The Southerners are an Outlaw Rockabilly band based out of the Southern California area. They began with a mission to create music that reflected their own diverse styles and influences, ranging from Johnny Cash to the Misfits. One album & 2 EPs, and hundreds of shows later they began to perfect it. Their lead singer's style is often likened to "if Patsy went Punk", and has a soulful quality that always gets the message across.
There are many influences that The Southerners credit for their style of music and songwriting. When it comes to vocals, Celeste likes to reflect on the styles of Billy Holiday and Etta James combined with the attitude of early punk rock music. Songwriting is also of huge importance to The Southerners. "Not every outlaw, rockabilly songs needs to be about drinking, and hot rods." says Byron. "The best songwriters in history have always been able to see past the superficial things and write about themes that have personal importance to them. I think about how songs written by people like John Lennon, Johnny Cash, Mike Ness and even Kurt Cobain make me feel, and then I try to evoke that same power of emotions from people who hear our music." Love, revenge, loss and regret are common underlying themes to many of The Southerners' songs.
The Southerners were formed in the fall of 2004 by Celeste Gilstrap, Byron Williams, Justin Williams and Hector Mattos. Their initial goal was to take a stripped down approach to creating outlaw and rockabilly music, so the decision was made not to have a drummer in the line up. This approach proved challenging, yet rewarding in a very short time. The musicianship of the entire band progressed rapidly due to the demands of maintaining a tight and aggressive sound without the use of a drummer. Since the main percussive instrument in the band was now the Upright Bass, Justin soon developed a heavy, thunderous style of playing which proved to not only be effective but also very unique to the genre.
The Southerners played their first gig at the legendary Doll Hut in Anaheim, CA just a few short weeks after their inception. Within a few months, they had written a handful of original music and decided to enter the studio. "Barstool Rodeo" was quickly recorded and released in early 2005. "Barstool Rodeo" captured the early, "drum-less" style of The Southerners, and included many crowd favorites including "Lonesome Love", "Goodbye '53", "Lovesick Man", "I Want A Love" and "Reachin' For The Bible".
The Southerners went on to play hundreds of shows through out 2005-2010 at such venues including The Viper Room (LA), The Troubadour (LA), The Derby (LA), The Galaxy Theater (OC), The Knitting Factory (LA), The Key Club (Morongo), The Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LV), The Ink-N-Iron Festival (Long Beach) and the annual NASCAR Racefest at The Autoclub Speedway in Fontana, CA. They have also had the privilege of sharing the stage with many talented artists including Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoakam, The Reverend Horton Heat, Lee Rocker (The Stray Cats), The Blasters, Royal Crown Revue, The Dickies, The Quakes, Big Sandy and the Flyrite Boys, Throwrag, and Blazing Haley.
In 2009, Hector Mattos made the tough decision of relocating to El Paso, Texas, and therefore had to leave The Southerners. This down time allowed The Southerners to reassess their direction and the decision was made to move forward with a full time drummer, Chris Heth, and a new lead guitarist, Sean Dunn. This new line up has allowed The Southerners to widen out their sound and add more diverse styles to their music.
01 - [2005] Barstool Rodeo
Female led western outlaw rockabilly performed with a punk rock attitude. Oh yeah... they also shot the drummer.
01 - Bandoleros
02 - Barstool Rodeo
03 - I Want A Love
04 - Let The Teardrops Fall
05 - Reachin' For The Bible
06 - Lonesome Love
07 - Ripped In Two
08 - I'm Moving On
09 - Lovesick Man
10 - Forget To Remember
11 - The Dance
12 - Goodbye '53
13 - Little Devil
14 - Blues Medley
320k
93.23 Mb
DIRECT DOWNLOAD LINK
02 - [2009] Buried Memories EP
The Southerners are back with this follow up EP to their debut album, "Barstool Rodeo". This time around they've added a drummer to round out their sound and the results speak for themselves.
01 - Buried Memories
02 - Hell Paso
03 - Midnight Train
04 - I Just Can't Get Away
320k
21.70 Mb
DIRECT DOWNLOAD LINK
03 - [2010] Left For Dead EP
"Left For Dead" once again highlights what The Southerners do best... Rock! Featuring The Southerners' newset addition to the band, Sean Dunn, this EP spotlights his guitar prowess and the band's vast range.
01 - I Smell Like Gasoline
02 - The Story Of A Tortured Soul
03 - Left For Dead
320k
26.41 Mb
DIRECT DOWNLOAD LINK
