AMY SIMS -- Daily Corinthian -- Jan 14,
2001
Brothers offering preview of musical tour
of Blues highway
IUKA --Two locals will interrupt the hush
normally present at the Iuka Library to conduct a musical
history lesson on the blues and jazz born along U.S. 61 from
Memphis, Tenn., to New Orleans, La.
The brothers Thomas, otherwise known as
Eddie and Frank, will be the featured guests of Tuesday's
Friends of the Iuka Library Lunch Break at noon, when Eddie and
his guitar will perform excerpts from some of the more than 40
songs already recorded live for the 61 song "Angels on the
Backroads" project.
Prior to and after the lunch, Frank -will
allow the audience a sneak listen at the live digital
recordings he engineered at locations where blues and jazz
history was made.
"After we did the tour for the
Natchez Trace Parkway, we felt a tour of Highway 61 was the
next logical move," referred Eddie to the siblings' audio
driving tour that connects all the historical landmarks along
the scenic route.
The brothers spent hours listening to and
sampling song after song inside the depths of the Mississippi
Blues Archive at the University of Mississippi in preparation
for their musical journey. They then mapped out the
cities, towns and landmarks they would visit.
From the Memphis, Tenn., rooftop where
W.C. Handy -- considered the father of the blues --
performed his "Saint Louis Blues" for the first time
to the site of the 1927 flood and levee break at Mounds Landing
in the Mississippi Delta that inspired Charlie Patton's
"High Water Everywhere," the Thomas brothers have
made their recordings unique by documenting where they are and
why the area is relevant to the song in either audio or written
form. "We have some commentary along with the music, and
we include our reasons for recording each song in the liner
notes," explained Eddie.
Eddie further explained how the journey
down U.S. 61 clearly defines how the sound changes from region
to region, as Memphis urban blues is rooted in ragtime
influences, the Delta is I the geographical womb from which the
rawest of blues music was conceived and New Orleans is all
about the jazz.
Whether on stage at the Orpheum Theatre,
knee deep in a cotton field down in the heart of Delta country
or at a club along Bourbon Street, it is safe to say this
comprehensive recording will be one of a kind.
The Thomsases plan to complete their
final recording by fall 2001.
The Thomas brothers have come a long way
from their days in the Iuka High School marching band and
Eddie's first brush with future musical greatness after he and
his six-piece band won at the Mid-South Fair. Part of
their prize was the opportunity to record a song at the
American Studio in Memphis, where a young, unknown Isaac Hayes
was granted permission to accompany Eddie's group on Howlin'
Wolf's "Spoonful."
Eddie went on to earn a bachelor's degree
at Mississippi State University, before teaching eighth-grade
science and then pursuing a pharmacy degree at the University
of Mississippi. He worked as a pharmacist in Corinth before
following his musical ambitions.
Frank attended Mississippi State, and
graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree in
general studies.
More than just musical enthusiasts, the
brothers now operate their own production company in Iuka.
Thomasfilms Inc.. is the recipient of a Gold Award from the
Houston Film Festival.
The bimonthly lunch break is sponsored by
the 330-strong Friends of the Iuka Library. A light lunch is
included in the $2 admission fee, and all proceeds benefit the
library .
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