Origin of the Shotgun Band (Wilkes County)

Origin of The Shotgun Band (Wilkes County)

There will be several blog post on this topic because it was the longest running band that I performed in. 
We organized The Shotgun Band as a result from a split in the Whiskey River Band and the Gold Fever Band. The original members were Bruce Evans from the Gold Fever Band on guitar, Mike Beeson on multiple instruments from Bruce's old band The Nomads  which originated from Mt Airy NC from the 1960's. Mike played guitar, fiddle, keyboard , and pedal steel with Shotgun. There was myself on bass and Keith Murphy on drums both from the Whiskey River Band. I feel the reason Bruce ask me to play bass with him was when he was with Bruce Evans and Gold Fever his bass player Rick Whitley was sick or away one weekend so he ask me if I would fill in one weekend and that's where we began our friendship. Later Bruce left Gold Fever and started The Shotgun Band. 

A lot of times there were leaders in the Bands and they were called for instance Bruce Evans and Gold Fever or Max Phillips and Whiskey River and many others titled their bands in like manner. Looking back in time the band members always felt why put them out front and that the other members were just as important as its leader but from hindsight it was a good thing. You could change members without losing the bands identity, however we were just called The Shotgun Band. Another thing to note is that Max Phillips had also performed together with Bruce in the past. We changed members during the time The Shotgun Band was together but we continued with the same name. 
When we first organized and began practicing Bruce said we were already booked and that our first gig was in two weeks. I thought the time was too short because we didn't have enough songs but we somehow got through it and the good thing about Bruce was that he kept us booked continually for the next 16 years. I made a lot of money in The Shotgun Band in so much we had to file taxes every year and keep up with our expenses. We kept up with mileage, expenses, and depreciation of our equipment. 
We started performing at the small clubs and dances when we first began such as the North Wilkesboro Moose Lodge and Willies Tavern in Roaring River NC. One thing I remember was that there was a lot of drama between the couples at the Moose Lodge. We also performed in 1984 at Richard Petty the race car drivers home at Level Cross North Carolina when Jim Martin was running to be the Governor of North Carolina. Keith Murphy left the Band a little while after that and we picked up Keith Hamlin on drums whose uncle owned The Bible Book Store, a large music store in North Wilkesboro NC. Keith Hamlin worked there part time. With this current band we performed the next six years together. This will conclude this post.

             Left to Right: Keith Hall, Bruce Evans, Richard Petty, Mike Beeson and Keith Murphy

                         Left to Right: Keith Hall, Bruce Evans, Mike Beeson and Keith Murphy

Max Phillips and the Whiskey River Band

Max Phillips and the Whiskey River Band 

Around the year 1981 and 1982 some members of the Chisel Ridge Bluegrass Band felt as if places didn't want to pay Bluegrass Bands what they deserve. There was just a limited number of venues one could play. Everyone just wanted Bluegrass Bands to perform for free. Several of us joined up with Max Phillips and the Whiskey River Band. The members were Max Phillips on guitar, Keith White on guitar, myself on bass, David Sheek on drums, also Keith Murphy on drums, and Kip Snow on guitar. We also used a guy named Richard on sound and a guy named Ken on pedal steel which added a lot to the band. Max is a great Country guitarist and songwriter. We performed at a lot of different clubs and one in particular I remember was up Highway 90 north of Statesville called the Chateau Madrid. Another place we performed  at was called The Traffic Light in North Wilkesboro. It was owned by Wayne McNeil. It was kind of a fancy club with a dress code unlike the Chateau Madrid. We performed top 40 rock and country and also southern rock. After a long night of performing we frequented the Waffle House in Statesville to pacify our hungry appetites. At that time in the wee hours of the morning the only places that are open are the Waffle Houses and Coffee Houses and 24 hour restaurants like truck stops. 
                                 Left to Right: Keith Hall, Keith White, Max Phillips, David Sheek

                                    Our old Whiskey River Band T-shirts and Business Cards

Left to Right: Kip Snow, Keith White,Keith Murphy(back) Richard (front) Max Phillips, Keith Hall

Richard Petty, Level Cross NC, Shotgun Band, Governor Jim Martin 1984

It was the summer of 84 and The Shotgun Band was booked to play at Level Cross NC, south of Greensboro at the home the famous race car driver Richard Petty. Richard Petty was the winner of over 200 races in his career. We were performing for a political fundraiser for Jim Martin for governor. In 1985 Jim actually won the gubernatorial race in North Carolina. North Carolina with its long line of Democratic governors and Jim Martin was a Republican was one of the first republican to win in a while. We arrived at Richard Petty’s home in the mid afternoon and what a nice peaceable place to live. It wasn’t a real large home like some that you see today but was real nice. There were tennis courts and of course a large garage connected to the house. Richard greeted us as we arrived and showed us where the band was to set up and perform. We went behind the house next to the pool where a nice tent was set up for a shade. The event was to take place in his back yard and there were bales of hay scattered all over the yard for people to sit on and eat their barbecue. It was of course a fundraiser and kind of like an outdoor pig picking. The plates were catered with barbecue, baked beans, slaw and rolls. Richard’s #43 car was in the yard and he was available for people to have their picture made with him. Once we set up the band equipment Richard invited us into his house and he told us to make ourselves at home while he showered and got dressed for the fundraiser. Making ourselves at home is exactly what we did. We made pictures all over and around the house. Some of the details that I remember were Richard’s game room. There was a pool table with a stained glass lamp hanging over it with his race car #43 embedded in the lamp, a photo of Richard and Ronald Reagan shaking hands, an old antique showcase with his #43 car from various toy manufacturers and all types of memorably. One of the bedrooms had a porcelain doll collection on the bed leaning them up against the pillow shams. His wife is a real nice person too. Her kitchen was decorated with everything strawberries. There was strawberry wallpaper, strawberry canisters, and I remember in the middle of the table was a strawberry pedestal cake plate. When the people arrived for the dinner they stayed outside and sat on the bales of hay while they enjoyed their meal. Richard’s patio had a bathroom open to the public outside so there was not any reason to go in his house. The Shotgun Band performed and the party was a success and as a result Jim Martin became governor thanks to his supporters and people like Richard Petty. Richard and his wife Lynda are really down to earth people and made us feel at home while we had the opportunity to perform at his home in Level Cross. Thanks for the memory Richard.