Drivin N Cryin
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| Drivin' N' Cryin' | |
|---|---|
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| Country | Atlanta, GA, USA |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Genres | Hard rock Southern rock Jam |
| Labels | Island Records Geffen Records |
| Members | Kevn Kinney Tim Nielsen Jeff Sullivan Joey Huffman Mac Carter |
| Past members | Paul Lenz Buren Fowler Dave Johnson David Franklin |
Drivin' N' Cryin' is a hard rock band that featured Southern-inspired lyrics. Formed in Atlanta in 1985, th band was well-known in the American South and college towns in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and North Carolina. The band's early albums veered from punk, hard rock, and metal (the "driving" songs) to country, folk and acoustic ballads (the "crying" songs) -- which hard-core fans of the band may have loved, but not so much record labels and radio programmers.
Drivin' N' Cryin's original lineup was singer/songwriter Kevn Kinney on guitar and vocals, Tim Nielsen on bass guitar and Paul Lenz on drums. Their first album, Scarred But Smarter (1986) on 688 Records was a showcase of southern rock with bluegrass and punk rock mixed in for good measure. After this album, the band followed with Whisper Tames the Lion in 1988 for Island Records. At that time, Lenz left the band and was replaced by Jeff Sullivan.
There were high hopes for the band at the time due to the success of R.E.M.; all things Southern were tipped to become the next big thing. But Drivin' n' Cryin's Southern spin on rock met with limited national chart success. Persevering with Mystery Road, with the addition of R.E.M. guitar roadie Buren Fowler on lead guitar, the band didn't alter style all that much.
For Fly Me Courageous, released late in 1990, the band finally took on the heavy metal mantle and ended up with a good hard-rock record, with the odd folk track thrown in. The result was perhaps shocking and less than fashionable in the years when alternative music was just coming into its own. However, the band received considerable radio and MTV airplay in 1991 for songs including the title track and "Build A Fire" at a time when metal ruled the airwaves. Drivin' n' Cryin's greatest strength was as a live band, as they toured tirelessly around the South, drawing an enthusiastic, college-age audience. A Drivin' n' Cryin' show in Atlanta had to be seen to be believed -- the sound of the crowd singing along would actually drown out Kinney's own unusually strong voice.
In early 1990, Kinney, working in collaboration with R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, had released the solo, acoustic folk LP MacDougal Blues for Island. On this record went all the "crying" songs, whereas Fly Me Courageous was filled with heavy, riff-based uptempo "driving" songs. Drivin' n' Cryin's Smoke was released for Island in 1993 and ultimately finished the band's liaison with the label. It was followed by another, even sparer solo album by Kinney, "Down Out Law" (Mammoth) in 1994. He accompanied his first solo release by touring with R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck (who produced the first album), while he and the band also filled the gap between its fifth and sixth records performing acoustic dates throughout the South.
By the time the more gentle "Wrapped in Sky," the band's Geffen Records debut in 1995, hit the shelves, Fowler had left the fold, Joey Huffman had been added on keyboards, and the band was nearly forgotten -- lost in the void that many bands of their generation would find themselves in the wake of grunge. Kinney, Nielsen and Sullivan held on, releasing a self-titled album in 1997 and a four-song EP, Detroit City Rock, in 2003 that featured a haunting cover of the Beatles song "Let It Be" recorded in New York City on Sept. 12, 2001. Though Kinney has focused primarily on his solo career in recent years, Drivin' 'n' Cryin' still plays live dates, primarily in the south, often touring with fellow Southern band Dash Rip Rock.
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[edit] John David Nielsen, 1966-2006
On May 5, 2006, the following was printed on Drivin N Cryin's official website:
John David Nielsen 1966-2006
It is with deepest regret that we inform friends and fans that we have lost a member of our drivin n cryin family. John Nielsen died of natural causes in his sleep on May 1, 2006. John is Tim's first cousin and has been a source of positive energy fueling our touring efforts as the bands live sound engineer as well as studio producer for the last nine years. John had just finished recording Kevn Kinney's (S.T.A.R.)brand-new album at John's own Hickory Flat studio.
[edit] Discography
- Scarred But Smarter 1986
- Whisper Tames The Lion 1988
- Mystery Road 1989
- Fly Me Courageous 1990
- Smoke 1993
- Wrapped In Sky 1995
- Drivin N Cryin 1997
- Essential Live 1999
- Ultimate Collection 2000
- Detroit City Rock (EP) 2003
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album |
| US Modern Rock | |||
| 1991 | "Fly Me Courageous" | #15 | Fly Me Courageous |
