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Jon Byrd and Byrds Auto Parts

Presented by The Family Wash at Family Wash

May 26, 2011

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Jon Byrd lived his formative years in small town America in the piney woods of south Alabama, one county over from the birthplace of legendary country artist Hank Williams. When Jon was eight years old, his dad was diagnosed with TB and began singing Jimmie Rogers' "TB Blues" around the house. That same year Jon saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, and his obsession with the musical tension between country and rock was born. The very next year he was conscripted into the drum corps of his tiny school's marching band and played Booker T. and the MG's "Green Onions" while the majorettes held the cymbals and danced. There was no turning back.

In the 1990s Byrd became a central figure in Atlanta's infamous Redneck Underground movement as lead guitarist for the seminal and storied country band Slim Chance and the Convicts (Letters to Mama, 1993, and Twang Peaks, 1996). He also formed the hard country band the Ratchet Set as a musical outlet for his love of old trucking songs and two chord honky-tonk gems. In 1998, Byrd helped country traditionalist Greta Lee record her first full-length cd This Ain't Over Yet, and in 2001, he co-produced and handled lead guitar duties on her follow-up You Must Be Present to Win.

That same year, Byrd relocated to Nashville, Tennessee where he continues to work with the Greta Lee Band. He has also quickly made a name for himself in Music City as talented country singer and Telecaster slinger recording with such fine country and alternative country artists as the dangerously soulful Davis Raines and his Faders, Texas country singer Buck Jones, extraordinary folk-rock songwriter Stephen Simmons, and the rockabilly whirlwind Suzette and her Neon Angels. Byrd has found a musical kinship performing with other fine writers and performers such as Carissa Lee Broadwater, Suzanna Spring, and Ben Blankenship.
In late 2004, Byrd eased into his own musical project "BYRD'S AUTO PARTS" to showcase his songwriting and singing while providing an opportunity to play with his friends, some of the finest young musicians in Nashville. In 2006 the AUTO PARTS crew ventured into the studio to produce a recording many feel is long over due! The result is a new CD-- BYRD'S AUTO PARTS released this Spring to press and friends and officially released to Americana Radio this Summer. The recording reflects Byrd's eclectic tastes in music and his fun-loving performance style. Jon Byrd brings music lovers of all stripes out to hear great country songs sung and played with heart and soul. He's a little more accomplished now, but he's still that little kid playing for the hometown crowd.