New Artist Spotlight: Halfway To Hazard
By Bob Doerschuk
© 2007 CMA Close Up News Service / Country Music Association, Inc.
Long journeys start with a single step. For David Tolliver and Chad Warrix, the urge to explore began with the occasional short trip to Hazard, whose movie theater and fast-food stands beckoned to those from even smaller Kentucky towns not far away.
From there they made their ways to Nashville. Warrix came first, to study at Belmont University. Tolliver lingered for a while, working a restaurant job to pay for classes at Hazard Community College and the University of Kentucky at Lexington. Purely on impulse, he hung up the apron one night in 1998 and headed for Music City, right around the time that Tolliver secured his music industry degree. Fate, played here by the manager of Warrix's band, brought them together.
Working a regular Tuesday night gig at Nashville's 3rd & Lindsley, they honed a tough Country sound, with a gritty rock inflection and harmonies that cut sweet and strong at the same time. Their following grew to include influential A&R scouts, but when Tim McGraw took note, the die was cast and they settled at StyleSonic/Mercury Nashville.
With McGraw and Byron Gallimore producing, their self-titled debut benefits from both a high-profile blessing and sure-fire studio sensibility. But the focus is on the artists, whose raw, fist-pumping delivery suggests how The Who's Roger Daltrey might have rocked it had he cut his teeth in dixie. Bass and drums add muscle to the duo synchronicity at the heart of their music. As for their songs, all but two of which were written by Tolliver and Warrix, suffice it to say that "Country 'Til the Day We Die" might match Skynyrd at the peak of their defiance, passion and pride.
And for anyone tempted to follow in their footsteps, "Welcome to Nashville" closes the album by delivering this twist of ironic wisdom to a body-slam beat: Halfway to Hazard just might be as far as you need to go to follow your dream.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Who is your musical hero?
TOLLIVER: "Garth Brooks."
WARRIX: "Led Zeppelin, George Jones."
What song would you secretly love to cover?
TOLLIVER: "'Big Bottoms' by Spinal Tap."
WARRIX: "'Bohemian Rhapsody.'"
What book is on your nightstand?
TOLLIVER and WARRIX: "The Bible."
What CD is on your stereo?
TOLLIVER and WARRIX: "Let It Go, by Tim McGraw."
Who is your dream duet partner?
TOLLIVER: "Shakira."
WARRIX: "Paul Rodgers or Tina Turner."
What moment in your life would you relive if you could?
TOLLIVER: "The birth of my daughter. It made me feel a different level of love and now I see how much my parents love me."
WARRIX: "Any moment that contains my family, guitars and motorcycles."
If you wrote an autobiography, what would the title be?
TOLLIVER: "Living the Dream."
WARRIX: "How to Survive the Music Business with Balance."
What song do you wish you had written?
TOLLIVER: "'The Dance' by Garth Brooks."
WARRIX: "'Pink Houses' by John Mellencamp."
On the Web: www.halfwaytohazard.com
December 4, 2007
© John Victor Rothstein
