The Cash’d Out Interview

As many of you already know, the winner of last year’s Ultimate Music Challenge (UMC) debut was Cash’d Out. It was quite a ride to get to the finals and picking a winner which, to this day, remains controversial. So much so that after the finals, I posted a blog about it on the CityBeat page, which immediately incurred the wrath of several people.

This was the first time I had written about UMC and the hard and fast reaction was what gave me the idea to run a blog for the entire contest. Suffice to say, we’re all pleased by its success and by how many of you are getting involved. Regardless of your opinion, we appreciate your zeal. I encourage you all to keep it up, even Paulie – who called me an Old Ass, which is just brilliant.

Anyway, we thought it would be a good idea to interview Cash’d Out and ask them what they did with the prize money, how they enjoyed playing UMC and other general questions about the band. What follows is a lightly abridged transcript of my conversation with bass fiddle player Sean Glithero.

Edwin Decker: “Tell me a little bit about the history of the band.”

Sean Glithero: “Our first gig was in January of 2005. A good buzz started going around for the band right away and we started playing larger venues by summer. When the Walk the Line movie came out that fall, we started getting a lot more requests from out of town venues. We got the attention of Bill Miller, who was one of Johnny Cash’s best friends and runs the official Johnny Cash website. Bill is also considered an expert on Cash history and has an incredible collection of memorabilia. He linked us to Cash’s website and hooked us up with some amazing gigs playing for Cash’s family, friends and former musicians. This helped us get some credibility as more than just an impersonation act.

“At Johnny’s official birthday celebration at the Fender Museum, Bill introduced us by saying, ‘Some people are impressionists. This band leaves an impression!’ That blew us away and was a huge honor. Doug [Benson - lead vocals/guitar] had to pull back the tears to start singing because it was very emotional to be honored by someone that was so respected by his hero.”

E.D.: “How did you enjoy playing the Ultimate Music Challenge?”

S.G.: “It was an amazing experience because we really felt like the underdogs in the finals. Besides Lady Dotty, the bands had horn sections, back up singers, tons of effects, stage shows, etc. and we’re just four guys emulating a hillbilly sound from 50 years ago. We knew we’d have to play the best we ever had to win, and we did. To this day, I don’t think we’ve nailed a performance like that night. One of our strategies was to mix up song tempos and styles. Also, we wanted to show a range of keys and add a few songs with our female singer, Ginger Reis, doing the parts of June [Carter-Cash].

“Finally, we wanted to do something that we had never seen before. We call it the Super Swoop. It’s where Kevin [Manuel - lead guitar] climbs on my bass to play the end solo in “Folsom Prison.” I keep playing the bass while he’s up there. Now, this is a common trick in rockabilly bands, so wanted to add something new. During the solo, I swing around and take the guitar off of Kevin’s shoulders and start playing the solo to the song. Kevin keeps playing the bass while standing on it and I finish the song on guitar.

“I couldn’t sleep the night before thinking of everything that could go wrong, like knocking Kevin off the bass and into the audience for example. We pulled it off though and the crowd went nuts. We still do the Super Swoop on special occasions.

“Though there were some bitter fans of the other bands when we won, all the musicians were super cool to us and very respectful. When they announced we won, it was probably the greatest moment in our musical careers to this point.”

E.D.: “What did you do with the prize money?”

SG: “We still have a lot of the money in our corporate bank account. We have used a little for travel. Originally, we were going to use the money to invest in studio time and produce our CD. However, we said, ‘Fuck it, let’s do it ourselves!’ So, we bought a bunch of recording equipment and converted Kevin’s house into a studio. We should be releasing the CD later this summer.”

E.D.: “There has been some debate on the Ultimate Music Challenge blog this year about the difference between a tribute band and a variety cover band. Some people say that it’s easier to play in tribute bands than variety cover bands and therefore have an advantage. Care to comment?”

S.G.: “Well, I’ve played in both and a tribute has some advantages. But, I think playing in a variety cover band is easier. . . and more satisfying. In a [variety] cover band, you can play a lot of your favorite artists and you have the world to choose from. Even if you cover a specific period or genre, you can cover any song in that style, for example, reggae bands that do metal songs.

“With a tribute though, you have to find a way to make two-plus hours of [one person’s] music interesting and fun. Luckily, Johnny Cash has a humongous catalog and people have a wide variety of requests, from his rockabilly to gospel to country hits.”

E.D.: “What’s your opinion about battle of the bands contests in general and how does UMC rate?”

S.G.: “I liked how this contest was judged by musicians that were looking at stage show and musicality. Obviously, crowd participation was important, but a lot of other factors were taken into consideration. Most battle of the bands aren’t as technical as Ultimate Music Challenge.”

E.D.: “Any advice for bands that are playing in this year’s competition?”

S.G.: “Don’t blow your wad on the first night. Vary tempos, keys, song styles, etc. Put something in the final performance that the judges have never seen or heard before. Promote the hell out of it and get your fan base believing that you can win it.”

Edwin Decker
Judge #3
www.edwindecker.com

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