Royal Southern Brotherhood

The Royal Southern Brotherhood

The BIOGRAPHY

Cyril Neville Percussion and Vocals     Devon Allman Guitar and Vocals     Mike Zito Guitar and Vocals                            Charlie Wooton Bass         Yonrico Scott Drums

 Before they even
hit a chord, Royal Southern Brotherhood had attention. In the Southern US,
where music is religion, two rock n roll bloodlines tower above all others.
In the saloon bars from Mississippi to Maryland, mere mention of the Allman and
Neville Brothers casts a magic spell. Conversation falls silent. Pool balls
stop rolling. Ten-gallon hats are tipped in respect and beer-bottles raised in
salute. These arent just bands, theyre gods, and with a lineup comprising
both the iconic Cyril Neville and Devon Allman, Royal Southern Brotherhood come
pre-loaded with expectations. Dont worry: they can match them. The family tree
might be auspicious, but this new band trades on talent, not genealogy. Its
not about rock history: its about the here-and-now.

This lineup has talent to burn. Youll already
know Cyril Neville: poet, philosopher, percussion master and perhaps the
Souths last great soul singer. At 63, this is the latest chapter in a career
that began with 1970s debut solo single, Gossip,
and his touchdown in the lineup of older brother Arts funk outfit, The Meters,
who had already hit big with 1969s immortal Cissy Strut. Cyril lent percussion and vocals to classic albums
including 1972s Cabbage Alley and
1975s Fire On The Bayou, and when
ber-fan Mick Jagger invited The Meters to open the Rolling Stones stadium
tour of 1975, he suggested Cyril took vocals (they agreed). Post-Meters, hes
been key to the rise of The Neville Brothers, created alchemy with Bob Dylan,
Bono and Willie Nelson, toured with funk act Galactic, led his solo band Tribe
13, and made TV appearances on Jimmy
Kimmel Live! and HBOs Treme.
Its one hell of a CV but hes only just getting started.

Likewise Devon Allman. As the son of Gregg
Allman, the 36-year-old has rock n roll in his DNA, but hes always walked
his own path. Growing up apart from his father in St Louis, MO, and refusing to
trade on his celebrity surname, Devons formative influences took in everyone
from The Beatles to KISS, while his early bands ran the musical gamut rather
than echo the Allmans. In 1999, he hit the radar as leader of Honeytribe, whose
fearless albums announced him as a next-generation guitar hero, but by his
thirties, the pull of his Southern heritage couldnt be denied, and he willingly
fell into the soul-drenched blues-rock style that recalls his key influences,
Carlos Santana and his uncle Duane Allman, while making his own mark.

Not many guitarists could stand toe-to-toe with
him. Step up Mike Zito: the blues ace whose ear for melody provides the
counterpoint to his wingmans rocking tendencies. Nominated in 2011 for the
Blues Music Foundations Best Blues Rock award, and winner of 2010s Blues
Music Award for Song Of The Year with the title track of Pearl River (a co-write with Cyril Neville), few stars are rising
faster. As former St Louis circuit-mates and friendly rivals, Devon and Mike
have history, and while the guitarist has known trials in his life just
listen to 2011s award-nominated Greyhound
album for an account of the addictions that left him homeless in Florida
Royal Southern Brotherhood finds him long-term sober and with soul flowing
through his fingers.    

 Giving Royal Southern Brotherhood its hip-shaking groove are
bassist Charlie Wooton and drummer Yonrico Scott: both heavyweight names in
their own right, with Charlies bass chops celebrated on the Southern jam scene
for his sets with Oliver Wood of the Woods Brothers, and Yonrico hitting the
skins for luminaries including the Derek Trucks Band, Gregg Allman and the
Allman Brothers themselves. When these five stellar musicians come together
as Royal Southern Brotherhood, the planets align.

They
said that rock n roll was dead, but they were wrong. Right now, in 2014, theres
something in the air, as Royal Southern Brotherhood drag their thrilling new
brand of blues-rock and white-hot musicianship from the Southern States onto
the world stage. The South is rising again. Come along for the ride.