FortyTwenty

If this was on the jukebox in a country bar, I'd be the first one to drop in a quarter. Even with its swagger and promising songwriting, it's the steel guitar that gets me every time. If they keep this up, these five Nebraska guys could really go places. - Craig Shelburne, CMT.com

The band FortyTwenty knows how to throw a party. At one show last year, a group of women started line dancing to one of the band's songs, and the band quit playing mid-song.

Singer David Wilson mentioned offhandedly to the crowd, "We don't allow line dancing at our shows."

Another time, the band played an impromptu acoustic set outside of Duffy's Tavern, 1412 O St., before a gig, garnering more than $50 in cash tips to go along with their payday for the official show.

You can catch the band this Saturday with Legendary Lloyd at the Branched Oak Inn in Malcolm.



DN: Do people confuse your band's name with the time of day (associated with smoking marijuana)?

DW: We named our band after a classic John Deere tractor, the 4020. To avoid being confused with a tractor, we generally spell out our band name (FortyTwenty). So, our fine pot-smoking friends not only convert our digits back to the John Deere numerals (4020), but they remove one of the zeros and add in a semi-colon. This is how much the said pot smokers want our band name to relate to pot.



DN: If you were a jam band, do you think you could pull off a "Milk and Pancakes" into "Pancakes and Beer" back into "Milk and Pancakes" free-for-all?

DW: Is that a challenge? Because, if you're challenging the FortyTwenty band to combine our two songs about breakfast foods, we will not back down. Honky-tonk to polka and back to honky-tonk is not a problem for the FortyTwenty band. And the keys are close enough, or so it would seem.



DN: People seem to drink a lot at your shows. Can you think of a time when it's gotten out of hand?

DW: Better question: Can you think of a time when a FortyTwenty show has not gotten out of hand?



DN: You guys are known to play a decent amount of covers during your sets? What are your favorites to play and are there any that people request that you'd like to retire?

DW: I like Hank Williams Sr., and sometimes when I'm in the mood, I like to play a lot of Hank Williams songs. Like 10 or 12, which I realize is kind of annoying, but believe me, I don't realize I'm doing it until it's too late. We're to a point where we could probably fill a full night with originals, but we like to pay our respects to our elders.

And, by goodness, if someone yells out "Buck Owens," or "Iron Maiden," we're going to play a Buck Owens or an Iron Maiden song. What kind of self-respecting country and western band would not fulfill such a request?
- Daily Nebraskan

There's something about a band that's named after a John Deere tractor and plays fiddle songs peppered with yodels and hoo-eys that's inherently more Nebraskan than any of the fashionable hipsters from Omaha's Saddle Creek Records who've brought national attention to the state's music scene in recent years. Yet home is one of the places the farmer-ish boys of Forty Twenty feel the most disrespected.

"We almost feel like around here we're too country for country," complains "Cowboy" David Wilson, songwriter, vocalist, fiddler and rhythm guitarist for Forty Twenty.

He may have a point. Forty Twenty's rocking country smacks of an edgy authenticity absent from the banalities that have long passed as country on the radio and television stations Nebraskans (and most Americans, for that matter) rely on for their music. Deprived of good country long enough -- perhaps entire lifetimes -- some people just don't recognize it anymore.

Wilson's story of the night that teenagers in tiny Malcolm, Nebraska, committed the ultimate faux pas of line-dancing to a classic country song illustrates this point perfectly. "We just, like, stopped the song midyodel and were like, 'Don't do that. This is Hank Williams,'" Wilson says. "If you want to go down and do that to a Kenny Chesney song, fine."

Needless to say, don't expect Forty Twenty to supply a tune by said lame-o or any of Nashville's other contemporary darlings. "When we're playing somewhere and people come up and request a Toby Keith song, we get upset," Wilson says ominously.

And rightfully so. A pile-driving palette of rockabilly, honky-tonk, alt-country and Americana, the drinking songs and farcical odes on Forty Twenty's two all-original albums are about as far from mainstream country as the Cornhuskers State is from Nashville.

But as much as his band draws from Hank Williams' well, it embraces the fury of metal and the ethos of punk (which co-songwriter, bassist and vocalist Lern Tilton was schooled on). If it's the stink of the oldies that turns off teenagers, it's the driving guitars in a "War Pigs" cover that offends the aged.

"We're basically old-school country, but a lot louder and uncomfortably faster," Wilson says.

- The Pitch

It’s hard to know how to describe a band like FortyTwenty. Let’s just say that these guys comprise a group of self-sufficient wild men, and that listening to "Sober and Stupid" will inspire you to jump right on top of their bandwagon for the ride. These fellows are lots of fun.

First impressions don’t always tell the true tale, but in this case my first impression turned out to be the right one. As usual, my first impression of the band (as happens with any group or singer new to me) came to me from the CD package itself. Simply turning it over to the back side for a quick look at the 13 song titles put a smile on my face. Who could read titles like these and not want to hear the whole songs: “Peace, Love & Honky-Tonk”, “Skunk Yodel No. 7”, “Ceiling Fan Polka”, “Sober and Stupid”, “Doggone Happy to Be Blue”, and “Pancakes and Beer”? Well, not me, for sure. I was hooked within a few seconds and couldn’t wait to hear the band.

FortyTwenty didn’t let me down. The guys describe themselves as a “cowbilly quintet”, and that’s a great way to put it. Their strong suits are the humor and irony found in many of their songs (all of which were written by members of the band), and the overall great alternative honky-tonk sound that they create. Steel guitar, fiddle and doghouse bass all have prominent roles in TwentyForty music, keeping their songs well within the country music genre no matter how wild, or how crazy, the vocals and lyrics might get. My personal favorite tracks (at least for now) are “Sorry”, “Peace Love & Honky-Tonk”, and “Life That Chose Me”. I’m a sucker for good lyrics and gritty vocals, and these songs all deliver on both counts.

FortyTwenty is made up of David Wilson (fiddle) and Lern Tilton (bass), who did the bulk of the songwriting; J.J. King on drums, Jon Bradley on electric guitar and Lloyd McCarter on pedal steel. King and Bradley did all of the songwriting not done by Wilson and Tilton, and McCarter is in fine form on his pedal steel.

If you’re still in doubt as what to expect from FortyTwenty, think Derailers, BR5-49 or Cross Canadian Ragweed. FortyTwenty has things in common with each of these groups, but they are different enough that, with a bit of luck, they will carve out a unique spot for themselves and people will be comparing new bands to them in the future.
- RAMagazine

(Slackjaw Records) The boys from Nebraska are back with a vengeance on their sophomore release, Sober And Stupid. This follow-up to their terrific debut, Lowdown And Dirty, finds FortyTwenty returning fully intact with members: David Wilson (vocals, fiddle, acoustic guitar), Lern Tilton (Doghouse bass, vocals), J.J. King (drums, vocals), Lloyd McCarter (pedal-steel, vocals), and Jon Bradley (vocals, lead guitar, dobro).

As with their debut, all of the songs on Stupid And Sober are originals, with the bulk of the songwriting (and lead vocal) duties split between Dave and Vern. However, the difference on Sober And Stupid is, whereas the songs on their debut were written pre-FortyTwenty and there was a stark contrast between the two writers' styles, to make for a more uniform sound for their latest effort, Dave and Vern collaborate on two of the album's songs and included other band members in the process to better represent the band as a whole and the place to where they've since evolved. Another difference is that while their basic sound is the same, Sober and Stupid finds them polishing themselves up a bit, both lyrically and production-wise. Not to be misconstrued as a negative in any way, as they've compromised nothing, it simply demonstrates a band's natural growth- the longer they're together, the more in tune with each other they become and the better they become, as they strive to deliver a higher quality sound.

Once again FortyTwenty delivers an album that mixes together the influences of Hank Williams' honkabilly, Carl Perkins' rockabilly, Jason and the Scorchers' cowpunk- and a little bit of everything in-between. High energy honkabilly fast two steppers come by way of the sweet sentiments of "Paulette," a cautionary tale about marriage with "Milk & Pancakes," and some red hot picking featured in "Ceiling Fan Polka." Despite it's
left of center lyrics that give a fresh and delightfully irreverent perspective to
the theme of cheatin,' "Walk Out" is a
TCB Review…..
straightforward classic style shuffle, as is the terrific "Peace, Love & Honky Tonks," that laments the lack of diversity in life these days and how no one seems to care much. The shuffling "Pancakes And Beer" tells the tale of a man's somewhat
unconventional way of dealing with a broken heart. They toss in some swing with "Doggone
Happy To Be Blue" that finds a down on his luck guy nonetheless being content with his life. The
album's lone ballad, "Sorry," is a steel driven, swaying tale of heartache with a clever spin on the reason for the breakup.

"Skunk Yodel No.7" is a swinging, revved up rockabilly number that incorporates a healthy dose of well executed yodeling. On the outstanding title track, "Stupid And Sober," FortyTwenty combines honky tonk, rockabilly and cowpunk with nicely timed tempo changes in another cautionary tale: woman+promise of salvation=stupid move. The killer "Can't It Be Me," with it's blazing fiddle and wailing guitars is a ferocious cowpunk gem. "The Life That Chose Me" is another of the album's more straightforward songs, about contentment with life that has an 'outlaw' groove to it. On the album's strong closing track, "Turn to the Whiskey" the band combines western, outlaw, classic southern rock and cowpunk on this dark, fierce and desperate tale of a man's downward spiral.

When asked to describe FortyTwenty's sound, Lern answers, "Heavy metal music played in a traditional country format." Dave describes it as "somewhat traditional country, only a little bit louder and sometimes uncomfortably faster." That might explain their appeal that allows them to play and draw crowds at both country and rock venues, not unlike Hank III. Although the band's overall sound is firmly rooted in traditional country, FortyTwenty is fearless when it comes to creativity, unafraid to toss the different styles and aspects of the music into the pot and see what comes out after being briskly stirred together. More often than not, they come up with a winning combination. Front and center is their humor and often with tongues planted firmly in cheek, deliver songs that take tried and true classic country themes and turn them inside out, telling them from a whole new angle. FortyTwenty not only offers the listener a good time and makes music flatout fun, their diversity and fresh approach is a direct challenge (and antidote) to the same old dreary, uninteresting pablum that mainstream offers. For those up for the challenge, then both FortyTwenty and Sober and Stupid are the band and album for you. - Take Country Back

With its reliable diesel engine, the classic John Deere 4020 tractor became known as the ideal tractor for its power and performance when it was introduced in 1963. The Lincoln band Forty Twenty takes its name and work ethic from the classic John Deere 4020 tractor.

Like the tractor they honored by sharing its name, the five members of the Lincoln band Forty Twenty are workhorses, too.

The group plays twangy and upbeat old-time country music with the energy of a punk-rock band.

"We're old-school country but louder and faster," band member David Wilson said in a phone interview en route to a gig in Denver. "We have a lot of fun playing what we're playing. We get a little hyper, a little energetic."

Since forming about three years ago, Forty Twenty has developed a sizable following after touring regionally to promote its debut album, 2003's "Lowdown and Dirty."

"We've gone as far west as Jackson Hole, Wyoming; as far south as Houston, Texas; and as far east as Nashville," Wilson said.

In addition to Wilson (fiddle, acoustic guitar, vocals), the band members are Lern Tilton (vocals, upright bass); J.J. King (drums, vocals); Lloyd McCarter (pedal-steel guitar, vocals); and Jon Bradley (vocals, guitar, dobro).

"We're trying to be an alternative to a lot of the contemporary (music) you hear on contemporary country radio stations," he said.

The band's influences include old-timers such as Hank Williams, Bob Wills, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings.

"It's just pure and honest," Wilson said of those performers' music. "It's just so simple yet powerful."

Forty Twenty recently finished recording its sophomore album, "Sober and Stupid," at Lincoln's Presto! Recording Studios. The album is slated for a Jan. 18 release. - Omaha World Herald