Busy Allstars Bring Their Blues to Millvale

By Regis Behe

If there’s a busier band in America, they’d have to go great lengths to out-do the North Mississippi Allstars.

On the trio’s agenda this year are:

The second leg of a tour to support a very good new album, “Hernando.”

The release of a greatest hits package that will include a live CD and DVD.

Guitarist Luther Dickinson’s gig with the Black Crowes on that band’s forthcoming tour.

The Hill Country Revue, a side project featuring drummer Cody Dickinson and bassist Chris Chew.

Backing John Hiatt on his soon-to-be-released album, “Same Old Man.”

Do these guys, who appear Tuesday at Mr. Small’s Funhouse Theatre in Millvale, ever rest?

“Sometimes on Sundays and Mondays I’ll just hang around the house with my wife and dogs,” says Luther Dickinson with a laugh. “But man, I’m just so fortunate. I’m always doing what I want to do, I’ve always pursued that dream, and I’m just so fortunate to be able to live it.”

The hectic pace is part of the grand design Dickinson envisioned when he, his brother and Chew formed the band 12 years ago. And while five albums in a dozen years doesn’t seem like a torrid recording pace, there’s hardly a week goes by that some musical project doesn’t demand the trio’s attention.

Right now, it’s touring behind “Hernando” that most occupies the Allstars. The album, produced by Luther and Cody’s father Jim Dickinson (the prolific producer and musician who has worked with the Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin and the Replacements), is a melange of blues, rock and, somewhat surprisingly, gospel music, at least by way of the lyrics.

Luther Dickinson says songs such as “Shake,”"Keep the Devil Down” and “Come Go with Me” are partially the legacy of his grandmother, who played piano in a Baptist church, and his mother, who teaches Sunday school. And bassist Chew plays in his church when not performing with the Allstars.

“Just growing up in the South, you’re around so much of that imagery,” Dickinson says. “As a songwriter, it’s powerful stuff. I don’t know how it came about in this batch of songs. I think it was basically just opening up to a wider idea (lyrically). … But I think it’s just characters who are running through everything.”

Another theme that emerges on “Hernando” is the addition of more piano. Luther Dickinson says he was finally able to talk his father into using more piano on tracks such as “Long Way From Home” and “Mizzip.”

“I wanted more piano on ‘Electric Blue Watermelon’ (the Allstars’ previous release) but he always wants to keep it honest, just the three of us in the band,” Dickinson says. “But we finally talked him into playing more, and it was great. And he scored a beautiful Baldwin for us to use.”

There is also a musical nod to Jim Dickinson’s rock ‘n’ roll roots on “Blow Out,” which has an invigorating ’50s feel. But “Hernando” seems to be the album on which each of the Allstars gets a chance for the spotlight. Chew sings lead on “I’d Love to Be a Hippy,” and Cody Dickinson is featured on “Mizzip.”

Dickinson is excited that the band keeps getting “more and more interesting,” and he’s equally delighted that the band just now seems to be hitting its potential as a trio.

“I think it’s the fact that we grew up together, and really know how to work well together and we come from a community of so many great musicians,” Luther Dickinson says. “And I tell you what, I’m so proud of the guys for putting the Hill Country Revue together. In many ways, they’re executing the original concept of what I wanted the Allstars to be, but they’re doing it in a much more successful way. The Allstars mutated into another thing, which is really cool. But their stuff is hardcore, heavy funk Mississippi blues, and I’m really proud of them.”

(c) 2008 Tribune-Review/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.