THE COAL MEN -[ Bio 10/1/11]
Founded in 1999, The Coal Men have been playing there own brand of roots rock ‘n’ roll for twelve years with the same core line up. Guitarist and lead singer Dave Coleman grew up with bassist Jason “Hitch” Hitchcock in rural Jamestown, TN. After playing in high school bands, the blood brothers from the Cumberland Plateau both moved to Nashville. Coleman started writing his own songs, and through luck and fate, wrote for two years at legendary Acuff-Rose Music Publishing.
The Coal Men formed as an outlet for these songs with the addition of drummer and singer Dave Ray, a Virginian native. The band tightened with residency gigs in Nashville. “Playing every Tuesday night for six months was a way to explore songs in every avenue.” The band released their first E.P in 2001 and their first full length record in 2004. Coleman spent time as a side guitarist for major label acts on Warner Brothers Records and Big Machine Records. The band started touring with ventures into North Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia.
The album “Beauty is a Moment” brought The Coal Men into 2006 with an extended band. Jen Gunderman (The Jayhawks) joined on keyboards, and Chris Frame (Son Volt) joined playing a second guitar. The Song “Louisiana” from that record was featured on a Benefit album for New Orleans Flood Survivors. The album has been played extensively on Sirius/XM Radio’s Loft Station.
The Bands 2009 album Kids with Songs, found the band back as a stream lined three piece and on the road in the “Silver Beagle” van for a long time, opening for acts such as the Avett Brothers, Chris Knight, and Roger Clyne and the Peace Makers; and also a performance on West Virginia’s Mountain Stage, alongside The Squirrel Nut Zippers and Southern Culture on the Skids. In 2010 the band opened for and backed the Banjo/Slide guitar virtuoso Tony Furtado on a tour out west to Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Wyoming.
The band has parted with ways with former label, Funzalo Records, and is currently working on a more aggressive sounding record in Nashville with the help of producer Joe Garcia and engineer Brian Carter (The Features, The Nobility).
PRESS CLIPPINGS:
ArtNowNashville.com
“Dave Coleman and drummer Dave Ray know better than to simply move through the motions. A disciple of the late and lamented rocker Duane Jarvis, whose onstage motto was “Every night different,” Coleman isn’t wired for routine, and Friday’s Coal Men show traded on dynamics and visceral flights rather than aural choreography.”
“(Dave) Ray drummed with a rock ‘n’ roller’s steady pulse and a jazzman’s touch, and his harmonies shimmered over Coleman’s lead vocals.”
“For his part, Coleman, 32, is a distinctive yet versatile (that’s a tough trick) guitar force. In his 20s, some folks talked of him as a budding Kenny Vaughan or Buddy Miller, and he’s now squarely in that league. He makes a three-piece sound like a five-piece, never relying on the kind of silly, flurried-high-note tricks that draw applause without providing substance. His tone is unassailable, and he is essentially producing as he plays, subtly answering vocal lines, bass riffs and even drum fills with pretty-as-you-please six-string responses. He also provides strong vocals and a song sense that ranges from the earnest guitar pop of show-opening “Natural Wonder” to the hooky aggression of “My Last Goodbye,” which would fit happily at home on a late-1970’s Nick Lowe album.” -Peter Cooper
PERFORMING SONGWRITER
“The laid-back drawl of Coal Men lead singer Dave Coleman falls somewhere between Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Ronnie Van Zant and Alan Jackson. Bluesy Hammond organ and twangy, Allman Brothers-style electric guitar complete the Southern rock vibe on Beauty Is a Moment. Highlights include “Pretty Girls,” in which a syncopated drum beat embellishes the chorus. “They can twist your arm, make you do what they want you to,” Coleman sings, describing the cloud in front of the silver lining. “Outside Lookin’ In” is another gem, this time on the poppier side, with a bouncing, harmony-laden chorus. Songs are mostly populated with thoughts on relationships and childhood memories, but scattered throughout these familiar themes are shimmering dewdrops of lyrical poetry. “Beauty is a moment, like youth it cannot last,” Coleman sings in the title track, but it’s moments like these that will make this beauty of an album last.”
- Mare Wakefield
VINTAGE GUITAR MAGAZINE
“With the addition of Chris Frame (Son Volt) on guitar and Jen Gunderman (The Jayhawks) ..boards, The Coal Men have gone from trio to quintet and their second full-length release, Beauty Is A Moment, reflects creative growth that shows no sign of letting up. Composer and guitarist Dave Coleman – who wrote or cowrote most the disc’s 12 cuts – is the force behind much of what puts The Coal Men into the first rank of roots rock/alt country music.
Coleman writes with the fearless emotional candor that marks the best of Alabama songwriter Will Kimbrough’s work, and the band is just similar enough to the Jayhawks to invite favorable comparison. But despite Coleman’s slight, dismissible vocal resemblance to an earthier more soulful Jackson Browne, The Coal Men don’t really really sound like anyone else. Coleman’s songs have the naturalness of good conversation and unfold with the same freshness. A laconic but literate and expressive lyricist who isn’t afraid to let melody pull an equal share, he paints with fewer strokes than many, yet gets so much out of them. For him and the rest of the Coal Men, beauty is a moment – actually, a series of moments – and there are a wealth of fine ones (“Natural Wonder,” “Cleveland Sky,” “ Louisiana ”) here. Coleman and Frame’s guitars, Dave Ray’s deep-bucket Levon Helm-type drumming, the tight but unceremonious competence of the band, and the quality of the songs put the album outside of trends and vogue.
The next big thing always comes and goes, but everything about Beauty Is A Moment indicates a deservedly long and laudable musical life ahead for The Coal Men.”
MUSIC ROW MAGAZINE
“The Coal Men are one of my favorite Nashville bands. Leader Dave Coleman writes brilliantly and sings with soulful conviction. The striking imagery is in the new album’s title tune: lyrics equaled by its fuzz-tone undertow bass line, slashing electric guitars, pounding percussion and sizzling organ/piano work. These folks deserve stardom, people.”
- Robert K. Oermann
THE TENNESSEAN
“The Coal Men have risen from the ranks of Nashville up-and-comers to a spot as one of Music City’s strongest, nerviest rock acts.”
— Peter Cooper
BOSTON HERALD
“This young quartet’s exhilarating mix of alt-country, roots-rock and pop might sound subversive in its stodgy Nashville, Tenn., hometown, but elsewhere its second album washes over the ears like a summer breeze. Featuring simple, sturdily built songs recorded on vintage gear in a mix that lets you hear the grain in the wood the instruments are made of, “Beauty Is a Moment” lives up to its title – and the Coal Men live up to their buzz.”
- Kevin R. Convey
NASHVILLE SCENE
“Youthful cohorts The Coal Men lay down the roots with a tenacity that belies their tender years.”
— Jack Silverman
THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE
“Nashville’s The Coal Men serve up a huge slice of Americana pie with their second full-length release, “Beauty Is A Moment.” Led by singer/guitarist Dave Coleman, this band manages to epitomize the best of Southern rock without sinking to a redneck stereotype. This is sophisticated rock-tinged pop with a genuine regional flavor.”
- Rudy Panucci
