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together on the porch and see what we could do. That was a year ago. It really kind of just fell together and has congealed ever since then. GKW: How would you describe the sound? CB: We want to make music that sounds the way your grandmothers cooking taste, comfort music, something that is comfortable and embracing. GKW: Where does the name come from? CB: Soldier’s Heart is an Antebellum [Civil War era] term for posttraumatic stress disorder or shell shock. It’s a tender way to talk about something awful. It kind of ties us to the past and we are aware of our roots. It’s love and war, happy and sad, Mellon collie. The last shot for the war of southern independence was shot in this area. My dad still has my great-great-grandfather’s
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ISSUE 35
drum he beat for the 62nd North Carolina. He was captured at Cumberland Gap, spent two years at a prison camp on the south side of Chicago, came back, cut both sides of the drum, nailed some tin to it and made it a grain measurer. The hoop is still up at my father’s house. GKW: Why is this project different from past musical endeavors of yours? CB: I’ve got some older songs I’ve written from other projects that I feel are better represented in this project. It’s more about how the song feels and the mood it creates, and that’s really at the center of all of this. It shows a lot more of those roots, instead of just playing rock n roll music, why don’t we play something that’s more true to this area? Everybody thinks of this area as bluegrass, but its part of the equation and not all of it.
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GKW: The band was asked to perform for “Hillbilly Blood.” What was that experience like for you as a band? CB: I was worn out. I was a character on the show, picked up a week of work as a member of the build crew, and then we did the band thing for one of the episodes. It was exhausting. We had to play the two songs for the party for half an hour, just kept playing them. I think the experience will open up some doors for us, and the fact the show will air after we’ve played some shows live. It’s really exciting and It’ll definitely be a feather in our cap. GKW: Thoughts on finally hitting the road this Fall? CB: We’ve been working hard for a year. A lot of people are excited about it. We’re excited about it. We’re ready to get this out there and drive it around a little bit.
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