Southern Gentlemen
Biography
Shred-guitar virtuoso David T. Chastain formed the Southern Gentlemen as a vehicle for exploring heavy, Southern-fried blues-rock in the vein of idols, like Jimi Hendrix, Robin Trower, and ZZ Top. The group was rounded out by bassist Kevin Kekes and drummer Dennis Lesh, while Chastain assumed lead vocal duties. Exotic Dancer Blues, the bands unabashedly 70s-worshipping debut, was released in late 2000.
Southern Gentlemen’s new Cd “Valley of Fire” features the same lineup as the band’s previous release “Third Time Is The Charm.” Vocalist Eric Johns, bassist Dave Swart and drummer Mike Haid join guitarist David T. Chastain.
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David states, “This lineup really clicked on the last Cd so I wanted to carry forward and see what we could do with the guys contributing from day one of the recording process. In the past I had written everything but this time Eric wrote all of the lyrics and melodies and this really added a different ingredient to the mix that definitely moved the music to another level. Mike and Dave really ‘locked’ in together to form a foundation that powers each track.”
Southern Gentlemen’s sound has been described by critics as Rock, Metal, Blues, 80s, 70s, Hard Rock and everything in between. “Valley of Fire” continues the band’s mission of incorporating Hard Rock, Blues and Metal into the Southern Gentlemen Sound. A sound that is growing in acceptance and appreciation for its uniqueness in today’s scene.
By the way you have probably heard some of the other Southern Gentlemen Cds and didnt even know it. The bands music has been used extensively on numerous TV networks such as VH1, Discovery, USA, MTV, A and E, Biography, National Geographic, History Channel, Discovery, Discovery Health, CMTV, Comedy Central, Learning Channel, FIT TV, Travel Channel, Animal Planet, Bravo, HGTV, VSPOT, Style, Disney, SCI-FI, Spike TV and others. A track was also on the DVD of the Adam Sandler/Chris Rock movie "The Longest Yard."
David’s final words,“Either you get it or you don’t. We don’t really care what is happening around us and we don’t really listen to a lot of what is considered ‘popular’ or ‘in’. Southern Gentlemen is having a great time playing classic music with a modern slant and we nor our fans would have it any other way.”
Eric Johns - vocals - passed away in March 2022 after a short illness.
Albums
Its a Long Dark Road - 2021
S G Double 20 - 2020
My Favorite Disaster: The Heavy One - 2012
Instrumentalized - 2010
Valley Of Fire -2008
Third Time Is The Charm - 2006
Double Your Pleasure - 2003
Exotic Dancer Blues - 2000 Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.