Blue Mother Tupelo: Press

BLUE MOTHER TUPELO
Since the mid-‘90s, the husband and wife team of guitarist/vocalist and dobro player Ricky Davis and pianist/percussionist/vocalist Micol Davis have comprised the core of the rock/blues/folk and country band Blue Mother Tupelo.

Initially one of the most popular units in East Tennessee and western North Carolina, their fame spread once they issued a debut CD in 1997 and relocated to Nashville a year later. Perhaps their most popular disc was the 2001 release Delta Low-Mountain High, and their rendition of “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” was featured in the film Daltry Calhoun a couple of years ago.

Blue Mother Tupelo is just one of performers featured in Monday night’s 8 off 8th show at the Mercy Lounge (9 p.m., One Cannery Row, no cover, 251-3020) along with Jen Foster, Alathea, Shake Go Home, Will Champlin, The Loft, Breen and Lorien.

Blue Mother Tupelo

It's been more than five years since Blue Mother Tupelo—the husband-and-wife team of Micol and Ricky Davis—left Knoxville for Nashville. But it's hard not to think of them as a Knoxville band, considering the countless nights in the late '90s and early '00s that they performed their down-and-dirty (and sometimes sweet) take on the country blues on local stages. Micol has a voice like honey, Ricky's a deft slide guitarist, and their songwriting puts it all together. (M.E.)
Blue Mother Tupelo • Saturday, Jan. 12, at 10 p.m. • Barley's

Sounding off about the South

Blue Mother Tupelo knows how to have down-home good time

Hidden among the top-tier acts at this weekend's inaugural Big State Festival are a spate of intriguing gems. Blue Mother Tupelo is one such find. The husband-wife duo makes music that's swampy, Southern and even sentimental. We'll forgive them for living in Nashville.

BMT performs at 1 p.m. Sunday in College Station. Ricky and Micol spoke to Chronicle music writer Joey Guerra about food, fests and George Jones:

Q: Tell us about the inspirational effects of food — collard greens, catfish, hot sauce, pecan pie — which you list as influences.

Ricky: There's hardly anything as fulfilling to my taste buds, and to my soul, as a bowl of collard greens, slow-cooked, with plenty of ham in it. Shake on several dashes of hot-pepper vinegar and Louisiana hot sauce. With a piece of cornbread and a big mason jar full of sweet iced tea.

That's one of the many beautiful things about being Southern and living in the South — wonderful vittles.

Q: What are your favorite festival munchies?

Micol: Funnel cakes, cotton candy and caramel apples.

Ricky: The best festival munchies I've ever had would have to be when we performed at the Juke Joint Festival in Mississippi, where they were serving Cajun-spiced crawfish boiled with new potatoes and corn. Now that's some mighty fine festival food right yonder.

Q: Which Big State acts are on your must-see list?

Micol and Ricky: Leon Russell, Billy Joe Shaver, Los Lonely Boys, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, Willie Nelson, Drive-By Truckers, Tim McGraw.

Q: Lyle Lovett and Lynyrd Skynyrd are Saturday's dueling headliners. Who wins in your book?

Micol: No slight to the amazing Lyle, but most likely I'd be ending up at the Skynyrd stage, singing out in reckless abandon.

Q: Outdoor festivals are usually divided into two camps: front-stage standers or lawn-chair islanders. Where do you fall?

Micol: I'm definitely a front-stage stander. When it comes to the music, I'm there. (Ricky agrees.)

Q: Every couple has their song. What's yours?

Micol: George Jones' Walk Through This World With Me. Ain't that such a good song?

Ricky: At our request, my dad sang that song at our wedding. I've loved (it) from the first time I heard it, back in my single days, when one of my favorite pastimes was to pick up a quart of Budweiser and drive my old Ford truck through the backhills and backroads of east Tennessee listening to old George Jones, Van Morrison and Allman Brothers Band cassette tapes.

Q: OK, you're on the spot. Convince folks to come out early Sunday for your set.

Micol: We got the mojo that'll keep you goin' all day long. You won't hear anything like us, so you have no choice. Right after church, with your turkey leg and your lemonade. It'll be yummy.

Ricky: I hope folks do come out early. We're gonna be rompin', stompin' and boogeyin'. We guarantee to touch yer souls and get yer booties a-shakin'.

Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Blue Mother Tupelo to Join Pinetop at Hopson

Just prior to their upcoming performance at The Big State Festival in Bryan/College Station, Texas, with the likes of Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Leon Russell, Los Lonely Boys, Charlie Louvin and Lynyrd Skynyrd among others, Blue Mother Tupelo will be bringing their signature Swampadelic Southern Soul sound to Pinetop Perkins' Homecoming on Sunday, October 7 at the Hopson's Plantation Commissary in Clarksdale, Mississippi. BMT & various performers will join together for a day chocked full of the down home Blues! The event takes place from 2:00pm - 6:00pm.
Sunday, October 7, 2007 Blue Mother Tupelo & Various Artists at Pinetop Perkins' Homecoming at The Hopson's Plantation Commissary Clarksdale, Mississippi The event takes place from 2:00pm - 6:00pm Price: Suggested donation $10

BMT's second consecutive appearance at the annual Pinetop Perkins' Homecoming. The celebration includes performances by the best of the blues. Legends and legends in the making hit the stage for a day-long celebration and dedication to the great Pinetop Perkins, with Mr. Pinetop jammin' along himself!

Featured performers include Willie Big Eyes Smith and band, Bob Margolin, Little Red Clay Swofford, Blue Mother Tupelo and the Paul DeLay Band with many more artists to be added.

The homecoming will be taking place at Hopson's Commissary. Pinetop worked on Hopson's Plantation in the 1940s. Be sure to get there early as this is always a sellout event!

Blue Mother Tupelo To Headline Otherfest

Otherfest offers rock alternative to the usual Delta festival

Sara Coleman
BC Staff Writer
Published September 21, 2007 2:27 PM CDT

Mississippi Blues music is known throughout the world, but Justin Huerta of Cleveland is out to promote another Delta sound — rock. Seven bands from across the Delta and neighboring areas will perform live at Rosedale’s River Resort Sept. 29 at Otherfest, a music festival dreamed up and implemented by Huerta and his friends.
“The goal of the festival is for local bands to be heard and ultimately start a music scene in the Delta,” Huerta said. “I’m a dreamer — what can I say?”
Titled Otherfest in part because it provides an alternative to the blues, the headliner of the event is Blue Mother Tupelo, a southern rock band from Tennessee.
“When we first did the festival, we did it in April and there were a lot of other festivals during that month — like Crosstie and Double Decker. We were trying to get people to come to our festival, so we would say that we were the “other” festival,” said Huerta. “Now, it’s kind of a joke because there are so many festivals around now, but it’s cool that ours is named Otherfest. We have the best name.”
Several of the bands playing hail from Bolivar County, including: A Scarlet Empire, Cobalt Cali and Huerta’s own band Disposable Faces.
Jacqueline Nassar of Clarksdale, and Avenue Hearts and Bo Adams, both of Oxford, round out the line-up.
“The Delta needs a festival that is not blues music,” said Huerta, explaining how the Otherfest came about. “My friends and I also wanted to throw our festival where our own band could play.”
The first Otherfest was held near Cleveland almost two years ago, but this year it will be in Rosedale because of the city’s tie to the musical roots of the Delta.
“We’re holding it in Rosedale this year because it is an awesome place,” Huerta noted. “It’s the home of the blues, which is kind of ironic, since we aren’t having a blues fest.”
Pulling off Otherfest has been a group effort, with many of his friends filling essential roles, Huerta said.
“Weejy Rogers got the bands, Eric Kelly organized the sound and lighting, Peggie Pitts lined up sponsors and Elliott Meador is in charge of marketing. They have helped me so much — without these people, there is no way we could have a festival.”
The gates will open at 11 a.m. and the first band kicks off at 1 p.m. Music will continue throughout the day.
The festival is open to the public of all ages.
An entry fee of $5 per person applies.
“People can set up a tent, if they want to camp out on the grounds,” said Huerta. “We encourage it. We want people to be safe and have a good time. Please carpool as parking is limited.”
For more information, go to www.myspace.com/otherfest.

Blue Mother Tupelo to perform at Flat Rock

Blue Mother Tupelo will be bringing their signature swampadelic southern soul sound to the Flat Rock Music Festival, in Flat Rock, North Carolina on Friday, Sept. 28. BMT performs at 4:45 p.m. on the Main Stage & at 8:30 p.m. Lil Rec Stage.

Ricky and Micol Davis met in Knoxville, Tenn., married and created Blue Mother Tupelo, a mix of roots-rock and Hill Country blues. After positive reviews of their debut release "My Side of the Road," moved to Nashville to pay dues at local venues. They quickly developed a reputation with their fiery stage presence and remarkable sound. In 2001, they released "Delta Low-Mountain High," and more and more people began to take notice of this duo as they toured across the Southeast.

Blue Mother Tupelo was on the Southern fried soundtrack to the 2005 indie film "Daltry Calhoun" starring Johnny Knoxville and Juliette Lewis. Recently, their song "Boogie Blues" was featured on Showtime's "The L Word."

They recently rocked the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic alongside T-Model Ford, Bobby Rush and North Mississippi All-Stars. They will play Big State Festival in Bryan-College Station alongside Willie Nelson, Robert Earl Keen and Drive-By Truckers and are hard at work recording the follow-up to "Delta Low-Mountain High."

Nashville Soulshine In Southern Alabama

Blue Mother Tupelo comes to Pirate's Cove and Callaghan's

As if you needed a reason to get out and hear some live music, Sept. 22 and 23 is shaping up to be a fantastic weekend as Mobile and Josephine welcome the regional powerhouse Blue Mother Tupelo back to its shores. Micol and Ricky Davis, possibly the most exciting husband-and-wife band touring today, bill their music as "SwampadelicSouthernSoulRock" and always bring their A-game.

Parts bluegrass, rock and bayou soul, Blue Mother Tupelo cuts a free and endearing swath through Southern roots music, reciprocating focus between Ricky's acoustic six-string and dobro and Micol's keyboard and writhing tambourine. And the best part of the enthused instrumentation is that laid over it like psychedelic moss are the duo's harmonic vocals, which resonate as though the two had somehow been amiably married forever.

Blue Mother Tupelo is a favorite at Callaghan's, having last played Mobile's Irish Social Club on Sunday, Aug. 12. The house was packed, with spontaneous dancing and revelry breaking out in what few vacant spots there were. Local phenom, Lisa Mills stopped by and looked to be having a blast from her front-row vantage point.

It's all going to happen again on Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.. The cover at Callaghan's won't be more than $5 which, when you kick in another $10 for their album, "Delta Low Mountain High", is more than a bargain.

This visit will also include a stop in Josephine at historic Pirate's Cove the night before at 7 p.m. "Island time" never meant as much as it does at the Cove, providing a perfect opportunity to waft offshore on your boat, or sit in the sand, as you listen to Micol and Ricky make the music that has sustained fans during hundreds of tour dates a year.

Now that the weather has started to show us some mercy, take a couple of nights off and enjoy Southern living with Blue Mother Tupelo. For more information about upcoming shows, pictures and music, visit www.bluemothertupelo.com

Spotlights

Blue Mother Tupelo

I haven't been able to shake the southern reverberations I heard at Blue Mother Tupelo's gig in Maryville not too far back. I arrived knowing little about the group's down-home pickin' and a singin', but left wanting more of Ricky and Micol Davis' Appalachian-infused backbeats. Since forming more than a decade ago, the husband-and-wife duo (with rotating backers) has been filling honky-tonks across the South. Their rendition of the ol' classic “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” was even featured in the 2005 film Daltry Calhoun, starring fellow East Tennessee native Johnny Knoxville. So lucky for you, and me, BMT will be in Knoxville Saturday, Aug. 18, at New Amsterdam on the Strip. It should be a packed house for Micol's smoky vox and Ricky's resonating dobro. Show up early, but leave late, seeing as how domestics, PBR tallboys and the mystery beer are just $2.

*Down-home duo hit the OGD *

Ricky and Micol Davis met in Knoxville, Tenn., married and created Blue Mother Tupelo, a mix of roots-rock and Hill Country blues. After positive reviews of their debut release "My Side of the Road," moved to Nashville to pay dues at local venues. They quickly developed a reputation with their fiery stage presence and remarkable sound. In 2001, they released "Delta Low-Mountain High," and more and more people began to take notice of this duo as they toured across the Southeast.

Blue Mother Tupelo was on the Southern fried soundtrack to the 2005 indie film "Daltry Calhoun" starring Johnny Knoxville and Juliette Lewis. Recently, their song "Boogie Blues" was featured on Showtime's "The L Word."

They recently rocked the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic alongside T-Model Ford, Bobby Rush and North Mississippi All-Stars. They will play Big State Festival in Bryan-College Station alongside Willie Nelson, Robert Earl Keen and Drive-By Truckers and are hard at work recording the follow-up to "Delta Low-Mountain High."

Blue Mother Tupelo. This duo is notable for many reasons, the first of which is they are a super soulful and heart-wrangling! Huh? Well, I mean what happens when you have a former Delta Baptist preacher's daughter and hook her up with an East Tennessee country lovin musical hoss? It's like the soul-blues of the Mississippi Delta meets the Appalachian Old School Country-Grass and created a little village of music all their own.... that's kinda like Blue Mother Tupelo. Like Peanut butter and Chocolate or biscuit and 'lasses, a co-joining of flavors that just creates it's own separate world of taste. They so impressed some Hollywood movie producers that they became the featured music on the Johnny Knoxville film: "Daltry Calhoun" from a few years back.

What shakes more than cherries in a moonshine jar, and isn't much bigger? That would be the petite Ms. Micol (pronounced "Michael") Davis. You've not seen rhythm until you've seen the percussive jingle of Micol's tambourine snake through her body, head to toe, as her husband Ricky licks out expressive slide guitar. Micol's raspy voice pleads: Put your head on my shoulder baby/ Show me that you love me/ Make everything alright. She's all delta soul and siren femininity.

And Ricky responds: Hold me in your arms baby/ Squeeze me real tight/ Show me that you love me/ Make everything alright. He's backroom blues and Appalachian mountain staying power.

... Blue Mother Tupelo creates just the right balance of impassioned vocals and controlled rhythms. It's the confluence of a turbulent, cool mountain stream and a warm, sunny river—that eddy where the water's just right. Dive in.

As much as Blue Mother Tupelo performs in Blount County, you’d be hard-pressed to peg the band members as residents of Nashville.

From “The Shed” at Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson a few months ago to the “Big BBQ Bash” a couple of weeks ago to Brackins Blues Club (where the band plays regularly) on Saturday night to the Back Hills Cafe on July 28 — the husband-wife duo of Ricky and Micol Davis have carved a niche for themselves as favorites of Blount County music lovers.

“We’re always meeting new people and making friends, and I just told Ricky the other day that I’m really thankful to play in Maryville,” Micol Davis told The Daily Times this week. “I’m thankful for people coming out to see us and that we can play so many different events there. Especially Brackins — we always have a good time there, and we’re thankful we don’t have to strictly do blues when we play there.”

“We like the fact that music lovers show up there to just listen and have a good time,” Ricky Davis added. “That’s our people — music lovers who appreciate all kinds of music.”

That’s a good thing for the Davises, considering the wealth of influences they bring to the table. A typical BMT show is the audio equivalent of going to a pizza place and asking the kid behind the counter to surprise you. You never know what you’ll be served, but you do know this — it’s pizza, so it’s going to be good. Blue Mother Tupelo works just like that — country, bluegrass, blues, swamp-rock ... it’s a grab-bag of rich, rootsy sounds, and it’s all good!

Ricky’s guitar work, whether he’s playing acoustic, electric or slide, channels the blues from the Mississippi Delta as much as it does the fleet-fingered picking styles of the Appalachian hills. With a sweet tenor, he’s a perfect compliment to his wife’s brazen, Bonnie Raitt-meets-Sheryl Crow vocals. At “The Shed” recently, the crowd was an enthusiastic mix of gyrating bikers, politely clapping seniors and kids jumping off the stage and dancing in unison at Micol’s feet.

“We’ve got so many influences it’s almost unbelievable: Definitely the late ‘60s psychedelic bluesy rock stuff; old blues stuff like Muddy Waters; Van Morrison,” Ricky Davis told us in an interview a couple of years ago. “The realness of the Mississippi sound, that Stax Records soulful sound, is really kind of right in the middle of where we come from, as well as old country stuff, like Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell. Any kind of music that’s got grit and soul appeals to us, whether it’s Miles Davis to Jimi Hendrix to all points in between.”

Ricky and Micol Davis first met when the two — both Knoxville natives (Ricky [born in Knoxville and raised in south Knox County] graduated from Doyle and Micol [moved with her family to east Tennessee from the Mississippi Delta, Arkansas & Memphis] went to Clinton) — ran into each other in Knoxville’s Old City, where Ricky was playing with another group. The couple moved to Nashville about five years ago to further their music career, a move that’s paying off despite the corporate climate of Music City.

“In the Nashville music business, you always get strong opinions from different people in the industry — people telling you that you ought to be doing this, that or the other,” Ricky Davis said. “We take it with a grain of salt, because primarily we listen to ourselves. We’ve been in Nashville for eight years now, and we’ve made friends with other songwriters in Nashville, and one of the reasons we’re such a tight-knit family is that we’ve been run through the ringer by the corporate mentality.

“I would love to see some changes made in that sort of thing, because there’s not very much stuff coming out of there that sounds like classic country. Things aren’t country, even though they want to call it that. There are a lot of songwriters in Nashville writing all kinds of music; that town is full of people who are virtually unknown, but they’re excellent. Every one should probably be household names.”

While major-label success and riches would be nice, that isn’t the goal for the Davises, however. More than anything, they want to continue making music and friends and spreading the love they feel for what they do. After six years, they’re close to wrapping up work on a new studio album (the follow-up to 2001’s “Delta Low, Mountain High”). Tentatively, it’s going to be called “Heaven and Earth,” and they hope to get it out by September.

“It really does seem slow-going at times, but it seems like that’s just sort of been the pattern for us,” Micol Davis said. “We’re always growing and learning, always meeting new people and making friends. Our audience is growing, and Ricky and I are getting stronger in a lot of ways too. We don’t worry too much and think too much about what we’re sounding like; more or less, if it sounds good to us, we just do it.

“I think our approach to the new recording right now is that it’s not going to be so diverse as far as stylistic stuff goes. We’re not going to have big horns on a song or stuff like that; it’s going to be scaled down instrumentally, and I think it’s going to be probably easier to categorize as far as more of a rootsy style rather than flirting with a little bit of everything.”

Despite the X-factors still to be worked out, fans can count on one thing — it will sound solid. It will be rootsy. It will be the next best thing to seeing Blue Mother Tupelo perform live.

“We’re always taking our music new places, and lately it’s just a feeling in our gut, knowing that we’ve kind of grown musically,” Ricky Davis said. “We’re really getting inside ourselves and getting our own sound out more and more and more. We just play what we play, and what we play is who we are.”

The Post & Courier

Sometimes no matter how much you listen to something it's hard to describe it.

That's precisely the problem when it comes to Blue Mother Tupelo, check that, it's not a problem in that there's anything wrong with the music they play. It's just that when it comes to describing it, well, it's not as simple as the music itself sounds.

Folk, acoustic, gospel, bluegrass and southern roots all come to mind.

"It's the epitome of Americana when no one knows what else to call it," explained Ricky Davis, who thought psychedelic was just as good a description as the rest. "It used to be called rock and roll music in the '70s."

"We're a southern, soulful American rock and country," added Ricky's wife Michol, who stopped to laugh before continuing, "well, we're not country. … We're earthy, that's kind of what we try to go with."

Be it the Dylan-like poetry, grooves reminiscent of Van Morrison or the soul of Aretha Franklin their influences are rooted in artists, as Michol explained, "you don't forget."

In any case, they would like to think that once you've been introduced to their amalgamation of inspiration that the music actually supercedes categorization.

"It's not Aretha," Michol admitted, "but I always have to put soul in there. It's organic. It's where we come from."

Michol was born in Memphis and raised in Mississippi. The daughter of a strict Southern Baptist preacher, as a child, she wasn't allowed to listen to pop music and instead her family would gather to together to enjoy southern gospel and hymns.

Years before Ricky was born in East Tennessee, at the foothills of the Smokey Mountains, his uncle used to pick with the likes of Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family.

Growing up, unlike his wife, he was exposed to the rock and roll of Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley, honky tonk heroes Hank Williams and Buck Owens as well as the peace-loving '70s rock of The Eagles and Creedance Clearwater Revival, but it was a Jimi Hendrix video from Woodstock that he watched when he was five years old that has resonated all these years later.

"We just want to touch people," Michol said, "touch someone's heart" and "win one heart at a time," added Ricky.

Ricky and Michol managed to win a pair of hearts when they performed at a house party in early 2005 and unbeknown to them Hollywood producer Danielle Renfrew and director Katrina Holden Bronson, daughter of the late Charles Bronson, happened to be there.

Afterward they complimented the husband and wife duo and went to so far as to ask for their contact information.

"We didn't think we'd hear from them," said Ricky, recalling the chance meeting. "A month later they gave us a call."

As it turns out they wanted to use two tracks for their independent film Daltry Calhoun featuring Johnny Knoxville and Juliette Lewis. Executive produced by Quentin Tarantino, Calhoun prominently featured Blue Mother Tupelo's dreamy southern rendition of the Paul Anka classic Put Your Head on My Shoulder during the movie's climatic scene.

Bronson, who directed the critically acclaimed project, also directed a music video for Shoulder that was part of the extra features package for the DVD release of the film.

"That was a huge honor," Ricky said. "It really makes us feel great"

Their efforts and good will again paid of last year following one of their many festivals appearances. This particular one, however, was reviewed in the widely regarded magazine Paste, and ran under the bold headline: Blue Mother Tupelo is Quite Possibly the Best Husband and Wife Duo You've Never Heard of.

"To have it verbalized like that," said Michol with her voice trailing off, "I don't know, it means a lot. It's really cool that somebody would think that.

"We just want to make music, real music that doesn't necessarily, ah, music that means something to somebody, written words that mean something to them."

In any case, Ricky and Michol sure do seem to get around for a duo that we've supposedly never heard of.

They continue touring while they work on a new CD and amidst a schedule of upcoming festival dates they'll make their way to Charleston on Friday, March 23 where they'll perform at Fiery Ron's Home Team BBQ.

"We're very thankful that this is what we're doing for a living. It's a real blessing," surmised Ricky.

Interview by Keith Ryan Cartwright for The Post Courier

Metro Pulse

Blue Mother Tupelo represents the best of what the Tennessee music scene has to offer. From Memphis' soulful blues to the rock-country of contemporary Nashville to the homespun harmonies of Appalachia, wife and husband Micol and Ricky Davis draw on a range of influences—including '60s folk rock and "sweet-iced tea and ice cold beer"—to create a cohesive, truly unique, transgenerational sound. Partners in love and music, they are easily among the best songwriter-musicians ever to call the Volunteer State home. Though they're frequently touring around the Southeast, we're glad Blue Mother Tupelo remembers where they came from; they sing in "Home": No matter where I'm going, I know I'm comin' back. They'll be making a stop at Brackins Blues Club in Maryville on Saturday, Feb. 17 around 9 in the evening. $6.

Paste Magazine

BLUE MOTHER TUPELO IS QUITE POSSIBLY THE BEST HUSBAND AND WIFE DUO YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF. Micol and Ricky Davis, and whomever happens to be their drummer at any given time, play swampy, gospel-tinged southern soul-blues. Micol displayed the full-bodied vocal fire of Janis Joplin, while she rattled and slapped her tambourine with the ecstasy and know-how of a black gospel choir member. Ricky played muscular, stabbing figures on acoustic guitar and dobro, and the two joined in close, soul-searing harmonies like only intimate kin can. When the couple sang an A capella rendition of the old gospel number "Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down," the result was a heady blend of otherworldly longing and thisworldly passion, bodies swaying and tambourines shaken emphatically.
(from Paste's article about the Americana Folk Festival)

Lilipoh The Spirit In Life Magazine

..."Blue Mother Tupelo is the name of this husband and wife team - Ricky and Micol Davis. With her hot husky vocals and a sustained percussion of tambourine, Micol danced out lyrics to the raw rhythm of drums and her husband's dobro and acoustic guitar, evoking a sound born out of the swampy humidity of the south. Their gospel a capella duet, accompanied only by tambourine, "I wish we were in heaven," invoked the names of their grandmothers and sent chills down the spine. Keep your ears peeled for their new CD duo out next year."

WUSM-FM 88.5 Hattiesburg, Mississippi

WUSM DJ Mik Davis' Interview with Ricky Davis of Blue Mother Tupelo

WUSM:
What's the story of your formation and what do you think keeps you together and playing?

Ricky:
We met each other in Knoxville, Tennessee's live music scene. Micol had come to see the band that I had back then, Soulchaser. We became friends and she sang with us at our rehearsals sometimes. I invited her to sing at a couple of our shows.

We started dating and a year later got married. We thought our names - Ricky & Micol Davis - were not very interesting sounding, so we came up with a name that relates to where we're coming from musically and that's where we came up with the name, Blue Mother Tupelo. In 1995 we began performing as BMT at Knoxville open-mike and songwriters' nights with the idea of making our own pure roots-rock sound. Soon after that, we landed a weekly gig and added a bassist and drummer. At that time we were primarily performing in east Tennessee, western North Carolina and Georgia. We did some shows with Delbert McClinton, Grand Funk Railroad and Pat Travers, and we played at the Allman Brothers Band Family Reunion in Macon, Georgia.

What keeps us together is our love for each other, our love for the process of songwriting, our need to express ourselves through music & making new sounds in music, our love for performing live and recording, as well as our love for going on tour with our music. Music is our life. We wouldn't know what to do without it.

WUSM:
It's a long way from Open Mic nights to touring and playing shows. Did you foresee all of this happening to you when you first started playing?

Ricky:
When we were doing open mic nights in the mid-90's, we knew that we wanted to take our music higher & higher. And that's what we're striving to do today as well. We didn't foresee every twist and turn that happens within the music business, but we did have a general burning desire to go farther with our music.

WUSM:
How much of how you write and play is based on your chemistry together?

Ricky:
Probably most of the music we make within BMT is in some form based on our chemistry together.

WUSM:
Your music combines Delta blues with sort of an Appalachian flavor, what are your influences?

Ricky:
The things that influence our music is life. Everything that we experience influences our music in some way.

We both certainly come from the music of Mississippi's delta & hill country that have deeply touched us through our lives. Appalachian, or mountain music, has also been a great source of inspiration to us. We're just making our music and are not claiming to be within any one genre or the other but this music is certainly at the heart of what we do.

Micol is the daughter of a Baptist preacher. Her family moved to different churches and to different towns. She was born in Memphis and lived in Indianola, Mississippi, Fort Smith, Arkansas and Clinton, Tennessee as a girl. She had a strict southern Baptist preacher dad and he didn't allow his children to listen to Pop music at all when she was growing up. So, she heard primarily southern gospel music & hymns, but ironically, her dad would sing Jimmy Reed blues songs as lullabies to his children. He was a huge fan of the blues, although he tried to keep it out of their household. Micol began playing piano at around 4 years old. Through her teenage years, she was the church pianist, sang in various choirs, and eventually earned a degree in music education from the University Of Tennessee. As she got older, her dad loosened up on allowing the family to hear other music and soon thereafter, Micol discovered Bonnie Raitt, Van Morrison, and Bobbie Gentry who have all proven to be an enormous influence on her.

I was born and raised in Knox County in east Tennessee. My dad, uncles & cousins had a band together through my childhood. They played all the time. Long before I was born, one of my uncles used to travel to Bristol, Tennessee to pick, sing & drink with Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family. When I was a kid, I would hear my family's band playing & singing early Rock & Roll music like Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry; some soul music like The Silhouettes & Ivory Joe Hunter; honky tonk country music like Hank Williams, Ray Price & Buck Owens; '70's country like Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard & Willie Nelson; '70's rock like The Eagles & Creedence Clearwater Revival; and even stuff by Jimmie Rodgers & The Carter Family, so I took in all of this when I was growing up.

I started playing guitar at 5 years old and really started knuckling down on guitar & drums at 7 years old and started playing clarinet and saxophone at 12. Eventually, I eased on in there with my family's band and was playing drums, guitar or saxophone when we'd have family get-togethers or when we played in nightclubs & honky tonks. This was before I was old enough to be in those places and my mom would oftentimes throw a fit about it but I was there with dad. Mom made sure that I didn't miss anytime hearing the gospel when the doors opened at Fellowship Baptist Church and I'm grateful to her for this. I also grew up singing and absorbing all those southern gospel songs and old hymns that I still love to this day. My cousins were all into southern rock & 1960's psychedelic rock and I really dug that stuff a bunch too. I studied the music of Jimi Hendrix and The Allman Brothers Band especially. The sounds of Mississippi music made it into my soul when I was around 13 years old and it just took a hold of me. It took me by storm when I first heard Muddy Waters! I've always felt a deep, direct kinship with the music of Mississippi.

And thankfully, God has allowed Micol and me to meet some of our heroes along the way, Mavis Staples, Otha Turner, T-Model Ford, RL Burnside just to name a few.

WUSM:
What music of today do you really enjoy, pick something unlikely it's ok..I promise.

Ricky:
We enjoy all kinds of stuff. Some of the music artists that are making sounds today that Micol and I have found ourselves listening to over and over include (off the top of my head and in no particular order): John Mayer, Malcolm Holcombe, Wolfmother, Tift Merritt, Mary J. Blige, Ralph Stanley, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jackson Browne, Cary Hudson, Prince, Shooter Jennings, Ali Farka Toure, Dolly Parton, Diana Krall, Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris, Dierks Bentley, Medeski Martin & Wood, Thad Cockrell, Sheryl Crow, Ziggy Marley, T-Bone Burnett, Mindy Smith, Jimbo Mathus, Wilco, Sugarman 3, The Dixie Hummingbirds, John Legend, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Tony Bennett, Susan Tedeschi, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Molly Thomas, Los Lobos, Corine Bailey Rae, Robert Cray Band, Willie Nelson, Irma Thomas, Juliette & The Licks, Guy Clark, Farrell Sanders, Hank Williams III, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Gov't Mule, Brian Setzer Orchestra, Rosanne Cash, North Mississippi Allstars, The Gourds, Rickie Lee Jones, India.Arie, Del McCoury Band, James Hunter, Galactic, JJ Cale, Michelle Malone, Elvis Costello, The Wood Brothers, Bob Dylan, Marty Stuart, Van Hunt, Gretchen Wilson, Doyle Bramhall II, The Redwalls, Ray LaMontagne, Keith Urban, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Billy Joe Shaver, T-Model Ford, Ben Harper, Julie Lee, Van Morrison . . .

WUSM:
When did you know that this was what you wanted to do? Was their a performance or a record that just planted the idea in your head?

Ricky:
I've always felt like making music is my calling in life. I can never think of a time when making music isn't what I've felt like I was put here to do. I've had several events in my life that solidified that gut feeling. Seeing Jimi Hendrix perform on, "Woodstock (the movie)", which came on network TV when I was around 5 years old still sticks in my mind. Hearing Muddy Waters recordings for the first time was an enormous event. You know, things like that were huge for me.

Micol says that she's always dreamed of making music too. She remembers having that being the sole thing that she's wanted to do in life. She said that those early Bonnie Raitt records that she first heard as a teenager really sparked the fire for her from the beginning.

WUSM:
Tell me about the new CD that's due in Spring 2007. What can we expect from that, and more importantly what can the audience expect from you live at the Bottling Co.

Ricky:
With our new CD, folks can expect new original songs and a couple of our favorite songs that others have written that we've been doing lately. We're recording the CD at our home studio . . . literally, it's in our home - our kitchen, bedroom, living room - all throughout, so this new CD is certainly gonna have some home vibes going on.

As for our show at The Bottling Company, folks can expect a down home good time! We like to boogie!

WUSM:
What do you think the future holds for you? Do you ever think that even if it just keeps on going like this you'll just be happy playing and singing.

Ricky:
Only God knows the future and it's all in His hands. We know what we want and that is to continuously take our music higher & higher. We want to go to new places, break new ground, meet new people.

As for things continuing to go the way they are right now, we're grateful to be doing this for a living. We love music. It's our life and as long as there are folks who'd like to hear our music, we intend on singing & playing our songs forever.

WUSM:
Thank you guys.

Ricky:
Thank you Mik and WUSM!

Dish Magazine

*Video & Interview With Various Artists Who Performed At The 2006 Americana Folk Festival Including Blue Mother Tupelo:
(both links are for the same video)

http://www.dishmag.com/video/index3.html
http://www.dishmag.com/video/Dish3.mov

Blue Mother Tupelo Interview Podcast On BluesSource.com

NEW Fabulous Issue! Our PODCAST this week is Ricky & Micol Davis of Blue Mother Tupelo. They're talented, hardworking, and destined to hit the big time! We interviewed
them at the WDVX-FM studios in Knoxville, TN, at the Friday "Blue Plate
Special".

Click this link to listen:

The husband-and-wife team of Ricky and Micol Davis met while students at the University of Tennessee. He plays guitar, she plays piano and they both sing. The love match was based in part on a common appreciation for rootsy musicians like John Lee Hooker and Van Morrison. Check out their version of Paul Anka's "Put Your Head on My Shoulder' on the soundtrack of last year's "Daltry Calhoun" with Johnny Knoxville and Juliette Lewis.

... "Tuesday I went to see Blue Mother Tupelo, which are NOW on my friends list (moving to the top list as soon as I'm done with this blog, if I remember!) which is a GREAT TRIO! I saw them at the Blvd. ... The band was honestly the BEST LIVE show I think I've ever seen, even above Velvet Revolver which was considered the best ever until Tuesday night.... The bands is a husband/wife combo with a drummer. The husband plays slide guitar in an EXTREMELY legit delta blues and classic rock style with total soul like a possessed man. I play a lot of slide, he's one bad muthafucker and VERY tasteful. It's not about guitar pyrotechnics with him, it's about the moment and the song.... Great stuff, he can also sing his ass off and harmonize with his wife like you wouldn't believe. The wife plays dual lead tamborine, kinda odd, but she's a TOTAL like and key element and sings like a ragged edged voiced angel! A must see show.... The drummer, it was his first gig with them and you'd swear he was the funkiest thang to walk this earth and sounds like he's played with them all his life. He's from Trinidad, which is a Carribean island and has a strong New Orleans trapsman style and reggae influence. Let's put it this way you "feel" the one beat with this guy. Good stuff indeed. Love'd it. I hope they go far. They're a Nashville based band and worth the drive to wherever you can see them.... The songs on they're myspace DO NOT do them justice vs. a live show...."

"Tonight's show at the BLVD was AWESOME!!! Micol's voice brought tears to my eyes more than once. If ya'll don't hit it BIG soon, I will give up on the music industry. Please come back soon. Everyone was blown away."

Heather
Florence, Alabama

"You guys were a breath of fresh air. Ya'll came (with) the force of a wrecking ball."

"The musical celebration of freedom included the unique musical stylings of Blue Mother Tupelo, a band which blends Delta Blues, Bluegrass, and Folk music to produce a distinctive sound that highlights the South's most cherished musical styles."

Acclaimed acoustic blues-rockers, Blue Mother Tupelo, will perform at Johnson City’s The Down Home this Thursday, June 29. A mainstay of the southeast blues and roots music scenes, the band never fails to draw rowdy crowds for their red-hot, down and dirty blues.

Usually appearing as a trio, Blue Mother Tupelo is spearheaded by the huband and wife team of Ricky and Micol Davis. The couple met in Knoxville in the 1990s, quickly becoming partners in music and in life. It's a constant scramble for Ricky and Micol, who have crisscrossed the southeast many times over, appearing at clubs, festivals and small theaters. Blue Mother Tupelo has even appeared on National Public Radio’s revered “Mountain Stage” program.

The group reached an acme of notoriety (so far, that is) with their rendition of Paul Anka’s “Put Your Head on My Shoulder,” which was included in the soundtrack for the 2005 film, “Daltry Calhoun,” which starred Johnny Knoxville and Juliet Lewis.

Although it’s been quite a while since Blue Mother Tupelo has released a full-length album, the group has nonetheless stayed busy. BMT was nominated for best acoustic blues act by the Music City Blues Society several years over. And Micol was also nominated for best female singer by the same organization. The group’s last full album was 2001’s self-released Delta Low, Mountain High.

Oftentimes compared to the Carter Family, Johnny Cash, and Robert Johnson, BMT delivers southern-fried blues with the aplomb of the most wizened Delta Bluesmen. Ricky Davis is noted for his exceptional guitar skills, and Micol Davis’ vocals and piano stylings have also received countless accolades in blues and alt-country publications.

Blue Mother Tupelo - Douglas Corner, 5/12
Bill Five's MySpace Blog

"Swampadelic southern soul rock" is as good as any description of Ricky and Micol Davis' unique musical style and delivery. It's no small wonder that two people that were so meant to be together found each other and their listeners certainly benefit. Last night's set was a perfect showcase of tunes from their two CDs, as well as the special treat of several new songs, slated for release later this year. Micol alternated between keyboard and tambourine(s), while Ricky put his slide through the paces on dobro, his signature instrument, and guitar. Rick Lonow, on drums, illustrated versatility of styles, with technique vastly different from the previous evening, when he kept the beat with Shawn Camp at the Station Inn. The trio is certainly deserving of a much larger fan base, considering their commitment to the music, that is clearly evident in their recordings and blazing live performances. They have picked up stakes, relocated to Nashville, cut two outstanding CDs and for years have maintained a heavy-duty tour schedule, despite other day-to-day commitments. Both Ricky and Micol are excellent vocalists, in addition to being technically proficient on their instruments. Rather than belaboring the point further, please visit their profile here and catch one of their many live shows. They do not disappoint!

Bill Five - Bill Five's MySpace Blog (May 13, 2006)

From Metro Pulse Magazine in Knoxville:
Closer to the Walk of Fame

Before moving to Nashville a few years ago, Blue Mother Tupelo, a.k.a. Micol and Ricky Davis, got their musical start on the Knoxville scene in 1995. The duo, plus drummer Johnny "The Clock" Richardson, makes sure to visit Knoxville frequently, as it's Ricky's hometown, bringing news of the band's increasing successes in Music City USA. A recent update finds BMT included on the soundtrack of Daltry Calhoun, an indie movie starring Johnny Knoxville and Juliette Lewis and executive-produced by Quentin Tarantino. The band's cover of "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" figures in a soundtrack featuring several radio hits of yesteryear, like "Oh Lonesome Me" by Johnny Cash, "December 1963 (Oh What a Night)" by Frankie Valley & the Four Seasons, and "The Things We Do For Love" by 10CC. The disc also includes a hidden track of "The Put Your Head on My Shoulder Jam" by BMT, and the band's first music video will appear on the movie's DVD release.

Before Daltry Calhoun opened in select cities Sept. 23, BMT attended the film's premiere at Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. The trip was a first for another reason as well, Michol says. "Ricky has never flown on anything but a Huey helicopter during maneuvers at Ft. Campbell with the 101st Air Cavalry back when he was in college," she says. "Like our drummer's wife said, it's very cool that flying to Hollywood to represent our songs during the premiere of a film that has our music in it is a fantastic and special reason to make a first flight."

The movie, which has received mixed reviews, is expected to screen in Knoxville sometime in October.

- The Metropulse (May 23, 2006)

Blue Mother Tupelo - Winner of the June 2005 TwangOff Competition In Chicago

Seemingly featuring only six strings per song, and spare but powerful percussion, Blue Mother Tupelo proved you don't need a lot of instruments to make a big impact. Husband and wife co-lead vocalists Ricky and Micol Davis clearly love their delta blues. Johnny "The Clock" Richardson drums on his thighs until the arrangement lets him actually hit the skins. And together, they evoke everyone from Elmore James to the White Stripes. Or ZZ Top minus Dusty Hill.

Michael Holm - TwangOff Records (May 23, 2006)

When Blue Mother Tupelo was first recommended for our annual Indie Artist Showcase in Nashville (7/24), I wasn't sure what to expect. The name is so unique. But after pondering what it might actually mean, I decided to let their music speak for itself. One quick run through Delta Low-Mountain High and their name fit their music like a glove. It's a rich, genuine, blend of Appalachian, (Blue Mother) and southern Blues (Tupelo). The husband and wife team of Ricky and Micol Davis make up the heart and soul of this catchy Nashville-based duo. "We just play how we feel and we're fortunate and happy that people feel good about it," Ricky told Steve Wildsmith of The Daily Times.
They moved to Nashville in the late '90's, landed day jobs and set out making music the Blue Mother Tupelo way. Ricky's hot guitar work, whether acoustic, electric or slide, combined with Micol's soulful Bonnie Raitt/Bobbie Gentry style vocals, makes for a superb offering of southern mountain blues. The track "You'll Be Mine," is excellent. It has a '70's tinge that brightens the senses. Other tracks of note, the funky, "For The Love Of You", and "Without You".

Greg Tutwiler - Singer Magazine (May 23, 2006)

Genre-defying band won't be fenced in

Although originally from Knoxville, Ricky and Micol Davis of Blue Mother Tupelo demonstrate all the attributes one might expect to see in a couple of Nashville songwriters. Their music is passionate but above all else original - so original, in fact, that it cannot possibly be categorized. While in the past the act has been labeled as blues, a quick listen is all that's necessary to demonstrate that Blue Mother Tupelo's trademark style is much more than blues, folk, bluegrass - or any single genre, for that matter.

The husband-and-wife duo began playing together locally nine years ago, making the Knoxville scene for three years before moving to Music City in hopes of joining an established music community and amplifying their chances of being heard by larger audiences. This Saturday the prodigal children will return to their former home for a show at The Downtown Grill and Brewery. The venue will serve as a slight change of pace for the band, whose shows usually involve the outdoors and some tricky back-roads navigation.

"Knoxville is home to us," explains Ricky Davis. "I was born and raised in Knoxville and have been playing in Knoxville venues since the 1980s, when I was a teenager. Micol and I married in 1994, and a year later, we were out doing writers nights, open mics and getting gigs in Knoxville.

"We moved to Nashville because we aspired to be more than a bar band - and we still do," he continues. "We love doing live shows. And performing in front of an audience and communicating with them through music is a true blessing. Basically, we moved to Nashville to explore further possibilities and approaches to what we could/can do with our music as a career. With all that said, we have had some songwriting meetings with some really great songwriters lately. We've written a couple of songs with John Scott Sherrill (hit Nashville songwriter) and a song with Craig Fuller (of the Pure Prairie League and Little Feat)."

Utilizing acoustic, electric and slide guitars, Dobro, piano, organ, harmonizing male and female co-vocalists, a drummer (Johnny Richardson) and various other percussions, the band defies the advice of its critics and colleagues, remaining true to its uncontrived style.

"We're all about pouring our emotions into our music and digging deeper inside ourselves to put our signature on the music that we play," says Micol Davis. "Many well-meaning people in the music business feel that we need to fit into a genre somewhere or try to hone into one aspect or another of our music so it will easily fit into one single category. The tough thing about that is in order to do that, we would be changing our music dramatically from what it's all about. We don't set out to try to write some country or blues or rock song. We're just letting things flow naturally."

Davis elaborates: "And within this challenge, our whole approach to performing our songs is something different than maybe what a lot of people are used to in pop music. We have two lead singers who also sing harmonies together. Our sound is very guitar-driven, and we don't have a bassist. Listen long enough and you'll hear everything from Southern gospel/spiritual influences to mountain music to Mississippi country blues and even experimental psychedelia."

Later this year, Blue Mother Tupelo will begin recording its third album, to be released in 2005. Until then, look for the couple to continue traveling throughout the South, playing picturesque outdoor stages. Saturday night at 10, The Downtown Grill and Brewery will host the band in a night of drinking and grooving as part of a strong weekend for music in Knoxville.

By JER COLE - The Knoxville News-Sentinel (May 23, 2006)

Blue Mother Tupelo shakes free from blues cliches

Ahh … autumn in the mountains of East Tennessee. There's nothing quite like this time of year anywhere. Orange and purple sunsets, long shadows and the smell of fireplaces turn our mountain home into a storybook from days gone by. Those were my thoughts as I drove the back roads through Beech Creek this past Saturday to hear Blue Mother Tupelo at Rogersville's historic Crockett Park.

Crockett Park is the resting place for Davy Crockett's grandparents and like many landmarks in our region, this park stands as a memorial to our history and ancestors. The Rogersville Arts Council selected this location in downtown to present concerts this year and plans many more next summer. A Saturday concert was the last of the season and featured one of the best female voices and most original music that you are likely to hear on a small stage.

This summer, I received an e-mail from Amanda Reeves and her schedule for the Rogersville Arts Council featuring Blue Mother Tupelo. She had read my column complaining about the lack of live music in Kingsport and invited me to Rogersville.

When I arrived at the park, it was cool. Lots of sweaters, kettle fires ready for marshmallows and hot apple cider served under a willow tree with kids peering like Cheshire cats from the branches. Beside the gazebo, Blue Mother Tupelo - the band's gear unpacked from a Chevy Suburban and a U-haul - was getting ready for its performance. Their instruments were onstage and the lead singer was fixing her makeup in the truck.

Micol Davis and her husband Ricky are the heart and soul of Blue Mother Tupelo. When I first visited their Web site, it was a treat to see two people who fit so well together. Both are great singers and together they produce great music that sounds like the swampy sounds of a French Quarter backbeat to down and dirty blues from the Delta. Some like to call it "Swampadelic."

Last week, PBS ran a series featuring Martin Scorsese and seven film directors' documentaries on Blues in America. Once again I was mystified by the history of this musical culture and I guess that's why I was glad to be in Rogersville, listening to a group that had recently been nominated as best Acoustic Blues act by the 2003 Music City Blues Awards in Nashville.

I spoke to Micol - singer, keyboardist and percussionist - before the set. I bought two CDs and introduced myself to this young woman with striking blue eyes. We shared stories about music and our Tennessee home.

She and her husband are from Knoxville and recently moved to Hendersonville. I know these two places well, having lived in both areas and she was delightful to talk to. She is also obviously passionate about her music too; and talked more about the band - Ricky on vocals and guitar, John Richardson on drums and Ronnie James on Acoustic Bass.

Blue Mother Tupelo began its set a little past 6:30 with a pastel sunset behind the gazebo ... and what a sound! With Ricky playing a resonator guitar with slide and Micol on tambourine, it was like a Pentecostal testimony night.

Their music was the most honest, original performances of any group I've heard lately. Too many places serve up the blues that sounds like a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan, but this couple's down-to-earth style is more than guitar; it's about the music. They sing about family, the mountains, the delta, work, church and above all, their love. As an added bonus, they played an old blues song that I thought I would never hear again, that my brother and I used to sing when we were kids called, "Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad." Other memorable songs included; "I'll Make Love to You Any Old Time" and ‘Further On Down The Road."

I can't say enough about the voice of Micol Davis. Tennessee has given birth to many distinctive female voices, and here is another gem. Her voice has an original style that reminds me of the passion of Janis Joplin and the honesty of Dolly Parton; she's got a seductive coo like Norah Jones, too. The East Tennessee hills may have another legend in the making.

Blue Mother Tupelo is one-of-a-kind blues act. Its songs are terrific and with a little more stage presence, Micol and Ricky will surely find themselves at bigger venues in the future. Their recent nominations as best Acoustic Blues and Best Female Blues Vocalist are well deserved. I feel lucky to have both original CDs and invite you to explore this great music online @ their website.

written by David Cate - Kingsport Times-News (May 23, 2006)

Eclectic Blue Mother Tupelo brings sound to Brackins

Ricky Davis can't exactly remember if Blue Mother Tupelo, the band he formed with his wife, has played Maryville before, but one thing's for sure -- after moving to Nashville five years ago and returning monthly for dates all over Knoxville, the group will perform at Brackins tonight.

The show will begin at 10 p.m. instead of the regular 9 p.m. start time for most Brackins groups, and starting tonight, owners Mark and Linda Brackins will charge a $3 cover for Friday and Saturday nights when live music is featured.

But if you question whether Blue Mother Tupelo is worth it, don't. The band's most recent album, ``Delta Low, Mountain High'' is so rich in a syrupy, blues-bluegrass mixture that it's almost impossible not to be hooked on the group after the first few songs.

Ricky's guitar work, whether he's playing acoustic, electric or slide, channels the blues from the Mississippi Delta as much as it does the fleet-fingered picking styles of the Appalachian hills. With a sweet tenor, he's a perfect compliment to his wife's brazen, Bonnie Raitt-meets-Sheryl Crow vocals.

``The music that we play is kind of a combination, a Southern blend of music,'' he said recently. ``There's a lot of different types of Southern music, and ours has got a real earthy feel to it, a real soulful kind of approach. As far as our live performance goes, we've been told it's real energetic and soulful. As far as how we approach it, we just play how we feel, and we're fortunate and happy that people feel good about it.''

One of the reasons Blue Mother Tupelo, a fixture at Barley's Taproom in Knoxville's Old City, sounds so good is the variety of influences the Davises draw upon.

``We've got so many it's almost unbelievable: Definitely the late '60s psychedelic bluesy rock stuff; old blues stuff like Muddy Waters; Van Morrison,'' he said. ``The realness of the Mississippi sound, that Stax Records soulful sound, is really kind of right in the middle of where we come from, as well as old country stuff, like Hank Williams and Lefty Frisell. Any kind of music that's got grit and soul appeals to us, whether it's Miles Davis to Jimi Hendrix to all points in between.''

Ricky and Micol Davis first met when the two -- both Knoxville natives (Ricky graduated from Doyle and Micol went to Clinton) -- ran into each other in Knoxville's Old City, where Ricky was playing with another group.

``She actually came out to see the group I was playing with ... we ended up starting to play music together and sing,'' he said.

The couple moved to Nashville about five years ago to further their music career, a move that's paying off. The two both have day jobs -- she's a school teacher, and he works for the state, Ricky added -- but right now, they're in discussions with industry-types in Nashville that may influence the direction of their next record.

``We're still promoting `Delta Low, Mountain High' right now,'' he said. ``We've got new material, but we're just holding off a little bit because we're in some discussions with folks in the music business. It's best to play with what we've got for a while.

``Ideally, what we're wanting to do is to be recording artists and touring artists. We're also looking at doing some other things in the business, like songwriting for other artists. So we're kind of looking at different avenues. I've been playing all my life, and all my adult life this is what I've been hoping for.''

Thanks to the success of other roots artists, bolstered by the success of the ``O Brother'' soundtrack, the band is quickly gaining new fans, and with any luck, Ricky and Micol may be the next Buddy and Julie Miller, two of Nashville's best-known singing, songwriting husband-wife team.

``There's obviously obstacles that have to be crossed in any marriage, especially any marriage in comparison to a career, but it's pretty easy for us,'' he said. ``We have similar ambitions, and we both have a love for what we do.

``Probably the hardest part is holding down day jobs and traveling and playing at night. We're not just burning the candle at both ends; we're burning it all the way across right now. But we think it'll pay off.''

By Steve Wildsmith - The Maryville Daily Times (May 23, 2006)

Blue Mother Tupelo is a blues/rock/roots band out of Tennessee that has as good a thing going as any southern band out there. There are a lot of so-called 'southern rock' bands roaming the countryside right now, but this bunch is the real thing. Actually they are much more than a 'southern rock' band. They are a blues band with influences that range from the mountains of Appalachia to the Delta of Mississippi. At the core of Blue Mother Tupelo is the husband and wife team of Ricky and Micol Davis. Micol is a songwriter, keyboardist, and a singer with a sweet and earthy singing voice. Ricky is a songwriter as well but is also as good a slide guitar player as there is in the country right now. Their second CD, "Delta Low, Mountain High" is proof that these guys are a band that is making real southern music in these modern times with their heart in the right place.

If you get a chance to see them live don't pass it up. As good as they are on CD, they are even better in person. That is the test of a truly hot group, and Blue Mother Tupelo is just that.

Derek Halsey - Gritz Magazine (May 23, 2006)

Compact Dreams

Free-flowing minds were at work in the birthing of Blue Mother Tupelo's Delta Low ~ Mountain High. There's an immediate sense of earthiness-besides obvious professionalism-emanating from the music. Augmented by eight cohorts, spouses Ricky and Micol Davis are responsible for all of the songs, the lead vocals and many of the instruments played. What's here, as their name and the album title suggests, is a melding of '60's rock and folk sensibilities with the blues and the 'grass. Their conscience drives "Como Dust," a solo acoustic blues lament for the black man of yore. The set opening, "I Feel So Glad," on the other hand, is just plain giddy, but infectious nonetheless. Ricky's tough "Workin' Man," will prick a few ears around these parts for its Southern drive and its sweet guitar break. Micol Davis' gorgeous voice is a revelation-the simplicity, yet all-consuming depth she achieves in "Without You," is staggering. With Ricky, she takes "For The Love Of You," from a place in the heart to what should be a place on the charts. I'm hooked!

by Tom Clarke - Hittin' The Note (May 23, 2006)

Delta Low~Mountain High is my new favorite rekkid! Serious! This is wonderful music! One listen and you’ll know why; the act’s delta style recordings are simple and powerful, driven by the Marcia Ball/Bonnie Raitt-like intensity with nuance of vocalist Micol Davis and the retro modern-guitar work of her husband/bandmate Ricky Davis. Vocal leads from Ricky are also memorable, with both artists offering soulful harmony. Eclectic music that goes into modern melodic rock, funky stuff, jazzy (Louisiana brass band sounds, too) leanings, even some country-ish sounds and, of course, blues-rock. I can recommend Delta Low~Mountain High for any music fan.

The record is staffed by some of the best in the Nashville blues biz; including MCBS (Music City Blues Soc.) Drummer of the Year Chuckie Burke, and the fantastic Richard Griffin on saxes, flute, and clarinet, as well as horn arrangements. Also, sax great Bobby Keys (the famous "6th Stone" - ya, like Rolling Stones …) shows up and Quentin Ware blows trumpet, with Danny Vestal adding trombone. Tasty Jimmy Clark fiddle is sprinkled around, while the bottom is supplied by Dave Rorick. Of course, the multi-guitared, multi-facet fret work of Ricky Davis is worth the price of admission by itself. Add to that the textures of Micol’s keyboard, and you have a disc that will stand multiple spins in your player.

Blue Mother Tupelo music, sometimes billed as merely acoustic and delta, covers so much more musical ground. For example, "Afraid To Fall" reminds me of 70’s super group Traffic, "What She’s Doin’ To Me" reminds me of Traffic drunk in New Orleans… "Como Dust" is eerie word poetry from Como, Mississippi; which is, of course, deep in the Mississippi delta. "Appalachian Sunshine" sounds like something on the back porch of -uhm- Appalachia. Several tunes have enough length to let the songs breath, going through movements to allow for tasty dynamics, one of my favorites being Micol’s seven-minute lament/meditation called "Without You". Whatever you hear, it’s almost always original. Ricky and Micol author twelve of the thirteen cuts, yet only one is a collaboration. This form seems to work well for the duo, apparently allowing an artistic freedom as the author of each takes musical control. Micol sings like she means it; a Bonnie Raitt comparison, with all the soulful nuance of delivery, would not be all that far off. She’s the real deal, as anyone who’s ever heard her live can tell you. The only cover on the disc is Micol’s searing delta-style rendition of Jessie Mae Hemphill’s "What A Shame". Have I said enough??? THIS IS A TERRIFIC ALBUM!!!

Shannon Williford - Music City Blues ‘Bluesletter’ (May 23, 2006)

Blue Mother Tupelo are Micol Davis and Ricky Davis with a little help from there friends. The disc starts off with two rocksongs which could have been written by Lowell George. Some nice country songs and even a few songs that could be considered as funky soul songs. (Without you) is the absolute highlight of this CD, it's a ballad about loneliness, sung by Micol with nice piano, violin and acoustic guitar. (Working Man) is a good country-rock song sung by Rick. (Como Dust) and (What A Shame) could be described as acoustic blues orientated.

Blue Mother Tupelo has a sound that will stick to your ribs like the oatmeal your mom tried so hard to get you to eat on cold winter mornings back when you were a kid, and much like that oatmeal, I kept resisting a review of their cd. Don't ask why. It sat in the "to be reviewed" stack here in the GRITZ office, month after month, and managed to be overlooked time and time again. Again, I have no idea why. The guys are great about e-mailing news and updates, and every time I'd get one, I would say top myself, in that self-promising and honest tone, "I have GOT to give BMT a listen!" Well, it's December, and I finally dropped everything I was doing when the disc again rose to the top of the stack, and put it on. I have been rocking to and fro in my desk chair and tapping my Hobbit-like toes ever since.

Lead by the absolutely talented duo of Micol and Ricky Davis, Blue Mother Tupelo digs deep into the bag of musical influence, pulling out blues, Appalachian sounds, folk, funk- a little bit of everything, and blends it into a Tupelo stew that will warm the insides as good as, if not better than that oatmeal we were discussing earlier.

Heck, BMT even flirts with an r&b Motown sound- filtered through a moonshine still to make it more Southern- on the very excellent duet "For the Love of You." Applause sign please. Thank you.

While Micol's angelic vocals adorn "Without You," husband Ricky growls a blues rock vocal on the up-tempo "Workin' Man," which features some mighty tasty lead guitar as well.

A personal favorite is the moody "Afraid to Fall," which at times sounds like Gov't Mule, or at least a Warren Haynes composition. And just when you think Blue Mother Tupelo is a laid-back acoustic act, they pull out the horn section, the funk, and a trowel to spread the funk with "What's She Doin' to Me." What a funkin' rocker, boys and girls. Awesome.

The set closes with "Home," flashing us back to the acoustic themes present in the earlier tracks of this thirteen-song collection. A nice duet that ebbs and flows with a dreamy feel before settling into an almost Stevie Nicks sounding, tambourine enhanced pop song.

Okay, so I learned my lesson. Next time I smell the oatmeal on the stove, I'll dish up a big hearty bowl then and there, and see what it tastes like. This particular bowl left me feeling warm inside and all over. Good food for the soul. Yummy.

The husband/wife, singer/songwriter duo of Ricky and Micol Davis have put together one of the most interesting albums I've heard of late. Delta Low - Mountain High is all about their style, which is ethereal, yet simple. The eclectic mix of Delta and Appalachia works. And it is now to be said that their style is a mixture of lots of Southern influences from Southern Rock to Blues to old-timey Folk. It includes the sounds of Ricky's National Steel and the intertwining of their soulful voices to produce a unique blend of music."I Feel So Glad" is the first cut and provides a good intro to their mix of music. Little Feat's the influence here. It's laid back and a good showcase for Ricky's voice. The National Steel is fine here. "You'll Be Mine" is a nice, sexy, churning vocal from Micol. She lets you know she is not "…just a little woman."
"I Feel So Glad" is the first cut and provides a good intro to their mix of music. Little Feat's the influence here. It's laid back and a good showcase for Ricky's voice. The National Steel is fine here. "You'll Be Mine" is a nice, sexy, churning vocal from Micol. She lets you know she is not "…just a little woman".
A simple, country-styled "Appalachian Sunshine" takes off with some great mandolin, fiddle and guitar. "For The Love Of You" is a pop-styled love song with some great harmonies by Micol and Ricky. "Without You" is Micol's song. Her simple, yet powerful delivery makes it a real gem. Strings, thunder and rain really make the mood here.
Ricky leaves for work on "Workin' Man". Pickup trucks and guitars sort of go together in the South and so it is here. Ricky's guitar solo is Southern Rock all the way. A whole lot of shakin' happens on the dance floor when they play this. "Como Dust" begins with a railroad gang holler that takes you to the Deep Delta. Ricky just talks this one behind some soulful Martin acoustic guitar wanderings. If you've ever been to the Delta, you'll know just what this is about.
"What A Shame" again showcases Micol's funkier side and, along with the slide guitar, is a simple Blues cry. "Afraid To Fall" is a haunting, impressionistic melody. The rainstick effects and Ricky's classical guitar and superb vocal make this song a real surprise. Great electric guitar--nice tune! "I Feel Like A Dog" is a New Orleans, Dixieland-style tune, with fun lyrics, which stirs up some funky soul stew.
"Boogie Blues" churns around like an old 78 rpm record, being highlighted by Micol's strong Blues vocal. Some very unusual effects on this piece. Terrific vocal! "What She's Doing To Me" pays homage to the Memphis Funk, with a horn solo by Bobby Keys, of the Rolling Stones. Richard Griffin did all of the horn arrangements on the album, helped by Ricky. He also plays flute and clarinet. "Home" is a complex melody, yet the direct message here is simple--the love of home and family. A really interesting tune with weaving harmonies and lyrics.
Blue Mother Tupelo is a Tennessee blending of Southern Rock, Blues & Folk that makes for an unforgettable listening experience. You can get this album at their website. Try it out for something new. It's guaranteed to hold you tight.

Blues Bites

Hendersonville, Tennessee, is home to Blue Mother Tupelo. Delta Low ~ Mountain High (Sho’Nuff Records) is a highly enjoyable amalgam of blues, country, and pop. Husband-and-wife duo Ricky and Micol Davis flesh out their well-written, artfully arranged songs with fine regional players. She’s a keyboardist; he plays guitar; both sing. Touchstones might be pre-Eagles roots rock, Delaney & Bonnie, or early Bonnie Raitt (Micol’s voice has Raitt’s earthiness and passion). Gems include the acoustic stomps “You’ll Be Mine” and “What A Shame”, the deep, “Afraid To Fall”, and the Dixieland swing tune, “I Feel Like A Dog”. Great production, fine playing and good tunes.

"There seems to be a lot of action brewing on Knoxville's Americana scene, and it's not just from the major players (who could that be?) either. Locals Blue Mother Tupelo have just released a new CD, Delta Low, Mountain High (Sho 'Nuff Records), which proves their worth as practitioners of indigenous musical forms.

BMT seems to exist in the very center of America's musical terrain: a place where blues, bluegrass, folk, country, rock 'n' roll and gospel intersect seamlessly. Formed around the core unit of marital partners Micol Davis and Ricky Davis, BMT touches on each of these forms at some point in the course of the album, displaying a true understanding of roots music on a lovingly produced, reverent collection.

Apparently a loosely bound aggregation, BMT sends a gaggle of area musicians through the revolving door of their chapel of the blues. Yokels Chucke Burke, Dave 'Ro' Rorick, Jimmy Clark, Richard Griffin, Danny Vestal, Quentin Ware, Bobby Keys, George Johnson and JT Tucker make their presence known with a variety of acoustic sounds.

But of course, it all boils down to the blues. Ricky Davis' six string skills are evident throughout - and he's got the chops that can only come from years of experience. Both Mr. & Mrs. Davis sing on the outing, but Micol Davis' dusky alto voice seems best - not a slight on Mr. Davis either. Micol's vocals recall the timbre of Rickie Lee Jones or Bobby Gentry, while Ricky sounds sort of like Dr. John. Obviously, they've both been doing their homework.

Delta Low, Mountain High merely serves as another reminder of why BMT is a steady draw on the local club scene with an ever increasing fan base. These guys are the genuine real deal, living among us. So now it's your turn to check 'em out for yourselves. BMT creates real music - by and for real people. And there's no denying the quality and authenticity of their work."

Micol and Ricky Davis bring to Mississippi blues the same historic respect and modern sensibility that Gillian Welch and David Rawlings bring to old Appalachian music.

Blue Mother Tupelo back to business after tornado scare

Every spring, Blue Mother Tupelo comes to Johnson City for the Little Chicago Blues Festival. The band is always made up of Ricky and Micol Davis, who donate their time here for a good cause – raising money for WETS-FM, our local Public Radio station – because they appreciate the station.

Saturday they’ll be in town again for the annual three-night fundraiser, and along with being grateful to WETS, they’ll be grateful simply to be here, to be playing the blues, to be alive.

The duo live in Hendersonville, near Nashville. Parts of that area were devastated by tornadoes earlier this month.

“I grew up in Knoxville,” Ricky said, “and tornadoes are very unusual there. Here in Nashville we have occasional high winds and tornadoes blow through, and this one was bad. We were sheltered up under the house for several hours, and when it seemed like everything had kinda calmed down, we came out, and sure enough, we saw the funnel cloud back behind our house.

“We didn’t get hit, though. We had a couple tree limbs down, but nothing compared to what some people around here had. Neighborhoods were badly damaged, houses were totally wiped out, people lost loved ones, and then you see the next house untouched. It makes you think about things. You ask yourself why it hit them and not us.”

They felt lucky to be alive, unhurt and undamaged. A return to normalcy is always recommended in such circumstances, so the Davises have plunged back into their music, and they’ll once again provide the Down Home audience with a set of Delta-influenced, soul-drenched blues. They’ve described the sound as “Mississippi stomp, earthy funk, bittersweet melancholy, sunny soul-rock, Appalachian attitude ... pure American roots rock.”

The group will play as a three-piece this trip, bringing drummer Rick Lonow to drive the rhythms. Musically, the band is in a good place, in the midst of recording another album. Last year they landed a music spot in the movie “Daltry Calhoun,” starring Johnny Knoxville and Juliette Lewis, and executive produced by Quentin Tarantino. BMT’s song “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” plays in the movie’s last scene, and on the DVD version the band performs the song as a music video.

Blue Mother Tupelo’s first album was “Delta Low – Mountain High” in 1997.

Asked how many years the group has come to the Little Chicago festival at Down Home, Ricky said, “I’ve lost count. But the money goes to a great radio station that supports some great music, from independent artists like us who play original music.”

As for the tornado, it’s not something they’ll ever forget. Despite being an afternoon disaster, it has caused the Davises problems sleeping at night. Neighbors lost homes and cars. The owners of the Nashville club where they performed the weekend of the tornado, in fact, lost their home.

“It deeply affected us,” Ricky said.

Last year they helped take drinking water to Katrina victims in Mississippi, seeing first-hand how others were impacted. This disaster hit even closer to home.

Will a song come out of the experience?

“We’ve talked about doing a song on it,” he said. “We’ve come up with a few lines that we did pretty much immediately that we were moved to write down. We’ll see if it ever becomes a song. It’s the first time I’ve ever been affected by natural disaster.”

Blue Mother Tupelo’s set begins at 10 p.m. Saturday; the show starts at 8 p.m. with the Bobby Knight Band, Jenna and the Joneses and, after BMT, Blue Rapture.

The festival, which started Thursday night, also takes place tonight beginning at 8. The lineup includes Bleu Jackson and the Hitmen, The Hoodoos, The Nightcrawlers and The Nomadz.

The 16th annual Little Chicago Blues Festival kicked off at the Down Home last weekend.
Sixteen bands blew into town beginning on Thursday, April 27, and lasting into early Sunday morning, all to raise money for 89.5 WETS-FM.
Johnson City's own Blue Jackson and the Hitmen played along with bands from as far away as Mississippi and North Carolina.
WETS's own Wayne Winkler provided services as stage announcer and local radio promoter between bands.
"This is the 16th year we've done this, and it's just gotten better every year," said Winkler.
"This area's got a lot of local talent, [and] we do this to kind of celebrate our local talent."
Johny House, lead guitarist for The Nightcrawlers, best explained the nature of blues as "not something that you play - it's something that you feel."
Empty seats were hard to come by all three nights as crowds packed into the dimly lit, wooden confines of the Down Home. Audiences cheered loudly for the grainy, energetic vocals of locals Bleu Jackson and Bobby Knight.
Traveling bands like the Hoodoos and The Nightcrawlers were equally well received amidst loud whistles and cheers. Improvisation was the word, and bands rocked out with solos on guitar, harmonica, saxophone, dobro and even washboard.
Micol Davis of Blue Mother Tupelo even transformed the tambourine into a legitimate instrument with her syncopated shaking and Janis Joplin-esque stage presence.
Good guitar licks were as plentiful as cold cups of beer, and rare was the audience member not tapping a foot or two on the wood plank floors.
Tribute was paid by the bands to the roots of blues with covers of Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, B.B. King and even Ray Charles.
There were lots of songs about women:
Sweet little angel, Lord, I say
spread your wings and fly for me.
There was at least one song about a rooster:
Have ya'll seen my little red rooster?
Won't you please drive him home.
There were even songs about the blues:
Blues is my business,
and business is good.
Ricky Davis of Blue Mother Tupelo even claimed to have received a song in a dream.
"In my dream I was at a Sam & Dave concert, and Sam & Dave was singing this song," Davis said onstage.
The festival historically has occurred on the last weekend of April and came this year right in the middle of Merle Fest (another local festival) and final exams.
The crowd demographic was almost void of ETSU students. One of the few students present at the festival cited WETS for clueing her in. "I heard about [the festival] on WETS."
Johny House had high praise for the festival and the Down Home.
"Tennessee is great," he said. "I think we found the best kept secret in Tennessee."
Many WETS listeners may have heard recently of the radio station's fundraising campaign, but the station has been running the same financial booster for years now to cover the 38 percent gap in federal funding.
"I think we're gonna be OK," said Winkler of the station's financial situation.
"We've been around for 32 years. "We've paid our bills."
For the time being, WETS has avoided the under-funded blues with another successful Little Chicago Blues Festival.