Julea and the Dear Johns - HONKY TONK

SOUTH OF LONESOME

UNDERSTAND YOUR MAN

GET BEHIND ME SATAN AND PUSH

I LET A STRANGER BUY THE WINE

KILL IT, TILL IT DIES

AS SOON AS I SAW GATORROCK'S YOUTUBE VIDEOS OF 'JULEA AND THE DEAR JOHNS' I WAS MENTALLY TRANSPORTED TO A HONKY TONK BAR SOMEWHERE IN THE DEEP SOUTH OF THE GOOD OL' USA. THIS BAND BLENDS TRADITIONAL COUNTRY AND A COOL TOUCH OF ROCKABILLY SO THEIR SOUND WILL APPEAL TO A WIDE AND VARIED AUDIENCE. JULEA THOMERSON IS A CLASSICALLY (I READ THAT SOMEWHERE ONLINE) TRAINED OPERA SINGER! WHO HAS A FEEL FOR TRADITIONAL AMERICANA AND COUNTRY. 'THE DEAR JOHNS' CONSIST OF SPIKE FULLERTON AN EX PUNK AND JAZZ GUITARIST WITH AN ABILITY TO PICK OUT NOTES ON HIS * GUITAR THAT MAKES THE LISTENER BELIEVE THEY ARE HEARING A TUNE FROM ANOTHER DECADE (50's-70'S).  CHAD (DOUBLE BASS) IS A SELF TAUGHT MUSICIAN. BANDS HE PLAYS IN INCLUDE 'HOT ROD HELLCATS', 'ATOMIC BOOGIE',  'WILLIE HEATH NEAL' AND 'THE PSYCHO DEVILLES'. HE HAS ALSO BACKED SONNY BURGUESS AND SLEEPY LABEEF AND WAS ON AN AS YET UNRELEASED ANDY STARR RECORDING SESSION.  MARIO (DRUMS) I DON'T KNOW TOO MUCH ABOUT BUT THEIR INPUT INTO THE OVERALL SOUND OF 'THE DEAR JOHNS' CANNOT BE OVERLOOKED.

I HAVE NOT SEEN THIS BAND LIVE (AN OCEAN STANDS IN THE WAY) BUT IF I WERE A NATIVE OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA I WOULD BE A REGULAR AT THEIR SHOWS. I AM KEEPING MY FINGERS CROSSED THAT SOMEONE OUT THERE IN HONKY-TONK-LAND PULLS 'JULEA AND THE DEAR JOHNS' INTO A STUDIO REALLY SOON SO WE CAN GET SOME WAX RELEASED BY THIS BAND. OOPS! I AM GETTING CARRIED AWAY I MEANT A CD...I AM TRADITIONAL AS WELL IT SEEMS.

A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION ON THE SONGS ON THIS E.P

'SOUTH OF LONESOME' WAS FIRST RELEASED IN IN 1967 BY MELBA MONTGOMERY AND WAS WRITTEN BY HER BROTHER CARL MONTGOMERY.

'UNDERSTAND YOUR MAN' WAS FIRST RELEASED BY JOHNNY CASH IN 1964. IT BECAME A COUNTRY NUMBER ONE THE SAME YEAR ALSO CROSSING OVER TO THE POP CHARTS TO REACH THE GIDDY HEIGHTS OF NUMBER 35. I LOVE THE WAY JULEA SINGS ON THIS ONE AND THE BAND COMPLIMENTS HER TOO, SO IT ALL DOVETAILS.

'GET BEHIND ME SATAN AND PUSH' WAS RELEASED BY BILLIE JO SPEARS IN 1968 ON THE ALBUM 'THE VOICE OF BILLIE JO SPEARS'.

'I LET A STRANGER BUY THE WINE' IS A GREAT BAR-ROOM WEEPER WRITTEN BY KAY ADAMS AND RELEASED IN 1967 ON THE ALBUM 'ALCOHOL AND TEARS' AND ON A TOWER 45 RPM VINYL AS A SINGLE.

'KILL IT, TILL IT DIES' IS AN ORIGINAL TUNE WRITTEN BY JULEA AND SHOWS THAT HER LOVE OF TRADITIONAL HONKY TONK MUSIC IS REALLY DEEP. I CAN NOT PRAISE THE SOUND THAT FLOWS FROM THIS BAND HIGHLY ENOUGH.

Download link below.

LIVE AT THE STAR BAR E.P

SIX MORE LIVE SONGS FROM THE STAR BAR

LIVE AT THE STAR BAR VOLUME TWO
(link updated 3rd Sept 14)