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Article published Jul 9, 2009 Just a good ol' boy: J.C. Haun to debut The Dirty Smokers in Maryville
By Steve Wildsmith of The Daily Times Staff
Local musician J.C. Haun doesn't always play well with others.
It's probably a combination of his natural Southern tendency toward rebellion, his passion for music and his bull-headed determination to plow forward, no matter the obstacles. Sure, he's a likeable good ol' boy, but in a band setting, he's not always the easiest guy to get along with -- hence his dismissal from bands like the now-defunct Left Foot Down and Garage DeLuxe.
Which is why, two years ago, Haun put together a group from which it would be impossible to get fired.
"I was like, 'Forget this, dude -- I'm gonna name the next band after me and hire people to play with me! By God, they ain't gonna get rid of me from this one!'" Haun told The Daily Times this week, laughing good-naturedly. "That's how it all started -- I was tired of getting kicked out of other bands!"
He laughs again -- a deep sound, not that different from his singing voice. He possesses a rich timbre, similar to Mike Cooley of the Drive-By Truckers, and with the old-school-country-with-bluegrass-leanings that his group -- J.C. and The Dirty Smokers -- plays, it's an ideal fit. Getting there, however, has been a colorful journey.
In 1997, his father died; 24 at the time, Haun quit a good job with the phone company in Roxboro, N.C., and decided to move to Knoxville and start a band. He started going to open-mic blues jams around town, and before long, he put together the jam outfit Left Foot Down. The group was successful, but Haun had a falling out with the band's lead singer, Trey Sansom, and after a throwdown during a show in Starkville, Miss., the others asked Haun to go.
"I put it together, but he was the lead singer, so it was kind of a him-or-me thing," Haun said with a chuckle. "The thing of it is, Trey and I are great friends now."
From there, he put together a number of one-off tribute jams -- a collection of like-minded musician friends who joined in to pay tribute to such national groups and artists as the Black Crowes and Miles Davis. He spent some time in local group Limit Nine, and then when Sundown in the City headliner Steve Winwood canceled, the promoter called on Haun and his peers to put together a last-minute tribute to the Allman Brothers Band as a fill-in act.
The response was overwhelmingly positive, and from that performance, Garage DeLuxe was born. Over time, personalities clashed, and after dismissing the band's original bass player -- Aram Takvoryan, who now plays in J.C. and The Dirty Smokers -- Garage DeLuxe's new bassist was given a vote of confidence over Haun when other disagreements arose. And once again, Haun was band-less.
He has no ill will toward his old groups, however; he chuckles at telling those stories and points out that it wasn't so much disagreeable personalities that led to the parting of ways as it was strong opinions and passionate approaches to making music.
Of course, Haun himself has mellowed out quite a bit. He learned in Garage DeLuxe to throttle back and let things unfold as naturally as possible, instead of trying to force success.
"I just try to approach it differently with this band, because I know what works and what doesn't from my past experiences," Haun said. "Before, I was just putting so much pressure on myself. With J.C. and The Dirty Smokers, I've just kept a very laid-back approach to it all instead of trying to get it all done right this second.
"One of my biggest faults is patience. I didn't have a damn bit of it back then, so now I try to take my time with everything. We don't even have a CD out yet, because I wanted to see if people like this (stuff) or not first. This is a whole new way of doing things for me."
What isn't new, however, is the style of music J.C. and The Dirty Smokers play. He inherited a love of bluegrass from his grandfather, he said -- hence the classic "Orange Blossom Special" that gets a gritty, rough-and-tumble Smokers-style treatment. And he was handed down a love of outlaw country from his father, a preference that gives the band a little attitude.
But it's not overdone or over-the-top; if anything, Haun's newfound serenity gives the music a groove that's as much about the journey as it is the destination.
"I was always the lead guitar player -- being a lead guitar player in a rock 'n' roll band was my plan since 1997," he said. "But over time, as I figured out how to do things, I realized that when there are too many chiefs and not enough Indians, some things don't work."
With The Dirty Smokers, Haun is undoubtedly the chief. Not that he plays with a bunch of amateurs; on the contrary, The Dirty Smokers comprise some of the best musicians playing locally. In addition to Takvoryan, who performs with The Drunk Uncles, the group includes guitar wizard Tom Pryor of, most recently, the Everybodyfields; drummer Alonzo Lewis, who's in the "Tennessee Shines" house band and also plays with local singer/songwriter/poet/playwright R.B. Morris; and Brock Henderson, a pedal-steel player who's in Honky Tonks Anonymous and the Lonesome Coyotes, among others.
"Everybody that I've got in this band just a super, excellent musician," Haun said. "I'm blessed from my past experience to get people to work with me. These guys know their (stuff). That's another thing I've learned -- to surround myself with people way better than me."