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Straight-ahead rock is band's goal Barrelmouth band members include (from left) Scot McKinney, bass; Kevin Reed, drums; Brad Reeves, vocals and rhythm guitar; and Matt Oliver, lead guitar. By Russ Corey Staff Writer Published: Tuesday, February 10, 2009 at 3:30 a.m. Last Modified: Monday, February 9, 2009 at 3:10 p.m. The four members of Barrelmouth have no starry-eyed visions of what it would be like to be rock stars. Want to hear? On the Net9 p.m. Friday, Side Pocket Lounge, Florence myspace.com/barrelmouth isound.com/barrelmouth Years ago, as members of Groundswell, Brad Reeves, Matt Oliver, Kevin Reed and Scot McKinney, were one of the top independent bands in the Southeast. Like many young people, they made some mistakes along the way that ended with Groundswell parting ways. "It ran it's course," Reeves said. With the knowledge they gained from their experiences in the past, the new band will concentrate on playing hard-driving rock with a Southern-jam sound. Barrelmouth includes Reeves on vocals and rhythm guitar, Oliver on lead guitar, Reed on drums and McKinney on bass. The band has been together about six months. Barrellmouth will occasionally perform live with friends such as keyboard player Zac Gooch and guitarist Daniel Stoddard. Reeves and Oliver, who have been friends for about 10 years, maintained their business relationship after Groundswell broke up and were writing country songs and pitching them to publishers in Nashville, Tenn, "We were writing songs that weren't country enough for Nashville," Reeves said. As writing partners, Reeves and Oliver have written about 130 songs. Eventually, song writing wasn't enough and Reeves and Oliver got the urge to form a new band. So they called in Reed and McKinney who have worked as a rhythm section in various bands for about six years. They play together with Kirk Russell in An Abstract Theory. Before that, Reed and McKinney were members of the psychedelic rock group, ... even the moon, which recently played a one-off show with Barrelmouth. "We know each other inside and out," Reed said. Reeves and Oliver already had four new songs ready to go for the newly formed band. Barrelmouth has about eight songs and the group is writing more as a band. "In the beginning, it was Brad and myself," Oliver said. "Now there's more room for Kevin and Scot to put in their voice." Reeves is the group's lyricist and Oliver is responsible for the song's composition. Oliver said he likes to come up with a skeletal framework for everyone else in the band to work with. Some of the time the guitarist can create the drum and bass lines in his head. "Brad and Matt have their thing going, then they let us run it through our little machine," Reed said. The song "Obsolete" grew from a guitar riff Reeves came up with on his acoustic guitar. With everyone involved now, the writing process is more "band inclusive." The members of Barrelmouth agree that their experience helps them through the writing, composing and performance process. Working with other experienced musicians is also a plus. The band also has fans who knew them from their days as Groundswell and Bellwether, while developing a new fan base for Barrelmouth. The music is hard driving, punctuated by a tight rhythm section, Reeves' growling vocals and Oliver's shining lead guitar solos. Barrelmouth wants to do more than just write party songs. "Interstate Song" is one of Reeves' favorites. "Interstate Song" is simply about life in a rock band, like Barrelmouth, who plays every hole in the wall bar around their town and making it on the road. As one of the lines in the song goes, "You do it for love." Oliver said "Southern Woman" is a song that people can identify with, because, as Reeves says, "everybody's got one." "The more personal the song, the more people can identify with it," Oliver said. Reeves said Oliver had to literally hit him over the head to convince him "Southern Woman" would be a great song. The band will also play some songs that date back to the Groundswell days like "Lucky Star" and "Into the Counting." They might even bring back "Rock and Roll," not to be confused with the Led Zeppelin song with the same title. "The lyrics speak to what we're doing today," Oliver said. Rock 'n' roll music should be about good times, Oliver explains, but it can also prove to be an artistic and emotional release. The artist can use his or her instrument to channel their aggression and passion. "If you make someone feel something, that's good," he said. "As an artist, you want someone to understand what you're saying." Oliver defers questions about the name "Barrelmouth" to Reeves, who said it was originally just a cool word. "I was a loud and aggressive 'barrelmouth,'" Reeves said. "A loud talking, big walking barrelmouth." Oliver then takes the definition a bit further. "It's more of a state of mind, an adjective to the attitude of the band," he said. Russ Corey can be reached at 740-5738 or russ.corey@TimesDaily.com. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.