Artist description DblWiDE is a Rockabilly/Ya’llternative country band which recently relocated to the Gainesville area after nearly a decade as the famed house band of the Bucksnort Tavern in Appaloosa, Texas. This four-piece combo features veteran frontman The Colonel on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, long-time Nashville mainstay Junior's lead guitar stylings, and the rock solid rhythms of Dub and Mr. Earl on bass and drums, respectively. The Colonel, who also serves as the band’s principal songwriter, hails from California, Kentucky where he was awarded his title by the Governor of the bluegrass state. Dub crawled out of the backwoods of Oklahoma, honing his skills first learned on his cable-and-tub bass through many years on the club circuit. Junior, a Florida native, spent many years touring America with Buck Carter’s band, The Bucknifes, and is well known as a producer for nationally recognized country acts like Wade Block and Crook & Caitlin. Prior to arriving in Texas to round out dblWiDE, Mr. Earl drummed behind  some of America’s finest rock and bluegrass outfits, most recently lending his skills in support of The Dancing Outlaw, Jesco White. He enjoys both kinds of music and claims his Bach and Tchaikovsky is Haggard and Husky. If you’re looking for serious Rockabilly and Country, then you should get out and see dblWiDE when they’re in your town.

Music Style Rockabilly and y'allternative Country

Musical Influences Elvis, Reverend Horton Heat, Hank Williams, George Jones

Group Members the Colonel, Junior, Earl, and Dub

Instruments Vocals, Big fat Gretsch, Rippin Tele, thumpin bass, rawkin drums

Press Reviews December 1, 2000.........."Anyone with even a basic knowledge of the history of rock 'n' roll can tell you its genesis was the result of a mixed marriage between early rhythm and blues and country music.Now, at the dawn of the 21st century, the genre has evolved into so many different directions that its practitioners range from Dave Matthews to Hanson to Marilyn Manson, and all points in between. But defining rock 'n' roll wasn't always so complicated.Back in the day, when Elvis was a slim young man with so much swagger that he wouldn't have been caught dead in a white jumpsuit, and Jerry Lee Lewis was burning up pianos all over the country, there was still a lot of hillbilly in rock. Most rockers came from the South, wore cowboy boots, drove gas-guzzling cars with big fins and drank more than their fair share of Tennessee whiskey.I'm not sure who came up with the term "rockabilly," or when, but it's one of those words that explains itself just by rolling off the tongue. It's a name that conjures up images of those simpler times, before rock 'n' roll was so full of conscience and political philosophy. Rockabilly is, quite simply, fun.Gainesville's DblWiDE is a rockabilly band, pure and simple. I know you're going to be hearing a lot more about these guys in the near future. Check them out for yourself tonight at the Side Bar, when the group lights up the stage with its roots-rocking set, complete with butt-kicking renditions of rockabilly classics as well as its own songs. Cowboy boots are optional.DblWide's beginnings go all the way back to the youth of the band's frontman, Charles Martin, who is known as "The Colonel," and his love of early rock 'n' roll and country music. Martin sings lead and plays a big old 1961 hollow-body Gretsch guitar (yes, it's orange), which is a must for any true rockabilly star.Martin, who grew up with music in his household, first picked up a guitar and began singing when he was 11, kicking around in his hometown of California, Ky."My grandmother played hillbilly guitar," Martin said, his usually serious face breaking into a big old country-boy grin. "I can remember vividly her sticking a lit cigarette behind the strings on the head-stock as she played, long before Keith Richards ever did that."Martin came to Gainesville about a year ago. After playing in numerous pop and hard rock bands, he had a strong desire to return to his roots musically, and knew that his next band would be a rockabilly outfit.Of course, Martin leads a double life. In addition to his role as The Colonel, he has a significant day job. He's a professor of chemistry at the University of Florida."I don't like to tell people that initially," he said somewhat sheepishly. "I like them to see the band first."Rockabilly is, if nothing else, riff-driven music. Providing many of those riffs for dblWide is the superb lead guitarist Tony "Skeet" McMahon. "Skeet is the perfect guitarist for this band," Martin said. "Getting him was like a miracle from God."Although McMahon's musical background is primarily hard rock, he has taken to rockabilly like the proverbial duck to water."I thought it would be a great challenge for me, learning to play this kind of guitar," McMahon said. His tasty leads are the perfect complement to Martin's twangy, tremelo-laden chords.Of course, the foundation of any good rockin' band is its rhythm section, and dblWide features two of the best in town, bassist Keith "Dub" Bahjat and drummer Rick "Earl" Saunders. These guys are tight, which surely makes it easier for Martin to cut loose with confidence, slapping mercilessly on his Bigsby whammy bar and strutting around the stage.The band's set is about half rock 'n' roll standards like "Maybelline" and "Hot Rod Lincoln," and half original material, written by Martin. "The whole reason I joined was the Colonel's songs," McMahon said. "They blew me away." ...Douglas Jordan, Gainesville Sun. ------------------------------------------------------------------------November 10, 2000......."You're going to be hearing a lot about a new rockabilly band in Gainesville. The name of the band is dblWiDE (pronounced "doublewide") and these guys are absolutely amazing. I caught the band's set last Saturday at the High Note and was blown away, really. They've got the look, the attitude, and they definitely rock.It also doesn't hurt that the band is fronted by a slick-haired, acrobatic honorary Kentucky colonel who plays a big orange Gretsch guitar. They played a powerful set of originals and tasty covers (They opened with a kick-ass rendition of The Reverend Horton Heat's "Wiggle Stick.") Watch this space for the band's next gig.".......Douglas Jordan, Gainesville Sun.

Location Gainesville, Florida - USA

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