Chattanooga Pulse

I was happy to see that a friendly face and talented musician has returned to our little Chattanooga music scene. Honestly, I like it when people leave and come back. It helps to refresh a concept or gain new perspective and then bring it back to your original launching pad with a pad full of your own new ideas. It allows for less opportunity to become stagnant, bitter, or jaded.

I couldn’t be happier to see Husky Burnette back in action. The band consists of Mark Merritt and Burma Shave on drums, and Robert Grier on upright bass and harp, with Husky on guitar and vocals. I am a fan of blues, particularly the funky rock spin Husky adds onto the bayou beats. If you’ve heard it, you know exactly what I mean.

Hellcat: So what’s your deal?

Husky Burnette: I bring older Mississippi delta blues sounds into the music in a new and different way. It’s by no means mainstream blues.

HC: What makes you different from other blues bands?

HB: I don’t think one certain thing makes me stand out from other bands in the genre and if it does I certainly don’t recognize it. I just do what I do, you know? I try to put my interpretation, my feel, my twist to that good ol’ Southern swampy blues boogie music that I love to play and love to listen to.

HC: What do you call your style?

HB: Some people like to call it alt-blues or punk-blues, but it’s all just blues to me. As long as people are digging it, then I’m good to go—however it’s labeled.

HC: Why did you take a break? You’ve been gone a good minute or two.

HB: I’ve been on the road playing non-stop since 2007, up to 150 shows a year, touring, recording, etc, and needed a break physically and mentally. A vacation. Plus I was married back in January; so taking time for the family was much needed. It was time to slow down and recharge, so to speak. It was also a good time to write some tunes as well. I didn’t get a lot of down time in the past year to write very much. I wrote some here and there but nothing like when you’re sitting at home for two months straight, in peace and quiet. You end up pumping them out.

HC: What prompted you to come back? How did you know you were ready?

HB: Why I’m comin’ back? Because other than my family, music is my life. It’s all I know. Music is my trade, my career. It’s my job now. I would never give it up for a long period of time. I just needed some real time off to recharge the batteries and concentrate on my family and myself instead of being balls to the wall working, playing gigs, etc. But I can’t stay away for too long. I love getting out there and playing live. It’s one of the best rushes in the world.

HC: What do you have coming up for us?

HB: I’ve got a live album coming out in 2010 entitled Givin’ It Hell…Live!. No exact release date, other than mid-2010 as of yet. The editing is done, so all I need to do is seal the deal to distribute pressings in the U.S. and overseas. I’ll be selling CDs at shows pretty soon though, on my own.

HC: Any new stuff?

HB: I’ve got a full-length studio album coming out in 2010 as well, entitled Done Got Bad. Lots of new tracks, some people have heard, some that they haven’t. I’m pretty stoked about this one. We’re recording in Nashville at Fry Pharmacy Studios. Killer studio, great engineer, all classic analog equipment, two-inch tape reel, the works, some of which came from Chess Records studio. Very excited about this one! Just like “Givin’ It Hell”, I have to seal the deal to distribute.

HC: Considering you’ve toured with Roger Alan Wade and Hank Williams III, I’d say you will come up with something.

HB: If nothing comes along that I like for distribution, I’ll be putting both CDs out myself on Husky Burnette Music to get them out quicker. Either way, 2010 is the year they both come out.

HC: Where can we see and hear your backwoods basement blues?

HB: More dates are being worked out, but right now I play every other Thursday and one Saturday a month at Champy’s Chicken.

You can check out Husky Burnette’s comeback on November 5, 19, and 28 this month at Champy’s, and more in December.