Double Trouble Reunion, May 25th 2012

Double Trouble Reunion

May 25^th at 3^rd & Lindsley, Nashville TN.

It is May 25^th, 2012. A packed house ready to receive what most would consider a powerhouse of the best electric blues Nashville TN has ever heard. Walking in from the front of the club you would give your ticket to the guy at the door and pass through the open bar onto the main seating area lined with tables. All of the lights are dim looking up at the balcony and wrapping my head around amazed at the atmosphere. Here it is going on to 7:00 P.M. the musicians take the stage and the crowd cheers.

“For the lineup tonight we have the Original Double Trouble featuring Chris 'Whipper' Layton, Tommy Shannon, Reese Wynans, Jack Pearson, Mike Farris, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Dave Perkins, Tom Britt, Bart Walker, Rob McNally, Tom Bukovac, Gary Nicholson, James Pennebaker and a few guest.”

The crowd cheers some more!

I noticed several electric guitar sounds played through amps with pedals and ‘mic’ed for perfection. Off to the left of the stage you had Double Trouble’s keyboard/organist player Reese Wynans. In the middle there was Chris ‘Whipper’ on this nice candy apple red drum set with a sparkle no one could miss, bearing the clubs name in black literature on the front of the kick drum. To the right of the drums opposite side of Reese is the bassist Tommy Shannon on his Fender electric. These guys played throughout the show for two 70-minute sets.

The sound was amazing! Several floor monitors and speakers hanging from trusses and chained from the ceiling. There was never any raw sounds or annoying static. I was very pleased with the overall show. I enjoyed that every member improvised the whole show with very little practice… One could tell that the blues was apart of them and the audience as well! I could feel the universal circle of energy between the artist and me. Being in front of the stage versus the recorded versions gave the best experience one could ever understand.

Double Trouble started out as the band Triple Threat Revue created by Stevie Ray Vaughan in 1978 with an all-star cast consisting of Lou Ann Barton (Vocals), Fredde Walden (Drums), Jackie Newhouse (Bass), and Johnny Reno (Saxophone). The name Double Trouble came from a song done by Otis Rush. In 1985 the final group consisted of Chris Layton (Drums), Tommy Shannon (bass), and Reese Wynans (Keyboards).

I had the luxury of meeting the band and was able to ask them a few questions. I wanted to know what their reaction was to the success of technology and how they feel it has changed for better or worse. To sum it up they all felt the same about the question. 

Before the digital age life was expensive and it took forever to send mail and communicate. (The manager/coordinator had $900.00 a month payments on phone bills and faxes) It cost money to send press releases and information. Now with the ever-growing Internet/technology the group was able to send emails much faster and locate potential clients etc… Even though this reduced the high-end monthly payment, the band itself had more responsibilities. With this they talk about 1000’s of emails, non-stop questions and the “I know you, how are things going” questions. The stress can put a strain on not just the band but all other musicians/artist alike. (If you don’t say something at all, or if you say the wrong thing, people can get confused, upset and angry) With the rise of Facebook, Twitter and all other mainstream social networks life on the road can get crazy… (All they want to do is entertain)

“Its tuff out there for a bluesman!” – Reese Wynans

“It’s not like it used to be. You gotta bite the bullet, it’s something that just evolved… It evolved.” – Tommy Shannon

“It sounds great on the stage!” – Reese Wynans