Beat Daddys Show Timpanis Audience How It's Done    Some music creeps up behind you like a cat on silent paws. Some ride along side like a dragonfly on your shoulder. And still others pass like a freight train in the night. The Beat Daddys is a combination of all three. Just as the train gains momentum from a standstill until it's barreling down the tracks, the Beat Daddys starts out slow and easy. When the group performs "Delta Sun," fingers are snapping like the clacking of the wheels against the tracks.

It's not long before it reaches full throttle. It's not out of control; it's the embodiment of engineering and steel coming together to its final destination.

   Together, the tracks and the engine become one-Britt Meachum, his spine-chilling slide guitar combining with the resonant tones of Larry Grisham. The Beat Daddys are making a rare north shore appearance at Timpanis in Slidell. A Mobile-based band, the group is making its first stop. The next station's Galveston; then it's on to Tuscon. The band does mostly originals, products of four albums that it has recorded over the years for its studio, Malaco Records.
   From Grisham's humorous description of the perfect woman-a beautician who makes a lot of money, is long and lean and treats him like a king-to the painful "You Give the Blues the Blues," Grisham's full-bodied vocals make every song a story. Almost every tune featured the expertise guitar licks of Meachum. With a rap sheet as long as his hair, he grabs an audience's attention. Even the foosball players hesitated long enough to appreciate the elongated notes as he suspended them in midair until they were almost palpable.
One of the things I enjoy most about hearing the Beat Daddys in person is the comments made by the audience, some of which comes wrapped in a handshake, while others are off the cuff while the band is oblivious and performing. There are always the "virgins" who have never heard them or heard of them. One new fan felt compelled to tell Larry that the Beat Daddys was the best band she had heard in years. She sounded like a desperate body in pain who had finally found a healer, a reliever of her aches.
   There is also the amateur musician, who plays in his mind as he watches Britt's fingers hover over his Flying V's neck. The fan's fingers follow along on his air guitar, and he holds a look of consternation as he tries to keep up. At the first break, he's the first in line to pat Britt on the back and pick his brain.
   A few old fans tell Larry how they saw him and Britt at A.J.'s in Destin and lost track of them, but they sound even better than he remembers. Once you hear the Beat Daddys, it'll stick. They have that effect on true blues lovers.

   The lights dim and the conversations muddle when everything suddenly stops as you hear the opening click of drum sticks and a hard syncopated 1-2--1-2-3-4 countdown. You immediately feel the firm bass and drum beat intro as your attention is now focused on the stage. You are then hit with a mesmerizing guitar riff that makes you take a quick breath, raise your eyebrows to a wide-eyed, pulled back, soft gasped instant when after a paused moment you tilt your head and utter an audible breathless "Whoa!" and think, "That boy can play!" It's time to fasten your seatbelt because you just stepped into a three-ticket music ride that you won't easily forget. Welcome to an evening with "The Beat Daddys".
   You are already tapping toes and beat bobbing to the opening tune, when you suddenly realize that the main attraction is yet to come! After another riff or two from stoic Britt Meacham, whose guitar licks you have heard on Bob Seger's legendary "Old Time Rock-N-Roll", you visibly notice the graceful majestic sway of 6'-5" lead singer Larry Grisham as he rhythmically leans forward with closed eyes to take that last gasp of air before he rears back a full mane of curly locks and opens his powerful lungs and voice into an energetically seductive growling vocal that grabs your attention and slams your senses into the rest of the evening's entertainment.
    Larry's controlled high-energy exudes seasoned showmanship and focused professional confidence, as he seems to individually connect "one-on-one" with every person in the audience. You are riveted to his performance. Even though Larry does get "into" his music, you won't see any fancy-dance moves or side-to-end stage slides. You also won't be subjected to over-acted guitar playing with show-off jumping at the end of songs. Larry simply owns the stage. With his statuesque frame, commanding presence, projected vocals and larger than life persona, he can fill up a room all by himself. Even though he doesn't dance around a lot, he makes you want to! So, go ahead and slide on out of your seat now and find a spot on the dance floor. It's time to party all night long and tear the house down because in the tick of the clock you'll hear this band's reasons to sing the blues.
    Larry Grisham's creativity and craftsmanship in songwriting and singing is almost overshadowed by his talented lip blistering harp playing that is presented on many "Beat Daddys" recordings. This instrument is so much a part of his musicianship that it appears to be merely an extension of his soul with whining notes and blues phrasing that seems to speak directly to your emotions. Most notably Larry's harp skills are featured on the Grammy Nominated "Bobby Blue Bland" recording of "I'm a Blues Man" from the Malaco "Z. Zelebration" CD.
    The Indiana born, Kentucky raised band leader, Larry Grisham, is presently in a Mississippi Delta state of mind and has penned the lyrics and written the music to hundreds of songs produced and featured on numerous CD's. After a successful promotional tour of their first independent CD, Larry Grisham was signed to Jackson, Mississippi based Malaco / Waldoxy Records in 1992. He has led "The Beat Daddys" on a tours of Europe, Asia and other countries as well as music venues and concerts all over the United States. There is no doubt that he is the driving force for the band. You will find that Larry's songs repeat themselves in your memory long after the concert ends, much as a fine wine stays on your palette after a 5-star meal. It's almost impossible to choose a favorite tune, because every song seems to touch a different part of you and is memorable in its own unique way.
    "The Beat Daddys" are presently on a relentless touring schedule all over the southeastern states from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean. (They will even be venturing over to Texas a few times this year.) You can find them playing somewhere within a days drive from most major cities in the Southeast. If you can't make the trek to hear them "live", you can easily listen to song samples and order CD's from their web site: http://beatdaddys.com/cds.html
   A new "Live" recording is in the works to be released before the end of the year and will feature the current "Beat Daddys" line up which includes band leader Larry Grisham / guitar, harp and vocals, Britt Meacham / lead guitar, John Hedman / bass.

For more information and tour schedule, check out their web site at http://beatdaddys.com
Write to Larry at musiclife@aol.com