Athens’ country music traditionalists The Star Room Boys return to celebrate their past and present

Athens isn’t exactly known as being a major incubator of pure country music. But, in 1995, the Star Room Boys, one of the scene’s most steadfast purveyors of traditional country, was born in a makeshift downtown rehearsal room.

By 2002, members of the band had gone their separate ways, leaving a legacy of two well-received albums and a string of memorable live performances across the United States.

Twenty-four years later, the Boys are back together for two reunion shows. To support the reissue of their 1999 debut,“Why Do Lonely Men and Women Want to Break Each Other’s Hearts?” (Strolling Bones Records), the musicians will play album release shows on Friday night in Atlanta at The EARL and Saturday in Athens at the 40 Watt.

ArtsATL recently spoke with Star Room Boys’ singer-songwriter Dave Marr and guitarist Philip McArdle about the band’s history and current plans.

When Chicago-born singer/songwriter Marr, a longtime fan of pure country music, moved to Athens in 1991, he was determined to form a group to play classic covers and original material.

“I had met some folks who lived in Athens,” Marr explained. “And I was already thinking about starting a country band once I moved down here. It took a little while, but, along with [the combo’s first guitarist] Doug Hollingsworth, we started to put it together, along with Andrew Brown on keys, bassist John McMahon and drummer Bob Fernandez. We rehearsed in the basement under the original Jittery Joe’s coffee shop.”

After a few lineup changes, including a stint with Atlanta-based guitarist Jeff Passafiume, the Star Room Boys began to develop a substantial following for their authentic sound, eventually paving the way for a number of other alt-country and Americana acts, including the Drive-By Truckers.

“In the mid ’90s,” explained Marr, “there was just a little bit of a hard country revival going on in Athens, but it was really going strong in Atlanta. It was all fun, but there was a bit of a satirical edge to a lot of it, a bawdiness that seemed to be a carryover from punk rock. We enjoyed that stuff and a lot of our friends were playing in those bands, but it wasn’t really what we wanted to do. So it kinda took a while for us to catch on with the folks who were populating the scenes at the time. Our shows weren’t as much of a party as theirs were — or I guess it was a different kind of party.”

Greg Reece from Redneck Greece Deluxe was an early supporter. “They were an Athens band, but they were deeply involved in that whole Star Bar world in Atlanta,” said Marr. “He was the first one to bring us over there to play with him. We also got a lot of help from Greg Smalley, the Bubbapalooza crowd and Faylynn Owen, who was booking the Star Bar at the time. They were all extremely patient with us. They took a chance to book us as an act of faith. So we entered Atlanta through that door.”

“The name of the Atlanta scene was the Redneck Underground, but we didn’t really see ourselves as a part of that world,” Marr continued. “We weren’t doing ‘redneck music,’ but that scene was really vibrant and full of wonderful people. We just had a different approach to the music.”

In Athens, the Star Room Boys were often paired with rock acts. “We’ve always wanted people to dance and drink and have fun and hook up and just have a good time and enjoy some real country music. We never got to the point where we were putting 800 people into the Watt, but we could play there because our 200 people were great at the bar.”

By the time guitarist McArdle joined, the band was ready to record its debut album.

“When it was released, I think people were finally getting what we were about. It’s country music presented in a serious way. Not that we have any disregard for jokes,” Marr laughed. “We just didn’t want that edge of parody. But we’re not sour old revivalists, either. There are jokes in our songs, but we also wanted to treat the music with the respect we thought it deserved.”  

After the initial album release, the band toured and built an appreciative local and regional audience. “I think the fans took it as seriously as we did and were very gracious and dedicated,” he added, “including Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers.”

“Once the Truckers began, we started playing shows with them a lot, in Athens and Atlanta,” continued Marr. “We eventually went on a real tour with them, outside of the Southeast, and it was just ridiculous. We caught stomach bugs, got lost in a blizzard, pretty much everything you think that might happen on a tour probably happened on that trip. Totally stupid and rock and roll and really, really fun. Patterson even wrote a song about it [“White Knuckle, West Virginia”].”

Marr noted that Hood and the rest of the Truckers are supposed to be in Athens this week to record with producer David Barbe. “I think they’ll come and hang out at the show. It could be quite a night, but we haven’t even talked about it yet.”

For now, the band’s focus is on revisiting their early catalog and properly presenting the music. McArdle will arrive from his home in California this week for rehearsals.

“It’s just amazing to be playing with these guys again,” said Marr. “I’ve played some of these songs solo and in band-type shows over the years. But the great majority of them I have not played in more than 20 years, and there’s been a bit of a learning curve. But these guys are so good at what they do — and most of us have all been actively playing in other bands for the past 25 years. I think they’re better now than they were before — and the songs are sounding really great. Our relationships are as they were, the old jokes are still funny, and it’s been a perfect time to revisit this music.”

The shows happen nearly a month before the official release date. “Strolling Bones is 99% sure we’ll have copies of the record in hand to sell at the shows,” said Marr. “That is the idea, so let’s hope!”

But he added that fans shouldn’t expect a merch table filled with vintage SRB merchandise. “We actually don’t even have any of our old stuff. In fact, Philip and I have both gone to eBay and Discogs to find used copies of the CDs over the years. Now it’ll be on vinyl and CD, so that’s exciting in itself. The label’s plan is to also release an LP of our second album [2002’s This World Just Won’t Leave You Alone] in another year or two. Maybe we’ll play some shows when it comes out, but we don’t even know yet. Let’s get through these shows first and see how it all goes.”

“When everything started to come back together with the reissue and the shows, it just felt right,” said McArdle. “We’ve gotten older, and some of our musical tastes have changed, but I think all of us are looking back fondly on these songs — even though we can all find things we should have done differently. But we also seem to agree that what we did as the Star Room Boys is something we’re really proud of, and I don’t think there’s too many people who can say that 25 years later. Dave can still sing in the same key, and we’re using the same arrangements, so we’re finally getting back to where we left off in 2002.”

On Friday and Saturday, Marr and McArdle will be joined by original members John Neff on pedal steel and Bob Fernandez on drums. Kevin Lane from the The Possibilities will be sitting in for founding bassist John McMahon.

“The Star Room Boys were definitively a real band,” said Marr. “It was not my band, it was — and still is — our band. A five-piece band where everybody contributes to the sound and everything else. Finally, on vinyl, our music sounds like we’re right there in the room with you. Now we have a chance to make that happen in person for a couple of nights — and I must say we’re excited.”

Where and When

The Star Room Boys. 8:30 p.m. Friday, August 28 at The EARL in Atlanta. Thayer Sarrano opens. Also at 8 p.m. Saturday, August 29, at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, with an opening set from Don Chambers. Call clubs for ticket availability.

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Lee Valentine Smith is an Atlanta-born artist, writer and musician. Currently a regular contributor to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, his work has been syndicated internationally. He has appeared at Music Midtown, on CBS Radio and on Air America. He also served as art director, consultant and archivist for projects with ’80s hitmakers The Go-Go’s.