While Chatham County Line bassist Greg Readling and principal songwriter/ vocalist/ guitarist Dave Wilson have long used Stillhouse as their electric outlet, banjoist Chandler Holt and fiddle/ mandolin player John Teer have finally found their own channel for tunes that don’t fit CCL’s ever-evolving acoustic catalog thanks to The Jackets. With Wilson out of the picture, the songwriting talent of Holtwho contributed “Coming Home” to CCL’ s Speed of the Whippoorwill and “Whipping Boy” on IVis given room to shine on harmony-rich AM pop numbers like “Holding On,” one of the first Jackets collaborations. The video below is from The Jacket’s December 9 debut at Raleigh’s Berkeley Cafe.
Holt swaps bass and guitar with Hotel Lights bassist Roger Gupton, who also sings harmonies and takes an occasional lead. Check the ringing guitars in “Out of the Silence”.
Guitarist Teer adds his customary high harmonies and takes lead vocal on high-octane rockers infected with the Stones’ sense of blues and booze, like covers of Jeff Beck’s “Goin’ Down” or Teer’s own “Keeping It Together,” a hidden gem from the annual CCL and Stillhouse Holiday Ho Ho Down jam sessions. Lend an ear to this version, from February’s Pour House show (with a guest spot from ex-Countdown Quartet saxophonist Peter Lamb), and hear the energy of Thad Cockrell drummer and fourth Jacket Evans Nicholson transform it into what sounds like a hit.
Head over to our YouTube channel for more Jackets videos. And head to The Pour House tonight for the band’s first headlining show. Robert Sledge & the Flashlight Assembly open. Also, Gabriel Kelley.
