"The Beat Daddys"

A Ride on the Blues Train

Anyone who grew up in the South has memories of certain things that are hard to explain to

people who ain't from around here, 'ya know ? Our food is different, our shops and stores
are different, the people who work in the stores treat you sweetly and want you to "have a
nice day" and "come back to see us". When you go to close your eyes at night, even the
sounds are different. I mean, how do you describe the gray hued dusk sounds of crickets
and katydids to someone who has never camped out all night under the stars because it was
"too humid"? Some people don't have these memories because they never experienced
living in the South in the first place.

But, there are still some musicians around who write songs about such Southern things as a
"Train in the Distance". A Southerner hears that phrase and immediately has a vivid
memory of a train-in-the-distance. We used to hear them several times a day, before we
got air conditioning and inside plumbing. There was a time when we didn't even wear a
watch because you could tell what time it was by the passing of the trains. Up North, they
have trains, but the sounds are different than they are down here. Their trains are in an odd
kind of hurry and they have bus and truck noises and honking cars rushing around the
roads. The crowdedness of the big tall buildings seem to chop up the sounds of the train's
passing in a weird way. They just don't sound right. Our trains-in-the-distance have a long
moaning cry that seems to go on for hundreds of miles followed by a dark moving groan
that you feel in your bones more than you can hear with your ears. And then there is a long
paused, deep roaring empty sigh as it slides over the mountain with that lonesome seems-
like-forever moment of silence before someone finally says, "Well, must be 'bout eight
o'clock, I'm getting tired."

Larry Grisham of "The Beat Daddys" wrote a song about a "Train in the Distance". His
train story innocently sings, "it was a train in the distance, I thought it was love." A sad
song of yearning for love, with a sweet smile of innocence as to not being sure of what
exactly “love” feels like ? Now, that's Southern ! He has written a lot of songs. Some are
happy, most are sad, and some make you think. The titles alone are poetic. You are
intrigued to hear the song that goes with them: "After the Mystery", "Livin' this Love",
"Rainin' in the Real World", "How Blue Must I Get", "Delta Vision", "Lien on your Love",
"This is Gonna Change Your Mind" ... and many, many more.

Larry has written so many songs that he's filled up 4 CD's and has a bunch of demos ready
to fill up some more. He is an anomaly in many ways. For one, he's a working musician
and that IS his "real job", and he's not starving. He is 6'5". I don't know many 6'5" people
who end up starving, because I think people just tend to feed them whether they are hungry
or not, they are forced to eat. He's a big guy with a big personality and big talent to match.
He enjoys telling people that he thinks of "gravy" as a beverage. Larry is not overly "big",
but he's definitely not starving. Unless you count starving-for-love as the same empty
feeling as going without nourishment. His multiple divorces have been good fodder for a
few songs over the years and his endlessly broken heart from trying to find love but dating
the wrong women has sponsored a few others. Other times he writes songs about the wild
side of life that he has, for the most part, managed to stay away from but has witnessed
others delving into while trying to find their salvation through self medication. He can feel
their pain even though he doesn't cross those lines himself. It's a good thing that Larry is
such a good big ol' boy, because he has to carry around one of the biggest, most sensitive,
hearts you will ever touch. He sings as if his soul has just been ripped into a million pieces,
and unfortunately, sometimes, it has. But, he's big enough to scrape it all back together and
look the devil in the eye and tell him to go scratch on someone else for a while, because he
has better things to do than to wallow in the mire of self pitty over not getting everything he
ever wanted. There's a lot of life left and so, he'll just write a song about the experiences
and wait for the next train-in-the-distance. This time it passes by might actually be love.
Larry's heart may have been broken more than a few times, but it sure isn't empty. He just
keeps going onward, and to hell with the devil.

"The Beat Daddys" guys have all kissed fame smack on the lips a time or two, but they just
haven't been invited to the prom yet. Larry Grisham, Lead Singer, has played harp on a
Grammy Nominated Bobby Blue Bland song, "I'm a Blues Man" and Britt Meacham, lead
guitar, was a member of Jackson Highway and played for all kinds of known musicians
when he was at Mussel Shoals. Britt played those infamous guitar licks on Bob Seger's,
"Old Time Rock and Roll". The Beat Daddys have toured abroad extensively and have
opened shows for numerous "somebody's" and they have been the top billing, too. But,
after all of these years, they're somehow still the bridesmaids at the wedding and haven't yet
been the bride. I guess some of us smart old gals just know without flinching that we get
better with age and eventually someone with good sense is going to instantly know how
wonderful we are the first time they see us. When that happens, "The Beat Daddys" will
definitely be invited to play at the wedding. Some really good things are just worth waiting
for and some rare orchids take a little longer to bloom. And so we wait.

"The Beat Daddys" is the kind of band that always commands attention when they play.
Everyone in the room will lean over to someone and say, "who are these guys and where
have they been ?" The next comment is always, "I can't believe they aren't already
famous !!!" We all wonder how many dues you have to pay before you actually "break
out" ? I suppose it's a little like playing a slot machine, and all we need is that ONE quarter
to win. If you put in enough quarters, you eventually win. Seems simple enough.

When you play their CD's, you like every song and you love several more than others.
When the CD is through you think to yourself, "there ain't a dud on here." And before
long, you're hooked and you find that the only CDs in your player are by "The Beat
Daddys", You do still have one or two others laying around that you used to play but can
no longer remember the tunes because you haven't played them in so long. You now play
"The Beat Daddys" almost exclusively and you find yourself turning all of your friends on
to their music. Surely to goodness word of mouth is going to catch up for these guys before
much longer !!!

So, pour yourself a cup of gravy and slap a "Beat Daddys" CD on the stereo. Call a few
friends over to listen with you, unless you'd rather be alone while you listen to song
wrenchings of a poor guy's heart breaks. Here's a toast to quench your parched love with a
tall glass of the blues. May you always find the road ahead and never look back.