THE CENTRAL STANDARDS

2008-06-14T14:00:00.023-05:00

The Central Standards' Folly
Released December 2007

Sample/Buy CD
Download

Can't Remember the Last Time
Released September 2005

Sample/Buy CD
Download

Refrain
Released December 2003

Sample/Buy CD
Download

"One more time, baby, one more time..."

2008-04-15T16:52:00.017-05:00

I always hear music in my head when I write the titles to these blog posts, hence the rather obscure reference to a rather obscure song on a rather obscure Lemonheads record. (Editor's Note: I'm not sure what it says about my pop culture acumen that it took several reads to recall the strikingly similar-themed Britney Spears' lyric.) Well, as I ponder the imminent relegation of The Central Standards to relatively obscure footnote-status in the long, fabled history of Memphis-based rock bands, it's hard to know exactly what to say. Except that it's been more fun than four 30/40-something-year-old guys should be allowed to have. I take that back. It's been the kind of incredibly rewarding collaborative human experience that I wish for everyone to have at some point in his/her life. For seven years, Ted and I had the privilege of working as friends and partners in an artistic endeavor that we shared an equal passion for. For the last five years, we were even more privileged to expand that out to include two of Memphis' finest musicians, and downright righteous dudes, in Marty and Casey. And, naturally, we were helped along at every step of the way by some really incredible people. So, as you might expect, the finality of our last show together as a band on Saturday night felt pretty special...and emotional...and overwhelming.

As mentioned previously, Ted and I opened with a 45-minute or so acoustic set featuring songs that span that entire seven-year period. It was great fun to play many of these songs just as we did sitting on the couch in Ted's apartment back in 2001. Here's what we played:

T-HO'S BROKEN RADIO
SIMON SAYS
MY FRIENDS TOO
STRIKE
PERPETUAL AFTERNOON
WHAT THEY MEAN
BUNCH OF SCREWBALLS
BOB NELSON
STILL STAY

I'M ON FIRE
OTIS REDDING SONG
SINGING YOU A SONG

After a break that was intended to be short, but lengthened greatly due to the huge crowd that was present (thank you SO much to all of you...we even had a fan who traveled from St. Louis to be there!), we took the stage one more time as a band. Here's how it went:

SINCE I'VE BEEN GONE

KEEPING STILL

GUMBALL MACHINE DIAMOND RING

THANK YOU, HERMAN MANKIEWICZ

HEAVYWEIGHT

HARD TO FALL

WHAT MAKES YOU THINK

GREAT BIG COSMIC

CHANGED

HOLLOW MOON

REAL LIVE SUBURBAN ROCK 'N ROLL DAD

BACK FROM LITTLE ROCK

YEAR 55

SO MUCH CLEARER

PEARL OF A GIRL

JAY-C'S BROKEN RADIO (1st encore)

DON'T YOU STARE (2nd encore)

Yes, I believe those are the first (and last) encores that we've ever played. I have to admit--it felt pretty darn good to be wanted that much! The show ended relatively early, so we were able to hang out for quite awhile and just enjoy being with the friends and family who were there. It was a great evening. We were thrilled to see some folks who have been with us since the very beginning, including some of our former students who saw us play our very first shows together! Of course, major props go to our wives for putting up with all of this nonsense for years. I probably shouldn't start singling people out, but special thanks must go to Amber, who did the graphic design for all three of our records, created countless fliers and postcards, designed our first Web site, lugged sound gear out of smoky bars at 3 a.m., hosted numerous pre- and post-practice dinners, etc, etc. In all honesty, she has believed in this as much as all of us. THANK YOU.

So, that's it. For now. No regrets. No tears (post-Saturday night). Just sweet memories to play alongside (what we hope to be) an enduring bunch of songs. And, of course, an incredible amount of gratitude to all of you who made it so much fun.

Tons of love,

Jeff, Ted, Marty and Casey

(if we break up like a) Broken Radio

2008-04-03T17:12:00.010-05:00

So our good friends at Rock 103, Bad Dog, Ric and Luca (The Wake-Up Crew), had us out today to tape Sunday's "Great Unsigned" program. It was great fun, as always, and a special way to kick off the week leading up to our final show as a band. We'll be chatting with the guys throughout the show and playing two songs from our first record (see blog title for a not-so-subtle hint!). In case you haven't tuned in to this great local music program, here are the details on the upcoming show featuring...us!!

Rock 103's Great Unsigned
Sunday, April 6 - 9-11 p.m.
102.7 FM

Hard to believe it's already been two years since we played the Beale Street Music Festival, thanks to all of those at Rock 103. Special thanks to the lovely Luca for putting all of this together and making us feel far cooler than we really are.

Consider Sunday a warm-up for our FINAL SHOW next Saturday, April 12 at Neil's in Midtown Memphis. As previously announced, this is a FREE event. Here are the rest of the details:

Saturday, April 12
8 p.m. - Acoustic Set
9:15 p.m. - Full Band
Neil's (1835 Madison)
Ages 21+

Copies of The Central Standards' Folly will be available in bulk for the low, low price of $5 each! See ya there, kids!!

Last Call

2008-03-04T20:50:00.005-06:00

After seven years, three records and innumerable great times sharing our music with all of you, The Central Standards are hanging it up. It was a difficult decision to make, but all of us are excited about what lies ahead musically, outside the context of the band. For those of you who know us personally, you know that we're friends first. I can assure you that we remain good friends, making this transition a whole lot easier. Our final show will be Saturday, April 12 at Neil's in Memphis, and we look forward to a great celebration! It will be an 8 p.m. early show (acoustic Jeff and Ted set first, followed by the full band), and there won't be any supporting acts.

To show our appreciation to all who have come to shows, bought the records, forced your friends to listen to our music, etc., we've decided to make this a FREE event. Please go ahead and mark your calendar. Stay tuned here for more show details and other cool stuff in the coming weeks. And, as always, thanks for your continued support of our little band!

If you haven't yet picked up your copy of The Central Standards' Folly, you're about three months late! But, it's OK, we've saved a copy just for you. Memphis-area residents will find 'em at Borders; everyone can get one here.

Now Available On-Line!

2007-12-31T08:41:00.000-06:00

Our brand new CD The Central Standards' Folly is now available on-line! Go here to pick up some new tunes to start off 2008, while supporting our favorite on-line independent record store, CDBaby. You can listen to mp3's there, too.

Also, many thanks to our pal David Twombly who posted a great review of the album on the Vexar Entertainment Web site. Check it out!

Just in time for your holiday shopping!

2007-12-10T11:38:00.000-06:00

Thanks to all who made it out to our Memphis release party for The Central Standards' Folly last weekend. We're thrilled to finally be finished with the CD and have it out there! Hope everyone's enjoying it!

If you haven't picked up a copy (or copies) of the new CD yet, you're in luck...if you live in the Memphis metropolitan area, that is! Borders Books & Music in Germantown (at Poplar and Kirby) has the CD in stock. We should have it at our favorite independent stores, Shangri-la and Goner, by the end of this week.

As for those who are out of town, we expect the CD to be on-sale very shortly at cdbaby.com, as well. Digital downloads may not be available at iTunes, etc. right away, but that should be on the way soon. If you want to get your hands on a copy in time for the gift-giving season (and can't wait on CDBaby), please e-mail us directly at centralstandards@hotmail.com. We'll even ship 'em directly to your friends and fam, if you wish.

Thanks for your support, and Happy Holidays!

Love,
The Standards

Introducing...

2007-11-07T10:36:00.000-06:00

THE CENTRAL STANDARDS' FOLLY (2007) is the third full-length release from Memphis-based folk-rock quartet The Central Standards. Produced by Ted Horrell and engineered primarily by Kenny Jones, the album was recorded between November 2006 and September 2007 at Sun Studio, Cotton Ridge Recording and Memphis Independent. All songs were written by Jeff Capps and Ted Horrell and performed by The Central Standards with special guests Kenny Jones, Lannie McMillan and James Stewart. THE CENTRAL STANDARDS' FOLLY will be released, in Memphis-area independent record stores and at cdbaby.com, in December 2007. This is the album's official track listing:

1) Damaged Dollar

2) Great Big Cosmic

3) My Friends Too

4) Hollow Moon

5) Annie

6) Thank You, Herman Mankiewicz

7) Skyliner

8) It Takes So Few

9) Heavyweight

10) Back from Little Rock

11) Strike

12) Lemon

13) Molly Mosaic

14) Endless Green and Blue

The Central Standards' first two CDs are available for purchase on-line, via CD Baby and various digital download outlets.

REFRAIN (2003)

CAN'T REMEMBER THE LAST TIME (2005)

THE CENTRAL STANDARDS' FOLLY will first be available at a special CD release party on Saturday, December 1 in Memphis. For more information, please e-mail centralstandards@hotmail.com. This will be the band's only public performance of the new material in 2007.

Great Big Cosmic

2007-10-25T08:12:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all who came out to the Indie Memphis Film Festival last weekend to celebrate the release of the video for "Great Big Cosmic" from our forthcoming release The Central Standards' Folly. For those who couldn't make it due to prior plans or geography, we have employed a technology called YouTube to make it possible for you to view right there in front of your own computer screen. Have you kids heard about this crazy new-fangled thing? We're always on the cutting edge. Ha! Enjoy!!

Our Moment in the "Sun"

2007-10-09T10:39:00.000-05:00

We're pleased to announce that our David Hershey-directed video for "Great Big Cosmic" (which will appear on our new album) has been selected for the Live from Memphis music video showcase at next weekend's Indie Memphis Film Festival! The showcase starts at 9 p.m. on Saturday, October 20 at Malco's Studio on the Square.

We shot the video during our "Great Big Cosmic" session at Sun Studio on January 8, 2007. David took our (very!) raw footage and the final mix of the song and put together a fast-paced performance video that complements the song quite well. As you may have already gathered, that's a still shot from the video at the top of this post. David is a hugely talented, award-winning television promotions guru (Washington D.C., Dallas), who just recently accepted a job as VP of Creative at one of the leading production companies in Los Angeles, Edge Creative. He's also a great friend.

We hope you'll come check out David's fine work next weekend, while enjoying a nice little preview of The Central Standards' Folly!

Singing You a Song

2007-10-01T13:06:00.000-05:00

Many thanks to Matthew O. for hooking us up with a great Saturday night gig at his place of employment, Patrick's Steak and Spirits in East Memphis. It was a beautiful evening to sing some songs outdoors. Matt joined us on lead guitar for more than half of our set. Thanks, buddy! No official set list to post, as much of the evening was improvised, though highlights included a wonderfully messy version of "Dead Flowers" (see photo above).

Our friend, Emily Shipp, did a 30-minute set, as well. She was fantastic, playing some really cool covers and a great original tune, as well. Be on the lookout for this very talented young lady!

In other news, we are, at long last, putting the finishing touches on our third album The Central Standards' Folly. It includes 14 brand new Standard originals, about half of which we've been playing live the last couple of years. We hope to have it out by Thanksgiving (or so!). Keep an eye out for track listing, CD release details and a sample or two. Yay!!!

This Saturday!

2007-09-18T08:20:00.001-05:00

Patrick's is at 4972 Park Avenue in East Memphis.

See ya there!

Garage Band

2007-09-09T18:27:00.001-05:00

We enjoyed yet another "first" on Friday night, as we played a show for the first time in a parking garage. Playhouse on the Square booked us to play their Street/Seat Party, which was intended to celebrate and garner more support for their upcoming construction project at Union and Cooper. The weather forced us underground, but we had a great time anyway. The lighting and background provided for some fine photo opps, too!

Jackie Nichols (see below) has done an incredible job, in the last 30+ years, creating a thriving theatre scene in Memphis. Memphis folks--we hope you'll support this great organization!

The rain held off just long enough on Saturday afternoon for us to make our first-ever appearance at the venerable Germantown Festival. We have some great friends in Germantown, several of whom stopped by to see us. And it's always nice to have highly attentive listeners like this guy.

As has become custom, the Case of Bass walked away with the Best-Dressed award (Is this the coolest guy in rock 'n roll or what?).

The rest of us showed up, but did anyone notice, or care? I really doubt it.

Back in the Saddle

2007-08-31T07:53:00.000-05:00

We are happy to be playing the main stage at this year's Germantown Festival. We'll be bringing the folk rock at 4:30 on Saturday, September 8th and will play for about an hour to close out an afternoon of live music. We'll play some of our oldies as well as some new tunes from our soon-to-be-released (really!) third album. Keep your eyes open for record-release plans in the near future.

If you've never attended, the Germantown Festival is one of the largest arts and crafts fairs in the region. Admission is free, but the various fried and frozen things are not. It's the ultimate kid-friendly gig, so make a day of it. The festival is held at C.O. Franklin/Morgan Wood Park in Germantown, on Old Poplar Pike just east of Germantown High School.

Hope you can make it out!!!

Laid Back

2007-08-18T09:02:00.000-05:00

So, naturally, this is what you picture when you think of the greatest bands in rock 'n roll history recording their masterpieces, right? Dark, cozy environments; comfy couches; endless hours to get that perfect take with no concern for anything happening outside the studio walls; and time at the end of the day to lay down on the control room floor and listen to that wicked line that your killer bassist just immortalized on tape. How romantic!

Well, it doesn't often happen that way, of course, but I do love this photo (taken at our first Cotton Ridge sessions earlier this year). And just when you think we're totally lying down on the job, I come to you with good news of nine (count 'em, nine!) completed mixes and just a handful left to go for our as-of-yet untitled third album. We anticipate a Fall (2007, I promise!) release.

We'll also be performing three times locally in September, so please be sure to check our "upcoming dates" to the right of this entry, and mark your calendar! Take care, and we'll see you soon!

An "Avalanche" of Folk-Rock

2007-08-01T08:54:00.001-05:00

I decided to name this post after D-Twom's favorite coffee drink at MO's. That's him behind the drum kit, all charged up on caffeine, focusing intently on a song that he was most likely hearing for the first time! So it went Saturday night in the cozy confines of MO's Edge Coffeehouse, just off the University of Memphis campus.

I was pleased to have the opporutnity to return the favor for The Archives, who opened a show for us a couple of months ago. My pal Matt Oliver, of Memphis Jones Revolution and Stout fame, joined me on lead guitar. As usual, he was incredible. The equally fantastic David joined us on drums for several tunes before taking the stage with his band, who just released their fine debut CD (available exclusively at MO's).

Here's a look at what we played:

1) Bad Vibrations
2) Hey Now, Little Skyliner
3) We
4) When Your Feet Thud Unexpected on My Mat
5) Cortez the Killer (Neil Young)
6) Back to Sleep
7) Summer
8) Ten Second News (Son Volt)
9) Real Live Suburban Rock 'n Roll Dad
10) Take Care (Big Star)

And fresh off a wedding reception that kept him from playing the gig, guess who showed up in TCS gig attire?! It was weird playing a show, looking out into the audience and seeing Ted--for the first time ever! Quite naturally, we spent some time drinking wine and analyzing the show afterwards.

Memphis Originals

2007-07-25T19:48:00.000-05:00

I'll be playing a "solo" set at MO's Edge Coffeehouse (3521 Walker, near the U of M) this Saturday, July 28 at 6 p.m. with my dear friend and guitarist extraordinaire, Matt Oliver, joining me on lead guitar. We're opening for the fabulous Archives, who are celebrating the release of their fine new full-length CD and the birth of some Archive babies! There is no cover charge! MO's does serve food, if you wish to dine there that evening. And as long as you're willing to pay a $2/person "corkage" fee and are over 21 years of age, you're welcome to bring your own beer and/or wine.

See ya there, kids!

Young at (He)art*

2007-07-23T11:07:00.000-05:00

*I think I owe this expression, as well as countless photo credits, to Amber, but after seeing this photo with Ted's grandma and great aunt in the foreground, I just had to use it! We were thrilled to play last Friday night for the Dixon's "Young at Art" membership group. As you can see, this early gig also gave us the opportunity to welcome some family and friends who don't usually get to see us play.

Of course, we were glad to have many of the usual suspects on-hand, too!

Thanks to Maggie and everyone at the Dixon for having us and keeping the beer cold. It was a good way to start the weekend, and it's always great to make some new friends. Here's what we played:

THANK YOU, HERMAN MANKIEWICZ
SO MUCH CLEARER
SINCE I’VE BEEN GONE
OTIS REDDING SONG
STRIKE
WATERLOO SUNSET
SIMON SAYS
NOTHING TO SEE HERE
CHRISTMAS EVE 1998
MY FRIENDS, TOO
I’M ON FIRE
YEAR 55
DRIFT AWHILE
PSYCHIC LULLABY
DON’T YOU STARE
PERPETUAL AFTERNOON
KEEPING STILL
DEARLY BLUE
WHAT THEY MEAN
TIME TO KILL
SECRETS TO SING
BACK FROM LITTLE ROCK
HEAVYWEIGHT
WHAT MAKES YOU THINK
I’M ALRIGHT
HOLLOW MOON
I’M ONLY SLEEPING
STARTOWN GAZING
GREAT BIG COSMIC
IF I WANTED YOU

I'll be playing a "solo" set at MO's Edge Coffeehouse (3521 Walker, near the U of M) this Saturday, July 28 at 6 p.m. with one of my dearest friends, Matt Oliver, joining me on lead guitar. Some of you may have seen us play at Otherlands last December. We're opening for the fabulous Archives, who are celebrating the release of their fine new full-length CD and the birth of some Archive babies! There is no cover charge! MO's does serve food, if you wish to dine there that evening. And as long as you're willing to pay a $2/person "corkage" fee and are over 21 years of age, you're welcome to bring your own beer and/or wine.

What's the world got in store?

2007-07-20T08:59:00.001-05:00

Introducing Ella Kate. Born on Wednesday evening, Ella is now the third Central Standards' daughter. Are we witnessing a trend here?! She's a beauty, as you can see in the picture. Kid's got good genes! Ella and Christy are both doing well and expected to come home and meet Charlie (the family dog) over the weekend. Meanwhile, our newest rock 'n roll dad is just as proud as can be, even when diaper-changing time comes around, which happens quite often, of course! Here they are on their way to the changing table. Naturally, Marty looks as calm, cool and collected as he does behind the drum kit.

Congratulations, guys, and God bless your new family!

Young at Art

2007-07-18T08:15:00.000-05:00

This Friday night, July 20, Ted and I will play an acoustic show at the Hughes Pavilion at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens, as part of its "Young at Art" program. This very cool event, from 6 to 8 p.m., is $10 for non-"Young at Art" members. The price includes wine, beer, and food! If you'd like to come listen to some music, enjoy the beauty of the gardens, and have some food and beverage, then we hope you can make it out! Just come into the main entrance at the Dixon, and security will direct you to the pavilion.

See ya there!

A Work in Progress...

2007-07-11T07:53:00.001-05:00

Ted told a couple of people last Thursday that we were going to finish our new record this past weekend. When we shared that information with Kenny on Friday, he said something like, "Well, then...OK!" And as usual, the maestro's ambition paid off with (as far as we can tell) finished tracks for 13 more songs by 6:30 p.m. on Sunday! These songs now join three others that were done several months ago (Back from Little Rock, Heavyweight and Great Big Cosmic) in the mixing and mastering phase of the project.

I started off on Friday afternoon, recording a relatively new song called "Endless Green and Blue".

We all gathered on Saturday morning and started knocking out basic tracks for five other tunes:

WHEN YOUR FEET THUD UNEXPECTED ON MY MAT
STRIKE
HEY NOW, LITTLE SKYLINER
HOLLOW MOON
THANK YOU, HERMAN MANKIEWICZ

It turned out to be a really productive weekend, thanks to the great work of our friend, producer/engineer Kenny Jones. Kenny now starts the rather formidable (and unenviable!) task of sifting through all of our tracks and making some sense of them. Something tells me he'll be up to it!

More to come...

Tying It All Together

2007-06-18T07:25:00.000-05:00

Meet Eula--our good friend and former star student. Always a beacon of creativity and fun fashion, Eula appeared at Saturday night's Borders gig in perhaps my favorite Eula creation to date. It's the ideal Standards gig-wear: a handmade necktie skirt. That's right, folks--you're looking at a skirt sewn together from several dozen old, out-of-fashion ties. (Editor's Note: I would probably have worn any of these ties before they were assembled into Eula's skirt, but I've never claimed to be a beacon of anything--especially fashion.) So, how fun is that?! After the gig, Eula and Beth indulged me while I detailed my plan to use the necktie skirts to save the world. Hmmm--how did I manage to make this my idea?

We had a great couple of sets and enjoyed being enjoyed by a buncha nice people. Here are some of the friends you missed making by not being there!

Alright, so the dude on the right is your friend, even though you weren't there on Saturday. The handsome fella on the left probably would be, too, if given the chance!

I
STRIKE
DRIFT AWHILE
MY FRIENDS, TOO
BACK FROM LITTLE ROCK
HEAVYWEIGHT
SINCE I’VE BEEN GONE
OTIS REDDING SONG
PERPETUAL AFTERNOON
DON’T YOU STARE
GREAT BIG COSMIC
DAMAGED DOLLAR
THANK YOU, HERMAN MANKIEWICZ
YEAR 55
ROSEMARY

II
LEMON
ENDLESS GREEN AND BLUE
KEEPING STILL
NOTHING TO SEE HERE
HOLLOW MOON
WHEN YOUR FEET STEP UNEXPECTED ON MY MAT
SO MUCH CLEARER
SECRETS TO SING
SIMON SAYS
WHAT THEY MEAN

Better than TV?

2007-06-14T08:55:00.001-05:00

Well, we sure hope so. We've all played plenty of sports bars in our day, but it's been awhile. It's always a little disconcerting when you're playing a set in front of the biggest big screen in town running Jerry Lawler's greatest hits or, worse yet, when you land the sports bar gig that serendipitously falls on the same day as Game 7 of the World Series. Never a good time.

So, given this discussion, it may surprise you to see a wall of dark televisions behind us at our Wednesday night engagement at T.J. Mulligan's. It was kinda cool. And luckily, there were a couple dozen other TVs around the place, so nobody raged too much. Truth is everyone was generally very kind and receptive and seemed to dig our melodic set of folk-rock originals. Thanks to Dennis, Ric and Luca at Rock 103 for hooking us up with a fun Wednesday night gig.

It was great to have a lot friends with us, too! Like these good folks!!

That would be Ted's better half, Sarah, along with our pals Rachel and Jan. Rachel and Jan are really ready for our new record to be released! Us, too, ladies!

This is our good friend, Chuck, along with his good friend, Melody.

Melody has some other good friends, too, who were feelin' the folk-rock.

Jeff and Diane are 1/2 of one of Amber's and my favorite Cordova families.

OK, so even stranger than playing in a sports bar after all these years is playing in a sports bar to a table-full of former students. Oh yeah, they're all well into their legal drinking years. From left to right: Our friend, Mila, her son and our former student, Misha, along with fellow GHS alums David, Nick and Kevin.

So, for those keeping score at home, here's what we played:

NOTHING TO SEE HERE
KEEPING STILL
SINCE I'VE BEEN GONE
OTIS REDDING SONG
TOP OF THE WHEEL
HEAVYWEIGHT
BACK FROM LITTLE ROCK
BRANDY
IF I WANTED YOU
MY FRIENDS, TOO
SIMON SAYS
DON'T YOU STARE

STRIKE
WHAT THEY MEAN
T-HO'S BROKEN RADIO
JAY-C'S BROKEN RADIO
THANK YOU, HERMAN MANKIEWICZ
DAMAGED DOLLAR
PERPETUAL AFTERNOON
GREAT BIG COSMIC
WATERLOO SUNSET
SECRETS TO SING
SO MUCH CLEARER

I'M ON FIRE
TEENAGE HEART
TAKES SO FEW
ROSEMARY
IN THE BOOKS
DRIFT AWHILE
MOLLY MOSAIC
WHEN YOUR FEET STEP UNEXPECTED ON MY MAT
HOLLOW MOON
I'M ONLY SLEEPING

Farmhands

2007-06-10T12:38:00.001-05:00

Many thanks to the good folks down at the Memphis Farmers Market for having us out to play on Saturday morning. It was a beautiful day, and we were pleased to support this new Memphis tradition. If you're local and you haven't yet made it to the Market, be sure to check it out.

We met some cool kids there, like these dudes, who were there with their rock 'n roll Dad.

And, to the best of our recollection, there was a Standards' first: a song performed with Jeff on guitar and vocals and Ted on just vocals and handclaps!

We had a great time playing back-to-back duo shows (we did a set at the St. Jude employee picnic in the middle of a thunderstorm on Friday at lunchtime) but look forward to being re-joined by our crack rhythm section this Wednesday and Saturday. Hope to see you out!

Wednesday, June 13
8-11 p.m.
T.J. Mulligan's Cordova
8071 Trinity Road
Presented by Rock 103

Saturday, June 16
7-9 p.m.
Borders Germantown
6685 Poplar Avenue
Smoke-free, family-friendly FREE Show!

What happened to May?

2007-05-31T21:48:00.000-05:00

Seems like Tres de Mayo was just yesterday! Alas, another relatively quiet Standard month has passed, only to give way to (in typical fashion) a flurry of engagements in the next couple of weeks. Check out the "Upcoming Shows" feature to the right for a full rundown on four upcoming Memphis-area gigs.

The first two will be played by the group affectionately known as Central Standards Lite (Jeff and Ted), while the latter two will be full-band gigs. So, hope you Memphians can join us in June at some different venues. By our standards, it'll kinda be like celebrating National Folk-Rock Month or something! Keep it here for more information on all of these shows.

Peace in.

Tres de Mayo

2007-05-04T10:10:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the folks who came to "fiesta" with us on Tres de Mayo at the Wolchase El Porton! As you locals may recall, last Thursday was ominous weather-wise--we had been hearing about torrential rains and thunderstorms all week. Well, as luck would have it, we got totally set up under the tent in the parking lot and were just about ready to hit the downbeat, when the first rains of the day came. And did they ever come! Through the top of the tent, under the makeshift tent wall, through the unprotected sides. Dousing carefully placed set lists; saturating our trousers up to our knees; soaking amps, the PA and Marty's drum throne. It was dramatic.

As you can see, though, once we realized that playing outside wasn't going to happen, we made the transition to a semi-acoustic setup in a very small space inside the El Porton bar. We ended up starting around 7 p.m. instead of 5:30. But friends joined us inside, and we played a relatively low-key set over the course of the next couple of hours. Despite being a bit cramped due to space restrictions, it was a nice, cozy environment, and we had a great time. We like to call these "character-building" gigs. Definitely brought back memories of those old restaurant/bar sets that none of us has played in quite sometime. Thanks again to those who stuck it out with us!

"Wednesday Nights in Memphis"

2007-05-01T07:47:00.000-05:00

As reported here previously, we were honored to be part of Vexar Entertainment's Wednesday Nights in Memphis Benefit CD for the St. Jude Target House. In celebration of the CD's release, we joined about 10 or so other Memphis-based artists for a show at Neil's on Sunday. It was a great time. For those of you who didn't make it out, but still want a copy of the CD (which features the only available version of our unreleased song "Back From Little Rock"), you can click here or head on over to Memphis' Spin Street at Poplar and Highland.

So, you're gearing up for this Thursday's big Tres de Mayo celebration, are ya? Tres de Mayo, you ask? Yes, Tres de Mayo! Just another reason for a fiesta! Perhaps you can think about it as being in training for Cinco de Mayo. Regardless, we'll be playing a rare restaurant gig this Thursday night at the Wolfchase location of El Porton on Highway 64 in Memphis. Come on out and see us from 5:30 until 8:30. After all, you have to eat! May as well dine to the melodic folk-rock stylings of your friends The Central Standards. Right?!

Easy (Like Sunday Afternoon)

2007-04-25T07:43:00.000-05:00

We hope you'll join us for a very special benefit show this coming Sunday, April 29th at Neil's on Madison in Midtown Memphis. We'll be playing alongside several other bands and musicians to raise money for the St. Jude Target House which provides a free, comfortable, nurturing environment for children being treated at St. Jude and their families. We'll play a half-hour set at 2:30 (following a half-hour set by the terrific Nancy Apple at 2:00!). Every guest or couple will receive a FREE CD compilation of songs by artists who have performed for the families at the St. Jude Target House. The event is being presented by Vexar Entertainment, which hosts the weekly Target House shows and produced the CD. Speaking of the CD, it features a studio recording of our tune "Back From Little Rock" which is currently available ONLY on this disc! Admission to the show is a $10 donation for singles or $15 for couples (Don't forget...it's for a great cause and includes a free CD!). Hope to see all you locals there!

Here's a photo from our evening at the Target House last June. Ted and I are pictured with our pals from Organ Thief, along with a St. Jude patient and her mother. We were forging our way through "My Girl" for the second time, as I recall, per the young girl's request.

This just in: We'll be playing a Cinco de Mayo pre-party next Thursday, May 3 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at El Porton Restaurant on Highway 64 (near Wolfchase). Fiesta!

A Rain-Soaked Day and a Chilly Breeze

2007-04-19T08:04:00.000-05:00

It's what we've come to expect from the Overton Square Crawfish Festival--a fantastic event that tends to get sabotaged by Mother Nature. Mid-afternoon, I ran into a fellow in the restroom who said that, for the first eleven or so years of Crawfish Fest, the weather was perfect. Clearly, things have changed! I'm not usually one to complain about weather, but it sure didn't feel like Memphis in April.

Nontheless, we had a great time, supporting the event and this year's battle of Rock 103 "Great Unsigned" bands. Be sure to keep an eye out for Dova Grove and Early Maxwell--two great young bands, who I know you'll be hearing more about. As always, many thanks to Dennis, Ric and Luca for continuing to support local music. We played a 40-minute set that was a mix of Standard new, almost new, semi-new, old and ancient songs. They sounded like this:

PERPETUAL AFTERNOON
SINCE I'VE BEEN GONE
SO MUCH CLEARER
HEAVYWEIGHT
BACK FROM LITTLE ROCK
MY FRIENDS TOO
WHAT THEY MEAN
GREAT BIG COSMIC
IN THE BOOKS
KEEPING STILL

We look forward to seeing all of you locals next Sunday, April 29 at Neil's in Midtown for the official release of Vexar Entertainment's St. Jude Target House Benefit CD. We'll be playing a set at around 2:30 p.m. We've contributed "Back from Little Rock" to the project. As you may recall, we recorded the song at Memphis Independent in December of last year. It's a great track, but for now, it's ONLY available on this CD! Support the cause!!

Crawfish Time!

2007-04-09T17:07:00.000-05:00

So, it was one year ago that we played songs in the back of a Bud Light truck, earning the title of Rock 103's "Best Unsigned Band in Memphis" and a gig at the Beale Street Music Festival. I was guitar-less, as some of you may recall. I had nearly severed the tip of the middle finger on my guitar-playing hand just a couple of weeks before. But anyhoo, we've been invited back to play the Overton Square Crawfish Festival and pass the mic to this year's winner. Competing for the title are local artists Dova Grove, Early Maxwell and Alison Heafner. We'll kick off the show with a 40-minute set, starting around noon. It's free, and last year's event was a great time! The festival happens in the gigantic parking lot behind the Bayou Grill, near Applebee's and Playhouse on the Square. See ya there!

THE CENTRAL STANDARDS

Live at the Overton Square Crawfish Festival

Saturday, April 14

Noon

Free Admission / All Ages

The Central Standards "Stepback"

2007-03-26T07:41:00.000-05:00

Our funny friends Michael Danziger and Jeff White coined this phrase some time ago when they were roasting us at a combination rock/comedy show at the Full Moon Club. The phrase describes that critical moment in the delivery of a folk-rock song where both performers take a seemingly choreographed step back from the microphone and momentarily "rock out" with the acoustic instrument or nod their heads, etc. We thought it was silly at the time they did it (though they did play our songs note for note and their performance style was spot on), but unfortunately, we had to play right after them, and we soon realized that the stepback was an integral part of our set. It was humbling, and quite humorous...for the audience.

This photo doesn't capture the stepback per se (sorry for the confusion), but we certainly did step back on Saturday to a time when our "band" consisted of two dorky 20-something high school teachers who just wanted to keep playing music as much as possible, despite the cruel encroachment of the real world into their lives. The show happened in the wonderfully intimate confines of Otherlands in Midtown Memphis, and we had a great time. And speaking of wonderful, (75% of) The Archives, led by our pal David Twombly, opened the show with a great set of country-tinged, harmony-laden songs that just blew us away. They're fantastic. These guys grew up playing R.E.M. songs together. Just another reason we're fans! In celebration of their "reunion" (the guys hadn't been together for quite awhile), they played one song from each of our favorite R.E.M. records--Reckoning, Fables of the Reconstruction and Life's Rich Pageant. Wow!

Our two sets consisted of a mix of Central Standards past, present and future. We enjoyed the chance to break out some super-old songs that haven't been played live in at least four years.

PERPETUAL AFTERNOON
DRIFT AWHILE (new)
HOLLOW MOON (new)
SIMON SAYS
CHANGED
TEENAGE HEART
HEAVYWEIGHT (new)
THANK YOU, HERMAN MANKIEWICZ (new)
GREAT BIG COSMIC (new)
WHAT THEY MEAN
BOB NELSON
(written in 1998--it was a Standard standard in the early shows)
CONCERT IN THE PARK
(written in Ted's Japan period--this oldie is a gem)
AND YOUR BIRD CAN SING
(this is a little song by a band called The Beatles--we hope they make it really big)

ENDLESS GREEN AND BLUE (new)
OTIS REDDING SONG
IN THE BOOKS
BACK FROM LITTLE ROCK (new)
COMPANION PIECE (new)
STRIKE (new)
MY FRIENDS, TOO (new)
MY NAMIE
(another brilliant Japanese Ted song)
DEARLY BLUE
(a sweet old country tune that used to show up in a lot of Standard sets)
DON'T YOU STARE
JAY-C'S BROKEN RADIO
(featuring the vocal stylings of D-Twom, as pictured below)

Thanks for staying close, friends. Look forward to seeing you soon!!

Upcoming Shows!

2007-03-07T08:07:00.000-06:00

As you all know, our live appearances have been very, very limited since we began working on the new record in earnest. But, just in time for spring, we've got some fun shows coming up, so we hope you'll mark your calendar and come visit with us!

For the first time since the fall of '05 (I believe), the group affectionately known as Central Standards Lite (yeah, that's me and Ted) will play an all ages show at Otherlands on Cooper in Midtown Memphis. Here's the scoop:

The Central Standards

w/ special guest The Archives

Saturday, March 24

7 p.m.

Otherlands Coffee House

641 S. Cooper

Though Otherlands is primarily a coffee shop, please be advised that they sell delicious beverages of many different types. If you've never seen The Archives, you'll want to make sure to arrive early. They're really great!

Looking ahead...the full band will be playing a set once again at the Overton Square Crawfish Festival this year. Dennis, Ric and Luca from Rock 103 have invited us to pass the mic to the next "Great Unsigned" band, which we're thrilled to do. Don't yet know what our start time will be, but I'll let you know. The event is on Saturday, April 14. and takes place in the great big parking lot between the Bayou Grill and Applebee's.

The record continues to come along nicely. More news soon!

Music Nation

2007-03-01T09:03:00.000-06:00

As many of you faithful readers probably know by now, we're in an on-line music video contest through a Web site called Music Nation. This is our week to make an impact and, hopefully, propel ourselves into the next round of competition. The big prize involves recording contracts and all sorts of cool stuff. The video is for the Ted-penned tune "So Much Clearer" from our most recent record Can't Remember the Last Time. It was brilliantly directed by our former student Waheed AlQawasmi.

So, we need you to vote, once a day, for the next few days! We also need you to tell everyone you know to vote for us!! Follow this link, and take care of business!
http://musicnation.com/v591

THANK YOU!!

Kenny in Command

2007-02-19T20:15:00.000-06:00

With three songs completed (Heavyweight, Back from Little Rock, Great Big Cosmic) at two different studios in the past couple of months, we now have ventured to yet another recording locale to finish our new album! Ted and the boys cut basic tracks for seven more songs a couple of weeks ago with Kenny Jones at Cotton Ridge Studios. We've been working on overdubs sporadically since then. The songs are sounding really great so far. Kenny's very understanding family (they had to listen to me sing harmony vocals, with no audible accompaniment, for a couple of hours yesterday) has allowed him to convert much of their home's ground floor into a recording studio. The control room, pictured above, is in a small finished attic above one of the second floor bedrooms. It's a cool setup and a very comfortable recording environment. Kenny is a fine engineer and producer and a lot of fun.

We're now working on arrangements for 6 or 7 new Jay-C tunes that we also plan to cut with Kenny, while polishing off T-Ho's new ones. It's shaping up to be a very different record, in a very good way, I think. Ted's playing a fair amount of piano, and I'm playing more electric guitar. The songs seem to be really distinct from one other. Refrain was designed purely as a last minute attempt (before I moved to the Midwest) to capture the songs that Ted and I had been writing and playing together over the two previous years. Having Marty and Casey join us was really exciting and made the record much better, but these were songs that could have just as easily been recorded as a duo. I see Can't Remember the Last Time as much more of a band record. While Ted and I still wrote the songs independently, the recording is much more informed by a full band "aesthetic" as these were songs that we had been crafting and playing live together for quite awhile.

This album is totally different in that sense. While some tunes have been kicking around for a year or so, many of them are very new. This has made arranging and recording them a little bit more challenging, but also much more interesting. I'd say we have fewer pre-conceptions about what they're "supposed to" sound like. We're definitely hearing some sonic departures, too. Not that we've ever been all that concerned with genres, but I definitely think this one is going to stretch us a little bit. In case you haven't noticed, I'm pretty excited about it. We all are!

Stay tuned!

The Dollar Bill Quartet

2007-01-10T20:39:00.000-06:00

We were pleased this Monday to commemorate the King's birthday by recording at the fabulous Sun Studio. It was an exciting night for us, to say the least. What happened at Sun in its heyday is a source of great pride for those of us who grew up as music fans and musicians in this town. To be able to record in the same room as so many incredible artists was super-cool and, actually, not nearly as intimidating as I expected. As the photo below indicates, it's a very comfortable and unassuming environment. Not surprisingly, I suppose, it just felt like a great place to make music!

And that we did! We decided to record Great Big Cosmic, a tune we've been playing live now for over a year. As you can see, the boys were in the rock 'n roll zone, and we got a solid track within the first fifteen minutes. It was the first time we've ever been able to record basic tracks with all of us in the same room, which was a lot of fun. We made a conscious decision to avoid adding acoustic guitars (which we unashamedly have an affinity for, of course!) and tried to keep the arrangement really stripped down. In that spirit, we just tracked my lead vocal, Ted's backing vocal and a second electric guitar to fatten up the sound a bit. James and Matt mixed it on the spot, and we left with the finished song well before midnight. It was definitely one of the most painless and carefree sessions any of us have ever experienced. And, I must admit, we listened to the song several times on the way home. This is definitely a good sign. Many thanks to James and Matt for doing a bang-up job and being such cool guys to work with!

Wreckless (Yet Controlled)

2006-12-20T08:19:00.000-06:00

Thanks to all the good folks who made it out to Otherlands last weekend to hear me play! It's always a bit weird and scary to play without the guys, but I was graciously joined by some comrades who made it a lot easier and much more fun. Special thanks to my longtime friend Matt Oliver who played a dazzling lead and slide guitar, and David Twombly (The Archives) who folk-rocked the modified miniature drum kit, as well as played harmonica and handled some of Ted's usual backing vocal duties. It was a wonderfully loose evening, complete with a handful of Standard tunes, three or four covers and a bunch of really old and brand new originals.

Here's how it went:

STARTOWN GAZING
SKYLINER
A HARD RAIN'S A-GONNA FALL>>PAINT
PITTSBURGH, PA 1983

-with David-
ROSEMARY (SING SO SWEETLY)
PERPETUAL AFTERNOON
NO MAN ALIVE
GREAT BIG COSMIC

BORDERLINE (Madonna)
STARRY-EYED

-with David and Matt-
VIA CHICAGO (Wilco)
BACK TO SLEEP
THE OUTSTANDING TRUTH
IT'S HARD TO PRETEND YOU'RE NOT LEAVING
CORTEZ THE KILLER (Neil Young)
WHAT MAKES YOU THINK
SWEET MAMA ANGEL
SUMMER
1424 (JIMMY'S DRUNK)
DON'T SHIT WHERE YOU EAT (Ween)
SINGING YOU A SONG

On the Standards front, we're set to record "Great Big Cosmic" at the world famous Sun Studio during the second week in January. Needless to say, we're pretty psyched. Thanks for your incredible support during 2006. It's been a really fun year for us; we're glad to have had you along. And 2007 should be even better, with the release of a brand new record! Happy Holidays to you and yours, dear friends. May the blessings of the season overflow and carry you into a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year!

Paisley Shirts and Tight-Rolled Jeans

2006-12-13T12:53:00.000-06:00

Undoubtedly, this photo (even ignoring the date imprint) tells the story of just how long Matt Oliver and I have been friends. Our friendship actually started about 5 years before this, but this is when we both really starting getting into music--for Matt, it was the electric guitar; for me, clearly, it was the allure of the oh-so-versatile tambourine.

The last time Matt and I played a show together was, well, never! Aside from back porch jams and the occasional performance at a wedding, we have never shared a stage. Until this week, that is! Hope you'll come join these two handsome young men on Saturday, December 16 at about 9 p.m. at Otherlands (641 S. Cooper in Midtown Memphis) for a great evening of music. I promise not to wear that shirt!

We'll be joined by our pal David Twombly on percussion. Another David--David Brookings--is scheduled to open the show at around 8:30 p.m. Otherlands is a smoke-free, ALL AGES venue that serves beverages for folks of all ages, as well. The first 10 paid attendees ($5 cover) will receive a special holiday gift. Alright! See you there!!

Can't hear it on the radio...or can you?

2006-12-08T09:42:00.000-06:00

Thanks again to our pals Dennis, Ric and Luca of Rock 103 for having us on the show yesterday afternoon as part of their "Great Unplugged" series. As always, we had a ball playing music and trying to match D 'n R's quick wit. Ted succeeded with the latter; me, not so much.

Here's a shot of me with the lovely Luca in the background. Luca does all of the logistical work for the show, lines up callers, etc. She does a great job in all respects--especially with trying to keep the boys in line! Luca's younger brother, Andras, was a stellar Film & Video student of mine several years ago.

Here's Ted--looking dapper, as always--in school attire, sans necktie. How fortunate we are to have wonderful day jobs and be able to play "rock star" in the off-hours. Thanks again to Dennis, Ric and Luca for having us. Stay tuned for info regarding the "Great Unplugged" CD. As previously reported, we played two songs live on the air (Still Stay and In the Books). They were both recorded; it's our understanding that one of those will be chosen for inclusion on the disc!

*As a side note, I hope you'll come see me play a rare "solo" show at Otherlands (641 S. Cooper) on Saturday, December 16 around 9 p.m. I'll be joined by my dear old friend Matt Oliver, formerly of the Memphis-based band Stout, and our pal David Twombly of The Archives. It should be a lot of fun, and we should be done by 11 p.m. Alright...early night! This is an ALL AGES show, and Otherlands has a wide array of beverages (both stimulants and depressants) for all to enjoy!!

"The Great Unplugged"

2006-12-06T09:37:00.000-06:00

Hey folks! Sorry for the late notice, but Ted and I will be playing live on the Dennis & Ric show this Thursday afternoon (12/7) sometime around the 4 o'clock hour. The show airs on 102.7 FM (Rock 103).

Most of you undoubtedly know how supportive Dennis, Ric and Luca are of local music and, specifically, how much they have meant to The Central Standards in 2006. Their latest project is called "The Great Unplugged" which is an acoustic CD that they're recording from live, in-studio performances by local artists.

Our turn is tomorrow, and we plan to do unplugged versions of Still Stay and In the Books. Hope you'll listen tomorrow afternoon and pick up a copy of the CD when it's available. More info to come!

*For those who are planning ahead during this busy holiday season, I hope you'll come see me play a rare "solo" show at Otherlands (641 S. Cooper) on Saturday, December 16 around 9 p.m. I'll be joined by my dear old friend Matt Oliver, formerly of the Memphis-based band Stout, and our pal David Twombly of The Archives. It should be a lot of fun, and we should be done by 11 p.m. Alright...early night! And, Otherlands does serve adult beverages!!

Let's Make a Record!

2006-11-16T09:12:00.000-06:00

At long last, we have returned to the studio to commence work on our third album! As discussed on this page previously, we have been talking with engineers/producers at various studios around town and plan to make this record in several different locations. I'm pleased to report that our first session was a great success!

Round one happened last Saturday at Memphis Independent in the shadow of the long abandoned Crosstown Sears building (one of my absolute favorite Memphis landmarks). Two of our oldest new songs, "Back from Little Rock" and "Heavyweight", were on the agenda. Our plan was to do those tunes from start to finish--recording basic tracks, doing minimal overdubs and mixing them both. With the exception of some minor revisions on the mixes that are left to do, we accomplished this great feat. Yeah!!

We were able to play the songs live together in the studio, which always makes us happy, as it cuts down on the need for lots of overdubs and more faithfully captures the band dynamic on tape. Both tunes had similar instrumentation, so it made the transition from one song to the next relatively seamless. We had a great experience working with our new friend, Brian Knight. Keep an ear out on myspace for some rough mixes of the new tunes. Here are some photos from the session!!

Bockman at Newby's!

2006-11-09T10:21:00.000-06:00

As you all know, we usually reserve this space for shameless self promotion, but today, I want to promote one of the hardest-working and most talented regional bands around.

Columbia, Missouri's Bockman will be appearing live at Newby's on Friday 11/10 with the band Shady Deal. We did a show with Bockman in St. Louis last Labor Day, and bassist/vocalist Wil Reeves played in my college band 10shy (1996-98). (If you've gotta have some vintage Capps/Reeves, just let me know, as there are still plenty of 10shy CDs floating around!)

In the meantime, come check out Wil's sharp songwriting skills and masterful command of the bass guitar in person. The Standards will be representing. Don't miss it! Have a great weekend!!

Last Saturday at Neil's

2006-10-30T10:26:00.000-06:00

I will post a full report about our show at Neil's soon, but due to the home computer being on the fritz, this is the first opportunity I've had to post anything. Here's a good look at some of the good-looking folks who were there with us, followed by a shot of us onstage in costume and a picture of our beaming bass player, who was celebrating the birth of his new daughter, Lucy Eleanor. The photo at the bottom is of me (pre-Alice Cooper makeup) and our pals Mindy, Rachel and Jan. They came in costume, as directed, but had to leave before we honored their request for "Sad Girlfriend". Bummer. Sorry, Jan!!

Thanks to Roger Mexico, John Paul Keith and the great folks at Neil's!!

"So, who's the square in the suit?"

2006-10-19T22:33:00.000-05:00

Our pals Dennis, Ric and Luca (from Memphis' Rock 103) have been very good to us this year. Not only have they played our songs consistently on their excellent Sunday evening radio show
The Great Unsigned, but they also included us in an on-line contest that eventually led to our performance at the Beale Street Music Festival in May. They've had us in the studio live a couple of times and used our tunes as bumper music on their weekday show. And just when we thought it couldn't get any better...

Luca e-mails me and tells me that she wants me to represent the Standards on Dennis and Ric billboards that will be placed all over town. Pretty cool, huh? So, here I am on-stage at Newby's on the lovely Highland strip with a bunch of local rock stars who don't wear suits, ties and nerd spectacles. Let alone pose with jumbo body Gibson acoustic guitars. I did feel a little bit odd--especially when the photographer's assistant asked me to put my right foot up on the stage monitor. This lasted all of about 5 seconds. I felt like a total fraud. I then proceeded to kick over one of the electric guitar player's colas. What a clown.

But, it was great fun, and we're thrilled to have the exposure! Keep your eye out for the billboards, Memphis fans. And if you haven't done so already, please be sure to check out Dennis and Ric weekday afternoons and Sunday night (9-11 p.m.) for The Great Unsigned. It's all at 102.7 FM.

And speaking of The Great Unsigned, we'll be joining forces with another program regular, Roger Mexico, next Saturday, October 28 at Neil's in Midtown Memphis. RM is hard at work on a new record, and they have a great sound. Fantastic local singer/songwriter John Paul Keith will kick things off with a short set around 9:30 p.m. We'll play the middle slot, starting around 10. See ya there!!

Fine-Tuning

2006-10-02T08:18:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the Germantown Community Library for having us back again last Thursday evening. The event was designed to honor Germantown-area educators, and we had a nice turnout of teachers and other friends of the band.

Those who made it out were gracious enough to indulge us a bit, as we played a set made up almost entirely of new and unreleased songs. It was a great time, and as always, you discover a lot about the songs by playing them live and making some mistakes. We're super-excited about getting this batch of songs (and others) into the studio.

Speaking of studios...our plan is to make our next record at various studios throughout the area. We've had some great conversations with folks about it, and we hope to have made a nice dent in our long list of tunes by the end of the year. At this point, we plan to go ahead and record two albums worth of material at once and then release these two very different projects separately. Keep your fingers crossed that this all works!

So, here's a glimpse at what we played at the library. You'll probably notice a couple of familiar tunes. We'll try to get demo versions of some of these on myspace very soon.

TAKES SO FEW
HEAVYWEIGHT
THANK YOU, HERMAN MANKIEWICZ
STRIKE
MOLLY MOSAIC
DRIFT AWHILE (ANNIE)
GREAT BIG COSMIC
TEENAGE HEART (by request)
MY FRIENDS, TOO
REAL LIVE SUBURBAN ROCK 'N ROLL DAD
BACK FROM LITTLE ROCK

Our next public show is at Neil's (Madison and McLean) in Midtown Memphis on Saturday, October 28. We'll be joined by some special guests that night. More information to come!

Be well, friends.

New Digs!

2006-09-26T17:47:00.000-05:00

So, here we are last night in our brand new rehearsal space! It's much more spacious and comfortably carpeted, so we can practice in our bare feet. The room also happens to be right down the hall from Ted's new kitchen, which is always stocked with an array of ice cold lovely beverages. Thanks to Ted and Sarah for allowing the band room to move across town with them!

It's true...we've been in hiding. Due to a series of major life events happening to every member of the group, it's been a long, long time since we've played a show. Just about 5 weeks! For those in the Memphis area, though, the wait is over! We'll be doing a special set tomorrow night at the Germantown Library. The folks at the library are mighty good to us, and we're always pleased to support literacy. Won't you?!

THE CENTRAL STANDARDS
Live at Germantown Community Library
1925 Exeter Road
Wednesday, September 27
6:30-7:30 p.m.
FREE!!!

Darling Boy

2006-08-24T07:40:00.000-05:00

Happy 40th to our dear friend, the one-and-only Case of Bass. Thanks for your tremendous dedication and for the joy you bring to our band. Have a great day!

Keeping Still

2006-08-20T22:04:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Barb, Micah and the rest of the wonderful people at Temple for having us out for their very first Music Fest and Campus Dedication. We had a great time sharing some tunes with many folks who had never heard us play before, as well as a handful of Standard faithfuls. Thanks so much, everyone! The new Temple facility is gorgeous, and it was a pleasure to be a part of this special day.

We ended up playing mainly old and semi-old songs and told a bunch of stories. Here's how it went:

KEEPING STILL
PERPETUAL AFTERNOON
TEENAGE HEART
YEAR 55
CHANGED
JAY-C'S BROKEN RADIO
PEARL OF A GIRL

Here's a look at some of the folks who were there with us:

Michael Danziger (aka "The Funniest Person in Memphis") and our longtime fan Jeff were in the house. Michael's father was the rabbi at Temple for many years, and Michael himself served Temple as youth director for several years after college.

The ever-faithful ladies in Casey's life were there, too. Dorothy's anxious to welcome her baby sister into the world this November.

Though it's still a few days away, the Case of Bass thought today was the perfect opportunity to show off his brand new birthday bass--a beautiful Rickenbacker. Happy Birthday to our "real live suburban rock 'n roll dad"!

Another Music Fest!

2006-08-16T13:05:00.000-05:00

We'll be folk-rocking this Sunday, August 20, at Temple Israel's Music Fest and Campus Dedication. We have a lot of great friends and fans who are connected to Temple in various ways, so this is a great thrill for us. We're honored to be included.

The event is free and open to the public, though there will be opportunities to buy food, etc. and support Temple's various community outreach projects (including Habitat for Humanity!). We'll be playing a 20-minute set, starting promptly at 11:40 a.m. on the mainstage in the Scheidt Family Center. For more information about the other entertainers and activities happening throughout the day, click on the link above. Temple is located at 1376 E. Massey in East Memphis.

Hope to see you there!

Sunday Afternoon Standards

2006-08-10T19:01:00.000-05:00

Sunday afternoon gigs are tough. Not that we speak from a whole wealth of experience, but we have done a handful of them. It's just a bit difficult to play a rock show in a smoky club when it's super bright (and really durn hot) outside. But, you have to persevere...especially when you're folk-rockin' for a cause.

We were thrilled to support Mid-South Arc at their benefit concert this past Sunday at Neil's in Midtown Memphis. We were joined by some great bands, including Patty Harper and Faultline, who opened the day's festivities with a blazin' blues set. Attendance was about what you would expect on a summer Sunday afternoon, but the folks at Arc said they raised a nice chunk of change, when all was said and done.

So, if you're a regular reader of this blog or visitor to our Web site, you're probably aware that there's always a ton of pictures of us. Not that we're not handsome dudes (!), but I'm a bit sick and tired of seeing pictures of us. So, in the interest of honoring the Standard faithful who ventured out on Sunday, here's a peek at some of those good-looking folks.

Our former student, Patrick, was there with his mom, Mona, and his girlfriend, Stephanie. Patrick and Steph are students at the University of Iowa. Go Hawks!

Our pals Jim, Cindy and Scott were in attendance. Where the heck is Dave? This was Jim's first official Standards gig!

Another former student, Lauren (who rarely misses a show), brought two friends. Way to go!

Ted's cousin, Sandy (left), another Standard standard, was joined by two lovely ladies who shall remain nameless (only because I don't know them, of course).

We were there, too...in a really weird backlit kinda way.

Thanks, everyone, for your continued support of our little rock band!

Old Times

2006-07-31T17:29:00.000-05:00

Thanks so much to our good friend Ryan Patrick Imming (RPI) who joined us on-stage at the Full Moon Club in Memphis last Saturday and played a darn fine set for some of the Standard faithful. Ryan had folks (including us) mesmerized by his deft blending of snappy original folk-rock tunes with some really cool looping technology that allows him to instantly morph into a one-man band. As you can see, at the end of the night, Ryan, Ted and I did a few songs together, ranging from a Capps/Imming original called "Monongahela" to R.E.M.'s "Superman" and the Stones' "Dead Flowers" (by request). What a great time we had! Ryan was off to Nashville on Sunday to do some work with a fellow singer/songwriter/producer and shoot for a coveted slot at the Bluebird's Monday night "Open Mic".

As promised, we tried out a bundle of brand new and semi-new songs. Folks responded very well, so you can expect to see many of them working their way into the standard Standard set and onto a new recording very soon, we hope! Here's what we did:

STRIKE
SO MUCH CLEARER
PERPETUAL AFTERNOON
TAKES SO FEW
BACK FROM LITTLE ROCK
MOLLY MOSAIC
WHAT MAKES YOU THINK
GREAT BIG COSMIC
THANK YOU, HERMAN MANKIEWICZ
HEAVYWEIGHT
JAY-C'S BROKEN RADIO
T-HO'S BROKEN RADIO
MY FRIENDS, TOO
DRIFT AWHILE (ANNIE)
YEAR 55
SHOULD'VE BEEN IN LOVE
IF I WANTED YOU

We'll be back in action next Sunday, August 6 at Neil's in Midtown Memphis, playing as part of a benefit concert for Mid-South Arc, which helps children and adults with developmental disabilities. The event starts at 2 p.m., though we won't take the stage until about 4 p.m. Admission is $5 at the door, and it's a 21+ event. For more information about Arc, please visit them on-line at www.arcmidsouth.net. Hope you can take advantage of the chance to support this worthy cause and check us out at a reasonable hour!

Ryan Patrick Imming (RPI)

2006-07-27T13:28:00.000-05:00

Ryan Patrick Imming will be making his Memphis debut with us this Saturday night at the Full Moon Club. We're pleased to have Ryan sharing the bill with us, not only because he's a very talented songwriter and musician, but more importantly, because he's been a great friend of ours for more than a decade. Ted and I met Ryan at the University of Missouri. He's originally from the Kansas City area and still lives there, though he spends much of his time on the road in a minivan, playing college towns throughout Missouri, Kansas and the midwest. Here's a shot of the three of us playing on-stage togther (for the first and only time, I believe) in April 1996 at Reggae Sunsplash in Columbia.

Of course, Ryan and I played many shows together throughout 1995-96 in the band Bronwen Rae. We had a standing Monday night gig at TP's Bar & Grill. Incidentally, Ted's band at the time, the fabulous Pintos 'n Cheese, played there on Tuesday nights. Bronwen Rae was made up of Ryan on guitar and vocals, me on lead vocals, Milton Hopkins on keyboards (which doubled as bass!) and Mike Dohrmann on drums. Here's a shot of Ryan and I sharing a microphone at TP's in 1996. This picture's a little bit creepy, I know. It kinda looks like I'm biting Ryan's cheek.

Those were great times (cheek-biting and all). Bronwen was both Ryan's and my first gigging band. While we wrote three or four original songs, we were primarily a cover band. We learned a lot together, and playing with Ryan inspired me to get a guitar that summer and start writing songs on my own. We split into two bands that next fall (timmy likes to fish and 10shy), but Ryan and I remained good friends and occasionally played shows together. Timmy did a good amount of touring, which helped Ryan to sharpen his skills and fueled his passion for playing live music. After timmy disbanded, Ryan took a marketing/promotions job at a radio station in K.C., while working to put together a new band under his initials (RPI).

Eventually, though, Ryan discovered that he needed to puruse the dream on his own. He quit his day job and hit the road as a solo artist. Today, he's a one-man band! Ryan uses live looping (e.g. Keller Williams and others) to create a sweet one-man show complete with rhythm guitar, lead guitar, bass, percussion, lead vocals, backing vocals, harmonica, etc. Nothing is pre-recorded--it's all done on the spot, in front of the audience. This is compelling stuff, folks, and Ryan does it well. He's loose and fun on stage and does a great job of getting the audience involved in what he's doing. I know you'll enjoy his show. And, as is the case for all independent musicians who are trying to make it in this business, he works tirelessly in pursuit of his dream. Ryan is his own booker, promoter, driver, roadie, producer, engineer, etc. Here's Ryan in an early "press" photo (ca. fall 1995) in the basement of the fraternity house (e.g. Bronwen's rehearsal space).

So, here's to old friends and rock 'n roll. See you this weekend!

THE CENTRAL STANDARDS
w/ RYAN PATRICK IMMING
Saturday, July 29th
Full Moon Club
1718 Madison
Doors: 9 p.m.
Music: 9:30 p.m.
Cover: $5

This Saturday!

2006-07-26T10:36:00.000-05:00

Check back later this week for a proper introduction to our good friend, Ryan Patrick Imming, who will join us for this special show!

Cool (Summer in the City)

2006-07-21T04:22:00.000-05:00

"Cool" definitely was the theme for our two sets on Wednesday night at the fabulous Otherlands in Midtown Memphis. Perhaps most obviously because the show came at the end of a brutally hot 100-plus degree day in the city. The cozy-cool surroundings of Otherlands were just what the doctor ordered.

Our friends, Mark and Sean, at Simple Groove Productions and everyone at Otherlands are also pretty cool. They're the ones who have made this new Wednesday night music series happen. We enjoyed being there, and we thank all of these folks for their great support. Let's do it again!

But, of course, as always, the coolest folks in the house were our friends and fans who packed the place on a Wednesday night and let us pretend like we were in the rehearsal space from time to time, trying out some new tunes. Thank you all so very much--we had a great time!

Oh yeah...we also played the song "Cool", which happens to be one of our very oldest tunes. Here's the rest of the night, in the order in which it happened:

I
HEAVYWEIGHT
LITTLE ROCK
SO MUCH CLEARER
IN THE BOOKS
STILL STAY
WHAT MAKES YOU THINK
GREAT BIG COSMIC
THANK YOU, HERMAN MANKIEWICZ
TEENAGE HEART
ROSEMARY
PERPETUAL AFTERNOON
WHAT THEY MEAN
TIME TO KILL

II
MAKES ME TIRED
COOL
STRIKE
MOLLY MOSAIC
SECRETS TO SING
CHANGED
PRETTY PERSUASION (by request)
TOP OF THE WHEEL
NOTHING TO SEE HERE
TAKES SO FEW
REAL LIVE SUBURBAN ROCK 'N ROLL DAD
NO MAN ALIVE
KEEPING STILL
SINCE I'VE BEEN GONE

Acoustic Show at Otherlands!

2006-07-18T07:59:00.000-05:00

Just a quick reminder for all of you Memphis-area folks that we'll be playing a couple of full-band acoustic sets, tomorrow night, July 19, at Otherlands, 641 S. Cooper. Otherlands has started a new music series that's been getting rave reviews, and we're happy to be on-board. It's a great little venue. Worth checking out, if you've never been.

We'll kick off the jams around 8 p.m. and keep the folk-rock fresh until about 10. Expect to hear at least two brand new tunes that have never been played in front of anyone, aside from the rehearsal space walls. It should be worth the trip. So, what better way to spend a beautiful mid-week summer evening than in the cozy, air-conditioned confines of Otherlands in Midtown?! There is no better way, I say.

In the meantime, here's a peek at our last full-out acoustic show in May, where we were joined by our friend and great multi-insrumentalist Matthew Geerdes. Congratulations, by the way, to Matt, who became a Daddy for the second time a couple of weeks back. See you guys tomorrow!

30

2006-07-12T08:03:00.000-05:00

So, it happened. Whether or not you're ready, it just does. You get old. The main thing is to not let it pass by without a grand celebration--complete with some horseshoe pitching, nice tunes and great friends. Yep, I hit the big 3-0, and I feel fine. Marty was out-of-town, but the rest of the band joined me in the backyard with a couple dozen other friends, my mother-in-law (in town from Iowa) and my Dad and stepmom (who drove in, unbeknownst to me, from Fort Worth that day). What a great night we had!

One of my three "oldest" Memphis friends (he's only 30, too, but I met him in 1988), Matt Oliver, joined Ted and me for a wonderfully sloppy version of Jerry Jeff Walker's classic "Sangria Wine". We even had some crowd participation, which made it more fun, for sure. Here we are on the deck steps in my backyard.

As is prone to happen, some spontaneous music broke out at the end of the night per request of some of the remaining party guests (that would be my mom-in-law, Dad, stepmom and our lovely wives). Ted and I were reluctant (read sarcasm), but we decided to give the people what they wanted. We did a great little set of tunes, including:

NOTHING TO SEE HERE
YEAR 55
I'M ALRIGHT (Resident Clark)
BILL ME (Resident Clark)
MAKES ME TIRED (unreleased T-Ho song)
SIMON SAYS
HEARTBOUND (10shy)
ROSEMARY
TOP OF THE WHEEL

Here's how our very serious listeners looked. By the way, we were sitting in a makeshift outdoor living room, designed by the very talented Amber Capps!

So, if it had to happen, this was a pretty darn good way for it to go down!

Don't forget, Memphis folks--we'll be at Otherlands on Cooper on Wednesday, July 19 from 8 to 10 p.m. Don't miss this rare opportunity to see and hear a full-band acoustic set. We plan to play several brand new ones, as well!

In the Books

2006-07-04T16:07:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the Germantown Community Library for having us out as part of their summer reading program. We played outdoors on one of the most beautiful nights of the summer, thus far. It worked out great. Jan, Barbara, Noah and the other fine folks at the library did a great job promoting the show, and we enjoyed playing to what was truly an "all ages" audience. Good times.

Not that anyone asked us to, but being the conscientious guys we are, we tried, but had a bit of trouble, drawing links from our melodic folk-rock stylings to reading and such. We do have a song with "books" in the title (see the top of this blog). We have T-shirts with a typewriter on them. And, well, we've all read some books that have, in some way, certainly impacted the writing of some of our songs. Is that good enough?

Evidently it was, 'cuz folks seemed to dig the tunes, and this was a highly educated bunch! How do we know? Well, we did a quick, highly unscientific poll that proved, in fact, that the kids out in Germantown are darn good readers! Way to go, guys!! Browse on over to centralstandards.com and check the "show archives" page for a full photo spread documenting this great night.

And speaking of all ages shows, mark your calendar for Wednesday, July 19, when we'll play for the first time at the fantastic Otherlands Coffee Shop on Cooper (they sell drinks for folks of all ages) from 8 to 10 p.m. This will be a rare full-band acoustic show. Don't miss it!

On Target

2006-06-22T21:28:00.000-05:00

What a slacker this blogmaster has become! Access to the digital camera with these photos has been limited, so that's this week's excuse. That's a lame excuse, says blogmaster's wife. Oh well, here goes...

We had a great time last Wednesday at St. Jude's Target House II in Midtown Memphis. We played music for some St. Jude patients and their families. These are wonderful folks, the facility is amazing, and we had a terrific time. We were joined in the living room by Kirk and Brian, our new friends from local rock band Organ Thief. They're great.

After getting settled, both bands eased into things with acoustic versions of full out rock songs. It was fun enough, but the real "show" started when folks started requesting Beatles songs and other oldies. Luckily, Brian is a "Beatles jukebox" (according to his bandmate Kirk). No joke--he really is. Couple that with Ted's formidable Beatles knowledge, and we were set. Brian's Spanish skills are also excellent, so "we" pulled off a pretty good version of "La Bamba" too.

There was a lot of joy in the room. I wish I could share more pictures with you, but in the interest of protecting the families' privacy, we were asked not to. The guys in Organ Thief brought along a box of various percussive instruments, which went over great. In fact, one kid was playing maracas, tambourine and triangle all at once--and he was right on the rhythm! What a blast.

One of our favorites was a very young gal who requested "My Girl". Ted came up with a more than adequate version in mere seconds, and the rest of us played and sang along. She sang, too. We ended up playing the tune twice.

So, it was a great night. We felt privileged to have the chance to do it. Thanks again to Organ Thief and our friends at Vexar Entertainment who are making all of this happen. What an admirable way to channel their time and resources. Great job, fellas!

Real Live Suburban Rock 'n Roll Dad(s)

2006-06-06T12:27:00.001-05:00

The Case of Bass and his #1 fan enjoyed Saturday's family-friendly show, which was part of the Germantown High School Class of 1981 25-year reunion weekend. We landed the gig thanks to our pal (another suburban rock 'n roll dad) Chuck Schwam.

Chuck very well may be the perfect fan. Here's a quick list of reasons why:
5) He first got turned on to the band while watching Ted and I play an acoustic set in the middle of Wolfchase Galleria. Yes, The Central Standards, Tiffany-style. He knew things could only get better from there!
4) He's a great music fan. Chuck has a true appreciation for the art of the song and always gives us feedback on our work.
3) He's an excellent salesman and always shares his love of the music with friends.
2) He's not afraid to sing along.
1) And...Chuck gets us paid gigs! Not always such an easy proposition in this business!

So, thanks to Chuck for a great day, and congratulations to the Class of 1981! We were glad to be there and enjoyed some lovely burgers, compliments of the Skinner Family and the mad grilling skills of the Class of '81's very own Wes Kraker.

On another note, drummers have it pretty hard. Not only do they have to haul around a lot of heavy stuff, but they're also quite often overlooked. Heck, they sit down! Stray Cats drummer and Sheila E. aside, how many rock 'n roll drummers do you see standing up?! This makes it very difficult to get a good photograph of the drummer. Just when the photog is about to capture the perfect drummer expression in the middle of an intensely rockin' fill, the silly rhythm guitar player steps into the frame, for example. It's rough, folks. Well, in honor of our fine drummer, Marty Christopher, I would like to post a really excellent drummer picture from last weekend (nice shot, Melissa!). What a handsome fella.

And just in case you're wondering what it's like to look out at the crowd from Marty's "throne", here you have it. A toast to the drummer!!

More Pictures!

2006-05-22T09:26:00.000-05:00

Our friend, Rachel Hurley (rachelandthecity.com and scenestars.net), has posted some more photos from our Beale Street Music Fest set. Thanks, Rachel!

We're gearing up for the month of June, as we'll be doing some very different shows. The first part of June, we'll be playing the Germantown High School 25-year reunion. In the middle part of the month, we'll do an acoustic set for families at St. Jude's Target House. Then, at the end of the month, we'll be at the Germantown Library, as part of their summer reading program. We'll perform, of course, and do some Q&A about our songwriting process, etc. Should be a fun month!

Stay tuned here and to centralstandards.com for updates on these shows, as well as other late-breaking news! And, if you haven't picked up one of those new T-shirts yet, head over to the site for a peek! We're working toward on-line ordering, but for now, send us an e-mail or reply here, if you're interested.

Thank You, Friends (wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you)

2006-05-09T19:37:00.000-05:00

When Alex Chilton sang that lyric after Big Star had so unfortunately not become big stars, somehow I think it was a little bitter and tongue-in-cheek. For us, there couldn't be a more apt way to describe our experience this weekend. We had two great shows, and it was a pleasure to celebrate with local friends and family, as well as several who came from as far away as Iowa, Illinois, Texas, North Carolina, etc to support us. Thanks again to Dennis, Ric, Luca and Rock 103 for putting it all in motion. When we say we couldn't do it without you, we absolutely mean it. Thank you.*

Here's the outside of our trailer at Music Fest.

Here's the view from inside.

Friday night's show was one of those big musical highlights for us, as you can probably imagine. Despite the forecast, it turned out to be one of the most beautiful evenings we've had here in Memphis in quite awhile. It was gorgeous. Crystal blue sky. Most of us donned sunglasses.

Our 8-song set (consisting of Keeping Still, Secrets to Sing, Gumball Machine Diamond Ring, Nothing to See Here, Great Big Cosmic, So Much Clearer, Year 55 & If I Wanted You) flew by. There was a nice little crowd assembled by the time we started. Aside from the first three rows of kids who had presumably come early to get a spot before Jason Mraz, many of those there were our supporters, which made it even better. Many thanks to our friends Matt Geerdes and Kevin Ritz who roadied for us and took some great snapshots, too.

Saturday night at SiP went really well, too. We played an acoustic set featuring Matt Geerdes (yes, our "roadie"!) on electric lead guitar, mandolin, banjo and button accordion. Matt had to get on an Illinois-bound train immediately after the gig, so it got a little dicey at the end. He did make it! The premiere of Waheed AlQawasmi's video for "So Much Clearer" was well received. It looked great on the big screen! You can watch the video at Waheed's Web site. It should be posted on our site soon, as well. Here's a photo of the band, followed by the set list.

GUMBALL MACHINE DIAMOND RING
OTIS REDDING SONG
IN THE BOOKS
WHAT THEY MEAN
JAY-C'S BROKEN RADIO
CHANGED
PSYCHIC LULLABY
CAPTAIN, SHE'S LOST
PERPETUAL AFTERNOON
ROSEMARY
TEENAGE HEART
THANK YOU, HERMAN MANKIEWICZ
SINCE I'VE BEEN GONE
DON'T YOU STARE
GREATEST DAY
PEARL OF A GIRL

We will have a full set of photos from Friday night's event posted on our Web site very soon. You can also find photos of our brand new T-shirts there! Thanks to Amber Capps for designing these. They look great, and they're going fast, so don't delay!!

*We saw Big Star play a charming, albeit slightly uneven, set after ours on Friday. Though I missed the first half of the set due to a Standards merchandise fiasco, second half highlights included "Ballad of El Goodo" and cool tunes from the new record including "Lady Sweet" and "Mine Exclusively". What a treat to play on the same night as these guys.

And now for something completely different...

2006-05-04T09:37:00.000-05:00

While everyone's geared up for Friday's big Music Fest set, we'll be doing a dramatically different kind of event on Saturday night. Hope all you locals will join us for the official premiere of our very first music video. As you may have read previously on this blog, our former student Waheed AlQawasmi has conceptualized, shot and edited a really fantastic video for our song "So Much Clearer" from Can't Remember the Last Time. The video will premiere on Saturday night around 8 p.m. at SiP Coffeehouse, inside the Midtown Artist Market. The store is right across the street from The Blue Monkey on Madison, near Overton Square. It's a great venue, and this promises to be a fun evening. We don't plan to make the video available for sale, so this is your best chance to see it...unless, of course, it's picked up by MTV2!

We'll introduce and run the video shortly after 8, and then the full band will perform a rare acoustic set, featuring special guest, the outrageously talented, Matt Geerdes, on mandolin and whatever other instruments he can get his hands on. Following our set, we'll show the video again for latecomers and all you critics who wish to analyze the piece a bit more carefully!! So, it'll be a busy weekend, but that's the way we like it. We'll also have some snazzy new Standards T-shirts available for sale both Friday and Saturday nights. They're available in limited quantities--so, get 'em while they're hot!!

In the meantime, here are some pictures from the video shoot. See you this weekend!!

Marty Casey and Lovehammers?

2006-04-28T08:10:00.000-05:00

Since our last blog (it's been awhile, I know!), there's been some confusion surrounding our Music Fest appearance. Some folks have been concerned/alarmed/outraged at the fact that our faithful drummer and bass player apparently staged a coup and changed the name of the band to the aforementioned MARTY CASEY AND LOVEHAMMERS. Ted and I were shocked, too, as Marty and Casey certainly don't seem like the type to do something like this, let alone come up with a ridiculous name like Lovehammers. I guess "fame" does weird things to people.

Well, after doing some research, we learned that Marty Casey was actually one of the finalists on "Rock Star: INXS". His new band will be playing a set at Music Fest, too.

So, alas, THE CENTRAL STANDARDS are alive and well, and will perform a 30-minute set at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, May 5th on the Budweiser (north) stage as part of Memphis in May's Beale Street Music Festival. We are the very first act to perform. In fact, even though there are four stages at the festival, we will be the lone performers at that time. So, if we see you anywhere but front and center at the Budweiser stage clamoring for more homegrown folk-rock, we may be a bit disappointed. Unless, of course, you're jockeying for position front and center at the AutoZone stage for Marty Casey's 6 p.m. show.

See ya there--thanks again for your support in helping us make the most of this opportunity!!

Beale Street Music Festival Official Site
Beale Street Music Festival Blog

Down by the Riverside

2006-04-10T08:20:00.000-05:00

We did it! For the first time ever, none of us will be buying a ticket to the Friday night Beale Street Music Festival event...but we WILL be there! On Saturday, we won Rock 103's "Great Unsigned" local music competition and earned a spot performing on the same bill as legendary artists B.B. King and Big Star; notable pop acts like Train, Jason Mraz and Bryan Adams; and Memphis' own Oscar-winning Three 6 Mafia. We're slated to perform at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, May 5.
Thanks again to our dear friend and producer Posey Hedges (pictured above) who did an incredible job filling in for us on rhythm guitar. He learned how to play the songs in about an hour! Speaking of songs...here's what was included in the winning set:

NOTHING TO SEE HERE
GUMBALL MACHINE DIAMOND RING
KEEPING STILL
SINCE I'VE BEEN GONE
OTIS REDDING SONG
GREAT BIG COSMIC
IF I WANTED YOU
YEAR 55

Undoubtedly, our strong crowd response had an impact on the judges. Thanks to the many friends, family and fans who were there to support us and all of you who voted on-line to help get us there. We absolutely could not have done it without you. It was a great day. So, go ahead and pick up those Music Fest tix--we'll see you there!!

Bringing the ROCK (103)

2006-04-06T18:31:00.000-05:00

Jeff and Ted "bookend" the afternoon crew at Rock 103--from left to right, Dennis, Ric and Luca. We appeared live on Thursday's show, promoting our appearance at this Saturday's Overton Square Crawfish Festival.

Just a reminder...The Central Standards will be performing live at the Overton Square Crawfish Festival this Saturday, April 8th. Besides playing a fun (and free!) outdoor gig at a cool festival, we are also competing in the finals of the Rock 103 "Great Unsigned" Local Music Competition against two other bands. We sincerely hope you'll come out and support us as we compete for a coveted slot at the Memphis in May Beale Street Music Fest!

We will be the first of the three bands to play, and we're slotted to start at 1:30. The festival will be held in the parking lot behind the Bayou Bar & Grill in Overton Square. Please be there early, and then stick around for a full afternoon of music and crawfish! Bring friends and family!

If you haven't heard, Jeff injured his "guitar fingering" hand recently in a yardwork accident, so his rhythm guitar parts will be played by the producer of our two studio albums and official "5th Standard" Posey Hedges. We know you will make Posey feel welcome as well. He rocks.

Let's Give the Boy a Hand

2006-03-29T08:22:00.000-06:00

Although Jay-C usually handles the blogging duties for this band, he's not handling much of anything this week due to a recent "mis-handling" of a set of electric trimming shears. As the photo here indicates, our earnest young rhythm guitarist and co-vocalist severely cut the middle finger on his left hand (that's his "guitar-fingering" hand, by the way...) in a very deep and very painful manner while doing some yard work on Monday. In all seriousness, our thoughts and prayers are with Jeff as he struggles through a couple of weeks of pain killers and longing gazes at his beloved Gibson guitar.

The news wasn't all bad this week, however. The Central Standards were named as one of the three finalists in Rock 103's "Great Unsigned" Local Music Contest! Thanks to the ratings of online voters (thank you, thank you, thank you) the Standards (along with co-finalists Perspective and Gabby Johnson) will perform at the Overton Square Crawfish Festival on Saturday, April 8th sometime between 2:00 and 4:00. We hope you'll come out and cheer us on! Judges at the event will choose one of the three finalists to perform at the Memphis in May Beale Street Music Fest. Due to Jeff's injury, we will most likely have a stand-in rhythm guitarist there with us, while Jeff concentrates more exclusively on his vocal duties. We hope to see you there!

TCB

2006-03-22T07:38:00.000-06:00

We played Saturday night at a relatively new Memphis venue called The Vault. Thanks to the many folkers who joined us to help celebrate (The Day After) St. Patrick's Day. There were some troopers there, for sure--some who undoubtedly had celebrated St. Patty's in style the night previous..others who had spent the last two days building houses with Habitat for Humanity!

SET I
HARD TO FALL
GUMBALL MACHINE DIAMOND RING
TIME TO KILL
KEEPING STILL
HEAVYWEIGHT
BACK FROM LITTLE ROCK
CHANGED
WHAT MAKES YOU THINK
EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS IS NOWHERE
IN THE BOOKS
GREAT BIG COSMIC
THANK YOU, HERMAN MANKIEWICZ
YEAR 55
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
REAL LIVE SUBURBAN ROCK 'N ROLL DAD

SET II
PERPETUAL AFTERNOON
SO MUCH CLEARER
PSYCHIC LULLABY
OTIS REDDING SONG
WHAT THEY MEAN
ROSEMARY
IF I WANTED YOU
CAPTAIN, SHE'S LOST
SHOULD'VE BEEN IN LOVE
NOTHING TO SEE HERE
SINCE I'VE BEEN GONE
DON'T YOU STARE
THE RIGHT COMBINATION

Keep it right here and at centralstandards.com for news of upcoming shows and events!

Love,

The Standards

Thursday Morning Throwdown

2006-03-16T08:44:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Paul Woodard at WEVL 89.9 FM for hosting us this morning on his "Thursday Morning Throwdown" program. Paul does a fantastic job, and it was a lot of fun playing live on his show. Of course, we're not used to singing and playing at 7 a.m. so it did make for some exciting moments! Here's our live list from the show:

NOTHING TO SEE HERE
SINCE I'VE BEEN GONE
YEAR 55
WATERLOO SUNSET
GUMBALL MACHINE DIAMOND RING
OTIS REDDING SONG
THANK YOU, HERMAN MANKIEWICZ
WHAT THEY MEAN

We'll see all of you locals on Saturday night at The Vault. If not, you'd best be prepared to answer to this guy!!

Soft Focus

2006-03-12T18:59:00.000-06:00

As reported here previously, we've been working with our former student, Waheed AlQawasmi, to develop a music video for our song "So Much Clearer". Well, today we had our big chance in front of the camera, and we hope we didn't screw up too much. The fortunate thing for us (and all of you) is that Waheed's concept includes band shots using a very soft focus! We got to see the segments that Waheed already has completed, and it's looking fantastic. This is one talented guy.

As usual, the rhythm section took thier duties very seriously and wanted to make sure they understood their rights before signing on the dotted line.

The whole experience of playing instruments that aren't amplified along with a stereo that's blaring your song is a bit disconcerting at first, but not as difficult as we expected. Ted "played" and "sang" his song like a champ. One of the guys on the set said he could actually feel Ted's solo, despite the fact that very little sound was actually coming out of his guitar. That's pretty cool.

The "Case of Bass" was his usual cool self (a requirement for any good bassist, of course). He looked mighty dapper, too.

Here I am demonstrating my mastery of the barre chord and my total inability to sing simultaneously.

After spending several days on the set shooting scenes as Jerry Lee's drummer in Walk the Line, this stuff was old hat for Marty.

Thanks again to Waheed for making this happen. We had a great time. We also got the chance to meet Vince and C.J. who run Universal Productions in Southaven. They're super nice guys, and their facility is amazing. Thanks, guys, for your hospitality! More news about the video soon!!

In the meantime, don't forget we'll be in action this Saturday, March 18 at The Vault, 529 S. Highland. Doors open at 9 p.m. We'll start folk-rockin' soon thereafter. Don't miss your chance to meet real live video music stars! :)

Text Messaging Edge

2006-03-03T01:51:00.000-06:00

So, we had a most excellent gig last night with Wayne Leeloy and the fabulous Native Son at The Flying Saucer in downtown Memphis. Thanks so much to Wayne for inviting us, clapping emphatically after every tune, and generally making us feel really welcome. As usual, we were most earnest in our approach, as this very grave photograph indicates.

Wayne was joined by New Orleans guitarist Reid Wick. Back in November, Reid and a group of all star musicians from New Orleans played at Habitat's "Operation Home Delivery" program at the Forum. They were absolutely incredible. Reid's taken a full-time job with the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), aka the Grammy guys. He is a fantastic guitar player, but evidently, as a result of his trip to the Grammys a couple of weeks ago, Reid has struck up quite a friendship with a fine guitar player in his own right out of Dublin, called Edge. They send text messages to each other fairly regularly.

For a couple of hack folk-rockers like us, this definitely was information to geek out over. I mean, we were sharing a bench with a dude who, just today, may very well have communicated with one of the baddest ass (can I say that?) guitar players of our generation. Ted got a little hung up on whether close friends call him "Edge" or "The Edge" or, maybe, just plain ol' "Davey". Reid confirmed that, since he was a child, no one other than his mom has called Edge anything other than "Edge". When Bono called him "The Edge" on RATTLE AND HUM, he was clearly just stuck in a moment that he couldn't get out of.

So, it was a very fun night. We learned a lot and played well with others. We sang these songs, in this order:

WHAT MAKES YOU THINK
HARD TO FALL
KEEPING STILL
POCAHONTAS
YEAR 55
TEENAGE HEART
HEAVYWEIGHT
WHAT THEY MEAN
OTIS REDDING SONG
NO MAN ALIVE
I'M ON FIRE
TIME TO KILL
DON'T YOU STARE
JAY-C'S BROKEN RADIO
I'M ONLY SLEEPING

Classic (Folk) Rock

2006-03-02T06:44:00.000-06:00

It was long, long ago in a (not so) faraway land called the Hi-Tone. Pre-suits, pre-Marty and Casey, pre-color photography...well, maybe not the last one. But, it was awhile ago, nonetheless.

This evening, March 2, The Central Standards Classic will bring their melodic folk-rock stylings to the Flying Saucer in downtown Memphis for a super secret set (not so much anymore, I suppose). We're slated to start around 9 p.m. and should play for an hour or so. We're supporting the excellent Wayne Leeloy and Native Son.

Come join us, won't you?!

Left of the Dial

2006-02-24T08:07:00.000-06:00

That wonderful Replacements tune reminds me of my high school days when I was "discovering" great rock music that certainly wasn't heard anywhere on the Memphis radio dial (or so I believed). It also calls to mind four years as a DJ at KCOU 88.1 FM in Columbia, Mo. where Ted and I were both students. That was a special station. In addition to diverse and eclectic programming, the station had that college radio "spirit" that left a huge mark on me musically.

I wrongly assumed that a station like that certainly didn't exist in Memphis. It wasn't until I moved back to town in 1998 that I was turned on to the wonderful little radio miracle called WEVL 89.9 FM. Founded 30 years ago, WEVL is independent, volunteer radio at its finest, folks. Over the course of the last couple of years since we released REFRAIN, WEVL has been very good to us. Several DJs, including Hayden (host of Tuesday's "Memphis Beat") and Paul (host of "Thursday Morning Throwdown"), play cuts from both of our records consistently. Of course, it's fun to hear our songs on the radio, but it's even more exciting to get the music out in a town that (perhaps surprisingly) isn't always so supportive of artists who write and perform original music. We are most appreciative of the work of this station. We hope you'll peruse the WEVL Web site and check out some of these fine shows. You can make requests by calling the air room at 528.1990. Naturally, the greatest way to support the station is to become a member. That's a whole lotta radio love for just $35/year. We hope you'll join us as members!

Now that you've sworn-off big, corporate-owned stations totally, I have exceptional news: There's a brand new local music show on the opposite end of the dial! Dennis and Ric host "The Great Unsigned" on Rock 103 every Sunday from 9 to 11 p.m. The show has only been on for two weeks now, but the guys do a great job of highlighting and promoting local talent. On Sunday night, Dennis and Ric played our song "In the Books". They followed it with some jabs about us changing our name to "The Pacific Standards" when we get big and move to L.A. and a really nice shout-out to our good friend and producer Posey Hedges. It's a fantastic show. Hope you'll go ahead and inundate the guys with requests for songs from our new record. They can be reached here.

So, before you rush out to buy your Sirius receiver or have XM installed in your car, give both of these great locals a listen! It'll be worth your while!!

Like Your Favorite Song...

2006-02-15T07:41:00.000-06:00

Photo by Jay Adkins

Love is in the air, and nowhere is it more alive than in the heart of our very own Ted Horrell. Ted will join the ranks of his married bandmates this Saturday, as he and fiance Sarah Cook get hitched, here in Memphis. One of Ted and Sarah's first "dates" actually was at a show at the Brookhaven Pub in August '04. Guess that sharp dressed man with the red Telecaster around his neck was just too much to resist!

Needless to say, we're all thrilled for the soon-to-be Mr. and Mrs. Horrell, and we'll be there to support them this weekend. After years of writing hard luck, mildly jaded love songs, our boy has found a new muse, not to mention a lifelong companion. Here's to you, guys!

Ready for Our Close-Up

2006-02-01T09:03:00.000-06:00

Waheed AlQawasmi is one of Jeff and Ted's former film and television students. He was in Mr. Horrell's Introduction to Film & Video class as a sophomore and immediately demonstrated a passion for the art of visual storytelling. His family recently had immigrated to the U.S. from Jordan, and while still mastering the English language, Waheed starting making great strides in his artistic pursuits.

Now, not even two years out of high school, Waheed is off to a great start in his career. He is a skilled still photographer, graphic designer, cinematographer, editor and budding director. Waheed works with Running Pony Productions here in Memphis, but his true passion is working on his own indepedent film projects with a core of key collaborators. He's started a production company called WAFILMS, and he's embarking on a project in which he will shoot and edit three music videos for artists with widely varying musical styles.

And who might some of Waheed's featured artists be? Yep...his old teachers. Last weekend, Waheed and crew started shooting a video for "So Much Clearer" from our 2005 release Can't Remember the Last Time. While we've been featured in some television specials, this is our first "official" music video, and we're mighty flattered that Waheed thought to approach us with the idea.

So, where is the band, you ask? Well, Waheed thought it best to shoot the most important (and better looking) people first. Just kidding, Waheed! That's only partially true. Waheed shot the "story" part of the video first due to the band's erratic schedule right now. The actress, by the way, is a Memphian by the name of Micki Rogers. We're planning to shoot some performance sequences in the next month or so that will be intercut with what's already been shot. We haven't seen any of the video yet, but based on the looks of these behind-the-scenes photos, we can't wait to see what Waheed has in the works!

We plan to premiere the video at a special show this spring. In the meantime, keep it right here for updates, and keep up with the progress of a brilliant young artist at www.wafilms.com. Way to go, Waheed!

Five Years

2006-01-24T08:01:00.000-06:00

As you regular readers know, our show at Borders on Saturday night marked the 5th anniversary of Ted and Jeff's first date (uhh..er..gig!) together. It was January 6, 2001. We've told the story many times before, but we really had no intention of forming a band at that point in time. I had played at Borders once in April 2000 (before Ted returned to Memphis), and I booked this next one a couple of months in advance. I asked Ted if he wanted to join me, and we went from there.

As I recall, we only rehearsed once or twice. We did a handful of tunes together (maybe 8 or 9), and the rest of the night, we just traded songs back and forth. As it turned out, we enjoyed doing it so much that I don't think we ever really talked about whether or not we'd continue. It was just understood. Ted was coming off a successful run with Resident Clark, and I felt like I was starting to get somewhat of a handle on the songwriting thing. So, we both still had the desire to play, for sure. With very similar work schedules that kept us busy up to 12 hours per day often times, it was pretty easy to schedule rehearsals. There were few options!

Five years later, here we are (with our comrades Casey and Marty), playing our semi-annual (or so) Borders gig. It was a fantastic night--probably our largest Borders crowd ever. Once again, the store sold out of CDs, and we had to dig into our own stock. Good problem to have! Thanks to all of you who made it out. We played for close to 2 1/2 hours and unveiled several new tunes that we're really excited about. We had a solid core of friends, family and fabulous folk-rockin' fans--many of whom sang along all night and even danced in the cafe! We had a great time, and we thank you for sharing it with us! Here's what we played:

IN THE BOOKS
KEEPING STILL
ROSEMARY
DON’T YOU STARE
GREATEST DAY
HEAVYWEIGHT
DAMAGED DOLLAR
BLUE EYES CRYING IN THE RAIN
SO MUCH CLEARER
PERPETUAL AFTERNOON
JAY-C’S BROKEN RADIO
CHANGED
WHAT THEY MEAN
IT TAKES SO FEW
AFTER THE GOLD RUSH
TEENAGE HEART
NOTHING TO SEE HERE
GREAT BIG COSMIC
YEAR 55
HARD TO FALL
WHAT MAKES YOU THINK
I’M ONLY SLEEPING
BACK FROM LITTLE ROCK
TOP OF THE WHEEL
IF I WANTED YOU
SUBURBAN ROCK ‘N ROLL DAD
THE RIGHT COMBINATION
GUMBALL MACHINE DIAMOND RING

Due to Ted's pending nuptials and honeymoon, we'll be on hiatus from live performance until March 18 (I know...this doesn't really sound like a "hiatus" for us, as much as just our normal span between shows), when we'll play The Vault in Memphis for the first time. We look forward to seeing you then! In the meantime, we'll be working out new songs in the rehearsal space and counting on you to spread the word about the record. Keep checking this blog for weekly udpates. Thanks for your continued support!!

P.S. - A full set of photos from Saturday night will be available via our Web site, www.centralstandards.com.

Long Time Coming

2006-01-19T08:13:00.000-06:00

Hard to believe, but this picture was taken the last time we played a full set as a band--in the year 2005! Despite what our lightweight apparel may indicate, it was not summer of 2005. It was actually an 80-degree day in November.

So, this weekend, we're celebrating the 5th anniversary of Ted and Jeff's first show together (and Ted's upcoming nuptials!) at Borders in Germantown, TN. We're always psyched to play Borders, because there's usually a lot of people there who know the words and like to sing along. If you're somewhere in the region, we sure hope you'll come on out and join the fun.

We'll be playing two brand new cover tunes, as well as six new originals that we're looking to record in the very near future. Of course, most of the show's material will come from our new record, CAN'T REMEMBER THE LAST TIME, with a handful of tunes from REFRAIN to keep everybody folk-rockin' old school.

Look forward to seeing you on Saturday, Memphis folks! Have a great weekend, everyone!!

THE CENTRAL STANDARDS
Live at Borders Books & Music
Saturday, January 21 - 7-9 p.m.
6685 Poplar Avenue
All ages--no cover charge

In My Room

2006-01-10T13:32:00.000-06:00

So call us crazy, but we really love rehearsing. And this is the room where we do it. Yes, it's actually smaller than it appears in the photograph. Thanks for asking. But, we like it that way, and we're grateful to have a nice, cozy, totally un-soundproofed place to do our thing. Not sure how Ted's neighbors like it, but alas, no noise violations yet! So, you've heard of garage bands; perhaps we're a spare bedroom band. Makes us sound even squarer than we already are (if that's possible).

We could say cliche things like "this is where all the magic happens" or "this is where the dream began", but really this room represents none of that--it's simply the place where we plot our plan for international folk-rock domination. All kidding aside, this room is special to us because it's truly a place where it's acceptable for us to act like 16-year-olds again, and that's pretty cool. As much as we enjoy playing shows and having audiences with whom to share our music, some of our best times as a band happen in the rehearsal space. Thus the reason we wanted to share it with you!

The photos below were taken during our practice on Monday, January 9. Enjoy!

Your Standard Pack Meeting

2006-01-04T08:07:00.000-06:00

It's certainly been a season of firsts for The Central Standards. Last night was perhaps the most exciting, though, as we traveled to a land known as Bartlett for a weekly Tiger Cub, Cub Scout and Webelo pack meeting. We had a great time, as the photos surely indicate. The dudes were focusing on music at this week's meeting, so it was an ideal opportunity for them to be exposed to our melodic folk-rock stylings. Gotta start 'em early! We did three sessions for each of the different age groups and played two seemingly innocent and harmless Standards' standards--"Pearl of a Girl" and "Sad Girlfriend".

We spent much of the time answering questions, as illustrated below. By far, the coolest and most difficult question of the night came from a guy in the second group, who asked Ted how long it takes him to learn a sad song. (Presumably, he was referring to a Jeff Capps song.) Naturally, Ted handled it like a champ--expertly dodging the issue of why exactly it may take more or less time to learn a sad song versus a happy one and instead offering his standard response to the far less complex question "How long does it take you to learn a song?" We are certified teachers, after all!

Welcome to the Central Standards Blog

2005-10-02T10:56:00.000-05:00