Soon after the dissolution of Amberson’s
alternative rock band, My Lucky Number,
he and Baggett got together to record
a set of songs that Baggett wrote back
in the 70’s, when bands like the Allman
Brothers were pioneering Southern rock.
Baggett supplied the bass, guitar and drums, but he’d always needed a singer to get his words out there.
“Ted’s vocals, raw and powerful as they are, just hit the
spot,” said Baggett.
Neither expected much from the album except a quick
recording project, but Baggett started sending songs
around just to let people see what he’d been up to, and
acclaim and attention started pouring in from unexpected places. After speaking with a publicist in Los Angeles
who contacted him, Baggett decided to print and release
the collection as an album.
The resulting CD, That’s Gonna Leave a Mark, is an 11-song
trip through a time machine, away from the contemporary Southern rock of Kid Rock or Kings of Leon and their
alt-rock trappings, back to tunes akin to their predecessors, greats like Lynyrd Skynyrd and Atlanta Rhythm Section. Since many of the songs were written in the 70’s, they
have an authenticity that rings true on every track.
“It’s strong and it’s raw and it’s energy,” said Amberson.
Realizing that they had something exciting on their hands,
the pair started auditioning members, digging through
piles of musicians looking for someone who could deliver
on Baggett’s expectations.
“We let a lot of decent players go, but they were 7.5 and
INSIGHT
we were looking for 10,” said Baggett.
They’d never considered Baggett’s sons. Luke eventually
sat in with the band on bass, and lobbied for his brother
Chris to get a shot on the drums. When they started playing, Baggett and Amberson knew they’d found their fit;
the band Baggett had been looking for his whole life ended up being his own family.
“When Chris sat down it clicked,” said Baggett. “This is the
sound we’re looking for.”
That sound garners a lot of attention for the band, who’ve
found their faces on the NBC News website and even
in French rock magazines, created by fans involved in
France’s burgeoning Southern rock revival scene.
“The international attention blows my mind,” laughed
Amberson. “I’ve worked much harder for attention before
and never got anything like this.”
The band performs every time they can, playing authentic
music for authentic Southern rock fans at American Legion posts, Harley-Davidson conventions and at motorcycle clubs. They’ve started working on new ma