charliehorse

36 The OZARKS MOUNTAINEER • JAN./FEB. 2008
Charliehorse: Come On. Available at
Sound Warehouse, Fayetteville, Ark.,
and www.charliehorseband.com.

If you were a musically adventurous
soul, someone in the tradition of Vance
Randolph who wanted to traipse around
the hills looking for something homegrown,
genuine and real, Fayetteville
would be a good place to start. It’s an
Ozarks town, but also a southern town, a
blues town—a meeting place for various
influences. How pleased you would be
once you had discovered Charliehorse—
musically, a horse of a different color.
Charliehorse embodies the confluence
of styles you would hope to find there,
bringing bits of country, bluegrass,
southern rock, blues, and even New
Orleans funk into their mix. God bless
them for it!
Charliehorse is a great country rock
band, and in the best sense of the term—
they are not at all like this deplorable
squashed-together mess of sound currently
being churned out by the recording
studios in Nashville. No, these guys
are what country rock should be: organic,
soulful and rootsy. The proof is in
their debut CD, Come On.
This Fayetteville quintet evolved out
of a core of guys from southern Missouri
and northern Arkansas—picking buddies
who decided to make a go of it in
Fayetteville bars. They stuck to it, tinkered
with the formula, and with the
addition of New Orleans transplant and
guitarist/songwriter Brad Helms, the
lineup was complete.
Southwest Missouri-born Ben
Wardlaw is the first voice you hear on
Come On, singing the catchy lead-off
track “Good to You,” in which he asks
the rhetorical question: "Have I ever been
good to you / my sweet little thing have I
ever been true?" And with this, the tone
for Come On is set. The womenfolk
aren’t really going to be part of the equation:
"Now don’t get me wrong / I wanna
do right/ and I hope someday that baby I
might." But now is the time for freedom,
playing music, having some fun. That’s
the formula that brought these far-flung
musicians together in the first place,
which makes a good argument that boys
should be boys for awhile. If a
Significant Other is referred to at all, it’s
with no small amount of bitterness and
venom. Listening to this album feels like
hanging out in a cabin in the hills with a
hunting party as they fletch their arrows.
"I guess baby I missed it / I missed your
point of view / but honey you can bet,
put your money on it / I ain’t never
gonna miss you," Wardlaw sings on
“Talk, Talk Talk.” Dang.
Although Wardlaw handles most of
the lead vocals on the rowdy rocking
numbers (his voice reminiscent of the
Rainmakers’ Bob Walkenhorst to these
ears), Helms adds his sure sense of
melody on a few tunes, and really shines
on the ballads. Bassist Stacy Liles contributes
a couple of vocals as well, and
the results here, too, are pleasing. The
lineup is rounded out by the solid backbeat
of drummer David Bright and the
multi-instrumentalist talents of Cody
Russel.
Russel’s contributions on banjo and
lap steel are the poison-tipped arrows in
the Charliehorse quiver. The tasty licks
and subtle textures he adds can slide
right by you if you’re not paying attention.
When you have a band with four
stringed instruments, one might expect
more riff-anchored songs than are found
here, and the ones that are built around
hooks, “Gone to Stay,” for instance,
make for some of the most infectious
moments musically. But there’s no shortage
of picking: arrangements are accentuated
with frequent, tasty soloing.
Lyrically, there are great moments:
"It’s hard to cut a man loose when he’s
tied up his own hands." If lyrics are your
thing, you may or may not relate to
Charliehorse’s brand of aggressive liberation
ideology. But you don’t need to
concern yourself with that if you don’t
want to. Listen to “Come On,” the title
track. This song, along with the CD that
shares its title, is a welcoming, rockinggood
party affair. And even if the party
has to end someday (you can ride a good
horse to death)—as Jay Farrar sang “not
forever, just for now”—the adventurous
souls among us can say we were there
when things were in full swing.

By Mark Bilyeu
A Horse Of A
Different Color
The OZARKS MOUNTAINEER • JAN./FEB. 2008 2

- The Ozarks Mountaineer

36 The OZARKS MOUNTAINEER • JAN./FEB. 2008
Charliehorse: Come On. Available at
Sound Warehouse, Fayetteville, Ark.,
and www.charliehorseband.com.
If you were a musically adventurous
soul, someone in the tradition of Vance
Randolph who wanted to traipse around
the hills looking for something homegrown,
genuine and real, Fayetteville
would be a good place to start. It’s an
Ozarks town, but also a southern town, a
blues town—a meeting place for various
influences. How pleased you would be
once you had discovered Charliehorse—
musically, a horse of a different color.
Charliehorse embodies the confluence
of styles you would hope to find there,
bringing bits of country, bluegrass,
southern rock, blues, and even New
Orleans funk into their mix. God bless
them for it!
Charliehorse is a great country rock
band, and in the best sense of the term—
they are not at all like this deplorable
squashed-together mess of sound currently
being churned out by the recording
studios in Nashville. No, these guys
are what country rock should be: organic,
soulful and rootsy. The proof is in
their debut CD, Come On.
This Fayetteville quintet evolved out
of a core of guys from southern Missouri
and northern Arkansas—picking buddies
who decided to make a go of it in
Fayetteville bars. They stuck to it, tinkered
with the formula, and with the
Although Wardlaw handles most of
the lead vocals on the rowdy rocking
numbers (his voice reminiscent of the
Rainmakers’ Bob Walkenhorst to these
ears), Helms adds his sure sense of
melody on a few tunes, and really shines
on the ballads. Bassist Stacy Liles contributes
a couple of vocals as well, and
the results here, too, are pleasing. The
lineup is rounded out by the solid backbeat
of drummer David Bright and the
multi-instrumentalist talents of Cody
Russel.
Russel’s contributions on banjo and
lap steel are the poison-tipped arrows in
the Charliehorse quiver. The tasty licks
and subtle textures he adds can slide
right by you if you’re not paying attention.
When you have a band with four
stringed instruments, one might expect
more riff-anchored songs than are found
here, and the ones that are built around
hooks, “Gone to Stay,” for instance,
make for some of the most infectious
moments musically. But there’s no shortage
of picking: arrangements are accentuated
with frequent, tasty soloing.
Lyrically, there are great moments:
It’s hard to cut a man loose when he’s
tied up his own hands. If lyrics are your
addition of New Orleans transplant and
guitarist/songwriter Brad Helms, the
lineup was complete.
Southwest Missouri-born Ben
Wardlaw is the first voice you hear on
Come On, singing the catchy lead-off
track “Good to You,” in which he asks
the rhetorical question: Have I ever been
good to you / my sweet little thing have I
ever been true? And with this, the tone
for Come On is set. The womenfolk
aren’t really going to be part of the equation:
Now don’t get me wrong / I wanna
do right/ and I hope someday that baby I
might. But now is the time for freedom,
playing music, having some fun. That’s
the formula that brought these far-flung
musicians together in the first place,
which makes a good argument that boys
should be boys for awhile. If a
Significant Other is referred to at all, it’s
with no small amount of bitterness and
venom. Listening to this album feels like
hanging out in a cabin in the hills with a
hunting party as they fletch their arrows.
I guess baby I missed it / I missed your
point of view / but honey you can bet,
put your money on it / I ain’t never
gonna miss you, Wardlaw sings on
“Talk, Talk Talk.” Dang.
By Mark Bilyeu
A Horse Of A
Different Color
The OZARKS MOUNTAINEER • JAN./FEB. 2008 2
thing, you may or may not relate to
Charliehorse’s brand of aggressive liberation
ideology. But you don’t need to
concern yourself with that if you don’t
want to. Listen to “Come On,” the title
track. This song, along with the CD that
shares its title, is a welcoming, rockinggood
party affair. And even if the party
has to end someday (you can ride a good
horse to death)—as Jay Farrar sang “not
forever, just for now”—the adventurous
souls among us can say we were there
when things were in full swing. b
—Mark Bilyeu
Reviews are a service to Mountaineer
readers, subscribers and artists.
All reviews have contact/ordering
information.
For a listing of venues and gigs of
various Ozarks musical groups, visit
www.mayapplerecords.com. See the list
following for traditional Ozarks music
parties and gatherings.
• • •
- Ozark Mountaineer

From: SPRINGFIELD NEWS LEADERPublished Friday, April 29, 2005
Charliehorse finds rock style without compromise
Roots band bridges the divide between electric, acoustic.
By Michael A. Brothers
News-Leader staff
Fayetteville-based band Charliehorse brings its roots sound to Springfield this weekend for a two-night stint at Patton Alley Pub.
It will be a homecoming of sorts for bassist Stacy Liles, who grew up here and graduated from Southwest Missouri State University. In the mid-1990s he was a member of Springfield-based jam band Jupiter Hollow.
Liles eventually moved to northwest Arkansas after that band broke up and met Cody Russell, a Fayetteville native formerly with short-lived traditional bluegrass group the Boston Mountain Boys.
The two became friends and discovered they had a mutual love of American roots and country music. But the push toward playing together didn't come until the pair ran into another Missourian, guitarist and songwriter Ben Wardlaw, who had just returned to the Ozarks after spending several years living in Colorado, Montana and Alaska.
"We all have musical influences in common that have brought us together," Liles says. "Artists like the Band, Steve Earle and roots music in general — bluegrass, funk, old country, even Dixieland."
Charliehorse began as an acoustic trio playing at a weekly bluegrass night.
"We played every Monday night for two or three months," says Russell, who plays dobro, lap steel, banjo and guitar.
"That helped us build up a song list and (allowed us to) practice and got us going pretty quick," Liles adds.
At that time the musicians were covering their favorite artists like Earle and John Hiatt, and had no visions of anything more.
"We thought we could have some free drinks and maybe meet some women," Russell says, laughing. "It wasn't super goal-oriented, really. We were just rolling with it."
But they had a number of original tunes percolating as well. With those new songs in mind, the musicians began searching for ways to flesh out their sound. They wanted to move toward a rocking electric style without compromising their roots influences.
They found the key to that transition in drummer David Bright, whose understated style helped Charliehorse comfortably bridge the acoustic-electric divide.
"A lot of the songs we started doing seem like things that could be played around a campfire," Liles says, "but they evolved into a more full-on rock sound with drums and a full band."
Russell, who's now playing more electric and steel guitar than acoustic instruments, says Charliehorse has taken on "an electric honky-tonk sound as opposed to just folk or bluegrass."
While most of the band's repertoire still consists of covers, originals like "GTO" evoke the sound of a plugged-in Split Lip Rayfield while "Cut It Loose" is a jam-influenced country rock song.
With gigs in Oklahoma and Little Rock, plus appearances at festivals like the Great Unknown and Wakarusa under their belt, the musicians continue to expand their geographic borders despite their laid-back attitudes.
"We don't take ourselves too seriously," Liles says. "We're just getting up there and doing our thing." - SPRINGFIELD NEWS LEADERPublished Friday, April 29, 2005

Come On
CharlieHorse
Independent
---Tracy Sanchez
Ready for some good time southern alt country music?
Well that's exactly what you get with these five Ozark boys who mainly hail from the Fayetteville area. "Come On" is a collection of real good down home songs which tell the tales of women, drinking, cars and other troubles. The lap steel guitar really grabs you on the title track while the band lays down a solid groove. "GTO" tells of a regret in selling of a Malibu, but not getting rid of a GTO. "Gone to Stay" and "South 25" tell about the roads life takes us down. "Roll My Smoke" teaches you the lesson of what happens when you get high and lose your pipe. "A Song for John" is dedicated to John Lennon and tells of how it was a shame that he was murdered.
These are some very well written songs that incorporate Rock, Alt-Country, and Bluegrass, but what really grabbed me on this CD was the bands solid foundation and the excellent guitar work!
You can find out more about these local Arkansans and buy this CD at their myspace site http://www.myspace.com/charliehorseband. You can also see them in Fayetteville and Little Rock in the coming months. They will be opening up for Big Smith at the Rumba Revolution Room on June 2nd - Nightflying - Arkansas' #1 Entertainment Guide