From: "Doug Bright" <75366.2463@compuserve.com> To: Subject: Article: December, 1981 Date: Friday, March 18, 2005 3:59 PM 'MOONLIGHTER: COUNTRY ROCK WITH CHARACTER a By Doug Bright From HERITAGE MUSIC REVIEW: December, 1981. If you were to ask Bill Bernard what Moonlighter is all about, he'd probably say something like, "Well, we do some fifties and some country and a few other things. It's just good-time music. that's all." a Good-time music: it's a term that says a lot about how a musician views his work, since the implication is that you can't play "good time music" without having a a hell of a good time doing it. To the five members of Moonlighter, that's all that matters. There's no self- conscious attempt at a universal statement or even the preservation of endangered musical traditions. There's nothing here but a bunch of people who just dig play- ing together, and the best part Is that it shows. Because Moonlighter doesn't have a consciously dec- reed musical orientation, they're a little hard to classify, but an appropriate comparison may help. Suf- fice it to say that If you have fond memories of Com- mander Codey, Moonlighter will make you sit up and take notice. The same exciting blend of simplicity and inventiveness are here in embryo with this new lo- cal band. You could call it rockabilly or old-style country rock, but the effect is achieved more by acci- dent than by intention. The group's approach to the Rhythm Aces' tune "I'm Settin' You Free" pretty well characterizes the general sound. The music is irre- sistibly rhythmic, instrumental breaks are crisp and clean, and the vocals are tight and wonderfully spiri- ted. At this point a word of caution might be in order. If you're one of those incorrigible purists who expect "Jambalaya" to sound like Hank Williams, "Six-Pack To Go" to sound like Hank Thompson, or "Jailhouse Rock" to sound like Elvis, Moonlighter is probably not what you're looking for. Their arrangements are seldom right off the record, but usually right. Without try- ing or even seeming to be aware of it, these musicians have taken their individual backgrounds of rhythm and blues, country, and even jazz, and managed to blend them all into a driving, effective rockabilly style that doesn't sound very much like anyone except Moon- lighter. The vocals are carried by lead guitarist Frosty Billingsly, pianist Bill Bernard, and a young lady named Patty Good, who is just that. In the case of shuffle tunes like "Settin' You Free" or country swing tunes like "Six-Pack To Go", the two-part harmony a- lone is worth coming to hear. Patty's songs lacked a certain amount of strength, but she still rendered songs like "Help Me Make It Through The Might" with real artistic sincerity, voice trouble notwithstanding. She even captured most of the essence, if not the power, of Little Eva's "Loco-Motion", and one can only guess at what happens when she's in perfect health. Bill Bernard's vocals reflect a little of all the influences that have shaped his musical character, leaning ever so slightly toward a Willie Nelson country-blues style. Surprisingly enough, it even works reasonably well on Ben E. King's "Stand By Me", a song which vir- tually demands a black sound. As for the group's three-part harmony, it's as crisp and exact as the in- strumental accompaniment. Moonlighter's lead instrumental work is traded back and forth between guitarist Frosty Billingsly and pianist Bill Bernard. Bernard's pia- no style isn't flashy and he doesn't take many breaks, but he provides the strong right-hand chord pattern that has become the automatic symbol of Fifties rock. He's certainly the most instrumentally versatile mem- ber of the band, sometimes switching to flute or gui- tar with a light jazz flavor that makes a very inter- esting contrast with Frosty's blues-based guitar style. This, then, is no ordinary tavern band. Though there are some exceptions, the majority of Moonlight- er's material shows real vitality and a perfect blend of tradition and experimentation. The funniest part is that they probably don't even realize that's what they're doing. They're too busy playing "good-time music" and having a hell of a good time doing it ----------------------------------------