North Mississippi Allstars

North Mississippi Allstars

North Mississippi Allstars in a wedding reception performance in Gunnison, Mississippi, 1999.
Background information
Origin Hernando, Mississippi, United States
Genres Southern rock, Blues-rock, Jam band, country blues
Years active 1996–present
Labels Tone-Cool, Artemis, Ato, Songs of the South
Associated acts The Black Crowes, Shawn Lane, Hill Country Revue, The Word, John Hiatt, Jimbo Mathus, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, John Hermann, Duwayne Burnside, Otha Turner, R.L. Burnside, Jim Dickinson
Website www.nmallstars.com
Members Luther Dickinson
Cody Dickinson
Chris Chew
Past members Duwayne Burnside

North Mississippi Allstars is an American southern rock/blues band from Hernando, Mississippi, founded in 1996. The band is composed of brothers Luther Dickinson (guitar, vocals) and Cody Dickinson (drums, keyboards, electric washboard), and Chris Chew (electric bass guitar). In addition to the guitar, Dickinson also plays a cigar box guitar called the "lowebow."

A "lowebow" is a variation of the cigar box guitar, created by John Lowe in the 1990s.[1] It involves one cigar box, with two wooden rods projecting from it. Each wooden rod holds one string each: a bass string and a standard acoustic guitar string. This allows the player to pluck a one-string bass and a one-string guitar at the same time. Each of the two strings has its own individual electric pick-up that feeds into the amplifier. This guitar was created with the One-man band performer in mind.[2]

Duwayne Burnside, who formerly played second guitar in the band, is a son of R. L. Burnside (who also played on some of the band's tracks).

Allstars' first release, Shake Hands With Shorty, was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Contemporary Blues Album". Since then, 51 Phantom and Electric Blue Watermelon have received nominations in that same category. The group also won a Blues Music Award for "Best New Artist Debut" in 2001.[3]

The band made their network television debut in 2000 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. They also served as the house band for a short period in 2004 on Last Call with Carson Daly.

The band now backs up and tours with John Hiatt. They have released an album with him entitled Master of Disaster. All the members of the Allstars have also teamed up with Robert Randolph and John Medeski to form The Word.

In November 2007, Luther Dickinson joined The Black Crowes as lead guitarist, and has appeared on their albums Warpaint (2008), Before the Frost...Until the Freeze (2009) and Croweology (2010). Luther Dickinson currently devotes his time to both the Black Crowes and the North Mississippi Allstars. Cody Dickinson has also started a side project, Hill Country Revue, featuring Daniel Coburn, Kirk Smithhart, Doc Samba and Ed Cleveland.[4] They are sometimes joined by Luther Dickinson and members of the Burnside family. They have released two albums, Make A Move (2009) and Zebra Ranch (2010).[5]

Luther and Cody Dickinson's father was the Memphis musician and record producer, Jim Dickinson. He, besides releasing music in his own name, worked with Ry Cooder, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, and Primal Scream. Jim Dickinson also set up the Zebra Ranch recording studio complex during the 1990s in Hernando, Mississippi. His career spanned more than four decades before he died on August 15, 2009.

The band opened for Robert Plant and the Band of Joy on their concert tour in 2011. They also opened for Dave Matthews Band in the spring of 2013.

Their latest release, World Boogie Is Coming was issued on September 3, 2013.[6]

Releases

References

  1. ↑ "lowebow". Cigar Box Guitars. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  2. ↑ Bridgman, Gary. "COMMENTARY: How Lowebow Can You Go? | News Feature | Memphis News and Events". Memphis Flyer. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  3. ↑ Wiederhorn, Jon (25 May 2001). "B.B. King, Shemekia Copeland Top Winners At W.C. Handy Blues Awards". MTV News. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Official Website". Hill Country Revue. Retrieved 2011-12-31.
  5. ↑ "Official Website". Hill Country Revue. Retrieved 2011-12-31.
  6. ↑ Steve Leggett (2013-09-03). "World Boogie Is Coming - North Mississippi Allstars | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  7. ↑ Steve Leggett (2013-09-03). "World Boogie Is Coming - North Mississippi Allstars | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-10-20.

External links