Strung Like a Horse brings music and fun to The Signal
There are plenty of things to love about my job. I love that I get to hear new music, constantly, whether it’s a brand new band no one has heard yet, or a long time favorite that sends me a few unreleased tracks. I love the limitless creativity of our local musicians. I love seeing a band grow, develop, mature.
I have a front row seat to an awful lot of that. If I had to pick just one thing, though, one thing that makes me happier than any other aspect of what I do here at The Pulse, it would be this: I love it when a local artist or act is successful, when they move up a rung on the ladder to the big time and get the recognition they deserve.
I always get a kick out of writing about Strung Like a Horse. They are, after all, one of the area’s most beloved acts. They have an abundance of the two qualities I most value in a live band. They are supremely talented, and at least as important, they have a sense of humor and irreverence. There are plenty of talented performers around here, some of whom take themselves a little too seriously I think, and that sense of self-importance is a taint, in every sense of the word.
Strung Like a Horse is the opposite of that. They take their craft seriously, make no doubt, but themselves? Whether you see them live, listen to one of their albums at home, or just chat one of them up in the produce aisle, there’s always this feeling that the band is giving you a bit of a smile and wink and that is more than just an endearing quality, though it is certainly that.
In an industry where even middling talent can lead to exponential ego, to see a group of players who are among the very best at what they do maintain a down-to-earth “shucks, we’re just some guys who like to play” attitude is more than endearing, more than refreshing; it’s downright inspirational. How can you help but root for a band like that?
So when I got the news that Strung Like a Horse had landed themselves a bona fide record deal, well, it was hard not to cheer.
They’ve certainly put the work in, they’ve paid their dues, they’ve toured from one end of the country to the other, and they’ve played alongside some giants like the legendary Sam Bush, Old Crow Medicine Show and many others.
The result is that they’ve been signed by TransOceanic Records and to celebrate, they’re hosting their “Hometown Throwdown” Friday, August 10th at the Signal.
Clay Maselle had this to say: “We owe everything to our hometown crowd. Without all the local support from day one we would never be in this kickass situation that we are in right now. We are proud of our little town, and we are throwing a celebration!”
Those three sentences sum up everything I’ve been trying to say about the band. They will never forget where they came from, they will never forget the fans who supported them in the early days, and, in a way, as they make their way to the top, everyone is invited to come along for the ride.
As if a performance from SLAH isn’t enough, they will be joined by Chattanooga’s newest rising stars, Hive Theory, and the always dapper hometown icon, Lon Eldridge. Any one of those acts would be worth seeing, but the trio performing together for one night under one roof makes it the “can’t miss” event of the summer.
If you’re very lucky, SLAH might even offer a sampling of their upcoming album, a few tracks of which I have had the pleasure to preview and will write about in great detail in an upcoming story.
For now, suffice it to say that not only are these new tunes as powerful as ever, they come with a degree of musical maturity and polish that demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt why they have been signed with a label, and why they will soon enough be the giants that other up and comers will be opening for.
Photo by Lauren Coakley