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Fiddleworms are 'Putting Pieces Back Together' After Years Away from Music |
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By CHRIS WELCH
Entertainment Writer
The Huntsville Times - 09/22/05
In the mid-1990s, the worms were hopping. The Fiddleworms, that is. Working out of Muscle Shoals and taking their name from nightcrawler catfish bait, the Fiddleworms built a big following with their original rock music, adopted stage personae like Splash Fiddle (Russell Mefford) and Wolf Fiddle (Scott Kennedy) and traveling to gigs in an orange limo.
In '96, major record labels were interested and the band was on the verge of making it big when Chris Quillen, the founding guitarist of the band, tragically died in an auto accident on Memorial Day weekend. Rob Malone filled in admirably, and the group released an album, "Yellowhammer," played festivals all over the South and even shared the stage with the likes of Santana, Govt. Mule and the Allman Brothers Band. Still, the grief of Quillen's death remained over the group like a fog and things were never quite the same. By the end of 1998, the group - Mefford, Kennedy, Malone, Matt Ross and Chalmers Davis - had scattered across the South and the Fiddleworms were history. Now, they're back. |
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After Almost a Decade, the Fiddleworms are Back with 'Year of the Cock' |
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By Terry Pace
Entertainment Editor
The Times Daily 09/22/05 FLORENCE -- After almost a decade of subterranean silence, the 'Worms are wiggling their way back to the surface. The rock 'n' rollers known as the Fiddleworms -- a local group once hailed as one of the best unsigned bands in the country -- have regrouped, repopulated and revitalized themselves for a full-throttle musical encore. "It's a great feeling, man," Fiddleworms founder Russell Mefford said during a break in band rehearsals this week. "We put it away for a while because so much happened, and the feeling really wasn't there -- but now, we're back, and it feels just right." |
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Just what are Fiddleworms? |
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JUST WHAT ARE FIDDLEWORMS? by Tina Leach
Valley Planet 9/15/05
There's no fiddles, there's no worms. So what is it? Well, that's sorta hard to explain. Upon listening to their new cd, I was trying to categorize their music. Is it jam band? But some of it is harder sounding. There's one song that's Dylanesque. Another has more of a funky sound. There's some definite Grateful Dead influence. There's a hint of Widespread Panic. There's even a small influence of 80's hard rock in there. It's really all over the place. So I guess I can't really define it precisely. But that can be a good thing. They're obviously not one of those bands where every song sounds exactly the same. For those of you who need that sort of predictability in your life, you might just want to skip this one.
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ManChildren in the Promised Land |
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By Kandia Crazy Horse
Creative Loafing, Charlotte, NC - 1/2006 (A) rising partner in roots rock is the Southern psychedelic band the Fiddleworms, hailing from soulful, music-rich northwest Alabama. The heyday of Muscle Shoals music network, centered on Fame Studios, faded in the 80's but has been revived recently by the success of the Drive-By Truckers and assorted songwriters (James LeBlanc, who penned Travis Tritt's smash "Modern Day Bonnie & Clyde") and players like Scott Boyer III.
Many Musicians have seen the area as a haven and that includes former Trucker guitarist and songwriter Rob Malone. On Year of the Cock (Heart of Gold; 3 stars out of 5), Malone returns with this septet - revived after the death of founder Chris Quillen and nearly a decade's hiatus - that blends the 60's Shoals and San Francisco sounds. Indeed, the guitarists' combined list of influences underlines that approach: Stephen Stills, Jimi Hendrix, Wes Montgomery, Jack Casady, Chuck Leavell, Jimmy Herring, and David Hood.
The CD reflects these sonic godfathers. The twang-meets-blues underpinnings of tracks like "BackSeat," with its chiming riffs, and the Katrina relief tune "Take a Bow," should ring familiar to anyone aquainted with the post-Sunset Strip pastoral rock of groups like Stills' Manassas. And reflecting the bluesier end, "Lookin' for a Way Out" would fit on any Bonnaroo-bound soundtrack. |
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