The Sky Chiefs at Reveler in Richmond
“It’s a long story….”
Early in the second set, Sky Chiefs guitarist Kevin Pittman intimated there might not be enough time to tell everything that brought the Sky Chiefs to Reveler in the heart of Richmond’s Carytown district. When he and Richmond native Stephen McCarthy discovered tapes they made at McCarthy‘s house back in the 90s, the two worked to restore the music they made thirty-five years ago. Surprisingly, the tapes survived the heat and being dormant all those years and resulted in what the duo announced as their “debut album” released in February.
Reveler’s emcee Tim Illmensee quipped that this was only the band’s second show in the same thirty-five years (the first of which took place in the early set.). When Pittman came onstage, he was quick to correct that it was actually the fourth which only added to the intrigue of this later life reunion.
Pittman remembered sitting drinking beers on McCarthy‘s porch strumming guitars and trying to crack each other up as they sounded out the words to new songs. McCarthy had just gotten back after migrating west in the 80s where he was part of the Long Ryders, only to return to Richmond. There in the same house he occupies in the present day, he wrote the love song “Shine” to his then girlfriend. Going back to the future, she is now his longtime wife and was among the close knit circle of friends and family that came out to support McCarthy, Pittman and band which included Stewart Meyers on bass, Jayson Neal on drums and multi-instrumentalist Charles Arthur.
“Shine,” with the lilting steel guitar accentuated by Arthur, typified the wonderful harmonies between the two singers that framed a 17 song set. McCarthy and Pittman’s voices not only blended but the singers demonstrated an uncanny intuition as they followed each other from the opening song “Walk All Over Me.”
In the comical romp of “House Full of Company,” the band demonstrated their ancestral Byrds and Buffalo Springfield roots and like “What Lonely Means,” made you want to go home and pull out and play your entire Monkees collection. When McCarthy strapped on banjo, he sang the reflective “Where I Wanna Be” which was written in his younger days but had a reflectiveness that seemed more resonant with age and experience and was framed by Arthur’s panoramic steel.
In a nod to their Richmond roots, McCarthy gave a shout out to Plan 9 record store owner Jim Bland, a fixture in Richmond for close to fifty years and a veteran of the Richmond Folk Festival. A few doors down from Reveler and Plan 9 is the vintage clothing store Bygones. McCarthy gave kudos to owner Maynee Cayton who helped with the video for their debut single. At the bar sat city Richmond native Armistead Wellford and founder of the band Love Tractor who McCarthy said stole the show in the video. He cheered on his Armistead’s Army bandmate and compatriot Charles Arthur and versatile Sky Chiefs utility man.
On stage, the five piece band was flying with Arthur on keyboards, guitars, lap steel and autoharp. “He’ll make you a grilled cheese sandwich,” Pittman quipped. “He’s playing everything tonight except the tuba.”
McCarthy called up veteran session man Daniel Clarke who seemed amused playing a 1910 pump organ on the song “Come Back Ophelia.” As McCarthy and Pittman traded verses, the song built to a psychedelic-tinged ending paying tribute to McCarthy’s time in the Paisley Underground. You could daydream almost imagining what it would have sounded like if the Beatles covered the song.
For their second single “Engine,” Clarke’s kaleidoscopic playing gave the song a circus carnival like feel. As McCarthy and Pittman sang about taking you to another destination, the song blended into the immersive experience of the intimate venue itself which prides itself on its “dreamy vibes” and where “everyone is connected by the magic in the air.”
Memories blur, and 35 years is a long time. To show how much time has gone by, McCarthy remembered visiting his old friend Rosie Flores in Austin when his wife saw drummer Steve Sessa. When McCarthy mentioned the Sky Chiefs sessions, Sessa said “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Send me a copy when it comes out.”
The Sky Chiefs’ recollections of driving to Nashville in a sleet storm to get to their second show at 12th & Porter reminded me of another lost album by Americana brethren Jim Lauderdale. Lauderdale recorded his debut album in Nashville with Roland White only to learn that the masters were lost. Years later Lauderdale found himself sitting with White at the Station Inn recalling their time playing in Earl Scrugg’s basement when White turned to him and said, “Oh by the way, my wife found the tape.” Jim Lauderdale and Roland White finally got its release in 2018.
Speaking of time, it’s been a busy year for McCarthy who, in addition to resurrecting the Sky Chiefs, has a new album called High Noon Hymns coming out with the Long Ryders on March 13.
After 17 songs that included the charging Elvis Costello-Long Ryders-ish “The New Sara Jane,” Pittman’s spiritual “Standing In The Light,” and a rousing cover of Ray Price’s “ invitation to the Blues,” the set ended with Dallas Frazier‘s song “Mohair Sam,” which gave McCarthy a chance to talk about how country star Charlie Rich could get really funky.
When the show ended, McCarthy bid adieu and said, “See you soon.” Something tells me the wait won’t be as long this time.
Check out their tour dates here: https://theskychiefs.com
Enjoy our previous coverage here: REVIEW: The Sky Chiefs – Self-Titled