Larry Bagby: Press

Larry Bagby
Dragonfly
Los Angeles

Contact: larry@larrybagby.com
Web: www.larrybagby.com
Players: Larry Bagby, guitar & vocals; Eliza James, electric fiddle & backing vocals; Johnny Hawthorne, electric guitar, lap steel & backing vocals; Curt Piar, bass; Evan HIllhouse, drums.

Material: You may know Larry Bagby from his onscreen performance as Marshall Grant, Johnny Cash’s bass player in the film “Walk the Line,” or his recurring role on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” But Bagby is not just an actor who can play music; he is a consummate musician who can also act. His music is hardcore country with a touch of rock, and perfect for placement in movies and television. His song “Counting My Lucky Stars,” written by Mike Stinson, is featured on a “Cold Case” episode.

Musicianship: Bagby is a master of the guitar. His vocals are strong and passionate. James shows incredible talent on the fiddle and backing vocals, obviously a spillover of her experience as a member of Burt Bacharach’s band. Hawthorne adds the magic touch on both guitar and steel. The powerful duo of Piar and Hillhouse are a tight rhythm unit, laying down a fitting and stable base for the rest of the band.

Performance: With smooth vocals and a galvanizing stage presence that’s part Dwight Yoakum and part Chuck Berry, Bagby took over the stage like he owned it. The chemistry of the band proved that they enjoyed playing together. Bagby oozed confidence, and segues perfectly between stage banter and songs for a seamless transition. His cover of Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” was performed with a refreshing upbeat arrangement on which James shined. Bagby definitely left them dancing in the aisles long after his set was over.

Summary: Larry Bagby is a refreshing voice in country music, breathing new life into classic covers. His original material is dynamic and his stage show is contagious fun. The audience leaves humming his tunes, anxiously awaiting the next opportunity to see one of the most dynamic stage shows in country music today.
--- Bob Leggett

This is what I call good Country! Larry Bagby’s album On the Radio deserves to be just that, played over the radio for everyone to hear. You are missing out if you don’t give this country singer a moment of your time.

His tunes contain a wholesome quality and the album presents the perfect mix of upbeat sounds and those on the slower side. It almost seems like the songs meld together to tell the full story of Bagby’s personality. It’s all too easy to listen to the whole album from start to finish. On the Radio, the title track, definitely struck me as the most enjoyable song on the album. It’s a little trendy, extremely simple, and all in all a great song to rock out when you need a smile.

Larry grew up in California, where music was always a big part of his life growing up. His father played in a band, Larry must have inherited some of that passion because at the young age of eight, his performance as “OZ” in the Wizard of Oz made him realize his love for music. However music isn’t Larry’s only love and talent. Acting plays a big part in his life. He has appeared in movies such as Walk the Line and Saints and Soldiers as well as popular television programs such as CSI, JAG, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Malcolm in the Middle. Phew---it is safe to say this country boy from California is both extremely busy and talented!

We don't get nearly enough country albums to review here at ReadJunk. And as a fan of country music (the real stuff, not what you find on CMT), I was excited to finally review some music that I'm actually interested in. Larry Bagby plays midtempo folky country songs that wouldn't be out of place in a smoky barroom. The songs are primarily acoustic and minimal, with a nice stripped-down production that really prioritizes the songs over the performance. On The Radio, the second track, and I assume the single he's trying push, is a bit more rock than what you might find on country radio (pardon the pun), but there's a certain rawness that makes me feel like it's better than that.

Bagby has a great, smooth voice to match his sort of sleazy cover photo. You can tell this dude plays music to get laid - check out his last track Player With A Heart if in doubt. His songs are decent if nothing special. I'd be curious to see what a couple years of touring and working on material might do for him. A couple of the tracks are a bit weak and only kept afloat by Bagby's voice. Still, this EP is completely harmless and pleasant introduction to some enjoyable country rock.


EDIT: Just found out this dude is an actor. I don't know if that makes me think more or less of him. But he was in Buffy and Walk the Line among other things.

CD review: Larry Bagby, On The Radio EP (Self-released)

Rating: 3 out of 5 geetars

“I can’t imagine doing anything else besides performing,” country singer/songwriter/guitarist Larry Bagby said. “My friends tell me I have very few other skills.” Whether that’s true or not, he’s a singer whose voice says (without words) that he is comfortable with his craft and himself.

At times he’s a country crooner (”Still”) at other times a goofy lady killer (”Player with a Heart”). Bagby penned five out ouf the six songs on the On The Radio EP, and of course (damn Murphy’s Law) it’s the opening number that was written by Mark Stinton that stands out as the best produced, most developed song. “Counting My Lucky Stars” is radio and listener friendly.

“I want my audience and listeners to want to learn how to play guitar or piano and teach their kids to do the same,” he said. “I also want them to love each other more and laugh more together and to just feel inspired to create and to be better people.”

It’s guys like Bagby that put good vibrations back into music. Sometimes people forget that music is more than making money, getting laid and partying. Bagby remembers, and contemporary country will benefit from it
most.

Toonage Does Indie Week 2007
Indie Week Night Two
October 12, 2007 – The Rivoli

review by Kim Snyder – photos by Melissa Girimonte

The Rivoli got off to a slow start Friday night as the first band finally took stage after 10 pm, but once Larry Bagby smiled out to the crowd, there was no turning back. Born and raised in California, Larry Bagby was exposed to the musical world early on in life. His father played in a dance band and Larry was known to jump on stage and start entertaining the crowd along side his father. This love for entertaining a crowd proved true with his high energy and charming personality at The Rivoli. Larry has been writing, singing, and playing his songs at noted venues around the world for years, so he is no stranger to the stage. Beyond having an excellent voice and the ability to belt out his songs, Larry plays the piano, guitar and stand-up bass, and self-produced his album, Where I Stand. Larry spent the summer of 2004 in Memphis, shooting the critically acclaimed film, Walk The Line, alongside Hollywood stars Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. Based on the life of Johnny Cash, Walk The Line features Larry in the role of Marshall Grant, Cash's best friend and stand up bass player. Talent drips from this smooth singin’, quick steppin’, country inspired musician, and the crowd showed their approval when during his last song he said, "When you play that hard on an acoustic guitar you usually break a string or it goes out of tune… luckily, it just went out of tune." Larry, you showed The Rivoli that if going out of tune is the worst thing you could have done, then by all means, continue doing it.

The next fantastic band to take centre stage and wow the excited crowd was none other than The Free Press. Out of mutual respect for each other's writing style, musical influences and a similar inability to imagine doing anything else with their lives, The Free Press was formed in Toronto in 2003. Five very talented young men, each with varied and incredibly entertaining backgrounds, own the stage when they perform. Everyone in the band sings and everyone in the band plays an instrument during their shows. It is very refreshing to see such natural talent. You believe these guys when they say they love what they do because you can feel it. One might say they sound like U2 and the Counting Crows in a fist fight with Blue Rodeo and Crowded House, and knowing that these bands have influenced them today, makes complete sense. Every song on their new CD, due out in time for Christmas this year, will surely make you sit up and listen and then sit back and reflect on the catchy and honest lyrics.

IGUANADONHO was the last and certainly not the least talent to climb on stage and set up his gear. Taking centre stage and holding a Hello Kitty guitar while leaning into the microphone, Marky Ray began what I can only describe as strangely good entertainment. He plays original music that careens between the angular guitar and agit-prop funk. As a musician, artist and as "THE Original Rock and Roll Mercenary”, Marky Ray has spent the better part of 30 years in the music industry. He has traveled the world and worked with groups such as Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, and the Jim Rose Circus. Currently, it’s just Ray and his Boss RC-20 Loop station, exactly the way Ray wants it to be at this point in his musical career. When not on stage performing, Ray works at a community college in Cleveland teaching a course called Concert Technical Pro-duction, where he weaves personal anecdotes as a way of teaching the business of being a music technician and gets his students hands-on experience, learning their craft in Cleveland nightclubs. With many years in the industry, a wild imagination, and a fantastically bizarre background, his storytelling onstage shines through and definitely holds your attention.

Indie Week Finals
October 13, 2007 – The El Mocambo

review by Anne Cook – photos by Melissa Girimonte

Pulling double duty at Saturday’s Indie Week finals, as both journalist and judge, I can say with some authority that choosing a winner was not easy. The night saw some great performances from some very talented bands, who ran the spectrum of genres, from country to funk and everything in between (though I will admit that those were arbitrarily assigned ends of the musical spectrum).

Promptly at 9:30, solo artist Matthew De Zoete (pronounced De Zu-ta) took the stage to a crowd comprised almost entirely of the other bands set to perform that evening. De Zoete played the first half of his set acoustically before switching to electric guitar, though his strength is definitely the former. De Zoete is best when strumming his way through songs about girls and relationships, such as standout number “Mathilde”, and was far less effective after switching instruments. His vocals became strained in competition with the electric guitar and the jerky movements that accompanied his edgier sound served only to distract from, rather than enhance, the musical experience.

Second up was Buffalo five-piece Juxtaposse, who impressed with well-crafted tunes and a very tight performance. While their sound is definitely not for everybody, their songs are undeniably catchy, combining elements of reggae, rock and ska. Lead singer/keyboardist Grant Michaels brought massive energy to the stage, but it was saxophonist Zach Craig who really stood out, both for his skillful playing and for the fact that he looked to be enjoying himself to no end on stage.

Alt-rockers Eden Ants took the stage third. Complete with leather jacket, skinny jeans and sunglasses, lead singer Adymm Ender played the role of rock star well, climbing atop amps and dancing his way around the stage. Their post-punk influenced sound was initially appealing, but suffered from a lack of variation, while their lyrics were not particularly inventive or inspired.

Once again the show changed gears, as Eden Ants gave way to country act Larry Bagby. Bagby, whom you may recognize as the bassist from Walk the Line, has had some success across the border with a style that fits nicely in the current body of modern country music. Bagby’s strong vocals, skillful guitar playing and interaction with the audience and members of his band all made for a very professional stage presence (especially in the face of technical difficulties). However, his treatment of Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” did not quite work, as Bagby’s vocal style and upbeat retooling did not suit the classic number.

Larry Bagby - On the Radio

Larry Bagby - On the Radio / 2007 Self / 6 Tracks / http://www.larrybagby.com /

“I’m Alright Tonight” plays at two different styles; there is a classic, almost 19th-century country sound to the opening guitar riffs to the track, but the vocals and piano seem to paint a much more contemporary sound. Larry Bagby provides these vocals, which are smoothed-out, lending individuals the ability to find something similar to a Willie Nelson or Garth Brooks in contemporary music. The storytelling ability of Bagby on “On the Radio” is without comparison; one can literally hear bits and pieces of the best singer-songwriters, whether it be Warren Zevon or even Randy Newman. The instrumentation does not stray far from where it began during “I’m Alright Tonight”, but it goes forth and lifts up Bagby’s vocals at all the right times.

One cannot hope for a better opening, and Bagby does not disappoint with the more up-tempo follow-up to “I’m Alright Tonight”, “Player With A Heart”. The slightly sly and humorous subject material present on this track reflects another thread in country music that Bagby caters to; this humorous style is given further energy with the inclusion of a sizzling guitar line that straddles the line between country and rock music. The strength of “Player With A Heart” is not this humor, nor is it the aforementioned guitar riffs, but is rather the linkages crafted by the band. Each instrument ebbs and flows into something that can only be described as Bagby’s second straight hit on “On The Radio”. “Done Givin’ Love” showcases another stylistic shift by Larry Bagby. This track will please many of the contemporary country fans in the audience, as it has heavy pop and rock influences, while drawing away some of the instrumental arrangements and sounds (like the slide guitar) that marked earlier tracks.

These inclusions and exclusions make the track into something that more closely resembles a Lenny Kravitz track than a Merle Haggard one. That is not a bad thing, as it gives individuals yet another way to see Bagby. “On The Radio” may only have six cuts to it, but the amount and density of music that is present on this Bagby release is immense. The replay value is high, and individuals will undoubtedly keep the album in their players until that time when Bagby can release eir next full-length album. For fans of country, of solid music, and of charismatic leads, “On The Radio” may just be the best release in the country genre for summer 2007.

Top Track: I’m Alright Tonight

Rating: 6.5/10

Larry Bagby's plaintive voice and melodic, heartland-country songs have a polished sound but a rootsy, almost archaic appeal. The hero of the intense title track is a musician playing small bars, dreaming of making it big and getting played on the radio (a primitive music distribution system popular in the 20th century). The acoustically funky "Done Giving Love" rocks unselfconsciously, like music used to do before everything became ironic, and "Player with a Heart" does right by its old-timey rockabilly feel.

"Counting My Lucky Stars" is an old-fashioned love song with imagistic lyrics and a lovely melody. The other two ballads are forgettably prosaic and could have been culled. But this an EP worth checking out if you're a fan of rootsy, Dixie-fried, acoustic-based country rock. If nothing else, it proves that Larry Bagby is a lot more than the bully from Buffy.

Listen to tracks from On the Radio here.

You may remember Larry Bagby from such roles as Marshall Grant, Johnny Cash's bass player, in "Walk The Line"…



I thought all country was about kicking the dog and losing the trailer, but Larry Bagby will make rockers like country and good ol' boys like…well, nothing's gunna change a "good ol' boy"…and songs like "Drive away" will not let down any hard core country fan.

You know, country is sort of like the original "emo" isn't it? But, the themes and ideas joked about in country songs are the truths we cover with humor. These are the songs we listen to in the dark car parked outside old lovers' houses. Good stuff…if you don't actually have a gun rack on top of your truck and a shotgun in the back with the fishing gear….

"Got plans to live in the back of a car, going make it big wind up on the radio" Larry sings in "On the Radio"…Listen to the music make you talk real funny". Yeah, have you noticed being around southerners makes you talk with that accent? I know I do it, but my mom was born in Georgia. Maybe it's in the genes…

Damn what's this song sound like? Mazzy star…believe it or not. Damn. Ironically enough this is "Lucky Stars" the way Bagby sings "counting my lucky stars tonight" sounds like the way Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You" but faster and heavier. If you actually play both songs at one you can hear how they should do a duet together. Now, that should tell you either A. this Larry Bagby has something to him or B. this writer has some serious issues in the corpus collosum (where neurons transfer information between left and right brain hemispheres). Then, again I have had a rough day.

I hear Jack Black in Tenacious D saying, "yeah, toe-tapping" and I smile because I thought I would never admit my country tendencies. I grew up in the north; no, not North Georgia, but the real north; New Jersey (can I get a hell yeah!)

So, I knew this day would come. I have a few skeletons in my closet, like a Garth Brooks album I borrowed and never returned. I can admit it now. Times are changing and so is music. The lines and boundaries of genres are being crossed, mutated, combined, evolved. So, now media snobs will need new terms like trip-hop, country-rap, folk-punk and I don't even know what more genres we can mix. I just know what I like and I am not about to be caught dead at a square dance festival or in a pick-up truck "muddin" (well, maybe I am just not ready to admit I have lived in the South long enough to know what "muddin" is up close. But that was what beer was for…)

Now, I prefer to live it up by acting a fool and dancing to country or whatever strikes me in the comfort of my sound-proof office. Ok, no. I do not have anything sound proof anywhere near me and now my neighbors know about as much about my music tastes as I do.

There are melodies and hard rock rhythms. Self-described as "a fusion of folk rock and country with the writing style and energy of The Dave Mathews Band and John Mayer with the vocal tones of Tim Mcgraw and maybe a little Elvis and Cash". Yup. That about says it.

Maybe I will get a pick-up truck and be one of those "girls mom wanted me to flee from" as Bagby sings…

And he can sing...that's straight from the voice of my mother I hear in my head when I tried to explain to her why I loved bands like Nirvana…she thought they were JUST screaming. Anyway, I am not ashamed to say I enjoy Larry Bagby. If country is your thing and even if it isn't check him out.