including Meat Loaf, Joan Osborne and the Allman Brothers Band. SCW ended their touring career in 1999 opening a double bill arena tour with ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
The band last performed together on October 30, 2004, at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, TN.
Following the band's dissolution, Farris has released four solo albums: "Goodnight Sun" (2002), "Salvation In Lights" (2007) on INO Records, "Shine for All the People" (2014) on Compass Records, which won a Grammy for Best Roots Gospel album. He followed that up with "Silver & Stone" (2018) on Compass. The remaining Wheelies continued performing in various combinations. Members of the band have started or joined various side projects which continue to release recordings still. These bands include: Stack, Black Mountain Prophet, Scale Hound and Blackwood.
On April 24, 2022, the band announced that it had reformed for a limited number of performances, initially in Nashville and New York City, for its "The Long Goodbye" tour.
Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom, and Bob Burns (drums). The band spent five years touring small venues under various names and with several lineup changes before deciding on "Lynyrd Skynyrd" in 1969. The band released its first album, (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd), in 1973. By then, they had settled on a lineup that included bassist Leon Wilkeson, keyboardist Billy Powell, and guitarist Ed King. Burns left and was replaced by Artimus Pyle in 1974. King left in 1975 and was replaced by Steve Gaines in 1976. At the height of their fame in the 1970s, the band popularized the Southern rock genre with songs such as "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird". After releasing five studio albums and one live album, the band's career was abruptly halted on October 20, 1977, when their chartered airplane crashed, killing Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines; and seriously injuring the rest of the band.
The Allman Brothers Band were an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman, as well as Dickey Betts, Berry Oakley (bass), Butch Trucks (drums), and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson (drums). Subsequently, based in Macon, Georgia, they incorporated elements of blues, jazz and country music and their live shows featured jam band-style improvisation and instrumentals.
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar speculates the term "Southern rock" may have been coined in 1972 by Mo Slotin, writing for Atlanta's underground paper, The Great Speckled Bird, in a review of an Allman Brothers Band concert.
Howard Duane Allman was an American rock and blues guitarist and the founder and original leader of the Allman Brothers Band, for which he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.
Horizons of Rock Developing Everywhere or H.O.R.D.E. Festival was a touring summer rock music festival originated by the musical group Blues Traveler in 1992. In addition to travelling headliners, the festival gave exposure to bands, charities, and organizations from the local area of the concert.
Outlaws is an American Southern rock band from Tampa, Florida. They are best known for their 1975 hit "There Goes Another Love Song" and extended guitar jam "Green Grass and High Tides" from their 1975 debut album, plus their 1980 cover of the Stan Jones classic "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky".
Steven Earl Gaines was an American musician. He is best known as a guitarist and backing vocalist with rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1976 until his death in the October 1977 airplane crash that claimed other band members and crew. His older sister Cassie Gaines, a backup vocalist with the band, also died in the crash.
Second Helping is the second studio album by Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on April 15, 1974. It features the band's biggest hit single, "Sweet Home Alabama", an answer song to Neil Young's "Alabama" and "Southern Man", which reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in August 1974.
Nuthin' Fancy is the third studio album by the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released in March 1975. It was their first to reach the top 10, peaking at number 9 on the U.S. album chart. It was certified gold on June 27, 1975, and platinum on July 21, 1987, by the RIAA. This was the band's first record with new drummer Artimus Pyle. In late May 1975, guitarist Ed King left the band in the middle of their "Torture Tour." The album is best known for its only single, "Saturday Night Special," an anti-gun song that peaked at #27 on the U.S. Billboard chart.
Street Survivors is the fifth studio album by the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on October 17, 1977. The LP is the last Skynyrd album recorded by original members Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins, and is the sole Skynyrd studio recording by guitarist Steve Gaines. Three days after the album's release, the band's chartered airplane crashed en route to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, killing the pilot, co-pilot, the group's assistant road-manager and three band members, and severely injuring most who survived the crash.
Raging Slab is an American band that plays a blend of southern rock and boogie with influences from metal and punk. They released six albums between 1987 and 2002.
Phil Walden was a co-founder of the Macon, Georgia-based Capricorn Records, along with former Atlantic Records executive Frank Fenter.
Black Stone Cherry is an American rock band, formed in 2001 in Edmonton, Kentucky. They were signed to Roadrunner Records until 2015; the band is now signed to Mascot Label Group. The band consists of Chris Robertson, Ben Wells, Steve Jewell and John Fred Young. Black Stone Cherry has released eight studio albums as well as two EPs, and have charted seventeen singles on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks charts. Their latest album, Screamin' at the Sky, was released in 2023.
Mike Farris is an American musician. He was the founder and lead singer of Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies but has been a solo act since 2001. He has put out four studio releases as well as a one live record as Mike Farris and the Roseland Rhythm Revue, as well as a charity EP as Mike Farris and the Cumberland Saints. His music is diverse but tends to be rooted in early American gospel and blues. He released the album Silver & Stone on September 7, 2018 to critical acclaim.
Grinderswitch was a southern rock band formed near Macon, Georgia in 1973. Formed from a collaboration of musicians through word of mouth and connections to already established bands and musicians, Grinderswitch became a known act during the peak of the southern rock era. They recorded two albums for Capricorn Records in the mid-1970s, but never achieved the widespread recognition enjoyed by some of the label's other artists, such as The Allman Brothers Band and Marshall Tucker Band. In the UK, they are perhaps best known for their recording "Pickin' the Blues", which was used for many years by the disc jockey John Peel as the theme tune for his BBC radio shows.
September Hase is an American alternative rock band formed by singer/guitarist Al Janelle in 2005. Janelle formed the group as a three-man project with Adam Smith (bass/vocals) and Matthew Heller (drums) after the dissolution of his high school blues band.
Alan Walden is an American manager, publisher, booking agent, and promoter.
Susan Marshall is an American folk rock, pop and soul vocalist, pianist, songwriter and recording artist. She is best known for her work with Mother Station, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Lenny Kravitz, The Afghan Whigs, Primal Scream, North Mississippi Allstars, Lucinda Williams, Ana Popović and Katharine McPhee.
Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks, often referred to as BHLT, was an American musical group that existed from 1982 to 1984 and that featured former members of The Allman Brothers Band and Wet Willie. Despite a positive reception for their live performances, the group never got a recording contract.
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