Artist of the Week 12-26-2010: Nantucket

[Flea]

If you were anywhere in the Carolinas east of Charlotte in the late 70s, this song was ubiquitous on classic rock radio:



The band was formed in 1969 in Jacksonville NC (home of Marine Corps base Camp Lejeune) as a covers act and beach music band first known as Stax of Gold, renamed Nantucket Sleighride, then finally shortened to Nantucket. Their burgeoning local popularity in the mid 70s led to a contract with Epic Records in 1977, and the release of the eponymous first album pictured in the above video in 1978.

The original lineup (pictured below performing on the campus of UNC (BOOO!)) consisted of:

Tommy Redd: guitars/vocals
Larry Uzzell: bass/vocals/trumpet/percussion
Mike Uzzell: Moog bass/keyboards/vocals
Eddie Blair: sax/keyboards/vocals
Kenny Soule: drums
Mark Downing: guitar



The album was a fairly light seller outside of their home territory, but exposure was gained opening for acts like Styx, the Doobies, and Kiss.

1979 saw the release of Your Face Or Mine?, which fared no better on the national level



Mike Uzzell left Nantucket shortly after this album, replaced by Pee Wee Watson. The third album, Long Way To The Top was released in 1980, featuring a cover of the AC/DC song as a tribute to the recently deceased Bon Scott. The gesture landed Nantucket an opening spot on the Back In Black tour. Interestingly enough, another R&R tragedy was spotlighted on this release; the song 50 More was based on the infamous Who concert stampede in Cincinatti that killed 11 fans



Here is a live video of the revamped but largely intact Nantucket performing Living With You from the third album several years ago:



Epic Records dropped Nantucket after Long Way. They did release 2 more studio discs of original material in the 80s, No Direction Home and V; quite frankly, they ain't that great. Nantucket continues to sporadically perform, largely in Eastern NC.



That's the Bio part. Now for my commentary part: How the fuck this band did NOTachieve commercial success is beyond me. I suspect it was a case of record company mismanagement. Even though the songs from these 3 releases are fairly "light" in terms of subject matter, they're just damn fun! Friends & acquaintances who have seen them perform either in the early years or now uniformly praise the live shows (I've never had the opportunity to catch them). These discs were re-released on CD in the early 2000s by Wounded Bird Records, and are available on Amazon in this format (not sure about digital downloads, though - I'm too damn old and stubborn to get fully behind that, gimme something to hold and look at please!). I've always considered them to be "The Great Lost Southern (Non-Southern) Rock Band". Buy some shit and give 'em some long overdue love if you are so inclined...

[Kudzu Guillotine]

Ah, and folks think Ryan Adams is the only good thing that ever came out of Jacksonville, NC. Even though they're not, Nantucket could have well been the role model for the movie Almost Famous. I grew up hearing about them, Mother's Finest and tons of other local and regional bands that played the area (NC) regularly when I was coming up back in the 70s but I never saw them in concert until August of '78 when they played with Cheap Trick (who opened) and AC/DC at Cumberland County Memorial Auditorium in Fayetteville. This was Nantucket at the top of their game, fresh back from a tour out west, this was their homecoming gig and what a show it was. Unfortunately things went downhill for them from there. I've heard and read numerous reasons why. Everything from them no longer being a priority at Epic Records to the band letting their profits go up their nose and various combinations thereof.
I have a friend that refers to them as just another "generic arena rock band" which may well have been the case but the mere mention of their name in NC is enough to still get some folks all excited. I still go see them every once in a while at their reunion shows just for nostalgia's sake. Guitarist/songwriter Tommy Redd is also still pretty active either solo or with his bands The Soul Daddies or The Boogie Chillins. Not sure if you've read it but Tommy was interviewed for the Let There Be Rock: The AC/DC Story book a few years back. The interview is only 2-3 pages long but it's a must read for any fan of Nantucket. The man has quite a few stories to tell and is a real character. When I lived on the coast of NC he played some of the local dive bars on a regular basis (and still does). I felt very fortunate to be able to bend his ear on more than one occasion for some of his old rock n' roll war stories. Tommy has a new album out called Redneck Rhapsody and is also in the process of re-releasing a lot of his solo material as well his work with The Soul Daddies and The Boogie Chillins. Nantucket have also made their entire back catalog available on iTunes as well as some previously unreleased material. Funny to see their name mentioned here as I just ran into a fellow who's been assisting Tommy with getting his work out there. I guess it's also worth mentioning the off shoot bands of Nantucket such as PKM, Dag and Cry of Love. Kenny Soule is probably the best known of all of the former Nantucket members and is very sought after for his session work as a drummer. I was recently perusing their official website when I came across this interview with Tommy that was conducted with Classic Rock magazine for their Cult Heroes series. Not sure how much of the information in the interview is accurate but it's still worth a read. Nantucket will be playing the Southland Ballroom in Raleigh for NYE and I'm sure they'll draw a huge crowd just as they always do. The last time I saw them was earlier this year at a benefit for Mike Gardner of PKM who was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. Apparently the only time he doesn't shake is when he's got a guitar in his hands. A DVD of the event should be available sometime next year.

[beantownbubba]

Never heard of these guys til 10 minutes ago, and now am slightly familiar w/ exactly 1 song, but based on that song it sounds like Nantucket is southeast of Boston both geographically and musically.

Congrats on getting this done on a holiday weekend, Flea. Impressive.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

Never heard of these guys til 10 minutes ago, and now am slightly familiar w/ exactly 1 song, but based on that song it sounds like Nantucket is southeast of Boston both geographically and musically.

They were inspired by the Mountain song. Somewhere I have an old poster from The Attic in Greenville, NC when they used to go by Nantucket Sleighride.

[Swamp]

We saw them during the Back in Black tour. I really enjoyed the show and got the album Long Way to the Top.
After that we never heard of them again. I always thought they were from Mass.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

In all honesty, that third album was their last decent one (as Flea noted above). Years later I even saw a version of Nantucket that only included Mike Uzzell from the original line-up. No Tommy Redd=no Nantucket. However, their drummer at this time was Jason Patterson who went on to play in Cry of Love. He also did a short stint with Corrosion of Conformity, filling in for their drummer during a European tour several years back. The NC rock n' roll family tree has few branches.

[3milelake]

Your Face or Mine looked familiar & damned if it isn't in my vinyl collection. I forget everything about it so I'll have to give it a spin.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

Inspired choice picking Nantucket but it looks as though they have very limited appeal here. That said, I think they were more well known back then (both in NC and outside of the state) than they're given credit for here. Every so often I run into someone that remembers them from back then either from radio airplay or from having seen them in concert. I'm referring here to folks that aren't from NC. Also, to anyone that's ever read Mark Kemp's Dixie Lullaby, he mentions them more than once in there. I've never met Mark but after reading his book I think it's safe to say we were probably at some of the same concerts back in the day.

[Clams]

Nice job, Flea. If Kudzu likes em that much, then these guys must be onto something.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

Nice job, Flea. If Kudzu likes em that much, then these guys must be onto something.

Can't say I really like them that much, it's more of a nostalgia thing. There's other artists from NC I think much more highly of such as Mike Cross, the dB's, Let's Active, etc. but for those of a certain generation, Nantucket is looked back upon very fondly. One of the members was interviewed on WSFL out of New Bern a few years ago and related a story I'd never heard. They once had the opportunity to open for the Rolling Stones here but one of the members was getting married on the same day so they passed. That's just another instance of them shooting themselves in the foot. It may not have changed the course of history for the band but opening for the Stones is not an opportunity most bands would have turned down.

[Flea]

There's other artists from NC I think much more highly of such as Mike Cross, the dB's, Let's Active, etc. but for those of a certain generation, Nantucket is looked back upon very fondly.

I definitely thought about spotlighting Cross (who is IMO a great musician and a helluva nice guy) or the dB's, but decided to go for the lesser-known in hopes of sparking interest or memories. Looks like I got the latter, anyway.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

There's other artists from NC I think much more highly of such as Mike Cross, the dB's, Let's Active, etc. but for those of a certain generation, Nantucket is looked back upon very fondly.

I definitely thought about spotlighting Cross (who is IMO a great musician and a helluva nice guy) or the dB's, but decided to go for the lesser-known in hopes of sparking interest or memories. Looks like I got the latter, anyway.

Job well done. As I said, I think they're more well known than some folks think. When they opened for Heart in Cary last year the Wilson sisters put in a request that they play California, a song they had remembered from back when they toured together. Mike Cross still performs on a regular basis but hasn't released a new album in years. I'm always running into folks that have heard of him that aren't from NC. I think he deserves to be a household name but there's no backstory on him (as there is on Nantucket) that his career was somehow derailed somewhere along the way, I believe he's content being popular on a cult level.

[Gator McKlusky]

I saw Nantucket open for Boston in 1978 (my second concert ever) and I don't remember being too impressed with them but that might have to do with the fact that I was starting to get bored with Boston at this point and I associate Nantucket with that. Had not thought of them until Kudzu posted some stuff about em back on 9Bs. I also always thought they were from Mass. and have no memory of them ever getting any radio play.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

I saw Nantucket open for Boston in 1978 (my second concert ever) and I don't remember being too impressed with them but that might have to do with the fact that I was starting to get bored with Boston at this point and I associate Nantucket with that. Had not thought of them until Kudzu posted some stuff about em back on 9Bs. I also always thought they were from Mass. and have no memory of them ever getting any radio play.

The bio on their website only says that their debut album charted on Billboard, it doesn't say what position. I would imagine being new on Epic at the time they were given high priority and "Heartbreaker" was definitely the emphasis track. I have just been surprised to run into folks (both online and off) that have heard of them. That may not have as much to do with airplay as I originally thought, it probably has more to do with them opening for some pretty high profile acts at the time such as Kiss, Heart, AC/DC and others.

[sactochris]

Never heard of these guys til 10 minutes ago, and now am slightly familiar w/ exactly 1 song, but based on that song it sounds like Nantucket is southeast of Boston both geographically and musically.

They were inspired by the Mountain song. Somewhere I have an old poster from The Attic in Greenville, NC when they used to go by Nantucket Sleighride.

I remember one of my older brothers playing that record.

[tinnitus photography]

Never heard of these guys til 10 minutes ago, and now am slightly familiar w/ exactly 1 song, but based on that song it sounds like Nantucket is southeast of Boston both geographically and musically.

They were inspired by the Mountain song. Somewhere I have an old poster from The Attic in Greenville, NC when they used to go by Nantucket Sleighride.

I remember one of my older brothers playing that record.

yep, my older brother had the 1st record. funny, i just assumed they were from MA.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

For anyone that grew up in North Carolina in the 70s and 80s the bands listed below should all be instantly recognizable. Not sure if I'm going yet but it's very tempting just on the power of nostalgia alone.

Nantucket
With special guests the Robin Thompson Band, Sutter's Gold Streak, Jesse Bolt, Super Grit Cowboy Band and more...
October 15th, 2011
Dixieland Speedway
Route 17 North
Elizabeth City, NC

For more information call (678) 727-2085

---------------------------------

Oh, and Nantucket have a new album out (more accurately, an EP since it's only 7 songs) called You Need A Ride To Raleigh. They will send you a copy of the title track as a mp3 by emailing teresav_remu@yahoo.com. I received it yesterday and must say I wasn't all that impressed. To be quite honest, I really wasn't expecting much. No disrespect meant but it must be very hard for a band to pick up the pieces after not having released an album's worth of new material since 1984. The song itself isn't bad but it's not very characteristic of Nantucket as it's steeped in the beach music tradition. I realize their roots as the Stax o' Gold band (prior to the formation of Nantucket Sleighride) was as a R & B/Beach Music unit but somehow, I was thinking this would be more rockin', which is what I normally associate Nantucket with. Then again, I haven't heard the entire record but with song titles such as "Big Beach Party", "Hillbillies At the Beach", "The General Has Left Us" (which I'm guessing is a tribute to General Johnson of the Beach Music band Chairman of the Board), "Shaggin' Shoes", etc. I imagine it's more of the same.


Need A Ride To Raleigh
Big Beach Party
Hillbillies At The Beach
The General Has Left Us
Shaggin' Shoes
Congratulations, You Made The Slammer
I Still Feel The Same

[Flea]

Perhaps "Shaggin' Shoes" is about bumping uglies with footwear?

[Flea]

Do you know if they are also racing that night, Kudz? It would be way cool to see a rock show/dirt track race doubleheader.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

Do you know if they are also racing that night, Kudz? It would be way cool to see a rock show/dirt track race doubleheader.

Doesn't look like that's happening, at least judging from their schedule. It'd work perfect for Southern Culture on the Skids though.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

This is from Nantucket's FB page and was taken at the Jacksonville (NC) Airport recently. Hell, I bet Ryan Adams doesn't even warrant one of these.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

For whatever it's worth, Nantucket are currently out on the road celebrating the 35th anniversary of the release of their debut album which came out on July 6th, 1978.



I stumbled upon this earlier today. Scott's Lake, located near Benson, NC was the site of the Noon To Moon concerts back in the 80's, though this appears to be from before it was given that name. These events were so big that area nightclubs such as Roadies in Goldsboro, the Attic in Greenville and the Switch in Raleigh would all close in solidarity. I think the biggest name they ever had there was Steve Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. I'm not entirely positive but I'm taking a guess that the year was 1983. This poster appears to come from 1982 going by the date of Saturday, July 17th. I'm not sure of the year I attended but the lineup included Sidewinder (which, at one time included Robert Kearns [Cry of Love, Skynyrd, etc] and Audley Freed [Cry of Love, Black Crowes, etc.]), Nantucket, Glass Moon and the Nighthawks.

[Rocky]

Holy shit! Did I just transported back to the past? Sidewinder, Nantucket and the Nighthawks?!

I saw Nantucket as a warm up band back in the day. I assume they were the opener for AC/DC. I caught Kenny Soule's drumstick standing on a packed floor in a giant arena and it was a cherished rock 'n roll talisman of my youth.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

Holy shit! Did I just transported back to the past? Sidewinder, Nantucket and the Nighthawks?!

Yes, you did. Sidewinder just did a show at the Lincoln in Raleigh for what has become a yearly benefit for Michael Gardner of PKM who has Parkinson's Disease. From what I've heard, the only time his body doesn't tremble is when he's holding a guitar. Everyone from PKM (including Kenny Soule) were there except for Pee Wee, who was apparently in a motorcycle accident recently. As far as I know, he still works at Harry's Guitar Shop in Raleigh. By the way, I didn't go this year, I'm just going by firsthand reports. For whatever it's worth, the Nighthawks are still touring and recently played a show in Greenville, NC.

I saw Nantucket as a warm up band back in the day. I assume they were the opener for AC/DC. I caught Kenny Soule's drumstick standing on a packed floor in a giant arena and it was a cherished rock 'n roll talisman of my youth.

As I'm sure I've mentioned previously in this thread, my first Nantucket concert was seeing them on a bill with AC/DC and Cheap Trick at Cumberland County Memorial Arena in Fayetteville, NC back in 1978. Cheap Trick were the openers. Nantucket had just released their first album and had just returned to North Carolina after being out on an extensive tour in support of it, so it was being billed as their big homecoming concert. Apparently, Cheap Trick were the openers because Nantucket was a bigger priority at Epic Records at the time. Funny how that ended up working out with Nantucket going the "Almost Famous" route. Whenever I hear "Let There Be Rock", this concert is the first thing to come to mind. I feel very fortunate that I ever got to see AC/DC with Bon Scott in concert. Just a couple of years ago I found out some more details about this show I never knew about how AC/DC nearly didn't make it on stage that night.

[Swamp]

We saw them open for AC/DC during the Back in Black tour.
Seems like they opened the show with their version of "Long Way to the Top"
Very emotional night for us as we had been such Bon fans.
Just put that album on the turntable (Nantucket's)

[Rocky]

Not the derail this thread but I was a HUGE AC/DC fan coming up and not seeing Bon Scott is probably my biggest rock 'n roll regret.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

We saw them open for AC/DC during the Back in Black tour.
Seems like they opened the show with their version of "Long Way to the Top"
Very emotional night for us as we had been such Bon fans.
Just put that album on the turntable (Nantucket's)

A friend of mine saw that tour at the same venue I'd seen them at in '78 and ended up with permanent hearing loss in his left ear. I'm sure a lot of y'all have seen the photo below of Nantucket and AC/DC from the Back In Black tour but I thought I'd post it for those that may have never seen it. For whatever it's worth, the dude (Mark Downing) pouring the beer on Tommy Redd is now a born again Christian but he still performs with Nantucket on rare occasions. In 2008 a book came out called Let There Be Rock - The Story Of AC/DC that includes a page or two of epic road stories from Tommy Redd. In one, he relates how Nantucket bought a tour bus from a local Christian vocal group and how, when they refurbishing it for the road, they came across several kilos of weed that had been stashed away in the structure of the bus.

Not the derail this thread but I was a HUGE AC/DC fan coming up and not seeing Bon Scott is probably my biggest rock 'n roll regret.

A friend of mine that loves to put down Nantucket and arena rock in general, recently made it a point to say how he skipped out on seeing them play at his senior prom to go see Mountain instead. I can't say I can take him to task for that but I don't regret for a single second having seen Bon Scott with AC/DC in 1978 (or Cheap Trick or Nantucket for that matter). A member of a well known local alternative band told a story a year or so ago onstage about meeting one of the members of Nantucket at a local music equipment store back in the day and what a dick that person was to him. It's intriguing to me that what was happening outside of my area with the dichotomy between alternative and arena rock bands was also happening on a smaller scale. Not surprising in the least, just intriguing. I recently found a page on Facebook devoted to Friday's, a pizza parlor/bar in Greensboro that was host to shows by R.E.M., the dB's, Let's Active, the Ramones, etc. during it's heyday. Several of the folks on there speak of Nantucket like they were the scourge of the local music scene. Unfortunately, a lot of those stories are true as far as how certain members of that band treated other folks. During a radio interview a few years ago, Mike Uzzell related a story of how Nantucket had a chance to open for the Stones in Raleigh at one point but they turned it down because one of the band members was getting married that same day. I think it was poor decisions such as that, along with a myriad of other reasons, that led to their eventual downfall. By the time they released No Direction Home in 1983 (their first without Kenny Soule and Pee Wee, who left to form PKM with Michael Gardner), they were already considered has beens.

[Swamp]

Not the derail this thread but I was a HUGE AC/DC fan coming up and not seeing Bon Scott is probably my biggest rock 'n roll regret.

Have to whip this out every so often.
from Oct or Nov 79

It's a long story but I used this pic to turn the Mrs into a DBT fan
I know Marina took pics of Nantucket at that 1980 show but we can't seem to find them.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

This is from the Roadies page on FB. I wasn't at this show but some of my classmates from our college radio station (WKNS) in nearby Kinston, NC were.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

Pre-Epic Records 45 featuring Mike Uzzell (as opposed to his brother Larry) on lead vocals. Not all that significant other than it showcases Nantucket's R & B/Beach music roots.