Shulertown

When we last talked to Fayetteville band Shulertown, we were kind of blown away by their diverse range of musical influences. Come this Friday, we’ll finally get to find out what a “western-adult-rock-with-carribean-folk-dark-country-rock-ska-grass” record sounds like.

The band is set to release their debut album, (appropriately titled) Free Range on Friday, March 18 at George’s Majestic Lounge.

The album is entirely self-recorded and self-produced, and according to Jason Reddecliff (guitar, vocals), the 12-song record is a reflection of the band’s eclectic tastes.

“One song will have a bluegrass feel or a ska feel, and then you’ll have one that’s straight up alt-country or cow punk,” he said. “Some of them have a mix of everything. They all end up rocking at one point or another, though.”

Reddecliff said he’s eager for the public to hear the record, which has been finished since late 2010.

The show on Friday kicks off at around 9 p.m. with locals Jr. Soapbox. Shulertown will take the stage at around 10 p.m., and Flipoff Pirates are set to close out the night. Cover is $6.

Those who can’t make it Friday night can get their hands on Free Range at several local record stores, or download it at iTunes, CDBaby, or DigStation. - Fayetteville Flyer

Shulertown CD hollers out with the spirit of Fayetteville
By Richard Davis
TFW Staff Writer

The first and 11th tracks on “Free Range” bookend with the sounds of a locomotive engine — a funny, yet appropriate, choice for a group whose music doesn’t track to a rail-line path and sonically inspires visions of open air and unrestrained options.
The band is Shulertown, comprised of names you’ve likely heard in other collectives in the region: Jason Reddecliff (Jupiter’s Hollow, Mothership), Charlie Platt (punkinhead, Ultra Suede), Owen McClung (Mothership) and Cowboy Tom. The foursome began writing and playing songs together last April, had their first gig in June, and now, are looking forward to the official release of their first CD at George’s Majestic Lounge on March 18 — although “Free Range” is already available on iTunes and is an international sensation.
“We’re global now,” Jason joked in a conversation on the patio at Rogue on Dickson Street in Fayetteville.
“We’re huge in Spain,” Charlie said.
“We’ve sold two albums in Spain,” Jason explained. “One guy bought our CD and turned one of his friends on to it.”
To my ear, Shulertown resides in an amorphously defined area I mentally check in as back porch music — and I mean that as a complement. The songs on “Free Range” can be as sweet and refreshing as a honeysuckle breeze or as rowdy and raucous as a nighttime bonfire.
“I don’t like to get too technical about it,” Jason said of the band’s sound. “It’s kind of American rock, Americana rock. Lots of bluegrass and ska and rock influences. Little bit of funk.”
“Ska-billy?” Charlie suggested “The cool thing about American music is it encompasses all that. If it’s from this country we try to check a little bit of that in there.”
“The short definition is rock because I think all of our songs so far rock at one point or another,” Cowboy Tom said. “There some point in the song where the rock comes through.”
Regardless of how you want to categorize it, “Free Range” supplies a good feeling, like listening to live music on a back yard bench swing on a late spring night. It feels like Fayetteville. It feels like home. - Fayetteville Free Weekly

Bring your dogs-or just yourself and your friends-to Dog Party USA on Saturday and howl at the summer sky in “Singing for Mutts & Meows.” Dog Party USA is hosting the benefit for Spay Arkansas, the local nonprofit organization that is working to establish a spay and neuter clinic in NWA.

This will be the first appearance by a new band, Shulertown (Shulertown, for you newbies, was the original name for the Dickson Street area). The band is made up of some veteran musicians-Jason Reddecliff, Charlie Platt, Owen McClung and Tom Lawson-who cut their chops in bands like Punkinhead, Ultra Suede, Jupiter Hollow and Mothership. Influences for the band’s original songs range from Johnny Cash to Dinosaur Jr. After showcasing some of their own songs, the band will lead a karaoke party. The fun begins at 5:30 p.m. A $15 cover (or $25 for two and younger than 12 free) gets you music, BBQ, hot dogs, libations and lots of fun. The event will end at dark. Dogs should be vaccinated and leashed. - Fayetteville Free Weekly

Every band that plays original music says something like “all of us have really different influences, so our music comes out sounding pretty diverse” or “we sound like western-adult-rock-with-carribean-folk-dark-country-rock-ska-grass-influences.”

For as long as MySpace has existed, bands have been listing ironic-sounding genre combinations on their profiles, and before that, they just threw them out to screw with reporters. Bands love to describe themselves as “indie-folk-metal-polka” or “rap-metal” (yeah right).

When new-ish Fayetteville band Shulertown call themselves “western-adult-rock-with-carribean-folk-dark-country-rock-ska-grass-influences,” however, they aren’t lying. Of the five demos currently available on their MySpace page, no two songs sound alike. In fact, it’s not hard to hear traces of all of those genres coming through in their music.

According to guitarist Jason Reddecliff, the band has been hard at work on a 25-song set of completely original music, and they’re hoping to introduce themselves to Fayetteville with a free show at 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 7 at George’s Majestic Lounge.

We got in touch with Shulertown, and they were nice enough to answer a few questions for us.

Fayetteville Flyer: What have you been listening to lately?
Shulertown: Chris Murray Combo. They are an acoustic ska combo, campfire-ska if you will. Chris is a great songwriter. Rolling Stones-Exile on Main Street, Sirius/XM “Outlaw Country,” Sonvolt, Bela Fleck’s Drive Album, barking dogs, but mostly listening to each other and where these songs are taking us.

FF: Who’s in Shulertown, anyway?
ST: Owen McClung plays stand-up bass and vocals, Cowboy Tom is on piano and guitar, Charlie Platt is on drums and vocals, and Jason Reddecliff is on guitar and vocals.

FF: What are some other bands you guys have been in?
ST: Charlie is in Ultra-Suede and was one of the founding members of Punkinhead. Jason was in Jupiter Hollow out of Springfield, MO before moving to Fayetteville. Then, he and Owen played with Mothership. Charlie was also the drummer in that band for a spell. Owen played in The Bennett’s, a bluegrass band out of Eureka Springs. Jason and Owen were also in Me and Owen, a novelty acoustic duo that played off and on for many years. Tom has been writing and recording his own music for a long time and has brought many songs and his composition skills to the band.

FF: Back before there was something called The Legacy Building, there was a Shulertown in Fayetteville. Is that where the name comes from?
ST: Shulertown was/is the nickname for the 400-500 block of W. Dickson St. It comes from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. There was a soda jerk at the “Live and Let Live” drugstore on Dickson named T. Fred Shuler. His friends from the University would often hang out where he worked and it became more of a college hangout back then. He opened his own place after graduating from the University and carried on the tradition he started, by being a local “haunt” for students, artists, and musicians. We researched the name and story and it suggests being the start of the Dickson St. scene as we know it today. And yes, it was also a music club where the Legacy is now.

FF: I’m always interested in this kind of thing. Describe your songwriting process. Do you write them together? Does someone bring them in?
ST: All of the above. We have all been in original bands so we all have songwriting experience. Most of the songs come into our factory as raw material and get forged in the fires of collaboration. Nothing is sacred, we try to make them the best they can be while staying true to the original essence of the song. Our patented seven-step process is kept under lock and key in an undisclosed location, and if we share any more we will be in violation of our sacred blood oath. But really if you look hard enough everyone can find their muse.

FF: This is a hard one. How would you describe your sound?
ST: Sonic butter. Western adult rock with some carribean and folk influences. A lot of 3 part vocal harmony. So…I guess we would be the sensitive dark country rock/ska-grass version of Crosby, Stills, Nash, Dekker, Zappa, Flatt and Scruggs?

FF: Most of you guys have lived in Fayetteville for a long time. How do you perceive the music scene in town these days?
ST: Seems a bit quiet, but tons of opportunity! Fayette-villains have always been so supportive and open to new music. We’re just hoping to find our niche.

FF: What’s next for you guys? Any recording plans in the works?
ST: We have begun work on our first album. We have enough material at this point for two, but first things first. We are hoping to have it ready by mid-September. Between now and then, lots of writing, recording, and hopefully playing locally and regionally. - Fayetteville Flyer