Five Moons
by Beth Sager

    The Beat Daddys' new bump and grind CD, "Five Moons" makes you want
to, well . . . . .  bump and grind. The duo has called Malaco Records
of Jackson, Mississippi home, since 1990.  Drummers and bass players
come and go, but the core of the Beat Daddys has remained Larry Grisham
on lead vocals and Britt Meacham on lead guitar for 20 years. Larry
says that they are the few, possibly, only white players signed by
Malaco. Paul Scott is the band's drummer and they are actively seeking
a full-time bassist.
    All tracks of the new album were written by Grisham who lives in a
FEMA trailer in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.  His 6'5".  frame doesn't
fit into the "queen-sized" bed so he sleeps diagonally, and his feet
still hang over the end, and his head hits the wall behind him. It's
parked in the middle of a cow pasture which turns to mush at the first
sign of rain. "But it's a place to stay, anyway. Getting up to go to
the bathroom in the middle of the night is an experience." He spends
most of his days on the road, sleeping in motel and hotel rooms,
spreading the wealth of the Beat Daddys experience. His parents lived
on the bay in Bay St. Louis and lost everything to Katrina. They now
live in Newburgh, Indiana.

      Meacham is no stranger to hurricanes either, living in Mobile with
his wife Cheryl and their 16-year old cat, Lucy. He is a seasoned
sessions player and can be heard on dozens of recordings, including
"Old Time Rock and Roll" by Bob Seger. Born and raised in Memphis, he
toured and recorded with Capitol Records and Blues Hall of Famer Little
Milton. Just as tales of legendary gunslingers lured wannabes in the
Old West, so does Meacham's reputation. Skeptical guitar players come
from near and far to hear his licks and have literally bowed in awe at
the master's Dean Flying V. His other faithful companion is a 1981
Gibson 335. He also has several others that he keeps for studio work.
Meacham co–wrote "Common Ground."

    "Pale White Circle" was co-written with Tommy Stillwell. "We wrote it
years ago, but Malaco wouldn't publish it for some reason, but it was
worth doing so I reworked it until they were happy with it," says
Grisham.  He calls his inspiration "the circle of life-getting up and
getting dressed everyday, putting one foot in front of the other-it's
called 'living.'"  He and Meacham do more than that. They set down the
boundaries of the blues, validating their name-The Beat Daddys, with
each and every song, whether it's live or recorded. The haunting title
song show Grishams's versatility as a singer and writer. Some songs,
such as "Everybody Needs Some,"  come out as a gutteral growl
characteristic of the blues. It is also a Mecca for Meacham's slide
guitar talent. Others, such as  "Been There Liked That" and "Call Me
Back" have a swaggering beat. He channels his strife into songs like
"Bad Streak." Some are religious experiences, calling for
congregational "testifying" to the blue devils, which is the derivation
of the word "blues."

    "Lonely Road " reflects his life traveling between Louisiana,
Mississippi and Alabama-some more growling. Grisham isn't singing about
Popeye's Chicken in "Big Thighs" a light-hearted, but intense,
recounting of what Grisham likes about full-figured women. "I like
women with big thighs-meat on their bones, and I tried to put it down
in lyrics." He certainly did that, giving hope to women that not all
men go for the emaciated look. "Common Ground" does a great job of
defining the blues. Grammy-nominated Johnny Neel shines as
boogie-woogie piano master and organ grinder as the only keyboardist on
the album.  He is a former member of the Allman Brothers Band.

Grisham shows his voice range with whispered sentimentality and
emphatic anguish, both found in "Five Moons." The haunting lyrics of
"She Goes Down" is the story of a woman's  "life on a one-way street"
in her own resigned hell.

Visit www.beatdaddys.com for ordering information, tour schedule and
track clips. The group's next festival is the Eureka Springs (Arkansas)
Blues Fest June 3. They are regular players at the Ameristar Casinos in
St. Charles, Missouri, and Vicksburg, Mississippi, each scheduled for a
week in July.   The Beat Daddys are blues buttkickers with a twist. I
first heard them at the Natchez Blues Fest many years ago and was
hooked. If you like the Radiators or the Bluebirds, you'll love the
Beat Daddys.