Spotlights just keep shining on Alabama’s Red Clay Strays
Not that we needed more proof that Alabama’s Red Clay Strays are living the rock ‘n’ roll dream, but the past few days have certainly provided it in the form of multiple media showcases.
It all helps expand the breakout band’s national audience, and there’s more to come, with a late night TV appearance coming up soon.
Let’s catch up:
As previously reported, the band was featured Oct. 26 on “CBS Saturday Morning.” The band’s “Saturday Sessions” performances of “Disaster,” “I’m Still Fine” and “Wanna Be Loved” can be seen on YouTube. Here’s the last:
Side note: The band followed another act with Alabama ties that the “Saturday Sessions” featured in October. In that session, Waxahatchee performed “Crowbar” and other songs.
Then on Tuesday, the Strays were featured guests on the “Two Cool Moms” podcast hosted by comedians Joe Gatto and Steve Byrne.
We have to insert a content warning here. Early in the episode, Byrne drops a raunchy, not-for-polite-company take on the “sister city” kinship between Mobile and New Orleans. You’ve been warned.
Gatto (who’ll perform at the Mobile Saenger Theatre Nov. 14), tells the group, “I have heard your music because Steve plays it all the time.” The session opens with some small talk about topics such as touring, fashion and bourbon, giving a sense of the group’s easygoing chemistry. “We have a lot of fun together, we’re literally five best friends hanging out,” says bassist Andrew Bishop. “I love that. I’ve had a very similar experience like that,” answers Gatto, “working with your friends is so great. It really is, because you also go through it all together.”
Then the band gets to help the hosts answer caller questions such as “How do I tell a guy that I don’t want to be in a serious relationship?” and “If you could live life as a superhero or villain, who would it be and why?” The podcast can be seen on YouTube or heard at iHeart.com. And if you like the idea of the band appearing in a comedian’s podcast, but you’d also like it to focus on the music, go back and check out their appearance last summer on Bert Kreischer’s “Bertcast.”
Wednesday’s addition to the canon is a Premier Guitar “Rig Rundown.” In the video, shot at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, guitarists Drew Nix and Zachary Rishel talk to John Bohlinger about some of their favorite guitars and other gear. It turns out that some of their go-to touring axes are the product of Fairhope-based Chris Fayland and Fayland Guitars.
The band also recently announced that it’ll be featured Nov. 13 on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” so stay tuned for that. The timing could hardly be better, considering that a new album, “Live at the Ryman,” drops on Nov. 15.
The Strays also recently dropped a heavy hint that they’ll be featured on NPR’s “Tiny Desk.” NPR has yet to say when that might see the light of day.
The Red Clay Strays formed around 2016 in the Mobile and spent years honing their roots-rock sound the old-fashioned way, through constant touring. Since releasing their 2022 album “Moment of Truth” they’ve gained increasing notice from publications such as Rolling Stone and Billboard. 2024 has been a breakout year marked by a three-night stand at the Ryman, the release of the album “Made By These Moments” on RCA, a date opening for The Rolling Stones and a CMA nomination for vocal group of the year. Signature songs include “Good Godly Woman” and “Wondering Why.”