Nightflying: The Entertainment Guide

Unseen Eye

    If you are from Hot Springs or if you ever spent any time in the Spa City, chances are you knew who one Banjo Dan was. In case you are unfamiliar or uninitiated, Banjo Dan owned a music store in Hot Springs until his death and was known for helping musicians, especially kids, with keeping their musical spark alive or sometimes igniting it. Such was the case with Chad Carter, who rolled into Hot Springs some time around 1996.
    “I came to town and worked some for Dan”, says Carter. “One day he invited me down to a show that was going on.” As it turned out, that show would be one of the turning points in Carter’s career as a musician.
    When he arrived at the show, Carter saw Banjo Dan, Saint Thomas Jenkins, Scott ‘Rooster’ Meeks and a drummer (whose name had escaped Carter at the time of this interview). What Carter did not know was that he had just been introduced to what would become one of the major influences in his music career. Within six months of this music show Carter received an invite from another of his influences, the late harmonica player Joe Colvis, to play at an impromptu jam one Sunday afternoon. It was at this jam that Carter got to play with Jenkins.
    “I played a little while and Thomas stopped and looked at me and said ‘Son, you got it. You got the concept.’”, Carter continues. “It turns out he liked the fact that I knew when to play a lead and when to stay out of his way. He told me ‘You’re hired. But I don’t need a guitar player. I need a bass player.’ So I learned to play a right handed bass left handed…upside down.”
    Fast forward to 2010. Carter is now the guitar player (right handed by the way) and lead vocals for the Hot Springs based band Unseen Eye. Unseen Eye has had some recent success, appearing in two consecutive International Blues Challenges, representing the Spa City Blues Society and the Arkansas River Blues Society; having their new CD, Too Bad, nominated as one of the Best Self Produced CD’s with the Blues Foundation; receiving airplay oversees (Macedonia); getting rave reviews in Rootsville magazine (based in the Netherlands); and opening show for the likes of the Stella Vees, Robin Rogers, Zac Harmon and Michael Burks. Not a bad resume’.
    Carter’s musical talents can be traced back to when he was seven or eight years old, playing piano because that was what his grandmother, Emily L. Kirby, played.
    “I really liked it, but she was so good I didn’t think I could ever play like that. I wanted to play guitar.”
    Carter picked up an old Airline Les Paul copy guitar that belonged to his dad and hasn’t looked back since. Playing piano into his teens, Carter began playing the guitar in earnest around the age of sixteen. An accident in April, 2000, mangled his fretting hand’s index and middle fingers forcing him to turn the guitar over, restring it and learn to play right handed.
    “If you’ve ever noticed when I play I don’t use a pick. The accident is the reason why.”
    Carter follows the blue note because of his grandmother’s influence.
    “…She was killer at it. She could play ragtime and boogie just as good, but she loved the blues. I’ll never forget her saying to me once while she was playing, ‘This is the blues, son. It’s played by feel. You can’t read this on a piece of sheet music.’ “
    In addition to his grandmother, Jenkins and Colvis, Carter also cites former drummer Terrence Prather and current drummer Jobe Kara as strong influences on his music. Prather was the drummer in Jenkins’ band in 1997. He had been the drummer for the late Sean Costello and was drumming with Susan Tedeschi when he and Carter became friends. Kara has been playing with Carter since Prather’s departure to Atlanta in 2000.
    Kara holds down the backbeat for Unseen Eye. Hailing from Chicago, Kara moved to Hot Springs around the age of 16. Learning to play drums from his father, Kara had played in numerous bands, drumming out the beat to several different genres of music. Kara had stopped playing for awhile and picked back up when he and Carter connected around 1999.
    “Jobe had learned to play Cream and Hendrix style grooves which helped him slip into the blues rather easily.”
    ‘Chicken’ James Dorris joined the band in 2008 after he and Carter met at an Arkansas River Blues Society jam at Little Rock’s Jazzy’s. Dorris, a Little Rock native, has played with some truly great blues artists over the years including Cedell Davis, Houston Stackhouse and Fenton Robinson. Dorris’ wife also sang back up for Albert King at one time.
    Rounding out the band on bass is Fountain Lake product Kenny Tillery. Carter and Tillery met when Tillery was around sixteen years old. Tillery lived near Kara and had just started learning to play guitar when the two met. Tillery picked up the bass with a band called The Kozmic and later played with several bands including Brian Martin and The Circulators.
    Carter is quick to acknowledge all his influence whenever possible. Unseen Eye takes its name from one of Carter’s favorite Sonny Boy Williamson tunes.
    “The lyrics and phrases my grandmother used to say…’don’t lose an eye just to spite your face’, ‘don’t let your right hand know what your left hand is doing’. (Saint) Thomas (Jenkins) was from the same era and said those things so well. So, it was just another way to acknowledge them.”
    “The glitz and glam of the music business doesn’t hold a candle to playing with some of these people. I’m fortunate to have played with such talent as Saint Thomas (Jenkins), Joe (Colvis) and Terrence (Prather).”
    Unseen Eye’s new release, Too Bad, contains twelve songs, eight of which were written or co-written by Carter. The songs have a warm, familiar feeling to them, kind of like slipping on those old jeans that still feel good after oh so many years. One can almost feel the cracked leather of a worn out chair on their backside and smell the cigarette smoke as it circles the dim lights over an old table stained with water rings from a sweating glass full of gin as the ice melts and the night slips away in some secluded juke joint or back alley speakeasy that only the locals know about. Yeah, it’s that kind of record.
    Carter’s vocals are spot on and sometimes feel like he’s channeling Jenkins. His guitar work is smooth throughout and stands out on several cuts including a Freddie King cover of ‘Heads Up’, Carter’s original title cut and the Jenkins-Carter instrumental collaboration ‘Breakdown’. Dorris’ piano work gives the disc an added layer, whether backing up Carter’s guitar work or stepping out front for a run of his own. A couple of the highlights of the disc are Dorris’ work on the title cut and on the Jenkins-Carter penned ‘Quiet Time’. Kara and Tilllery are in the pocket on every cut, showing they can be smooth and silky as on ‘Quiet Time’ or gritty and funky on the Jenkins-Carter co-writes ‘You Know It Ain’t Right’ and ‘Breakdown’. Alternating between shuffles, slow smoldering blues and juke joint boogies, Too Bad is an outstanding first effort by the band. Carter continues to pay homage to his mentors on the disc.
    “I wrote ‘Honey Baby’, ‘Quiet Time’, ‘Too Bad’, ‘Down to Nothing’, and ‘Let’s Get Along’. ‘Too Bad’ is about Saint Thomas (Jenkins) and ‘Down to Nothing’ is about Joe (Colvis). The others are love songs about my ladies. I wrote ‘Waiting on Your Call’, ‘You Know It Ain’t Right’ and ‘Breakdown’ with Saint Thomas (Jenkins). We were just about to record some songs when Thomas fell ill. I put it off because I thought he would get well soon. I was wrong. So, it meant a great deal to me to finally be able to record those tunes. It was finishing what we had started so long ago and I know he would be proud of the sound we produced.”
    “’That’s Alright’ is a great Jimmy Rodgers tune I learned from Thomas. ‘It’s a Long Time’ is a Lowell Fulson song. I always loved this song. It has a good, clear message. ‘Heads Up’ is one of Freddie King’s greatest and least known songs. He sure knew how to put them together. ‘Love me or Leave Me’ is a great old standard. There’s nothing like a song where you threaten the life of your lover.”
    Too Bad came about after a series of gigs where Carter had been sharing the bill with another Arkansas guitar player, Joe Pitts. Pitts, of The Joe Pitts Band, and his spouse, Rhonda, own Lonesome Oak Recording Studio and Kijam Records. The Pitts’ provided a constant stream of tips and constructive criticism that helped Carter grow as an artist.
    “They (Joe and Rhonda Pitts) were the ones who initiated the recording of the album. I kept ending up playing the same bills as Joe, opening up for him. That’s how we became friends. I played the Nightflying Anniversary Party in 2008 at Midtown Billiards with Joe. When we were done, Joe called me over and they asked if I wanted to record the band. I said yes and here we are. Lonesome Oak is a nice, comfortable place and I will record all my albums there. Or until they run me off.”
    “I look at music a lot differently now that I’ve been in the studio. There are so many things I hear now that I didn’t before. Rhonda (Pitts) and her abilities with how she can make things sound is incredible. I learned a lot from the experience.”
    Carter had to spread his wings in order to record Too Bad. He was a little short on original music at the time and had to put pen to paper before he went into the studio.
    “I wrote songs so I could have material for the album. You want a few covers but not an entire album full. I wrote ‘Honey Baby’, ‘Quiet Time’ and ‘Let’s Get Along’ for this album. It wasn’t easy. I had just graduated to where I felt like I was ready to write songs.”
The disc’s artwork is simple and classy with a series of photos from Oklahoma based photographer Eric Overacker, owner of Fuzion Photos in Barnsdall. There are shots of Carter, Dorris and Kara taken around old buildings in downtown Tulsa. The shots feature Carter sitting alone playing guitar while Kara and Dorris walk past.
    “I just wanted something simple. It seems to always work best. I just thought of having a guy sitting on the street playing his guitar while people walked by, not even paying attention to him. Our friend, Eric Overacker, made that simple description come to life.”
Bass player Kenny Tillery was noticeably absent from the photos. A mystery in the making maybe? Some hidden angst between band mates? Something much simpler actually.
    “Kenny (Tillery) had to go to Louisiana that weekend to see his girlfriend. He was getting a little tense.”
Typical blues man.
    Unseen Eye, though a relatively new band on the music scene, makes up for it in their collective individual experiences. These talented players have come together to create a chemistry that can be felt in their performances. And they continue to get better, making sure to leave a piece of their hearts and souls with their listeners each time they play. Carter sums up the Unseen Eye experience.
    “You give this part of your life to complete strangers who take it home with them. You can see it when you make a connection, when someone in the audience nods their head or smiles. It’s like taking your personal baggage and turning it around, turning it into something good.”
    Watch for Unseen Eye to open a few eyes in the coming weeks with CD Release Parties at The Cornerstone Pub in Little Rock on March 12 and at Maxine’s in Hot Springs on April 30. Unseen Eye will also be performing at Speakeasy in Little Rock on March 21 and at the Cathead Folk Art & Music in Clarksdale, Mississippi for the annual Juke Joint Festival on April 17.

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