Southern rock played with "sticky fingers."

11 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Americana, ROCK: Classic Rock



Details:
So, who is Liberty Jones? Liberty came to fruition during the early stages of the Americana movement. Originally a 4-piece, Liberty Jones kept one foot in the proverbial honky-tonk while trying to expand the appeal of their music (and their genre) to the commercial market. The result was a rough and rowdy sound dripping in a pop sheen that was often described as âBakersfield Meets the Beatles.â
As the band grew musically, they also grew personnel-wise. Roger Mathis, the original lead singer and bassist, moved to piano/guitar. Jeff Eno and Tim Maguire were brought in to take Mathis lead vox and bass duties respectively. Liberty also changed drummers by adding what would become the foundation of the bandâs sound, John Pike.
Liberty Jones signed to Gas House Records soon after the lineup change. The band recorded their first record (only sporadically released) for the unstable label, only to find the doors shuttered right after the release.
Fortunately, Gas House gave Liberty the master tapes. So, in 2001, the boys took their dog and pony show over to Twin Horses. As soon as packaging was complete, another label closed the doors.
Frustrated, the band shut down to pursue other projects for a while. Then, in 2004, in what seemed like an outtake from Spinal Tap, the band reformed to play a one-time charity show. The show was an overwhelming success with a packed house and a lot of cash for the charity, and that got the boys to thinking.
Soon after they began playing primarily private shows doing almost exclusively covers of 50s - 80s rock, peppered with r&b, country and standards. The odd thing was, they were still getting requests for original material. It took a while, but Liberty got the message.
The bandâs pontificating resulted in not one, but two CDs. Currently, they have a single (Call Me) out on Shuteye Record's United States of Americana, Vol. 5 and their own new release, Atlanta, Georgia, is set to be officially unveiled on February 24 by Indian Proud Entertainment. Call Me has already caught the ear of (then, now he is with KTWL) KPFT DJ, Tom Conley. Conley began playing the song in his show and got such a response from the listeners that he had to tell them to quit calling and go to the bandâs website.
Atlanta, Georgia, which includes an alternate mix of Call Me, is a mix of original and cover material intent on re-introducing the band and its unabashed, hook-laden southern rock sound to radio and the record buying public. The CD runs the gamut from the poppish, Gina, with a hook that you canât get out of your head, to a reverent studio re-creation of the bandâs now famous Cinnamon Girl/Copperhead Road live medley. Atlanta, Georgia will leave the listener out of breath and wanting more.