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Eagles Tribute, Already Gone Releases New Album After years of playing in original bands that went nowhere, this five piece country rock band found inspiration again as a successful Eagles tribute band. Originally conceived as an outlet that would challenge them both musically and vocally, the band's popularity surged as word spread of their pitch-perfect harmonies, tight instrumentation and witty stage patter. Before long they were known as the "South's premier Eagles tribute band", playing before large crowds of appreciative fans. As the venues improved, and the crowds grew larger, something else soared on the wings of success: inspiration. After ten years, the band began writing songs again, this time in the style of bands they'd loved from their youth - including the Eagles of course, but also The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and other great bands of the 60's & 70's. Without saying a word, they began slipping their original songs into their set lists. The response was immediate and positive. Encouraged, the band entered the studio and began recording their new music. The result - their debut EP, The Open Road - is a reflection of all of their influences through the years. The songs are melodic, and the lyrics are witty and thought-provoking, at times warily hopeful for the future, while extolling the virtues of a small-town past. From songs about heartache in the modern world, to songs about the triumph of love over the vagaries of time, Already Gone packs a lot of meaning into six tracks.
Now Already Gone is back with their new album, "8-Tracks". In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, we sat down for a phone interview with Clint Springer (lead vocals/guitar) and Jay Bourgeois (bass/vocals) of ALREADY GONE, to talk about the band's soon-to-be-released second album, called "8-Tracks", and the seeming contradiction of the long-established, Houston-based Eagles tribute band releasing and performing original music. Q: Let's start with the obvious question. Already Gone has been a successful Eagles tribute band in Texas for almost 15 years. What made you decide to add original music?
Clint: Songwriting is part of who we are but we had no outlet for it, other than maybe forming another band. We had already developed a good following as an Eagles tribute and we were playing theaters and bigger venues. So around 2014, we started inserting a few original songs into our Eagles sets without saying anything. People immediately started asking about the songs and eventually started requesting them at our shows. That led to us releasing our first album, "The Open Road", in 2017.
Q: On "The Open Road", you guys stayed close to the "Eagles sound" has that changed with "8-Tracks"?
Jay: Yes. This time around, we wrote songs that were inspired by all of our favorite bands from the 1970's, not just the Eagles. There are songs inspired by Zeppelin, the Stones, McCartney, Queen, Styx all of the bands we loved as kids. So this album is a bit more adventurous. It features a lot more piano and strings, which kept Johnny (Ono, keyboards/guitars/vocals) busy!
Clint: The goal was to make a record that sounds like it could have been released in the 70's. We felt like back then, there was more value on every aspect of an album - the songs, lyrics, album art and so on. We wanted "8-Tracks" to be a piece of art, not just a collection of songs. It has a definite 70's vibe and feel to it, so I think we succeeded.
Q: Why did you name the album "8-Tracks"?
Clint: When you think about it, the first time that you could really take your music on the road with you, was when 8-tracks were released in the 70's. Suddenly you could play your music in the car. That was a big deal at the time. And 8-tracks were primitive, but they sort of forced you to listen to the entire album straight through it was clunky to try to move between programs. So every song mattered. That's the way we approached writing and recording this album we hope fans will listen straight through, and will enjoy the "album" experience not just this song or that song.
Q: Did the pandemic affect the way you recorded the new album?
Jay: Not really, it just delayed the release. We were hoping to release the album this month (May) or even earlier but that wasn't possible. We have a team that helps us with marketing, videos, photography, etc. and obviously we haven't been able to do those things during the pandemic. So now we're hoping for a July or August release.
Q: How will the release of "8-Tracks" change your live show?
Clint: We'll be adding more songs from the album to the show, but we'll still be performing Eagles songs. That won't change.
Q: Who writes the songs for the band?
Jay: We all do. We all contribute, it's a group effort. We're all songwriters at heart, so there is never a shortage of material. There are songs that are left over from the "8-Tracks" sessions that will probably show up in the future, and we've already written new songs for another album if we do another album (laughs).
Q: Will you do another album in the future? Are you already thinking that far ahead?
Clint: Possibly. I love the recording studio experience and the ambiance. This album took almost a year and a half to write and record. We're focused on live shows more than anything else, for now. Maybe we'll record a few one-off songs next year.
Q: A year and a half? That's a long time!
Clint: It is, but we like to experiment in the studio. We'll record the basic tracks and then try different things to see what works. It's a long process but we're fortunate to be able to record that way.
Jay: And Marty (Comeaux, guitars, vocals) retired from the band after 10 years, just before we started recording, and that slowed us down a little. He wanted to focus on helping to produce and record the album, so that became his primary role. That's really his passion. He did a fabulous job.
Q: And so you had to bring in a new guitarist in the middle of the process?
Clint: Yes, Harry (Ochsenbein, guitars/vocals) joined in early 2019 and jumped right into the recording process. Harry and Danny (Lee, drums/vocals) have been friends for a long time and played together in the Zealots back in the '90's. They have a long history together, and Danny knew that there would be good chemistry musically and personally. So that made everything easier. And Harry ended up contributing a song to the album, which was great.
Q: We keep hearing that sales of physical CD's are down and that everyone just streams music these days. How does that affect your strategy for releasing your music?
Jay: We're fortunate that our audience is from a generation that bought albums, 8-tracks, CD's, etc., and our experience is that they still prefer to buy something tangible rather than download or stream the album. They want to read the liner notes and see the photos. We know that streaming has its place, and we make our music available for download and streaming, but artists don't make any meaningful money off of streaming their music, so it's good that our audience wants to buy something tangible. Streaming music is a huge rip-off for artists.
Q: What about recording cover songs? You guys recorded a great version of the Eagles' song "Witchy Woman" in 2018. Is that song on the new album?
Clint: No, it's available on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon music, all the usual places, same as "The Open Road". But you can't put cover songs on physical CD's unless you manually keep track of the royalties, and we don't want to do that. So it's available for download or streaming only.
Q: Last question - do you still consider yourselves to be a tribute band?
Jay: I'm not sure we ever considered ourselves to be a true tribute band we never tried to dress like the Eagles or recreate their live show. We just play the songs. We generally stay true to the original recordings, but not always. We put our own stamp on everything we do. People have loved it for 15 years and we'll keep doing it as long as they keep coming to the shows.
Q: Thanks guys, and good luck with the new album.
Be sure to check out Already Gone at a music venue near you soon as live music returns to the Houston area. Their next scheduled local performance will be July 5th at Bernhardt Winery, located at 9043 County Rd. 204 in Plantersville, Texas. To reserve your seats, call (936) 894- 9829 and tell them that Houston Music News (the magazine) sent you. Serving Houston, Tx and the surrounding areas. Music News covers all kinds of music from Rock to Country and Alternative to R&B |
