Feature

The national music scene seems to have smiled once again on the Port City. It has been decades since so many well-known, nationally touring music acts have made stops in the Port City and left itching to come back. The only problem is that it seems as if our local bands playing original music have tapered off in the process.

Locals have never been famous for showing a zealous, undying loyalty for their own bands, and it seems many acts are not even attempting to start a band here anymore, as our native sons and daughters are adopting other cities like Birmingham and Nashville as their hometowns.

Ugli Stick could be considered one of the most widely popular bands in Mobile as well as the Southeast. They recently toured Europe and the Middle East supporting the troops, and they can still see a big difference in their audience now compared to when they first started. One thing that drummer Tim Stanton notes is that Mobile is crazy for covers.

“When we started the Ugli Stick, we knew that we had to play the ‘game,’” says Stanton. “We learned cover songs that no one else did, and we coupled that by writing a full record before we had show one. We have always considered ourselves an original band that played covers and not the other way around. I now know bands that play the southeast circuit, that make no bones about the fact, that they play absolutely no original material at all. They are totally in it for the money and girls and partying. If that were the case for us, we would have went that route years ago.”

Stanton and the rest of the members of Ugli Stick do not see their band as a passing hobby, but as a way of life, which makes the Mobile crowd’s passion for covers extremely disheartening.

“We all do this band as a full time job. We play over 260 shows a year. We have three albums now, about to rehearse for the fourth. We just got back from the Middle East, playing for the troops for Armed Forces Entertainment. We will be doing a second tour of the Pacific Rim Countries in June/July. Our music is getting played currently on the SPEED Network on a reality show called “Drag Race High” and we will be filming a piece to be played in over 6000 NAPA auto parts stores across the US, about a touring band on the road. All of this, and we still have to play covers in Mobile, Alabama, to get and keep, our crowd.”

However, Stanton does maintain a positive outlook for the future of Mobile’s scene. He feels confident that the influx of national acts to Soul Kitchen, Monsoon’s and the Saenger is quite beneficial to the local scene, and Ugli Stick cannot wait for the local tide to turn.

Huka Entertainment C.E.O. A.J. Niland agrees with Stanton and sees the solution to our stagnant scene lying in the hands of the citizens of Mobile.

“I think it’s the same thing that made the old music scene flourish even the national acts, and that’s local support and people getting into music,” says Niland. “Everybody loves music, but for some reason, people are hesitant to come out and see it. It’s not really a financial issue. The economy is pretty good. There’s not a lot of traffic. There’s not a whole lot of shows competing for money. I just think that the level of support is down. If we had the passion for the local music as we did for Alabama football, then Mobile would be the next Austin, Texas.”

Stephen Centanni is Lagniappe music editor. Contact him at scentanni@lagniappemobile.com.

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