Resurgent band has it all

By Leif M. Wright
Phoenix Staff Writer

January 09, 2009 10:00 am

— With a name right out of “This is Spinal Tap,” you might expect local band Stonehenge to have amplifiers that go to 11, styrofoam stage sets being crushed by little people and band members lost backstage shouting, “hello Cleveland!”
But you’d be wrong.
When he named the band, lead singer Billy Arnett had never even seen “Spinal Tap.”
“The band I came into that kind of got this whole thing started was called Blue Diamond,” he said. “When they asked me to join, I told them I’d like a name change if possible. They were all cool and said yes.”
Arnett had been reading about the Stonehenge monuments that day, so when they asked him what the name should be, he threw that name out.
“It was just off the cuff,” he said. “But they were all like, ‘cool.’”
Arnett, of Wagoner, sings and plays rhythm and acoustic guitar while Muskogee’s Gene Longcrier plays bass guitar and sings harmony vocals, Wagoner’s Chad Arbuckle plays drums and Fort Gibson’s Jerry Owens plays lead guitar.
“I’ve been playing music for 25 years,” Longcrier said, “and Jerry is one of the most well-rounded and versatile guitarists I’ve ever played with.”
Oh, and did he mention that Owens can whip out guitar solos that leave jaws agape?
Arnett agrees. “I’ve played with some good pickers, but it’s like Jerry was born with a guitar in his hands.”
Watching the band play at Max’s Garage last week, when Owens broke into the extended solo from Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird,” heads from one side of the club to the other craned around to see who was ripping out such powerful licks.
The fact that, toward the end of the show, most people in the club still didn’t know who was on guitar is likely attributable to Owens’ humility.
“Jeez,” Arnett said. “He’s one of the most humble guys I’ve ever met.”
As if having an insanely great guitar player wasn’t enough of an attraction for the band, Arnett looks like he may have just left a mixed martial arts cage, picked up a guitar and got on stage.
“When you’re as big as that guy and have a bald head and can sing like him,” said Rich May, who saw the band, “you’re going to stand out.”
But it was the diversity of music, not just Arnett’s imposing presence, that really struck May.
“I’ve never heard someone play Waylon Jennings and follow it up with White Zombie,” May said. “And their musicianship is as tight as I’ve probably ever seen.”
That’s no accident, Arnett says. The band is free of the substance abuse that seems to plague many musicians.
“We’re all clean and sober,” he said. “I have a problem with people getting hammered while they play. It makes for a lot better show when you’re clean, and you don’t have all the negative hangups that come with those things.”
Longcrier also adds a new dimension to the band, bringing a funky and professional musicality to the bass guitar, filling out the bottom end and contributing harmony vocals. But it’s hard to get him to talk about it.
“No interviews, man, no interviews. I can never turn a quick, fancy phrase,” he said. “Now you have to take this turd I’ve given you and polish it.”
Not necessary. The band speaks for itself. Rounding out the musical diversity is hard rock drummer Arbuckle.
“We have four different players with different tastes,” Arnett said. “But when we play together, it ends up sounding like we wanted it to when we started out.”
The diversity of music the band plays isn’t yet as diverse as it’s going to get, though.
Yes, they play country. Yes, they play red dirt. Yes, they play classic rock. Yes, they play hard-driving rock.
And soon, Arnett said, the band will add original red dirt-tinged religious songs.
“It’s red dirt because that’s what’s in me,” Arnett said.
Owens, who has been playing with Arnett “forever,” will help with that, undoubtedly.
“When I write songs, I know what his solos are going to do,” Arnett said. “When he writes songs, he knows what I’m going to do vocally. It makes it a really nice process.”
Whatever your taste, whether it’s hard rock, country, red dirt, classic rock or religious, Stonehenge probably plays some songs that will appeal to you. Or if you just want to hear a guitar slinger do his business, or watch a big, bad tough guy sing.
Whatever, this band is likely to fill your need.
You can reach Leif M. Wright at 684-2906 or lmwright@muskogeephoenix.com

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