Peach Jam Podcast: Eddie 9V

Caption

Eddie 9V performs live in the GPB Studios in Atlanta

Credit: GPB

 

 

Eddie 9V is an enigma. He joins host Jeremy Powell to talk about how many of his musical influences come from decades before he was born, but he discovered them on YouTube and how he just might be reincarnated. 

 

Eddie 9V:: I'm Eddie 9V a musician from Atlanta, Georgia, and if I had to describe my music, I'd say it was Southern Soul music, man.

Jeremy Powell:: What exactly is Southern Soul?

Eddie 9V:: Well, you know, in a land of all these genres these days and everything, it's hard to put us in a category because we grew up in a band where we played covers, we played four hour sets. So we did country, we did Western, we did blues, rock and roll, whatever, man. And but now recently with the band, we've been getting into a lot of soul music and so and so we just call it Southern Soul, man. Just a mix, a gumbo of music, if you will.  

Eddie 9V:: Honestly, you know, I had a very normal growing up. My dad, you know, he showed me AC/DC, Black Sabbath, stuff like that. But it wasn't until I was in my first band and we he they show me the Beatles and and you know, thankfully we had YouTube. I didn't have to go to a library and find all these VHS and stuff, but we are. I was watching The Beatles, Your Blues, which is a song they did with the Keith Richards stuff like that. And on the side I saw a picture, an old black and white picture, a thumbnail, if you will, of Howlin Wolf live at Newport in 1966. And I clicked on that and I've been changed forever, man. So that's that's really where I learned. And it was just a deep dive.

Jeremy Powell:: And, you know, it just blows me away. You are not from this time. I mean, the things you're talking about, the influences you're talking about are from multiple generations ago. But then you're talking about discovering them on YouTube. And so you're absolutely fascinating. Tell me more about that deep dive into the music you did when you saw the thumbnail of Howlin Wolf.

Caption

Eddie 9V and Jeremy Powell

Credit: GPB

Eddie 9V:: Well, I go way back and I guess I am old soul because I freaked my mom out when I was six years old. I told her I was reincarnated and so she sent me you therapy only went to one class and but the therapist said he's fine, he's normal. But. But yes, my mom always said, you know, I was just an old soul. But, you know, history is always has been one of my favorite things, man. That's the only thing I really excelled at in school. I mean, I dropped out when I was a senior and. But no, it's just, you know what my favorite show is like Mad Men. I just love detail on the old history and the vintage style of things. And it probably comes to our music for sure.

Jeremy Powell:: No, it absolutely comes through. Yeah. Vintage is is a good word or retro. I heard you and your brother who's in the band. You and your brother were arguing over the words retro and vintage and Southern soul. And what are the differences in your brain?

Eddie 9V:: Man, you know, I don't like to have you know, I don't like to call us blues or call us anything. And, you know, when people think retro, they think, old. But it's not an old sound by any means. Yes, we borrow sounds from a lot of, you know, older music, I'd say, from the fifties and sixties all the way to the seventies. But but yeah, I mean, it's just like I said, it's that musical gumbo. We just keep churning it. And I don't I don't have any, you know, lid when it comes to genre, man. It's just whatever sounds good and the people dance to I dig, man.

 

Jeremy Powell:: Now you introduce yourself as being from Atlanta, but you're not just from Atlanta. You're from McDonough.

Eddie 9V:: From McDonough, Georgia.

Jeremy Powell:: Yeah. And then what was it like growing up as an old soul in McDonough?

Eddie 9V:: Man. You know, going back, I thought it was a city back then, man. But now that I've been all over the world and the country, man, I mean. McDonough such a small it's a country town, basically. But yeah, I mean, I can remember all my friends, you know, blaring rap in thier, and there was nothing wrong with rap, but they're blaring and coming into the school. And I had me a 1996 Ford Explorer, and I just got the Howlin Wolf Live at London sessions. And I would I would crank it up to try to compete with them. But yeah, then the car broke down. It was only had it for a week.

Jeremy Powell:: As we record this right now, your record that just came out is number one on the Billboard blues charts.

Eddie 9V:: It debuted there, man. It was crazy. I mean, we got the call about like two days ago, to be honest. It was brand new. And they said, yeah, you you're going to be number one. And it blew me away. I mean, I called everybody. I called everyone in the band that recorded at Capricorn. 11 people, I called them and I'm just saying, you know, congratulating them because that's who we really made the record, you know? I'm I might be on the cover, but it's really the musicians that made the record.

 

The Peach Jam podcast from GPB features songs and stories from a variety of the incredibly talented and diverse bands and artists who call the Peach State home.

Recorded live in our GPB studios you get a front row seat for the intimate musical performances and free flowing conversation from a truly eclectic variety of Georgia musicians. You can find more at GPB.org/PeachJamPodcast and please download and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform as well.