500 Miles to Memphis may not be a local Dallas band, but five of the band's 36 listed upcoming shows will be played in the region--three this weekend, then one more in August and yet another in October.
The Cincinnati-based rock country punk band has been connected with Dallas for years. For starters, frontman Ryan Malott used to live here. And John Pedigo of The O's has played in several of their shows, as well as on the song "Everybody Needs an Enemy" from the band's last release, We've Built Up to Nothing. (Download that song for free after the jump.)
The band released We've Built Up to Nothing earlier this year. It's the band's third album, following the self-titled 500 Miles to Memphis and the sophomore release Sunshine in a Shotglass. We've Built Up to Nothing is something of a re-invention for the band, though: The album features more vocal harmonies, as well as a full orchestra, while still upholding the band's rockin' honky-tonk roots. It's been a successful re-invention, too: 500 Miles to Memphis' songs have been featured on MTV's Nitro Citrus, various television commercials and on extreme sports videos from athletes like Travis Pastrana.
This week, we got to talk to the band's frontman, Ryan Malott, about all of the above.
You worked with John Pedigo of The O's on this release. How'd you guys end up working together?
Well, I think it was about seven or eight years ago. I lived in Dallas and that's how I met John. We stayed in touch and we did a bunch of touring together through the years. Like, I toured a bunch with his older bands and still play with The O's a lot. He's a real close friend of mine and we were recording our new album and I just asked him, "Hey, why don't you play a banjo track on these songs?" That was pretty much it. Been playing in Dallas for years and years.
Bonus mp3: