The band, except for Kelvin, has been together for over 20 years. We’re just trying to carve out our own path! None of us believe in the ‘single’ driven behavior of the business today, singles don’t sell, albums do. To push a single you have get out and tour 6 to 8 months to push it. We don’t have time for that We’ve got families and kids to raise. We’re out there to play music." At this point Jeff "Stick" Davis cuts in, "We are into Drugs though! Last tour we lived on Tums, Rolaids, and Alka-Seltzer." "Yeah" Russell chimes in, " And that Tagament is great stuff too!"

These guys have a great sense of humor and laugh a lot! When asked if they are entertaining on stage, "Oh, more, much more!" says Russell, "Our shows are 2-2½ hours, sometimes more! It takes that long to do our new stuff and all the requests of our old stuff. We don’t leave the stage to take a break, we just stop playing and shoot the bull with the audience while we cool down, then we start up again! We are a group of entertainers! We just got back from New Zealand and Austria. Great people, great country, but they only let you stay for 2 weeks. You know, enjoy yourself, have fun, spend your money but go home!"

When they told me "Stick" was coming, I figured he was the drummer, not the bass player. So how did ‘Stick’ get his name? "It was given to me many years ago, when I was a bit more slender", at which point, Russell chimed in "Now we just call him Q-tip", at which point, Stick whips off his hat to show off his head! Any club wanting a truly great act should book the Aces, they’re fun! They can really play & sing!

Russell told me, "There are a lot of great artists out there today going the Independent label route, but what we’re doing today wouldn’t have even been possible even 5 years ago. It would take a whole staff of people. Now with the Internet, it’s opened doors around the world, and the term ‘my office’ could be your bathroom. Major labels didn’t know what to do with us. We did this project completely on our own, this way we can’t be fired by the label! We’re it! We did it just like the old days," recalls Davis, "where you go out and play the songs on the road until they feel really good, then you go in the studio and cut them. We’re not just a band, we’re all very good friends, and the music just grooves! Plus, we’ve got something that every band wishes they had, an album full of Russell Smith songs!"

Russell Smith is one of Nashville’s most respected songwriters, with hits including ‘Look Heart, No Hands’ for Randy Travis, ‘Keep it Between the Lines’ for Ricky Van Shelton, not to mention the re-make of his ‘Third Rate Romance’ by Sammy Kershaw. When I ask what he thought of Sammy’s version, he said, "I loved it, he stayed true to the song. It was a lot better than the Tom Jones version!

We turn off the air conditioning to tape the show (it’s noisy), so when Russell was at the meltdown point, I offered to turn it back on. "Nah, I’m alright, I sweat all the time, I’m healthy, really I am. My doctor said I wasn’t getting enough sweat, or was that stress. So I’ve started smoking again, put the band back together and I’m thinking about having another kid! Speaking of kids, we better get home!"

Well, no matter where The Amazing Rhythm Aces are, you can always find them on the Internet. Check out pictures, tour info and order CD’s, video’s, T-shirts, and more at http://www.theaces.com or you find out more at http://www.songtek.com.

George Jones, Regina Nicks (of Regina Regina), James T. Horn, and The Bellamy Brothers were all on hand for the event. The Bellamy Brothers gave me a copy of their new CD, and the new video. It’s another winner! A great interview with them will be here next month!

• 4 shark steaks about 1 inch thick (8 oz.)
• A bottle of white wine
• 2 cup Chesapeake Bay seasoning
• 4 lemons cut in half
• 1 cup melted butter

Squeeze the juice from ½ lemon over each steak, then place the steaks in a plastic bag and marinate in white wine for at least 4 hours (I prefer 6 hours). Remove steaks, but save the wine. Roll in butter, then squeeze juice from another ½ lemon over steaks, then powder steaks with Chesapeake Bay seasoning. Place steaks in broiler pan and pour wine over them. Broil just like you would a medium rare steak. It’s the best white beef you’ve ever tasted!