Making Music
Spare Change Band gets help
from area musicians on new CD
The North Vernon, Ind.-based band
has a strong following
NORTH VERNON, Ind. (March 2018) – The Spare Change Band from North Vernon, Ind., has just released a CD and video.
“It is already launched and is off and running,” said band member David E. Bishop.
Bishop and his girlfriend, Delynne (Dede) Wilson, form the core of the band for local performances. They perform locally several nights a week as a duo but add an impressive list of musicians for their studio work.
“On our studio album, we add Madison’s Jimmy Davis,” said Bishop. “We also have Dennis O’Neil (of Madison), who has been a drummer for Lonnie Mack.” The group also includes Joe Perkinson (of Milton, Ky.), who plays keyboards and sings for The Doctors Band. O’Neil produced the album.
Bishop said he is thankful for all the musical talent that helped make the album come to life.
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Photo by John Sheckler David Bishop and his Spare Change Band recently released a new CD. And they are scheduled to perform on Thursday, July 5, as part of the lineup at the Madison Regatta’s Roostertails Music Festival. |
“We thank Jimmy Davis whole heartedly for helping us make those contacts,” Bishop said. “We were the weakest link on the album.”
Like many musicians, Bishop and his musical partner, Dede, keep their day jobs. She has a small beauty shop, and he has a small car lot, but music has taken front seat for both.
“It is OK by us,” he added. “I need a base of operations, anyway.”
Bishop spends his days at the car lot. Between customers, he writes songs and schedules performances for the band, for several area festivals, car shows and events through his business, Hippies Music and Events.”
Playing the music is only half the work. Bishop’s major work hustle is booking shows and writing songs.”
“We love touring,” said Bishop. “We toured all Indiana and into southern Michigan and into Kentucky. Now we hope to expand south so we can play more in the winter.”
Bishop and Wilson play a southern rock and roll style that mixes well in the south.
“We follow blackberry smoke, a Lynyrd Skynyrd genre. We keep it simple.”
Playing on the road as a duo offers advantages for the Spare Change Band.
“With fewer members, we can focus on the music,” Bishop said. “It allows us to keep moving at our own pace to be a duo. We are full time musicians and play out four nights a week.”
Bishop wound up in this area when his grandfather, Parker Bishop, came up to Cummins Inc. as head of security.
“He had been the sheriff at Hazard, Ky., in the late fifties,” Bishop said.
Like many others in the rock and roll business, Bishop has needed to fight off some demons to get to his music.
“I was a raging alcoholic for years,” he recalled. “What kicked our music off was when I got sober. That was 2½ years ago. I was drinking too much and hit rock bottom. It was June 13 when I said I was done at 8 a.m. in the morning. I don’t know what came over me, I just said I am done. Then I put it all to the music. Music can be the best friend you ever had. I have no doubt it saved me.”
Wilson had a more traditional path to her music.
“I have always been interested in music since I was a little girl,” she said. My mom was a singer and sang with her brother. It was always entertainment in our family,” said Wilson. “There was always live music. It is my real life. I owned a bar and sang in my own bar.”
She became more serious about music when she met Bishop.
“When I met him, he said if you want to play music, what would you like to play,” Wilson continued. “I said piano. The next day he brought me a piano and set me up with a teacher. I was 49. Now I am 53 and never would have guessed I would have this much fun. You meet these people and never realize they will be so instrumental in your life.”
Wilson always worked two or three jobs because she was a single mom.
“It was always fun but never good for sleep,” she said.” Music has brought me to a whole new level that I could never have imagined. It took over my whole life. My kids are surprised. They are so used to me just being mom.”
Having common interests is good for both of them and for the band.
“Our biggest thing is we love to write,” said Bishop. “We love to see our music get noticed and want to continue playing live. But our biggest goal is to keep putting out good music.”
Madison residents will recognize some of the scenes in the Spare Change video.
“It was all shot in Madison,” said Bishop. “There were shots on Hwy 421, at Shipley’s Tavern, at the old Ken Del liquor store and several alleys in the vicinity.”
Aaron Paul Wood of Dark Phoenix Productions shot the video. The title is “Walking.” The album is called “The Other Side of Nowhere.”
“We sell all over the world, but I don’t even know how to get a song on my phone,” Bishop said, laughing. “Hippies Music and Events is always booking shows and stuff. We always book my band. This is the third year for the July Jam we helped create. It is a hot rod car show with 12 hours of live music and a beer garden.”
Bishop’s promotion company will bring in bands from out of town for events like the Madison Regatta. “We have had Travis Meadows from Nashville. He has some big songs out there.”
“David and Dede are very good people to work with,” said Madison based musician Rusty Bladen. “We did a show together in Jennings County about a year ago. They were very down to earth and professional. They have a special talent for marketing and promoting their music, and they put their hearts into it. I plan on doing another show with them this summer. They’ve come a long way and have developed their own musical style since they first started. You’re going to hear a lot more from Spare Change Band in the future.”
• For more information about the Spare Change Band or events promoted by Hippies Music and Events, visit the website: www.SpareChangeBand.com.