couldn’ t rehearse with the musicians in their backing band, and they couldn’ t even play at jam sessions at friends’ homes. And the Peytons, in addition to their cancelled summer dates, had another big damn problem: their road crew and other people who depended on them financially.“ When I’ m standing up onstage with a microphone, there’ s a whole lot of people standing behind me you don’ t see,” the Rev explains.“ I don’ t want anyone to lose their house.”
But in true Brown County fashion, the two bands refused to allow a streak of bad luck to make them give up. Soon they’ d stepped up their internet game, offering more livestreams of their performances; the Peytons put more work into Hard Times and Weirdness, a podcast they’ d created to build their connection with fans. And both bands were writing material again, even incorporating their feelings and experiences during the pandemic into some of their songwriting.
By summer 2020, their vinyl had arrived, and The Hammer & The Hatchet began to get offers to play at re-opening local venues. Though they were eager to get back onstage, they knew they had to strike the balance between opportunity and safety.“ I ask a lot of questions. We talk about [ safety ] terms a lot before we come in,” Jayme says about accepting a gig. John cites the outdoor stage at Nashville’ s Hard Truth Hills as an example of the good safety practices.“ Everybody’ s terraced away from you, up a hill. It’ s a cool space,” he says.
As strange— and difficult— as these times have been, some unexpected new doors have opened.“ There have been some silver linings to this,” the Rev acknowledges. The Big Damn Band was able to write a new album during the shutdown, and he says it’ s his best yet. The Band’ s Patreon account, which offers online bonus content to their most devoted fans, has kept his operations afloat. And being home has allowed the Rev to spend valuable time with his parents, who are both navigating their own health issues. John and Jayme say their extended time on their beautiful wooded property has been
Jayme Hood and John Bowyer The Hammer & The Hatchet.
good for The Hammer & The Hatchet’ s music. John says,“ Being able to relax and take walks here has been really good. Some good new songs have come out of that.”
The bands say that although they don’ t know when things will return to normal, their number-one priority is being ready for whatever happens.“ Uncertainty has caused us to give up on 2020,” says the Rev.“ But we’ re sowing seeds this year. They’ re gonna grow to big giant oak trees next year.” The support of an arts-focused community like Nashville is a big help too, says Jayme.“ Our strength is in our network here. We’ ve got a really special community of people who want to help.”
More about The Hammer & The Hatcher can be found at < thehammerandthehatchet. com >. More about The Reverend Peyton’ s Big Damn Band can be found at < bigdamnband. com >. •
Nov./ Dec. 2020 • Our Brown County 17