Jody Stephens Interviewed for Memphis Music Foundation’s M3 Moment

Big Star drummer and Ardent Studios manager Jody Stephens was recently interviewed for the Memphis Music Foundation’s M3 Moment video series. Watch the video below to hear Jody speak about Big Star’s legacy and history with Ardent, Keep an Eye on the Sky (the Big Star box set), Thank You Friends: The Ardent Records Story, and the reissue of Chris Bell’s I Am the Cosmos.

     

The I Am the Cosmos Deluxe Edition was released in late September of this year, just two weeks after another very exciting release for us – Big Star’s Keep an Eye on the Sky Box Set. From Rhino’s Web site:

“Chris Bell was an immensely gifted songwriter, performer and producer. As a founding member of Big Star and as a solo artist he struggled to have his songs heard. Sadly, the Memphis-born artist did not live long enough to see the enormous impact his music – both with Big Star and as a solo artist – would have on future generations. Bell’s influential legacy grows thanks to the release of his solo album I AM THE COSMOS – DELUXE EDITION, and Rhino Records’ September 15 release of KEEP AN EYE ON THE SKY, the definitive Big Star anthology. The two-disc deluxe edition of I AM THE COSMOS contains more than a dozen unreleased recordings. As a special bonus, the first 1,000 orders will receive a free 7″ single of “I Am The Cosmos” b/w “You And Your Sister.”

(Read More…)

Watch the video below for some footage from the compiling/remixing/remastering of I Am the Cosmos, featuring John Fry, Richard Rosebrough, and engineer Adam Hill.

  

Keep up with the Memphis Music Foundation at the Memphis Means Music Blog.

John Kilzer Completes Tracking with Jeff Powell, Lucas Peterson

Former Geffen recording artist John Kilzer was in the studio this month, laying down tracks for a new record with producer/engineer Jeff Powell and assistant Lucas Peterson. Here’s what Lucas had to say about the session:

“Tracking for John Kilzer’s newest record started on November 21 in Studio A of Ardent. We had the room divided into two different sections. The majority of the room was open, or live to get the sound of studio A. The other part of the room was heavily baffled to give a “living room” type sound and vibe. Most of the seventeen songs we recorded were in the live room setup. The drums were in the open room, bass and guitar amps in booths, and John in the big booth singing and playing acoustic. For four of the tracks, the ones that didn’t require a drum set, we moved all the musicians and some of the mics to the living room, with stand up bass, for a more organic acoustic sound.

Producer Jeff Powell gathered some of the best session musicians to join John for tracking and overdubs. Harry Peel played drums and percussion on all of the tracks. Sam Shoup played bass, and Steve Selvidge played guitars. For three of the songs, the Hi Rhythm Section; Teenie Hodges, Charles Hodges, and Leroy Hodges, came in to track with John. Towards the end of the session, Spooner Oldham did overdubs on piano, wurli, and rhodes, completing four songs in under two hours. Two other musicians that contributed to the songs were Rick Steff on piano and wurli, and Ryan Peel on drums.

In ten days we were able get the basic tracks of seventeen songs. Most of which already have several overdubs, and are well on their way to completion. We will soon go back in to do more overdubs and finish up the tracks before mixing. I think that Jeff is planning on doing more lead vocals, background vocals, horns, and percussion.”

Kilzer’s previous material is available on Amazon.com, and you can read more about him on this (unofficial) Web site.

In the picture above, standing: Steve Selvidge, John Kilzer, Leroy Hodges, Charles Hodges, Lucas Peterson. Seated: Teenie Hodges, Jeff Powell.

In the 2nd picture: Harry Peel, Lucas Peterson, Jeff Powell, Spooner Oldham and John Kilzer.

The Truth According to Ruthie Foster Nominated for Grammy

You may remember our post from some time last year about a great artist that graced us with her presence here at Ardent – Ms. Ruthie Foster. Ruthie, along with producer Chris Goldsmith (Blind Boys of Alabama, Ben Harper, Aaron Neville) engineer Jimmy Hoyson (James Taylor, CSNY, Ozzy Osbourne), assistant Jason Gillespie and a host of great musicians (Robben Ford, Jim Dickinson, Charles Hodges, etc)  spent several days tracking the songs that would become Ruthie’s sophomore effort, The Truth According to Ruthie Foster.

We are more than proud to announce that The Truth According to Ruthie Foster has been nominated for this year’s GRAMMY awards in the category of Best Contemporary Blues Album. From Jason Gillespie’s account of the session:

“Grammy Nominations. They are something that we all think about and hope for in the recording industry. To be apart of a record that actually gets a nomination is a dream come true. The Truth According to Ruthie Foster was recorded in Studio A here at Ardent Studios. One of the most memorable parts of this record was the massive setup that was involved. Jimmy Hoyson (the head engineer on the record) and Chris Goldsmith (Producer) both wanted to get a natural live performance to accentuate the honesty and ‘bare-bones’ style that Ruthie’s songs were begging for. Utilizing almost 36 input tracks into the Neve VR-60 console, we were ready to track drums, bass, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals and an assortment of keys all during the live tracking process. It was one of the largest live tracking sessions that I have worked on to date. However, all of this setup work would have been for naught if it wasn’t for the stellar team of musicians that Chris and Jimmy put together for Ruthie’s band. With Rock Deadrick and Larry Fulcher holding down the rhythm section, they called in the legendary Robben Ford to handle all of the electric guitar work while Ruthie herself strummed out the acoustic parts. Another secret weapon was Memphis’ own Jim Dickinson playing a majority of the keys on the record. It was the types of players that a recording engineer dreams of having on the other side of the glass. Vibe was everything.”

For more information on Ruthie and this record, check out her Web site here.

In the picture, L to R: Bassist Lary Fulcher, Jim Dickinson, producer Chris Goldsmith, engineer Jimmy Hoyson, Ruthie Foster, drummer Rock Deadrick, guitarist Robben Ford, and assistant engineer Jason Gillespie.

Pastor, Musician Dana Key Dies at 56

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Dana Key, partner in the pioneering Christian rock duo Degarmo & Key, former A&R VP of Ardent Records, and recent pastor who died last night from a ruptured pulmonary embolism at the age of 56.

Dana had an incredible impact on Contemporary Christian Music. It’s hard to put into words the influence and passion that he exhibited in Christian music and with Ardent.

Dana first became affiliated with Ardent as a recording artist in 1978 while a member of the ground breaking contemporary Christian group DeGarmo & Key.  The group became regulars at Ardent studios, recording Heat It Up, To Extremes, and 10 other records at Ardent. Over the years, they penned more than 40 top 10 radio singles, garnered numerous Dove and Grammy nominations, and reached countless of thousands for Christ.

In 1994, Dana approached Ardent expressing his wishes to get involved with the career of an Ardent artist, Steve Wiggins. These discussions became the base for starting the Ardent Records label in conjunction with ForeFront Records which Dana had co-founded.  With Dana on board, Ardent Records launched a Christian rock label in 1995. Even now as a  music executive, Dana’s deep desire to continue spreading the Gospel through music was clearly exhibited in the label’s mission statement which he helped write:

“The goal of the Ardent Records label is to produce recordings that are at once completely authentic modern music and completely consistent with the Gospel.  We seek to offer the Christian fan of mainstream music, who may struggle with its message, a true alternative.  A vehicle for sharing their faith that needs no apologies for the music.  We place a great deal of emphasis on quality music and its production.  But of paramount importance we, along with our label artists, are passionate about presenting the hope of Christ clearly in our recordings.”

Dana co-produced the debut album of Ardent’s first artist, Big Tent Revival – lead by Steve Wiggins, which released in the spring of 1995. With his first Ardent producer credit inked in history, he went on to produce many of Ardent’s artists including Smalltown Poets and Skillet and was also an executive producer on all Ardent label releases through 2002. Ardent has since released over 40 albums and garnered 9 Grammy nominations with an artist roster including Big Tent Revival, Skillet, Smalltown Poets, Todd Agnew, Joy Whitlock and developing artist Jeremy Horn.

Dana’s continued passion for reaching the world for Christ took on a new role in the summer of 2001 as he considered a career change from the music world to a new calling on his life as head pastor of a new church in Memphis, TN. After six months of devoted prayer, a Sunday night Bible study formed and in September of 2002, The Love of Christ church launched its first morning service.

TLC Church was based on one of Dana’s favorite passages of scripture, Eph. 3:16-19:

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Its core values were essentially three-fold: Embrace with Love, Equip with Truth, and Engage in Service – all of which he sought to fulfill in his life here on earth as a father, brother, son, friend, musician, music executive, mentor, and pastor. And while he has passed on from this life, we can still rejoice knowing he is being filled to the measure of all the fullness of God, finally experiencing how wide, long, high, and deep the love of Christ truly is.

Please continue to uplift the entire Key family and the Ardent family as well during this difficult time. A Memorial service will be held on Thurs. Jun 10th at 1pm at Woodland Hills Event Center (TLC Church) which is located at 10000 Woodland Hills Dr. Cordova, TN, 38018. Flowers may also be sent to this address. If you would like to make a financial contribution to the memorial fund, please send to: TLC Church – Dana Key Family, 4199 Pheasant Hill Cove N, Lakeland TN, 38002.

UPDATE:

Ardent Studios founder and owner John Fry had these words to add:

I had known Dana since 1978 when Degarmo & Key recorded their second album at Ardent Studios. They went on to record most of their subsequent albums at Ardent. After they started their own Forefront Records, Ardent was offered the wonderful opportunity to have distribution for Ardent’s Christian music artists through an Ardent/Forefront partnership.

Degarmo & Key had stopped touring, and when Dana elected not to move to Nashville and continue as a partner in Forefront, he joined us at Ardent in 1995 as a founding partner in our new Christian music label. He was a creative and spiritual mentor to all of our artists.

Dana’s priorities were always Christ first, great music second, and commerce third, but those priorities reached millions of people for Christ through authentic music that people valued enough to purchase millions of albums.

Even after his calling to full time ministry as pastor of TLC Church, he retained his love and enthusiasm for music and continued his mentoring of many young and growing Christian musicians.

He is deeply respected, much loved, and sorely missed.

Ardent Music partner Pat Scholes had this to add:

“Dana Key remains one of the strongest influences in my life forever.  I unknowingly encountered him for the first time on a hot summer night in 1973 where he and Eddie were playing on a flatbed trailer in the middle of a field, blasting the gospel at a decibel level I enjoyed.  I came for the music and left with a Savior.  Little did I know that 20 years later that Dana and I would come together to start the Ardent Records Christian label with our colleagues John Fry and Kim Jenkins.  Lots of records were made and the razor-sharp truth of the gospel continued to go out in a manner of excellence, musically and spiritually, under Dana’s able influence.

And so it is with earthy sadness that this chapter in God’s unfolding story comes to a close with Dana’s passing.  But it is indeed in recognizing the Divine Design that Dana wrote about himself that gives me eternal hope and assurance that God has used, and still uses, this very special man’s life to win many to Christ – and that he now is enjoying His presence forever.  See you again my friend, in the twinkling of an eye,

Pat Scholes”

In the pictures, top to bottom: 1) Steve Wiggins, Dana Key; 2) John Fry, Pat Scholes, Dana Key; 3) Eddie DeGarmo, Dana Key, Greg Morrow, and Tommy Cathy.

Memphis Power Pop Mainstay Tommy Hoehn Dies at 55

From Bob Mehr‘s article in The Commercial Appeal:

Memphis musician and power-pop scene staple Tommy Hoehn has died.

Hoehn, known for his solo work and collaborations with Big Star members Alex Chilton and Chris Bell, had been battling cancer for the past year. The 55-year-old Hoehn died on Thursday night [June 24, 2010] at Methodist University Hospital.

In recent months Hoehn had been working on a new project, gathering together a mix of older material and fresh recordings. He had also been scheduled to take part in the Big Star/Alex Chilton tribute at the Levitt Shell last month, but his worsening condition precluded an appearance.

“He was brilliant, one of those people who was a total natural, naturally gifted,” said his friend and frequent musical foil, Van Duren. “Tommy was a really unique and terrific singer, a guitarist and a great keyboard player, and completely self-taught. He appreciated music — all kinds of music.”

Raised in Memphis, Hoehn began playing in high school garage bands with future Scruffs leader Stephen Burns.

Leading the second wave of Memphis power pop in the mid-’70s, Hoehn became a fixture at Midtown’s Ardent Studios.

Hoehn would sing background on Big Star’s seminal Third/Sister Lovers album, and collaborate with band founders Chilton and Bell. “He was always a very easygoing and lighthearted person,” said Ardent owner John Fry. “The sessions that I remember with Tommy were always fun and upbeat.”

Hoehn’s solo career kicked off with a much-revered single, “Blow Yourself Up,” in 1975. He followed that up with a pair of late-’70s LPs, Spacebreak and Losing You to Sleep for the Powerplay and London Records labels, which captured his love for the work of Paul McCartney and Todd Rundgren.

Although his albums never achieved much mainstream notice, Hoehn was beloved among critics and fellow artists. “He was best known to other musicians, and had that cult following,” said Fry.

Hoehn continued releasing records into the early 1980s before going on a long professional hiatus, living in Nashville for a time.

Returning to Memphis in the mid-1990s, Hoehn made a musical comeback as well with a pair of solo records, and later teamed up with fellow pop maven Duren.

Hoehn is survived by his wife, Erin Galtelli-Hoehn; three children from his second marriage: Forbes, Tristan and Elizabeth; his mother, Dianna Fisackerly; sisters Debra Hoehn and Linda Hoehn; and a brother, Tim Hoehn.