"Blues music requires you to dig deep into your heart if it is to be genuine."

Dixie Peach: Do I Dare to Eat a Peach?

Dixie Peach is a group of accomplished musicians doing what they like best: playing American Blues. In addition to playing their own shows, Dixie Peach performs as a house band for Gibson Custom Guitars backing artists such as Dickey Betts, Lee Roy Parnell, and others. In 1972, Dixie Peach was formed by Ira Stanley, Mike Rousculp, and Steve Williams. The band included Ira on guitar, Mike on bass, Steve on keyboards, Tony Paulus on keyboards & guitar, and Jerry Barnhart on drums. Ira and Mike Rousculp have been playing music together since 1968. Beginning in 1973, Dixie Peach started touring full time and played gigs from New York to Florida. The band released its first album in 1974. The band was very popular and was quite successful. Dixie Peach was an opening act for Joe Walsh, Roy Buchanan, Spirit, Billy Cobham, B.O.C, and several others.

In 1975, like most bands, the stress of travelling all the time led to the band discontinued playing together. Members of the band scattered. Some went on to college. Others began careers in business or education. Even though music was no longer their primary career, each member continued to perform for many years on a part time basis. With a large local following, many friends of the band expressed a desire to see “one more” Dixie Peach show. In 1998, the band reformed with all the original members (except Steve Benson had replaced Jerry on drums) to play one last final appearance. As a result, the band began playing the gig annually for seven years and called the show the “annual final appearance”.

Activity for the band increased when, in 2002, Ira won “best guitarist” at the Fortune battle of the corporate bands held at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. Gibson guitars was a sponsor of the event and began to use Dixie Peach as a house band for many of its musical functions. In 2002, the band released a second album titled “Butta” which included some original material and covers of some blues songs. Dixie Peach released a new CD with all new original material. The CD is titled “Blues With Friends” and includes guest appearances by several friends including Lee Roy Parnell, Jack Pearson, Etta Britt and many other personal friends were kind enough to add to the recording. Ira Stanley talks about the Blues, Dickey Betts, Johnny Winter, Gibson guitar and Dixie Peach.

Interview by Michael Limnios

How do you describe Dixie Peach sound and progress, what characterize your music philosophy?

Dixie Peach music is rooted in the style influences of each band member – blues, soul, rock, and jazz. Artists that influenced the band are too many to mention. Over time, the band has transitioned from a southern rock band to a more bluesy band. Our goal is to create good, original music to which the listener can quickly relate. The listener might relate to the lyrics, the musicianship, or both.

"Blues music gives us an outlet to express ourselves – both as a player and a listener." (Photo: Ira and Mike Rousculp)

What experiences in your life have triggered your ideas for songs most frequently?

Song ideas come from emotions at the extreme end of the scale: sadness, happiness, fear, etc. Other times it might just be a funny idea, such our song “Pork Chop Blues”. The idea is always to tell a story that was inspired by the particular emotion or situation. My experiences of finding the love of my life, having freedom threatened, or moving forward in life have been some ideas I’ve used in songs.

Which was the best moment of your career? What are some of the most memorable gigs and jams you've had?

Because the Allman Brothers Band was so influential to me, one of my best moments was having our band back up Dickey Betts three times at shows over the past few years. To be there on stage with him playing the guitar harmonies he and Duane wrote was a dream come true for me. Those gigs were highly memorable. Also, our participation at the Gibson Custom Shop Summer Jams in Nashville were very memorable. We jammed with some great guitar players like Lee Roy Parnell, Johnny A, Jack Pearson, Frank Hannon, and many more. We have to thank Rick Gembar at Gibson Custom for giving us those opportunities.

Are there any memories from recording and show time which you’d like to share with us?

Recording is so different today. Back on our first album, we just set up and performed the songs live. Very few overdubs were used. In the digital age today, there are many more opportunities to get the tracks perfect. My favorite recording memory is watching Lee Roy Parnell and Jack Pearson cut some guitar tracks at Lee Roy’s studio for our latest CD, “Blues With Friends”. These guys are such experienced pros that it was a real learning experience. I think everything Jack did was one take!

"Dixie Peach music is rooted in the style influences of each band member – blues, soul, rock, and jazz. Artists that influenced the band are too many to mention. Over time, the band has transitioned from a southern rock band to a more bluesy band."

Which meetings have been the most important experiences for you? What is the best advice ever given you?

Meeting Rick Gembar at Gibson Custom is one of the most important experiences for me and the band. He had faith in us and gave us opportunities that we never would have had. His support was instrumental in the “return” of Dixie Peach to a national stage.

I think Lee Roy’s advice and encouragement was the best I’ve received. He inspired me to write songs that never would have happened without his influence. He always says “just keep writing”.

What do you miss most nowadays from the music of past? What are your hopes and fears for the future of music?

It’s amazing the things that can be done instrumentally these days.  But, sometimes, I miss the old analog days of the Hammond B3 organ and unprocessed guitar sounds. My greatest hope is that musicians be compensated for their work. I meet many young, talented guys that can’t earn a living in music and that’s sad. A single song sells for the same price today that it did in the 1960’s - $0.99.

Which memory from Dickey Betts, Joe Walsh, Roy Buchanan, Spirit and Billy Cobham makes you smile?

I smile when I think of the many great musicians we have met. For the most part, they were all just regular guys like us. For me personally, I’ll always remember Roy Buchanan saying he liked my slide guitar playing and Dickey Betts saying I was a good guitar player.

"My experiences of finding the love of my life, having freedom threatened, or moving forward in life have been some ideas I’ve used in songs." (Photo: Ira, Tony Paulus and Dickey Betts)

Are there any memories from recording time of “Blues With Friends” which you’d like to share with us?

On our 2002 CD, we used electronic drums because we thought we'd get a clean sound. This time we wanted a more authentic, blues band sound; so, we used acoustic drums. Steve Benson and I spent a week buying microphones and getting the sound we liked dialed in on the drums. We spent a lot of time writing and recording because we wanted to produce something special. The "Blues With Friends" project started out being called "Dixie Peach 2011". So, you can see we spent two years on the recording. Recording Jack Pearson's parts was a fun night. He used a $100 guitar he bought at a pawn shop and Lee Roy ran it through a Bogan PA amplifier...cheap equipment; but, he sounds like a million bucks! Having Bud Snyder mix the songs was a real good decision.  He knew exactly what we were looking for and he made it sound just as we imagined.

What's been your experience from Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame’s events? 

The gigs have always been extremely well-organized; the production team of Rob, Lisa, and Steve have become best friends with us. The gigs are always exciting when we're backing up someone we haven't played with before...we are fans of them. Everytime we play at the Rock Hall, I go to see Duane Allman's guitar before we start playing.

Do you remember anything funny?

One time, Dickey Betts didn't have a guitar pick with him; so, he asked me if he could borrow one of mine. I thought this was cool because I'd have a great souvenir when we finished the gig. Then, at the end of the last song, Dickey threw the pick out into the crowd...someone else got my souvenir...and they think it's a Dickey Betts' pick.

"My greatest hope is that musicians be compensated for their work. I meet many young, talented guys that can’t earn a living in music and that’s sad." (Photo: Ira, Mike and Jerry Barnhart) 

Which memory from Carl Weathersby, Spirit and Johnny Winter makes you smile?

Carl Weathersby - I wasn't familiar with Carl when we were asked to back him up.  I asked Steve at the Rock Hall to tell me about him.  He told me he was an "old" blues guitar player. When I looked Carl up online, I found out he is two years younger than I am! It was a great gig; he is a powerful player.

Spirit - We played two cities with them. I recall a substantial amount of alcohol consumed by both bands. They're good guys and we enjoyed their company.

Johnny Winter - Johnny's health is not that good. He requires that a golf cart be available to take him from his bus to the stage. The gig in Nashville was outdoors and his truck was only about 10 yards from the stage.  So, it was a very short ride!

What are the secrets of Gibson guitars? 

The most impressive thing about the guitars produced by the Gibson Custom Shop is the attention to quality. It's no secret that Gibson quality suffered in the 1970's. Now, however, the Custom Shop makes guitars consistent with the specs from the glory days of the 1950's and 1960's. Not only do they find the best wood and comparable component parts, they even use the same type of glue used in that era. The attention to these details that Sr. VP Rick Gembar brings to the production process has resulted in some of the best guitars ever produced. I owned a real 1959 Les Paul guitar several years ago. The one I play onstage is a 2001 Custom Shop Les Paul and it sounds and plays just as good as the real 1959.

What are the lines that connect the Blues with Soul, Folk and continue to Jazz, Southern Rock and beyond?

My opinion is that “roots” music is a combination of all those styles. A particular song or style might be 100% blues; another might be 50% soul/50%jazz; while another might be 30% blues/40% soul/30%jazz. In that way, there are an infinite number of stylistic combinations. I like the possibility that this gives for variety in music. Without variety, music can get boring.

"I miss the old analog days of the Hammond B3 organ and unprocessed guitar sounds."

What do you learn about yourself from the blues and what does the blues mean to you?

Blues music requires you to dig deep into your heart if it is to be genuine. When you do that, expressing yourself musically is more satisfying. Blues music gives us an outlet to express ourselves – both as a player and a listener.

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