{"id":154763,"date":"2013-05-16T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-05-16T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=154763"},"modified":"2026-01-12T18:33:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T00:33:11","slug":"sideman-no-more-jeff-callaway-showcases-songwriting-with-new-stage-show-solo-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/sideman-no-more-jeff-callaway-showcases-songwriting-with-new-stage-show-solo-record\/","title":{"rendered":"Sideman No More: Jeff Callaway Showcases Songwriting with New Stage Show, Solo Record"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jeff Callaway<\/strong> has been a fixture on the Oxford <\/strong>music scene for more than two decades. But until recently, he\u2019s mostly been known as a sideman. He\u2019s the guy who is always sitting in with the Kudzu Kings <\/strong>on trombone, the go-to guy when anybody needs a horn flourish on an album or a special appearance in concert. He\u2019s played with a number of short-lived jazz groups around town, and spanned genres by playing with everyone from The Neckbones<\/strong> to Dent May<\/strong>. But always as an accompanist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that\u2019s changing. His long-awaited debut solo release, By Landlord\u2019s Request<\/em>, is due out this summer. And he recently made his debut as a guitarist, vocalist, and bandleader with a series of performances entitled \u201cIs Jeff Callaway Wasting His Life?\u201d\u2014a series that will culminate with its final performance at Proud Larry’s<\/strong> on May 17, 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The show features Callaway on guitar and vocals, entrenched in the previously unfamiliar role as singer and songwriter\u2014the show consists mostly of original tunes by Callaway, interspersed with a wide assortment of cover songs that range from \u201cBare Necessities\u201d from The Jungle Book<\/em> to Paul Simon\u2019s \u201cKodachrome.\u201d But the songs are not haphazardly chosen. Along with his originals, the covers are thematically linked to tell a story\u2014one of the travails of a working musician and the struggles, doubt, and hard work that go into a life on stage and in the studio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe people that have come and stayed and listened have picked up on the thread,\u201d says Callaway of the previous two performances. \u201cIt\u2019s not just a bunch of songs. The whole show is a thread, a story, a collection of ideas as far as why we do this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the songs included is \u201cBrian\u2019s Song,\u201d by long-time collaborators Kudzu Kings. The song\u2019s lament of \u201ccrap on the radio\u201d and contemplating giving up the musician\u2019s life to sell insurance is indicative of the tone of the show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The band for \u201cIs Jeff Callaway Wasting His Life?\u201d features Callaway on guitar and vocals (he plays trombone on just one song, cornet on just one more), plus Nick Spiller<\/strong> on guitar, ukulele, lap steel, and other stringed instruments, Jason Ball <\/strong>on bass guitar, and Ricky Burkhead<\/strong> on percussion. Vocal harmonies are also a hallmark of the group. The band will continue after the last performance of \u201cIs Jeff Callaway Wasting His Life?\u201d and a new band name will be announced at the Larry’s show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though Callaway is just now making his singer\/songwriter debut, he\u2019s been honing his songwriting chops over the past several years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLarry Brown had the seven-year thing,\u201d says Callaway. \u201cHow long do you have to do a thing before you actually get to the point where you master it at an artistic level? I was already at a point on trombone where I knew I wasn\u2019t on vocal and guitar. It took me longer than [seven years] to get it with guitar. It took me ten years to just not run people out of the room with my shitty guitar playing. But I\u2019ve been writing songs since I moved back from Chicago in \u201892.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s more than a tint of satire in the show, too. Songs by South Park<\/em> <\/strong>creator Trey Parker feature prominently, including tunes from Team America<\/em> and Parker\u2019s lesser-known debut film Orgazmo<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think he is the great American songwriter of the 21st century,\u201d says Callaway. \u201cWhen you do that stuff you have to perform it straight. Just like you\u2019re singing a Willie Nelson song. You\u2019ve got to sell it and let the audience laugh. That\u2019s been working in the show so far.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for By Landlord\u2019s Request<\/em>, the CD release has been a long time in the making. Two years ago, he released the first single from the forthcoming collection, a song called \u201cPlastic People\u201d which is available on iTunes and his website (jeffcallaway.net<\/a><\/strong>), and was featured on the late night radio show, Coast to Coast AM<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Songs from the stage show will be included on the album, which will also be released on vinyl. But it will also include tracks from Callaway\u2019s late 1990s band, The Mo\u2019tet<\/strong>. A bonus disc will provide a virtual history lesson of the past 20 years of Oxford music, as it will feature selections from Callaway\u2019s guest appearances with other bands and his own side projects. That disc will include previously released and rare recordings by acts including Kudzu Kings, Sincere Ramblers, Enigma Jazz Project, Prohibition Jazz Band<\/strong>, The Neckbones, The Supernatural<\/strong>, and Afrissippi<\/strong>, among others. The bonus disc will be available only with the purchase of a physical CD or vinyl, though the album will also be available as a download release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the Larrys\u2019 show, the band will play the Summer Sunset Series<\/strong> in The Grove<\/strong> on June 16. Though the show will not be exactly the same, the spirit will live on in the new group. Callaway says he\u2019ll add a few more satirical tunes, like songs from the folk satire A Mighty Wind<\/em> and the country farce Walk Hard<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re adapting to add a few more upbeat tunes too,\u201d says Callaway. \u201cLike a cover of \u2018Down in Mississippi.\u2019 And I have a version of \u2018Video Killed the Radio Star\u2019 that I\u2019ve sort of rewritten to be more biting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Article by Tom Speed. Photographs by Newt Rayburn.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is from The Local Voice #180, May 19\u201330, 2013. Access the digital edition PDF here<\/a>.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Jeff<\/a>
Jeff Callaway, March 17, 2009. Photograph by Newt Rayburn, The Local Voice. \u00a9 2009.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The<\/a>
The cover of The Local Voice #180 newspaper, May 16-30, 2013, featuring Jeff Callaway. Photograph and artwork by Newt Rayburn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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