General
If you attended an SEC school in the mid ‘90s, there’s a good chance some of the best nights of your life involved Blues Old Stand. The Montgomery-founded band was one of the hottest draws on the Southeast club circuit.
Blues Old Stand regularly packed-out Tuscaloosa’s Ivory Tusk, Oxford’s Proud Larry’s and Athens’ Georgia Theatre. They killed in Baton Rouge, Columbia, S.C. and Gainesville, too.
Blues Old Stand’s road-honed sound, as heard on their self-titled 1994 debut album, evoked a mix of WAR, Funkadelic and Jimi Hendrix. The band revolved around a dynamic duo: harmonica wiz/funky singer Dave P. Moore and guitar slayer John Mark Turner.
In 2024, Blues Old Stand rebooted for a run of shows. This year they released their first song in decades, “Pass the Peace.”
“It’s kind of like all the stuff that we do in one song,” Turner says. He’s not lying. “Pass the Peace” is a soulful strutter goosed with cooing organ and greasy horns. Lives up to the band’s classic sound, informed by miles and years of life, music and wisdom since.
Moore’s lyrics were written at a time the band and some of their family members were seeking literal and figurative shelter from a hurricane. “It just kind of unfolded,” says Moore, whose vocals have become smokier with age. “We were just trying to find some peace in that hurricane, you know?”
Like many long running bands, more than a few musicians have been in and out of Blues Old Stand. In addition to Moore and Turner, the band’s current lineup features bassist Freddie Smith, keyboardist Trey Evans and drummer Marcus Donerlson.
These days, Moore resides in Franklin Parish, Louisiana, in a community called Fort Necessity. Turner and his wife lived in Costa Rica for about three years. They’ve relocated back to the States and now make their home in an RV. “We’re basically living on the road,” Turner says.
Blues Old Stand cut “Pass the Peace” in their Montgomery motherland, at Technical Earth, a recording studio located in a former theater downtown. The band’s also recorded another song, called “Escape Yourself,” originally written and played live back in their heyday.
When Turner brought up the possibility of recording “Escape Yourself,” Moore had forgotten about the song. He went back and listed to a live recording from Tuscaloosa venue the Old Train Station’s last night open.
“It sounded pretty hip, and it brought back a lot of old memories,” Moore says. He says the lyrics are self-explanatory. “You know, will I ever gain control? Will I get out of this hole? It’s kind of autobiographical of that time.” Turner says the music on “Escape Yourself” has more of a rock edge with a melodic chorus.
Back in the ‘90s, Blues Old Stand lived as gritty and fast as the shows they played. These days, neither Moore nor Turner drink anymore. Turner says, “I don’t think we could do it otherwise.” Moore adds, “Things are a lot clearer now. We’re kind of getting back on the same page.”
Not long ago, Blues Old Stand’s ‘93 debut album finally became available on streaming services. It holds up. Standout tracks include “Assume Nothing,” “The Git” and “In This Town.” Instrumental opener “Liberate” crystalizes the band’s cosmic prowess.
Blues Old Stand is getting closer to the first-ever vinyl release of their debut. Former Old Train Station co-owner Stewart Wilbanks, one of the band’s benefactors, is the reissue’s executive producer. The plan is to augment the original 10-song album with the two new songs plus live tracks for a double-LP release. “To freshen it up,” Turner says.
Back in the day, Blues Old Stand toured from the East Coast to the West, five shows or so a week. They opened shows for Widespread Panic and Allman Brothers guitarist Dickey Betts. They also performed with legendary bluesman Howlin’ Wolf’s guitarist Hubert Sumlin. As a headliner, Blues Old Stand was a hot act in places like Atlanta, Birmingham and Huntsville.
Blues Old Stand got their name from a Bullock County, Alabama community of the same name. “That’s how the band started. That’s how it got ordained,” Moore says. “Me and the original drummer just saw Blues Old Stand on the map. We liked the blues. We drove there and stole the sign and said, if we ever had a band, we’ll call it Blues Old Stand.”
Many of the clubs the band rocked in their youth are gone, including their home turf, classic Montgomery nightspot 1048 Jazz & Blues. After the band’s prime, there have been intermittent reunions. Moore and Turner sometimes performed as a duo.
The new Blues Old Stand plays shows in multiple configurations, from full band to stripped down versions. Friday at Huntsville’s St. Stephens Music Hall, Blues Old Stand will “have an acoustic vibe,” Turner says, with Moore, Turner and drummer Donerlson. The setlists include vintage material, songs from Moore and Turner’s solo albums, and new tunes.
Moore says the reaction to the live shows, debut album streaming and “Pass the Peace,” has been “pretty amazing, really. A lot of people have been coming out of the woodwork and saying how much they appreciated us, and we were the soundtrack to their college days. And it really makes us feel good.”
Turner says, “Dave and I, this is 100 perfect of our focus. It’s kind of like cranking up machine again. We’re taking our time with it and hopefully doing it right, and it’s gonna take a minute to get it get the engine running. But we’re excited about it.”
Blues Old Stand’s Huntsville show Friday at St. Stephens Music Hall, address 2620 Clinton Ave. W. at Campus No. 805, starts at 9 p.m. Cover is $7. More info at bluesoldstand.com and ststephensmusic.com.
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