Editorial Reviews But make no mistake: HTC is no beginner’s outfit; its two leading lights, singer Sheri Hurst and bassist Matt Netzer, have been crucial participants in Springfield’s scene for nearly a decade. Their former band, The Smarties, gained some Midwest notoriety, and originally featured Mark Bilyeu, now playing with his family in Big Smith. Despite The Smarties’ pop sound, they didn’t hide their love of roots music, covering “Jolene” before The Geraldine Fibbers did. After The Smarties’ demise, Hurst sang some with beau Brian Capps in The Domino Kings (appearing on “Hillbilly Hell” on The Kings’ debut, Lonesome Highway), and Netzer concentrated on the bar he owns, The Outland, now home of the popular radio show South Avenue Live. Naturally, when the two came back to playing music together, this time in a band that shows their love of country as well as rock and roll, The Outland provided an excellent stage from which to work. Hurst and Netzer are joined in The Honky Tonk Chateau by drummer Chris Appleby and guitarist Mike Stevens, who moved from El Paso to Springfield to join the band, which began performing less than nine months ago. The recordings which comprise The Honky Tonk Chateau EP were actually two-track demos recorded by Lou Whitney at The Studio in Springfield, but Wire Road President Dale Wiley liked them enough to want to put them out just as they were. “There’s something about a good live recording that sometimes can’t be replicated by weeks of studio work,” said Wiley. “We liked it because it gives the band a chance to get on the road without waiting for a full studio album.” In all of the tracks, one can discover the interplay between longtime musical partners, from Hurst’s spot-on harmonies on Netzer’s “Running Through My Veins” to her interpretation of Netzer’s song “Guilty,” one which spotlights his love of sixties garage rock. “I should be walking free/ But I’m on the inside again,” Hurst sings, selling the line as if she had written it herself. Hurst’s singing abilities haven’t gone unnoticed by the regional musical community. She duets with Brian Henneman on The Bottle Rockets’ cover of Wanda Jackson’s “Let’s Stop Kickin’ Our Hearts Around” (to be featured on Bloodshot’s Wanda Jackson tribute), and will undoubtedly find many willing duet partners in coming days. But if this EP is any indication, her work with this band is far from over.
About the Artist
It’s not a bad time to live in Springfield, Missouri. On any given weekend, you can catch the likes of The Domino Kings, The Morells, Big Smith, King Clarentz and other front-line Springfield bands playing live, plus hear the new groups that are springing up every day, like Fuller’s Earth and The Honky Tonk Chateau.
Album Description
Lilting pop, garage rock and back-roads Americana -- all fit under the roof of the Honky Tonk Chateau. The Springfield, Missouri quartet delivers a little bit of everything on their debut EP.
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The Honky Tonk Chateau
ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD  General
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
General
| Country
| Styles
| Music
General
| Alternative Rock
| Indie Music
| Stores
| Music
General
| Country
| Indie Music
| Stores
| Music
ASIN: B00005UJTG Release Date: 2001-11-27 |
Tracks:
Album Description
Lilting pop, garage rock and back-roads Americana -- all fit under the roof of the Honky Tonk Chateau. The Springfield, Missouri quartet delivers a little bit of everything on their debut EP.Customer Reviews:
Sheri Hurst - Matt Netzer: Up and Coming...AWESOME.......2003-07-22
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Walk in the Sun
Honky Tonk Chateau Manufacturer: Slewfoot ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
ASIN: B0000A4GDA Release Date: 2003-07-08 |
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Music:
Music
The Kolisch Quartet Plays Mozart, Schumann & Wolf
The Songs of Bessie Smith/The Cotton Connection
The Return of Tal Farlow: 1969