On the Backburner
Bandway rawks the ‘burbs on Winder-based label
In the sleepy country town of Winder, Ga., carloads of teens cruise the streets endlessly, their cars blasting the rumbling sounds of nü-metal, classic old-school rock and rap. The kids seem blissfully unaware that in a nondescript home in downtown Winder, musician and local record mogul Kelly Keneipp has just unleashed a rock ‘n’ roll monster.
Keneipp operates Backburner Records with his wife and fellow musician Jack Logan from his home office in the quiet ‘burb. The indie label has issued a slew of releases by critics’ favorites like Vic Chesnutt and David Barbe. On a recent evening, the usually calm Keneipp is effusive over his newest release, Night Rock, by Bandway, a duo featuring Athens ex-patriots Brooks Carter and Bo Taylor.?
?”It’s just a hoot,” Keneipp says. “This thing is hilarious, and it rocks, too.”?
?Keneipp has known the men of Bandway for years. Veterans of the Athens scene, Carter played with David Barbe in Buzz Hungry and in the frenzied Jack-O-Nuts. Taylor was in Motocaster and Dish.?
?”When Jack-O-Nuts broke up,” says Carter, “it was time to leave Athens. Bo’s band was dropped from their label, too. I moved to Raleigh, and Bandway was born. Let’s just say we couldn’t drink enough Lowenbrau to quench our thirst for rocking and rolling that weekend.”?
?The fruit of their labors yielded Balls Out, a self-released disc. “It made us extremely rich men,” Carter deadpans. “You would’ve thought that, with all that money rolling in, we would’ve taken a break to enjoy some of the finer things in life. But instead, we built our studio [Creation Space in Raleigh] and started pounding out Night Rock.”?
?Filled with irony and cartoonish machismo, the album also boasts some impressive playing from closet hard-rock fans Carter and Taylor. Carter says the inspiration for the title track came after seeing Nantucket, an old Raleigh powerhouse, at an annual reunion show. Songs such as “Gone Rocking,” “Four Day Weekend” and “Right Under Your Nose” all suggest intelligent reworkings of lunk-head rock sing-alongs.?
?The album bristles with the tongue-in-cheek themes of cars, drinking, smoking and ’70s-style rockin’, with Carter’s drums pounding home his dumb-and-dumber lyrics with support from Taylor on guitar, bass and keyboards. The Led-headed anthems drive home sludgy budget arena rock that’s both a parody of the genre and a sincere homage. ?
?Even the CD cover art betrays the small-town kitsch of Bandway’s intent. “We commissioned a traveling sketch artist at the local J.C. Penney to render our likenesses in exchange for payment,” says Carter. “We told her what it was for, and she seemed to understand. But apparently she mainly draws children, so Bo and I ended up looking like a couple of 12-year-olds with 5 o’clock shadows.”?
?While Bandway has already toured with parody bands Tenacious D and The Upper Crust, it also has opened for Guided By Voices and Superchunk. Yet when the two shed their Red Man T-shirts and tractor hats, they return to “normal”: Carter is in his third year of medical school at East Carolina University; Taylor is a cabinet-maker in Raleigh.?
?”We’re about halfway through with out next album,” Carter says. “We’re in no hurry. Night Rock took about four years to get out.”?
?It’s been worth the wait in laughs.
Bandway’s Night Rock is available in stores or by mail from the label. www.back burnerrecords.com. www.bandway.org.