Taddy Porter was just in Atlanta at Smith’s Olde Bar for the 2nd time on their “Tour That Never Ends” and what a great show it was. The boys were in top notch form and delivered a blazing set that showcased a band cutting their teeth on the road. They were a tight unit and played with confidence delivering a show that rocked and melted the faces off of everybody in attendance. The band is on the road promoting their debut album which will be released on June 29th. You can pre-order it by CLICKING HERE!
After the show I had the opportunity to not only hang and cut up with the band but I got to pull singer/guitarist Andy Brewer aside for a few moments. We talked about everything from who Deep Purple’s keyboard player was to how much he loves Dethklok and everything in between. It was a really fun (and really funny) interview and I hope you all enjoy it!
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Alright. Were gonna kick this “Almost Famous” style!
The red light means…
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The red light means “talk”. Or “go” or something like that.
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First off, great show tonight Andy! You guys totally nailed it. How does your 2nd time here in Atlanta compare to the first time you guys were here?
It was 100 times better because last time we were here I was running 103 temperature and feeling not so good. I was happy to be playing here for our first time in Atlanta but tonight was great. We all had way more energy and the fact that we had been here once before made it a bit more comfortable.
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Taddy Porter has been on the road for what seems like forever. What are some of your other favorite places that you’ve been to?
I have to say that we got to back to Oklahoma and play Rocklahoma. That was great because we hadn’t been home for eight months. We also played Rock On The Range in Columbus which was great. I think we liked it so much because so many people were there and that was really easy to enjoy. It’s easy to enjoy shows with lots of people. Birmingham is cool because the venue there The Nick looks like an old 7-11 that has been turned into a venue/bar. <laughs> It’s got a good vibe to it and it’s comfortable. Lots of people come out to hear the music.
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So I have to ask you who or what is Taddy Porter?
Taddy Porter is actually the name of an import beer. It’s one of the oldest trademarked beers in the world but we’ve never tried it. We’ve never tried it because of the superstition that we have. We can’t drink it because we feel if we do the band will just die or cease to play! If we were to ever go to #1 on the biggest chart, maybe we’ll try it. <laughs>
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That’s the best answer ever. Besides, it’s not like you guys could afford a Taddy Porter since they’re super expensive!
I got like two dollars! <laughs>
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So how many times do you guys get asked which one is Taddy?
Every show I’d say. Somebody will come up to be because I’m the singer of the band and they’ll think that I’m Taddy or they’ll think that Joe (guitarist) is Taddy because he goes on stage first. It happens a lot and we just say, “No, none of us are really Taddy Porter. It’s just the name of the band and the name of a beer. Have you ever tried one? You should… if you like Porter beers.” <laughs>
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What is the official release date of the album?
It is June 29th. We actually just got a big giant sum of CDs today but I don’t know if we’re going to be sell them ourselves but we’re probably going to start doing so. The album will come out in stores though on June 29th.
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What in the world are you saying at the beginning of the song “King Louie” and who is “King Louie?”
What I say at the beginning is “Don’t take two cuz I won’t give you nothing!” King Louie is honestly about “King Louie” from The Jungle Book so he’s the king of the apes. It’s sort of like saying “Congratulations, you’re the king of the dumb animals.” The song says, “You walk like a man but you talk like a fool” which is pretty much about someone who thinks they have it figured out but really they have no idea what they’re doing.
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You guys have dubbed this the “Motel 6” tour. What has been the nicest and the nastiest Motel 6 you’ve been in?
Ok, so the best one was in Biloxi because it was brand new. We were walking through the hallway and we were whispering to each other and I was like “I feel like I should be quiet in this Motel 6 because it’s nicer than most.” Usually you walk through and it’s all dirty and they smell like smoke. The worst one was probably in Louisville, Kentucky because the room smelled like ass and our van got broken into. Unfortunately, we were out there for five minutes and then left and when we came back it had already been broken into and they took our GPs, our iPod and other shit. It wasn’t very pleasant.
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If you could put together a dream band with any musicians alive or dead, who would be in it and what would they play? You have to be in the band.
I would love to, if I could know how (and I’m learning right now) to be the piano player or just be without an instrument. I would love to get, um, I don’t know his name. The organ player from Deep Purple? He was killer. He was so good!
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Jon Lord!
YES! That’s exactly who he is! <laughs> I’d probably have to get Jimi Hendrix on lead guitar. I’d love to see lots of singers come in. I’d have to get Aretha Franklin to sing back up vocals. That would be huge. Drummer? John Bonham playing drums. Bass player? Entwistle from The Who and maybe another big diva singer. I wouldn’t mind getting Tom Petty to play rhythm guitar and sing also. There would really be no need for me to be in that band. I could just manage that band or I could play tambourine and percussion. That would be fine.
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Does Taddy Porter have a taping policy? How do you feel about audience members recording your shows?
I think that it’s totally fine for anybody to record us at any point in time because I it’s more natural. If anything people record you because the want to hear you and want to hear the recording. They want to tell their friends about the recording and they want them to hear the recordings. I know some bands don’t allow it at all like they have very strict policies where they don’t let you put it on YouTube. We’ve always been very grateful that someone would just take the time to record us. It’s great.
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What are you guys listening to on the road these days?
Right now we’ve got the new Black Keys album which is great. We listen to The Bees. We also listen to lots of Arctic Monkeys, Wolfmother’s first album, and we love listening to Dr. Dog. We’re always listening to lots of Led Zeppelin, lots of Bad Company and The Allman Brothers. I wanna hear that Free album that you gave me (Free live Bootleg from 1972 that I gave Andy).
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So whenever I’m driving and Boston’s “More Than A Feeling” comes on the radio, I just can’t help but sing and sing REALLY badly along with it. What song do you just find yourself singing along with at the top of your lungs to while driving and not giving a rat’s ass how off key you are?
That’s a really good one because I sing to a lot of songs and I can’t give justice to Steve perry of Journey. My most favorite song to sing would have to be Bicycle Race by Queen. <laughs and sings the chorus>
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If Taddy Porter was hired to be a tribute band for a night, what band would you pay tribute to?
I’d have to take into consideration every member of the band. I think it would have to be Led Zeppelin. Joe (Shelby, guitarist) loves Jimmy Page and Kevin (Jones, bass) has been playing John Paul Jones for so long that I think he tries to imitate him a lot. Doug (Jones, drums) hits ’em hard like Bonham so I’d have to say Led Zeppelin.
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What 4 musical acts would we be surprised to hear that you were a fan of?
Hm, that’s a good one. I like Arctic Monkeys. I’d have to say Dr. Dog. Edward Sharp of The Magnetic Zeros. I love them. He was in “Ima Robot” before that. His lyrics are moving. That guy sings a lot about love in a different way. His lyrics are wonderful. I also like Dethklok. I love the hell out of Dethklok. That is the best metal band even though it’s a parody of sorts. Dethklok kicks ass. I love ’em!
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Do you have a message for the Taddy Porter fans out there?
Yup. Here it is. We play “face rock”. It’s rock & roll for your face!
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Taddy Porter is STILL out on the road so be sure to catch them when they come to your town!
Taddy Porter 2010 Tour
Jun 17 2010 Huntsville, AL
Jun 18 2010 Lafayette, LA
Jun 23 2010 Denver, CO
Jun 24 2010 Salt Lake City, UT
Jun 25 2010 Colorado Springs, CO
Jun 27 2010 Abilene, TX
Jun 29 2010 DEBUT ALBUM DROPS TODAY IN STORES EVERYWHERE!!!!! Stillwater, OK
Jun 29 2010 Ardmore, OK
Jun 30 2010 Kansas City, MO
Jul 1 2010 Lubbock, TX
Jul 2 2010 Wichita, KS w/ American Bang, We are the Fallen and Saving Abel
Jul 3 2010 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma CD RELEASE EXTRAVAGANZA with special guest AMERICAN BANG
Jul 6 2010 West Hollywood, California
Jul 10 2010 Seattle, WA w/ American Bang, We are the Fallen, Saving Abel
Jul 11 2010 Spokane, WA w/ American Bang, We are the Fallen, Saving Abel
Jul 12 2010 Portland, OR w/ American Bang, We are the Fallen, Saving Abel
Jul 13 2010 Boise, ID w/ American Bang, We are the Fallen, Saving Abel
Jul 14 2010 Reno, NV w/ American Bang, We are the Fallen, Saving Abel
Jul 17 2010 Anaheim, California
Jul 18 2010 Tempe, AZ
Jul 20 2010 Amarillo, TX w/ American Bang, We are the Fallen, Saving Abel
Jul 21 2010 San Antonio, TX w/ American Bang, We are the Fallen, Saving Abel
Jul 23 2010 Dallas, TX w/ American Bang, We are the Fallen, Saving Abel
Jul 24 2010 Houston, TX w/ American Bang, We are the Fallen, Saving Abel
Jul 25 2010 Louisville, Kentucky w/ .38 Special and Kansas
Jul 27 2010 Fayetteville, AR w/ American Bang, We are the Fallen, Saving Abel
Jul 28 2010 Huntsville, AL w/ American Bang, We are the Fallen, Saving Abel
Jul 30 2010 Clear Lake, IA w/ American Bang, We are the Fallen, Saving Abel
Aug 4 2010 West Des Moines, IA w/ American Bang, We are the Fallen, Saving Abel
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