The Wilders

Trackimage Playbut Trackname Playbut Trackname
Jefferson & Liberty 00:00 Tools
When The Levee's Gone 00:00 Tools
Train 45 00:00 Tools
Goodbye (I've Seen It All) 00:00 Tools
Hey Little Darlin 00:00 Tools
Broken Down Gambler 00:00 Tools
Old Dirty Boot 00:00 Tools
Honky Tonk Habit 00:00 Tools
Ordinary People 00:00 Tools
Goat Creek 00:00 Tools
My Final Plea 00:00 Tools
Wild Old Nory 00:00 Tools
Get Up Kid 00:00 Tools
Happy That Way 00:00 Tools
Squirrel Hunters 00:00 Tools
Collard Greens 00:00 Tools
Won't You Sometimes Think Of Me 00:00 Tools
Sittin' on a Jury: the Prosecution 00:00 Tools
Hallelujah I'm Ready 00:00 Tools
Rock in the Woods 00:00 Tools
Someone's Got To Pay 00:00 Tools
(An Old Murder Ballad Come to Life) 00:00 Tools
Sittin' on a Jury: Prologue 00:00 Tools
Sorry I Let You Down 00:00 Tools
(Raised Up My Right Hand) 00:00 Tools
Jenny on the Railroad 00:00 Tools
Sittin' on a Jury: the Defense 00:00 Tools
Going Across the Sea 00:00 Tools
(Hey Mr. Judge) 00:00 Tools
(Davey Took a Gun and Killed His Wife) 00:00 Tools
This Old Town 00:00 Tools
Drivin' Nails in My Coffin 00:00 Tools
Belshazzar 00:00 Tools
Sittin' on a Jury: The Verdict 00:00 Tools
Settin' The Woods On Fire 00:00 Tools
Kansas City Railroad Blues 00:00 Tools
Riding On Your High Horse 00:00 Tools
No. 7 00:00 Tools
Sittin' on a Jury: Epilogue 00:00 Tools
She Says (I Say) 00:00 Tools
Hey Little Darlin' 00:00 Tools
When I Get To Heaven 00:00 Tools
Try Doing Right 00:00 Tools
Kansas City Star 00:00 Tools
Jawbone 00:00 Tools
January Waltz 00:00 Tools
It'll Never Be Thru With Us (Until It's Thru With You) 00:00 Tools
Mid November 00:00 Tools
Night Train To Memphis 00:00 Tools
Old Leather Bonnet With A Hole In The Crown 00:00 Tools
The Blues Come Around 00:00 Tools
Too Much Water 00:00 Tools
Together Apart 00:00 Tools
Oklahoma Run 00:00 Tools
Stay With Me 00:00 Tools
Noah Found Grace in the Eyes of the Lord 00:00 Tools
On the Wings of a Dove 00:00 Tools
Things They Say About Home 00:00 Tools
Pat's 25 00:00 Tools
Riverboat 00:00 Tools
Hawk's Gotta Chicken and Flew In the Woods 00:00 Tools
Sally Ann 00:00 Tools
Once More 00:00 Tools
When the Stars Begin to Fall 00:00 Tools
Trials, Troubles, Tribulations 00:00 Tools
L.A. 00:00 Tools
The Great Speckled Bird 00:00 Tools
I'm Gonna Find Her 00:00 Tools
Are You Washed In The Blood Of The Lamb? 00:00 Tools
Hawk's Got A Chicken And Flew In The Woods 00:00 Tools
Lay Down Our Guns 00:00 Tools
In the Garden 00:00 Tools
That Old Time Religion 00:00 Tools
I'll Never Be Thru With Us (Until It's Thru With You) 00:00 Tools
How Mountain Girls Can Love (Live at KEXP Seattle) 00:00 Tools
'Tis Midnight and on Olive's Brow 00:00 Tools
Honky Tonk Habit (Live at KEXP Seattle) 00:00 Tools
Farther On 00:00 Tools
Milwaukee Blues 00:00 Tools
Rabbit Up A Gum Stump 00:00 Tools
Make Room in the Lifeboat 00:00 Tools
The Fourth Man in the Fire 00:00 Tools
Brighten the Corner Where You Are 00:00 Tools
Brown's Dream 00:00 Tools
I'd Rather Be An Old-Time Christian / Waiting For The Boatman 00:00 Tools
How Mountain Girls Can Love - Live at KEXP Seattle 00:00 Tools
Lonesome Old River Blues 00:00 Tools
I'm a Long Gone Daddy 00:00 Tools
Untitled - Bonus Track 00:00 Tools
Honky Tonk Habit - Live at KEXP Seattle 00:00 Tools
Belshazzah 00:00 Tools
Skid Row 00:00 Tools
Honky Tonk Mind 00:00 Tools
Bringing in the Georgia Mail 00:00 Tools
Sittin' on a Jury 00:00 Tools
Ida Red 00:00 Tools
There's A Higher Power (Bonus Track) 00:00 Tools
I'd Rather Be An Old-Time Christian/Waiting For The Boatman 00:00 Tools
Ida Red (Bonus Track) 00:00 Tools
Swamp Cat Rag 00:00 Tools
Molly Put the Kettle On 00:00 Tools
Fireball Mail 00:00 Tools
Daydreaming 00:00 Tools
White House Blues 00:00 Tools
Keep My Skillit Good & Greasy 00:00 Tools
Honky Tonk Blues 00:00 Tools
Blues Come Around 00:00 Tools
Rabbit Up a Gum Stump (Bonus Track) 00:00 Tools
Rye Straw 00:00 Tools
Black Eyed Susie 00:00 Tools
Half as Much 00:00 Tools
Shine, Shave, Shower 00:00 Tools
Cash on the Barrelhead 00:00 Tools
Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy - Bonus Track 00:00 Tools
Battle Of New Orleans 00:00 Tools
Arkansas Shiek 00:00 Tools
Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy 00:00 Tools
Great Speckled Bird 00:00 Tools
Don't Let Your Deal Go Down 00:00 Tools
Righten That Wrong 00:00 Tools
Georgia Mail 00:00 Tools
Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy (Bonus Track) 00:00 Tools
Give the Fiddler a Dram 00:00 Tools
Angel Band (Bonus Track) 00:00 Tools
Over in the Gloryland 00:00 Tools
Rabbit Up a Gum Stump - Bonus Track 00:00 Tools
Freight Train Blues 00:00 Tools
Ida Red - Bonus Track 00:00 Tools
Who Thought the Railroad Wouldn't Last 00:00 Tools
Molly Put the Kettle On/ V8 Blues 00:00 Tools
How Mountain Girls Can Love 00:00 Tools
Low & Lonely 00:00 Tools
Robinson County 00:00 Tools
(Raised My Right Hand) 00:00 Tools
ALFIE 00:00 Tools
Angel Band - Bonus Track 00:00 Tools
Sleepy Eyed John 00:00 Tools
There's A Higher Power 00:00 Tools
Walk On By 00:00 Tools
There's A Higher Power - Bonus Track 00:00 Tools
hawks got a chicken and flew into the woods 00:00 Tools
Untitled 00:00 Tools
4th Man in the Fire 00:00 Tools
Jennie On the Railroad w/ Adam Tanner & John Hermann 00:00 Tools
Blue Yodel #1 (T for Texas) 00:00 Tools
Jawone 00:00 Tools
Bound To Ride 00:00 Tools
Old Man at the Mill w/ Adam Tanner & John Hermann 00:00 Tools
The Church in the Wildwood 00:00 Tools
The Battle Of New Orleans 00:00 Tools
Ragtime Annie 00:00 Tools
Bull Shoals 00:00 Tools
BHMTCJ 00:00 Tools
God Made Me - A Little Crazy 00:00 Tools
V8 Blues 00:00 Tools
Girl You Want 00:00 Tools
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Wilders Descriptive Bio Wilders Descriptive Bio Educated Hillbillies, The Phantom Drummer, and the Relentless Acoustic Decibels of a Commando Jam: The Wilders Live Up to Their Name on Someone’s Got to Pay When hillbilly band The Wilders first named themselves, they didn’t realize the moniker itself was a bit of old-time snake oil; less of a description, and more a prediction. The foursome also didn’t know they had the power to invoke a fifth paranormal band member now known as the Phantom Drummer. But this is just what comes to light on their new album, Someone’s Got to Pay, an Americana album sequenced around a real life murder trial (or as the lyrics say, “An old murder ballad come to life”) and filled out with original tracks that conjure up small town crazies and wrecked lives. But don’t let the dark subject matter fool you. The Wilders just got wilder and the music is more engaging then ever. The Wilders—with a musical soul that lies in the Ozarks—have been heading this way for quite a while. There are the dobro and banjo, old-time fiddle tunes, and allegiances to Hank Williams and Johnny Cash. There are the old-time songs, heartbreak, and hard-driving honky tonk subject matter. But out of necessity the Americana band’s early days required drastic measures that set them on a raucous and innovative course. “We got a lot of gigs in the early days doing what we call the Commando Jam,” explains guitarist and lead singer Ike Sheldon. They would go to a festival they wanted to play, among dozens of bands jamming for attention in the lobby. “We would set up and just wait. There’s always a moment when nobody else was playing and when it would happen we would just say, ‘Go!’ We’d play the loudest, most heinous fiddle tune. Everyone would think, ‘What the hell is going on over there?’ It was totally commando, like sneaking around and pulling out the machine gun and mowing people down with music. You can’t just be strumming in the corner. You gotta make noise. That’s how we would get a lot of contacts. That’s one reason we play like that.” They recently came to the conclusion that to get the wild sound fans see in their live performances on record, they had to do some counterintuitive things, as a live recording does not necessarily translate a live sound. In a live setting, you can see and feel the energy. But on a recording you have to ramp up the energy levels in other ways. For the first time, the band has included a drummer on the album. And bassist Nate Gawron plays electric on this album on several tracks—something never heard before on a Wilders album. In addition, they used overdubbing to create more layers and complexity. “We’re not becoming an electric band, but it’s time we take this opportunity to do things we never could do before,” says fiddle player Betse Ellis. When they started the group, band members listened to a lot of early country music, old-time music from the ’20s and ’30s, and early honky tonk. “There’s a good maxim in art,” explains Ike. “You shouldn’t really break the rules until you know the rules. Look at Picasso; the dude was absolutely amazing. He could draw anything perfectly, very detailed and realistic. That’s how he could move on to other things. We said ‘If we are gonna play country music, let’s learn what makes it tick.’ And now that we know, we are reaping the benefits; we can throw the rules out the window. If you want straight Hank Williams, we can do it right. But don’t give me any shit for being just like a rock and roller and totally twisting it around.” While the band already had high energy on stage, when bass player Nate joined the band the intensity and groove was bumped up a notch, egging the rest of the players on to play even faster and harder. One day when The Wilders were in the studio, guitarist Sam Broussard (of Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys) dropped by. Upon meeting Ike he said, “Are you the guitar player?” to which Ike replied, “Yes.” “Well,” said Broussard, “you ain’t much of a guitar player, but you’re a hell of a drummer!” He went on to say, “There’s all these bluegrass guys who say ‘We don’t need drums.’ Well they’re wrong. Someone’s playing drums in every band. It doesn’t have to be on a drum. You guys got a good one going on!” On their new recording, Glenn Fields from the Red Stick Ramblers guest stars on the drum kit, but the majority of the time, the band is without a real live percussionist… in the traditional sense, that is. “When we get the rhythm going, Nate and I say, the Phantom Drummer shows up,” says Ike. “A guy came up to us after one concert and said, ‘I called my son and told him how great you were. He asked what instruments you were playing and I said, ‘Well, fiddle, banjo, a drummer… Actually I’m not sure if they had a drummer.’ Do you guys have a drummer? It sure sounds like you had one.’ We’ve only got a Phantom Drummer when we all hook up and make that imagined fifth member driving the beat. Our solos and singers are all great, but rhythm is job one. It has to move your ass. If your rhythm sucks, your band sucks. When it’s working right and the Phantom Drummer appears, the band plays itself.” All of the album material is original, with the exception of one traditional fiddle tune, “Broken Down Gambler,” from The Skillet Lickers. Betse Ellis’s original hair-raising fiddle tunes soulfully capture the essence of the old-time genre but also channel the spirit of her childhood heroes like Pete Townsend and Jimmy Page. Betse has found a way to balance these influences; traditional fiddlers inspire her playing as do those rock legends. “We’re doing whatever we want and that’s what’s really exciting for us,” concludes Ike. “This ain’t sitting on the front porch rocking chair music. We play hillbilly music and we nock the shit out of it. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.