{"id":80119,"date":"2019-10-02T08:04:18","date_gmt":"2019-10-02T13:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=80119"},"modified":"2019-10-02T18:43:20","modified_gmt":"2019-10-02T23:43:20","slug":"80119-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/80119-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Long Live the Kudzu Kings! 25th Anniversary Show is Friday, October 4 at The Lyric"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Doors open at 8 pm, the show will start at 9:30 pm. <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Pulp Fiction<\/em>. The Beastie Boys\u2019 iconic \u201cSabotage\u201d video. All of the Major League Baseball players went on strike. OJ Simpson was arrested for murder. Both Amazon and Yahoo were born, but perhaps the weirdest thing to happen in 1994 was the formation of the notoriously debaucherous Oxford, Mississippi<\/strong>, band Kudzu Kings<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five years ago, for their 20th Anniversary, Jesse Yancy<\/strong> wrote a vivid history of the Kings\u2019 roots, so I won\u2019t rehash that here. You can go read it for yourself and get caught up<\/a>. Go ahead, I\u2019ll wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that the Kudzu Kings\u2019 25th Anniversary is upon us, the time is ripe for new news. Specifically, a great big huge celebration show at The Lyric Oxford on Friday, October 4<\/strong>! This show will feature the original 1994 lineup: Tate Moore<\/strong> (vocals, acoustic guitar), Chuck Sigler<\/strong> (drums, vocals), George McConnell<\/strong> (guitar, vocals), David Woolworth<\/strong> (bass guitar, vocals), Robert Chaffe<\/strong> (keyboard), and Max Williams<\/strong> (guitar, vocals). The band will play two sets to include the classics all the fans love, plus some new tunes. Hooray for new tunes! The Kings have been in the studio this year working on a new release that they hope to have out before the end of the year. And of course it will be killer, because they recorded demos at none other than Cody Dickinson<\/strong>\u2019s Checkerboard Studio<\/strong> right here in Mississippi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Kudzu Kings in 2019: (Left to right) Chuck, Dave, Robert, George, Tate, and Max. Photo courtesy of The Kudzu Kings.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To further commemorate the Kudzu Kings\u2019 two-and-a-half-decade reign over the souls of music fans, The Blues Archives<\/a><\/strong> at The University of Mississippi<\/strong>\u2019s J.D. Williams Library<\/strong> is hard at work on a special new project documenting the Oxford music scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Blues Archives’ Curator Greg Johnson<\/strong> said, \u201cThe last few years . . . a lot of researchers have come into the Blues Archive looking for materials about local Oxford bands. Not necessarily Blues, but . . . I realized that there\u2019s a lot that we don\u2019t have documenting the history of the Oxford music scene. I was talking to Dave [Woolworth] and Tate [Moore] and they told me about the 25th anniversary show for the Kudzu Kings. I started thinking that would be a great opportunity to use them as a launch pad [for] this project to collect materials related to other bands associated with Oxford.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Band members donated a pile of stuff to the library to begin the process of putting together the first collection in what Johnson says will be a series of online exhibits documenting Oxford music. Included in the collections will be photographs, posters, recordings, and even stories told by fans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile people might not have any physical artifacts,\u201d said\nJohnson, \u201ca lot of folks have some good stories and memories to tell. So we\u2019d\nlove to document those as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnson will be set up at The Lyric the night of the\nanniversary show, ready to take recordings of fan stories and memories from\nthose who wish to participate. This will be an excellent opportunity to capture\nsome personal impressions of the band over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s all gather together on October 4 to celebrate 25 years of an Oxford legend, The Kudzu Kings! For old fans and new, it will certainly be a memorable night of fantastic revelry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To learn more about the Blues Archives’ special project, contact Greg Johnson at gj1@olemiss.edu.<\/p>\n\n\n