Eric "Red Mouth" Gebhardt is a singer/songwriter from Alabama (born in Vernon, Texas) who plays a blend of southern music that blends blues, broken-hearted honky tonk, Stonesy rock 'n' roll, with gospel music. Blues In London described his sound as:
"a joyfully chaotic reworking of the common sources... identifiably adhering to bluesey, country, folky, forms but happy to accept (actively embrace) a loose interpretation of the detail... a great blend of sasparila americana styles pulled together without meandering to 'authenticity', and played with a wit and verve that honour it's antecedents whilst managing a contemporary freshness."
Gebhardt started in a band dubbed The Throwaways who still perform every so often around the north Alabama area. The band's most notable achievement was a one-off release with High Society Records, an independent record label in Hamburg, Germany. The record did well in Europe, where the band never toured to support the release. The label folded shortly after.
After the disappointment, Gebhardt moved to Orlando, Florida and formed The Studdogs with Dickie Evans and Jeremy Talcott. Gebhardt stayed with the group for five years, releasing three compact discs. The band was signed by Orange Recordings in Los Angeles and toured all over the country, sharing bills with the Demolition Doll Rods, the Porch Ghouls, Bob Log III, and the Immortal Lee County Killers. His songwriting however started to out-grow the sleazy blues rock of the Studdogs, and Gebhardt left the band to pursue a solo career.
This growing interest in songwriting brought Gebhardt back to Florence, and later Biloxi, Mississippi, where his delta blues-influenced solo acoustic performances (and blazing red beard) earned him the bluesman nickname "Red Mouth." He spent some time duking it out in the redneck dives and juke joints of the area, but his desire to always move on has sent him out on the road searching for new places to play.
In 2005, Red Mouth released his solo debut Blues $1.49/lb which scored critical favor in the underground American circuits, garnering special attention in the United Kingdom. Blues In London loved the album so much that they appointed Gebhardt as their own personal "man in the States." He can be found regularly writing articles on underground American blues artists, documenting the rigors of life on the road, and occasionally reviewing records.
He's been described by Joe Mauceri of the Dictator Monthly as "the bastard rebel child of Lou Reed."
In 2010, Redmouth performed in Lausanne, Switzerland at the 1st Annual Blues Rules Festival. This was a two day concert featuring acts from around Europe and the United States.
Famous quotes containing the words eric, red and/or mouth:
“...there was the annual Fourth of July picketing at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. ...I thought it was ridiculous to have to go there in a skirt. But I did it anyway because it was something that might possibly have an effect. I remember walking around in my little white blouse and skirt and tourists standing there eating their ice cream cones and watching us like the zoo had opened.”
—Martha Shelley, U.S. author and social activist. As quoted in Making History, part 3, by Eric Marcus (1992)
“The dog-wood breaks white
The pear-tree has caught
The apple is a red blaze
The peach has already withered its own leaves
The wild plum-tree is alight.”
—Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)
“Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his dwelling! I would lay my case before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. I would learn what he would answer me, and understand what he would say to me. Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No; but he would give heed to me. There an upright person could reason with him, and I should be acquitted forever by my judge.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Job 23:3-7.
Job, of God.