OFF THE WIRE
Stevie Ray Vaughan Lives On In Knoxville by Travis Abernathy on Jun.27, 2010, under Interviews, Reviews
The SRV Experience is a tribute band based in Knoxville, TN. And, like their name says, they pay tribute to one of America’s guitar legends, Stevie Ray Vaughan. The band has been together for two years, and play mainly local shows. However, they recently signed with Divine Entertainment, and hope to start doing more shows across the country. The SRV Experience is brought to life by the band’s three members: Kevin Lambert (Bass), Sean McElroy (Drums), and Blake Campbell (Lead guitar and Vocals). I recently had the opportunity to go see the SRV Experience when they performed at The Prince Deli and Sports Bar on Lovell Road.
After the show, I had the chance to ask the band a few questions. My first question was why, out of all the bands that they could have chosen, did they choose Stevie Ray Vaughan? Blake, who plays the role of SRV, explained it to me. In 1982, Stevie Ray Vaughan (who almost nobody had heard of) played at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Most of the artists at that time were acoustically based, and Stevie’s highly electrified set caused most of the audience to boo him. Despite the jeering of the audience, the band played on, and that show was considered to be one of the greatest blues performances ever recorded. According to the band, that original 1982 set is the one that they perform.
The enthusiasm and dedication for Stevie Ray Vaughan that this band has is evident in the entire performance. Everything from the clothes that they wear, Blake’s hat was actually custom made by the same store that Stevie’s was made in Texas, to the gear that they use. According to Sean, most of their equipment is either the exact equipment that the band used, or was custom made to be like SRV’s. This is just another part of their tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan.
And as a tribute, the show was top-notch. The band’s dedication to the music was clearly evident, but what amazed me most was the energy that the band put into their performance. Blake’s screaming electric guitar riffs combined with his gritty vocals were the source of more than one audience-wide cheer. Kevin kept the bass lines interesting over the course of the sets. At one point, he even took over the lead vocals, and despite some minor microphone issues, his performance was great. Rounding it all out, Sean was beating the living hell out of his drums throughout the entire show. Literally. There’s even a broken drumstick to prove it.
To put it simply, the SRV Experience is a fantastic show. Even for people who aren’t that familiar with Stevie Ray Vaughan’s music, I would definitely recommend checking it out at some point. The band doesn’t have any recorded material other than what’s on their MySpace page, but if you want just a small taste of their music, or to check out any upcoming shows, you can check them out at www.thesrvexperience.net, or at www.myspace.com/srvexperience. I’ll go ahead and warn you though, the music on the site doesn’t do the show any justice whatsoever. To get the real SRV Experience, you just have to see it live. Now for the story of Sean and Blake traveling to Austin, via Nashville and Memphis to see the Storyvilles, the band that Chris Layton and Tommy shannon, otherwise known as Double Trouble.
for more on the band check out
http://www.thesrvexperience.net/home.cfm
