Heroes Last Forever
The SUN Studio Sessions
New album, recorded at Memphis' SUN Studios, reveals Antsy McClain's rockabilly roots and a few of his unlikely heroes.
Go Ahead, Mr. Big Shot
Antsy McClain and The Trailer Park Troubadours' new album, Heroes Last Forever, The SUN Sessions contains a collection of songs that were written by Antsy over a 20-year period. Antsy's first serious attempt at songwriting is the cleverly written "I Might As Well be Talking to The Wall." It marks the beginning of Antsy's career back in the late 1980's as he and his wife Polly were listening to the radio as they drove through the Kentucky hills near their home.
"We were listening to a Randy Travis song, I believe, or Clint Black, or someone like that," recalls Antsy, "We were singing along, our kids in the back seat, we were driving along a beautiful back road with stone walls and horse farms, and I said – in my sort of cocky way – 'You know, I think I could write this stuff.' Well, my wife looked at me and laughed, She said, 'Go ahead, Mr. Big Shot.' So I did. I'm too stubborn to let a challenge just pass. I week or so later, I played her 'Talking to The Wall,' and I waited. I was kind of nervous, because she can be my harshest critic. She tells me just liek it is. But she smiled, and I knew I got her. 'That's pretty good,' she said, 'Write some more.' So I did. And that's where all this started."
A reprise of "Talking to the Wall" is included as a bonus track. It's taken from a 20-year-old cassette recording of Antsy and his then 5-year-old daughter Lauren singing the song not long after it was written.
The Players and Producers
Antsy McClain as been performing with The Trailer Park Troubadours since 1992. While Antsy plays with pick-up musicians across the country, there are two main bands of Troubadours. One is on the west coast, in California, and the other is in Nashville, where McClain now lives. "Heroes Last Forever" was recorded with the Nashville group. The band featured on this album consists of Chris Long on drums, Adam Bond on bass, Pauly Zarb on keyboards, percussion and flute, and Bobby Cochran on lead guitar. The album has been mixed by Gary Smith, who also plays some keyboards. This is Antsy's seventh project as producer. Longtime friend and collaborator Brian Gavron, whose support on the road and in the studio is immeasurable, is listed as associate producer. Another of Antsy's amazing supporters and dear friends, Eddie Mattingly, will be mastering the album at his home studio in Kentucky.
In a Perfect World
"Heroes Last Forever" is a line taken from the song "In a Perfect World," which explores a world without war, death or loneliness. It was written in the early '90's and was inspired by Antsy's association at the time with outlaw legend Waylon Jennings.
Antsy explains, "That song is an homage to Waylon, who I had occasion to hang out with at the time, through my friend Richie Albright (Walyon's longtime collaborator, drummer and producer). The song also mentions people who have had an influence on my life and music in a variety of ways. I played it half-written to Waylon once, and he responded really warmly to the verse about Buddy Holly and the plane crash. He suggested turning it into a love song about a man missing a woman – maybe they're estranged, maybe she's dead, you never really know – and it turned the whole thing around. Waylon had incredible intuition as a writer. I don't think he gets enough credit for that. The whole raucous outlaw thing dwarfed what he did in the quiet hours of writing, not surprisingly."
"Anyway," Antsy continues, "I finished the song, but I never cut it, because my intention was to have Waylon sing it with me. I had written it as a duet, with him singing a verse and me singing a verse. If you listen to it, there are different "voices" to each verse. But at the time, he was really busy with a reunion tour with The Waylors, and then he had his stroke. After he died, a mutual friend told me he had said he wanted to write with me. That was an amazing thing for me to hear, but it was also painful. I was too timid to push the situation at all. I mean, he was Waylon-freakin'-Jennings. Why would he want to write with little ol' me? The wake of that failure – the failure to accept that moment in time, that opportunity – was a real eye-opener for me, and I began to be less fearful about things."
The Honor of Memories
So, in selecting the songs to record at Memphis' historic SUN Studios, hallowed ground walked by Buddy Holly, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, and virtually all the founding fathers of Rock n' Roll, Antsy chose to paint a group portrait of everyone who has meant something to him, not only as a musician, but as a person, a husband, a father, a brother, a son. In all but a few palette-cleansing humorous songs, Antsy's heroes are mentioned and honored here.
Antsy explains, "I think it's important to honor our heroes, and this is an album about mine – inside and outside the music business. And they really do last forever. Our memories of lovers, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles live on as we carry pieces of them with us. The songs left behind by great writers and artists are forever tucked into our souls. They live on in the legacy of how we choose to live beyond the moment our heroes' hearts stop. Sometimes our memories get tangled with regrets or missed opportunities, but hopefully we learn from it all, and we make better choices with the time we have now, and the people with whom that time is shared."
Groucho's Glasses
Those who enjoy Antsy's humorous take on life will not be disappointed. Several songs induce the classic belly laughs his fans are used to, and two "classics" are recreated here ("Aunt Beula's Roadkill Overcoat" and "My Baby Whistles When She Walks") to reflect the way the band now plays them live – quite different from the previous album versions.
"Around the time we recorded the album," recalls Antsy, "I was reading the letters of Groucho Marx. A wonderful book. His wit just floors me. I remember thinking about Groucho when I was sorting through my songs, deciding which ones to record at SUN. I was over thinking it, getting worked up about this legendary place, yadda, yadda, and it was like Groucho's voice was in my head telling me basically to never turn away from humor, that the world needs to laugh. And I thought of him and those glasses, those eyebrows, that nose. No matter what else he did in life – and he could have done any number of things – he always wore those glasses, kept that mustache. He knew who he was. So, I scrapped the overall somber approach I was going to take. I inserted some more fun, and I'm glad I did."
Life in Full Circles
One song is a cover tune, "Summertime Blues," recorded here with lead vocals by Bobby Cochran, the nephew of the song's writer and original singer, Eddie Cochran. Eddie was killed in a car crash while on tour in England at the age of 21. His nephew and heir apparent of Eddie's guitar-slinging legacy, Bobby Cochran has played guitar with The Trailer Park Troubadours for 4 years, but has spent 30 years on the road with Steppenwolf, Leon Russell, Bob Weir of The Grateful Dead and countless others.
In between takes while recording Heroes, Antsy asked the band if they knew "Summertime Blues." Bobby, of course, knows the song by heart, and with Bobby's coaching, the band nailed it on the second take.
Antsy recalls, "It was a real special moment for me to watch Bobby sing that song live in the studio. He looks so much like his uncle, and sounds like him too. The band nailed it. It was a real full circle kind of thing, to be there at SUN, recording a song that was hot at that point in time, and have Eddie's own flesh and blood right there. I didn't sing on it live. I just wanted to be there and soak it up. I added my harmony vocals at home later.
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TRACK LISTING & LINER NOTES
1. Everything's a Dollar
LISTEN TO SAMPLE HERE
A happy song about enjoying the simple things of life. This time, it's a $30 shopping spree at an American institution: The Dollar Store. This song features the background vocals of Antsy's wife of 26 years, Polly Esther McClain, as well as the Memphis Field Trip Singers: Terese Ehrensvard, Jill Alderfer, Peggy Hankins, Beth Endy, Barry Ensy, Mary Endy, Peyton Endy, Georgeann Eiskamp, David Hughes, Buddy McClain, Grant McClain, Scott Fuhs, Walt Jourdan, Debbie Burger, Crafty Jack Burger, Brian Gavron, Jennifer Kilburn, Ray Kilburn and Ashley Bond.
2. The Facebook Blues
LISTEN TO SAMPLE HERE
A modern twist on an age-old topic: heartbreak, as seen from the homepage of a social networking website.
3. She Took the Sad Outta Saturday Night
LISTEN TO SAMPLE HERE
A studio version of a favorite song which has never been added to an album, and really, really needed to be, because people keep asking us for the song at the merch table.
4. John Lennon As An Old Man
LISTEN TO SAMPLE HERE
One night, Antsy fell asleep while watching a documentary about John Lennon after The Beatles, and he woke up later from this dream, documented here in song.
5. The Ballad of Skippy and Rover
WATCH VIDEO HERE
The story of two puppy mill brothers who become renegade outlaws after getting "fixed." This is clearly an homage to one of Antsy's biggest influences, the late poet and illustrator Shel Silverstein. "If Shel had never been here, I wouldn't be here. It's that simple," says Antsy. "I heard that first Dr. Hook album in the early '70's, and it was like a big, fat puzzle piece just clicked in place in my soul. Had he chosen to ignore his muse (I imagine his muse to be a strange, frenzied Carol Kane type character), I doubt very much that I would have had the fortitude to pursue this like I have. Most of us need road maps. We need to see that others have taken certain paths before we ourselves dare venture out there. Guy's like Shel are a rarity, he took the path without a map. He just did his own thing, and I'm sad that he won't be creating anything new – but I'm happy that he left so much for us to enjoy."
6. In a Perfect World
LISTEN TO SAMPLE HERE
This is an homage to Waylon Jennings, who passed away before he and Antsy could sing it together as a duet. It also mentions Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio and Norman Rockwell. Waylon had a hand in the making of this song as well; first, having lived it, giving up his seat on the plane that killed Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and others (from the second verse), but he also heard the unfinished song back in the early '90s and gave Antsy a few suggestions. Antsy McClain credits Waylon and Richie Albright (Jennings' drummer and producer) with giving him the encouragement he needed to continue writing and to push his music as far as it would go.
7. I Might As Well Be Talking to the Wall
LISTEN TO SAMPLE HERE
The first song in which Antsy was confident enough to let others hear, this short, sweet Country bouncer was inspired by Randy Travis, Clint Black, Garth Brooks, and others of the "new country" movement of the late '80's when Antsy was first picking up a guitar to help him tell stories. This song was all but forgotten until one afternoon last year when Antsy found it on an old cassette recording as he was selecting songs for the Heroes Last Forever album.
8. Aunt Beula's Roadkill Overcoat
LISTEN TO SAMPLE HERE
This song was recorded years ago on Doublewide & Dangerous, but the live version had evolved so much from the original, Antsy felt it was important to have an album version of it available.
9. The Wreck of The Marcia Brady
READ THE LYRICS HERE
Written years ago while Antsy was virtually devouring all the folk music he could get his hands on, this poem is an homage to a guy Antsy has said was put in his life at just the right moment. He felt so strongly about, he put his name in the song. Michael Shannon, an avid folk music fan, was Antsy's boss at Toyota's Georgetown, Kentucky plant while Antsy was interpreting Japanese for the locals. "I was a terrible interpreter," explains Antsy, but I strongly feel that wasn't the reason I was there. Michael opened up a whole new world to me, a world of songwriting I would never have discovered without him." This particular poem is an homage to the late Canadian folk singer Stan Rogers, who wrote so eloquently of the life of sailors on the high seas. This is Antsy's unique take on the saga of the sailor.
10. Summertime Blues (Featuring Bobby Cochran)
LISTEN TO SAMPLE HERE
Written by Eddie Cochran, sung by his nephew Bobby Cochran at SUN Studios. This was a magical moment in an already magical place.
11. In Between the Goodbye and the Getting Over You
LISTEN TO SAMPLE HERE
Written after the death of Antsy's father, who was a big Johnny Cash fan, this song channels the dark mood of some of Cash's biggest hits, and includes a haunting, unforgettable vocal that delivers one of the best hooks Antsy has ever written.
12. Leftover Birds
LISTEN TO SAMPLE HERE
An homage to the countless unknown heroes in Nashville who courageously chase after their dreams, despite the staggering odds. This is a favorite among Antsy's friends in the music business, and is always requested by them at "guitar pulls" and dinner parties. "Knowing it's a darker song than most anything I've ever written," explains Antsy, "I've been reluctant to put it on any Troub albums. But given the theme of this album, where it was recorded and so on, I think it fits perfectly. Besides, every day is filled with about half and half sunlight/darkness. We can take a dash of darkness if we don't make a steady diet of it."
13. A Poor Man's Education
LISTEN TO SAMPLE HERE
"This is an homage to my parents, " says Antsy. "Who raised my sister Tiffany and me with a healthy value system, teaching us what is harmful and what is healthy. They raised us the best they could, under, at times, unimaginable odds. It wasn't easy for them, and as I got older, I made it even harder for them for awhile there. My Mom and Dad – and later, my step dad – did a great job, and I turned out okay. My sister turned out much better. I came first, and that's what happens with on-the-job training."
14. My Baby Whistles When She Walks
LISTEN TO SAMPLE HERE
This is another song that is now played much differently than the recorded version on Way Cool World. So now we have two versions.
15. I Might As Well Be Talking to the Wall (Featuring Lauren, 5-years-old)
LISTEN TO SAMPLE HERE
This was a cassette tape Antsy found while looking for other things. The song was all but forgotten. "This was recorded around the kitchen table," explains Antsy, "In a little house in Lexington, Kentucky, where we lived when I was teaching in the art department of The University of Kentucky. Little Lauren was sitting in the chair closest to the microphone. It was just a little, used 4 track cassette recorder I had bought. I sat beside her with my guitar and a new song committed (almost) to memory. Buddy, then 4, was on the floor playing with his action figures, and Emily, barely a toddler, was on the floor to my left. [Her's is the wail you hear about half way through]. My wife Polly was leaning against the kitchen counter smiling. When I listen to this, I go right back there to that moment, and I'm really overcome with emotion. I have yet to listen to this without tearing up. I'm so glad I found it."