J. Roddy Walston and The Business

Supporting Acts: The Features

J. Roddy Walston and The Business

J. Roddy Walston is not soft like someone born into privilege, but he does bear the hesitant scars of a man who fought his way out of a pedigree. Yoked from day one to a musical lineage that included "both kinds of music - country and gospel." he was told with regularity that it was close to sin to play either for any reason but God and Family. And that when the city comes courting with contracts and such he was expected to follow tradition...and walk away. "A weight is kindly put upon you with a heritage, and a choice comes to you in time, at that point you can just become an extension or you can get born and grow legs of you own." It is a stranger South that J. Roddy Walston lived in, a place where radio gave equal ear to classic rock, hell-fire evangelists, and the Elephant Six. Powered and inspired by this mixture of art, spirit, and temptation he left home, in as much an attempt to bring his kin due credit as to rebel against the very things they had stood for.