Bohannons defend their crown with new Luminary Angels album
I’m not a sports guy, never have been. Oh sure, I like to play certain sports. I grew up in Kentucky so driveway basketball was de rigueur. There was the occasional neighborhood football game, the intricacies of which eluded me (I just liked running full bore in to other people to see who would be left standing.) I played in a softball league in my thirties and never had so much fun being “not especially good” at something.
When I say I’m not a sports guy I mean that I never got the fans, the feeling of investment in “your team.” After all, it was the team who put in all the grueling hours of practice and training, the team who suffered injuries, the team who sometimes had to deal with the humiliation of defeat, especially if there was a flubbed play. Friends tried to explain it to me, “It’s being a part of something bigger than yourself!”
How? Besides watching them on TV or buying their branded stuff (or driving to a game I suppose) how are you a part of what they’re doing? You’re just a spectator. I have come to understand the bond fans feel with each other, but the connection to the team itself beyond, “Hey, I pick the guys in that uniform” still doesn’t quite gel, or rather didn’t until now.
See, the Bohannons are a band I have never played a lick of music with. I can’t say I’ve been to a bunch of their shows, but I’ve seen them play and I know them. Matter of fact, Marty and I go back to the days of him bartending at the Attic when there wasn’t a Bohannons yet and my own brand new fledgling band played every Thursday night open mic. It was Marty who gave us one of our first paying gigs, a very significant first break.
The Attic came and went and sometime further down the road I heard that the Bohannons were a band and from then until now I’ve had the pleasure of watching from the sidelines, occasionally waving a little pennant that says, “Go Fellas!” as they’ve gone on to become one of the most respected, successful bands from the region.
I had nothing to do with it. I have never been anything but a spectator, sitting in the stands, and truth be told I’ve missed more games than I’ve attended, but still I can’t help but feel pride in what these guys do.
They’re from my town! I got to see them put in the hard work, the effort and talent and go from “not being a band yet” to becoming one of the most recognized and beloved groups going. The Bohannons are a hell of a thing, and I got to see it happen.
They’ve just released Luminary Angels, a new nine-track CD that inspired this little rant. Sure, my usual shtick is to say, “Here’s a track about this, here’s a track about that, it kinda sounds this way, only not, and here’s why you should rush out and buy it.”
Instead, I’ve turned the whole feature in to a personal thing about sports teams and local pride, but that’s the big take away, because you already know the Bohannons kick ass.
My review of the album? It’s the best work they’ve released to date, period. No need to say any more than that. The Bohannons have done what they always do, they’ve raised the bar a little higher, brought a little more polish to an already brilliant sound and songwriting style, and, in this instance, helped a fellow who never got it before now to contemplate and finally understand local pride.
I get it now, I do. When this kind of talent comes from where you’re from, it elevates the shine of the place for everybody. Luminary Angels is the best thing so far from a band that’s never done anything bad and I urge you to seek it out. As for the Bohannons, go team!