Well It’s no secret to any of you I’m sure because I have been promoting it for weeks now, next weekend at the Westport Roots Festival in Kansas City, I’ll be hosting the Honky Tonk stage for the second year now. Last year I had some truly memorable occurrences while hosting that stage out there. Some truly epic teamwork formed last year, as I was made so welcome by the festival organizer Mr. Jody Hendrix and Mr. Travis Fields who owns the Westport Saloon. In fact the whole Little Class Records staff and every bar there made me feel so welcome, that I couldn’t digress on another invitation to host their Honky Tonk stage.

This brought me to the juncture that I now rest upon as I write this, whereas I was made aware of my lineup not long ago. To my personal delight I was made aware one of my two top headliner acts was none other than one of my childhood heroes Country Legend Mr. Moe Bandy!

Moe Bandy has recorded thirty seven solo albums, and charted 15 Top 10’s in his over four decade career.  He also recorded seven albums with Joe Stampley, and a duet with Janie Fricke. I tell you what folks, I cannot ruin much of the interview with pre-writing this intro because I’ll spill the beans on what will all be said. I have studied this man and his music for thirty five years, and for ME to interview HIM is absolutely an accolade in my tenure as a journalist.  I’m hoping this brings me to a whole new echelon in the Country Music website community.

Even in today’s market of pop country and other mumbo jumbo Moe Bandy remains relevant, while never withdrawing from his Traditional Country sound. Ohhhh..that sweet steel guitar and fiddle accompanied by the three chord format of classic Moe Bandy songs we all know and love. So let’s talk with Mr. Moe shall we, now mind you these guys and gals are busy so while it’s an honor to chat I didn’t want to overstay my welcome..

GHC:

How did you get started playing music?

Mr. Moe Bandy:

Well my mother played piano, and my father played guitar and we started singing and playing music there at the house. There was a lot of Gospel music and a lot of Country music. I played a banjo at one time too, and learned a couple of chords. I got into a lot of talent shows and stuff like that.

GHC:

I can easily ascertain through your music that Hank Williams Sr. influenced you immensely. Whom else influenced you as a young man?

My. Moe Bandy:

Well I was influenced greatly by people like Marty Robbins, Merle Haggard and George Jones. Eventually all of those people I got the honor to go do shows with, so I got to go work with my heroes.

GHC:

Ray Baker produced many of your albums, who discovered you, was it him?

Mr. Moe Bandy:

Well Ray Baker went on a hunting trip to San Antonio Texas, and I heard he was producer and he was going to be in the area. So I went to his hotel and told him I wanted to make a record, so he came to my show that night. I had a little dance type show we got started and we would do a session and I would pay for it.  I put out several small albums and I ran out of money, and finally we cut a song called “I Just Started Hating Cheat’n Songs Today”. It took off around the country and I signed with a label called GRC Records, and went from there.

GHC:

Right and you made three or four records with GRC until you went to Columbia in 1975,right?

Mr. Moe Bandy

Right, I had three albums with GRC and I turned over to Columbia, I signed with Columbia in 1975. I had “Bandy The Rodeo Clown” and that did well on the charts at that time. So we maintained a really good deal with Columbia and I was with them for many years.

GHC:

That’s one thing I always wanted to personally ask you. How did Whitey Shafer affect your career, I know he wrote a lot for you?

Mr. Moe Bandy:

Yeah, he wrote songs for Ray Baker. Ray had a publishing company and Whitey wrote songs for him and that company. So when I came to Nashville to work for Ray, I got to be good friends with Whitey  and he started writing songs just for me and my first five songs were Whitey Shafer songs. Whitey and Doodle Owens and Lefty Frizzell and all those people he was writing with and I got to be good friends, and what a great talented songwriter he is. He just is absolutely great.

GHC:

In the 1970’s and early 80’s what was your music considered? Was it Mainstream or Outlaw or what was it mainly identified with?

Mr.Moe Bandy:

Well most people called it Honky Tonk music, you know just good old Honky Tonk plain and simple. They called it Honky tonk music at that time and I guess that what you could call it.

GHC:

Out of all of your albums what’s your personal favorite, and why?

Mr. Moe Bandy:

My personal favorite album would have to be  my latest  one (laughs), I have several. I did an album called “Many Mansions” on Curb Records I like a lot. We did a lot of different stuff on there and I wrote a lot of those songs. Also the album “Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life” is one of my favorites too.

GHC:

Your 1985 album “Barroom Roses” and your last with Capitol, was that Richie Albright that wrote “after Loosing you” and “Settle Up With My Heart”?

Mr. Moe Bandy:

Yes, that’s right.

GHC:

Tell me a little more about President Bush making the song “Americana” his campaign song?

Mr. Moe Bandy

Well he went out and got a bus and we would ride around to different places around the country with him and play that song all over during his campaign. It was a really great experience and I think it touched a lot of people.

GHC:

How have you remained so relevant in today’s market? You are still going just as strong as you were twenty years ago?

Mr. Moe Bandy:

I think it’s because I never changed my sound or my style. I still just play the same old Honky Tonk music i always have and my voice hasn’t changed either. I’m just the same Moe Bandy as I have always been.

GHC:

Lastly, Mr. Moe. Tell me the story of Joe Dodd the janitor that inspired the song on your latest live album, called “He Ain’t No Hank”?

Mr. Moe Bandy:

Oh yes, Joe was just a good man. You know when I was in the studio recording some songs, he was a janitor cleaning the building there. And we got to talking and he said well I wrote a song, and I said you did? He said yeah and played it for me and I liked it so we decided to record it and it’s called “He Ain’t no Hank”. Joe’s no longer with us now so it’s a very special song for us.

GHC:

Well, I tell you what it sure has been an overwhelming pleasure to do this with you Mr. Moe. You raised me as a child along with your heroes too, and I’ll tell you what I cannot thank you enough. I have been a Bandy fan for thirty years and you haven’t slowed down or changed your signature sound. We love you and more importantly we NEED you Sir, and at Westport we will have the party of the century.

Mr. Moe Bandy:

Buddy I cannot wait, we are going to Honky Tonk that place to tears, and it’s going to be so much fun. Thank you for this time as well.

 

 

RSS
Follow by Email
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram