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" Indeed, the junkyardmen seem like a hodgepodge of blues performers. "
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Heather Gates
"Honey, take your time, all my best parts are used." However you interpret that line from the junkyardmen's theme song, "The Junkyard man," two conclusions are certain: The blues foursome, in the last seven months since they've been together, have dug down even further and discovered parts that were better than the best. Although they've been together only since this summer, the junkyardmen have captured the attention of blues fans around the Mid-South. They hope to solidify their regional presence and break into the national market with their first CD, tentatively self-titled, The junkyardmen, which was recorded in Memphis in November and will be released in early 1998. Indeed, the junkyardmen seem like a hodgepodge of blues performers. Each member brings to the stage a varied yet extensive musical background. "That's the meaning," says drummer, vocalist and promoter, John Scalici, of the junkyardmen's name. "We've drawn from all types of music and experiences. And we've combined the songs that we've written and put them into a pot." In the early '90s, Scalici, 33, founded the nationally recognized blues/rock trio Gravy. The Birmingham, Ala., band achieved moderate success with their CD, From The Hip, but later, philosophical differences eventually forced their separation. Junkyardmen harpist and vocalist, Billy Gibson, a name that pops up regularly around the Memphis music scene, has performed with countless area musicians in various capacities and venues. He also spends considerable time managing his Mississippi recording studio and label, North Magnolia Music Co. Jesse Hoggard, 27, plays lead guitar and is a vocalist. Hoggard, who lives in Little Rock, was a member of the Famous Unknowns. And junkyardmen bassist Kevin Sheehan, 28, who graduated with a jazz improvisation degree from the University of Memphis, has become the unofficial teacher for the foursome. "He has a wealth of knowledge and wants you to grow (as a musician). He's an exceptional musician, but he's not tripping on himself," Gibson says. Make no mistake, though, the junkyardmen aren't a collection of old, thread-barren parts. Quite the opposite: They've molded the best of everything into a new musical form. "The level of play is higher. With this band, you can't rest on your laurels," Scalici says. "We're not 'Mustang Sally' or 'Hoochie Coochie Man,'" says Gibson, 28. "That's somebody else's song." Scalici formed the precursor to the junkyardmen earlier this year. That group, John Scalici and His Junkyard Men, included Mike Santana, Chris Chatfield and Tom Lewis. All the while, however, Scalici and Gibson kept meeting, talking and playing at area music festivals and small locales. They posed together on the cover of the February issue of BlueSpeak, and were featured separately as "new faces to watch." They teamed up formally for the first time at the BlueSpeak party before the W.C. Handy Awards. They got to know one another. More importantly, they got to learn about each other's music. "We said a lot of 'what ifs.' What if we do this thing?" Scalici says. The "what ifs" eventually became a "when" with the birth of the junkyardmen this summer. Since then, they've logged hundreds of miles on Southern stretches of highway. Their schedules have been packed with gigs, not only in the Memphis area, but throughout the surrounding region. They've been to St. Louis, Huntsville, Ala., and Nashville, where, Scalici says, "They don't give a damn who you are. They love music. We were in with a lot of big fish." Other gigs have been less illustrious, to say the least. For awhile, the junkyardmen took the midnight to 4 a.m. shift at Little Rock's Midtown Billiards. "It was the smokiest bar. It didn't get crowded until 2:30 (a.m.)," Gibson says. Clearly, Gibson and Scalici revel in such late-night raucousness. "I thought, 'Oh my God, I'm in heaven,'" Gibson says. "People were dancing and relaxing, just having a great time." Adds Scalici with a laugh, "Everybody needs to get a good late-night roadhouse gig to get tight." A steady stream of mainly weekend gigs has kept the band going, oftentimes, until well into the early morning. They live a grueling schedule, one that's full of promise, but comes with no guarantees. "It's a tough business. You live mouth-to-mouth, gig-to-gig. Who knows about tomorrow," Gibson says. "This ain't Federal Express," Scalici adds, describing his sense of job security. They're realistic about how long they'll stay together as well. "Sure, I'd like to say I'll be playing with Billy Gibson 10 years from now. But he might have a gig at the Blue Note in New York City," Scalici says, as Gibson rolls his eyes and laughs at the notion. So they make the most of today. A stream of gigs continues to pour in and since Nov. 24, they've been producing their first CD, which they rehearsed and recorded at Memphis' Powerhouse studio. Most of the songs are original, with some covers the group particularly favors. As an extra treat, they hope to bring Mose Vinson into the studio on some recordings as well. "We've gone so far as to rent a piano," Scalici says. However, Vinson, a local blues musician best known for his weekend gigs at the Center for Southern Folklore, hasn't been in the best of health, so his prognosis of actually getting on the junkyardmen's CD is still uncertain. Clearly, though, the group reveres the aging legend. Says Gibson: "He's a direct link to the old music. It's like playing with Muddy Waters. What can we say? We've just learned so much from him." Alan Gamble also will be featured on the organ. When the CD is finished, the junkyardmen will pitch it to a distributor, who, hopefully, will help release the CD regionally first and then onto the national market. "That would be the icing on the cake," Scalici says. Of course, they'll continue to tour close to home, playing gigs only within a four- or five-hour radius of Memphis. It's simply because of the cost factor, Scalici says. "It costs a lot of money to go out on the road," he says. No matter the course of their road, the junkyardmen will stay true to the music that brought them together. "We think alike," Scalici says of his musical partnership with Gibson and the band. "For us, music is a conversation," Gibson adds. "During a solo I might play a lick; I'll 'say' something. John is listening and answers what I do. The whole time, we're having a conversation." So far, everyone loves hearing what they have to say.
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