ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 4, 1997 TAG: 9704040015
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG THE ROANOKE TIMES
FRANKLIN COUNTY MOONSHINE is the stuff of legends and outlaws, news stories and family struggles, a point of dubious pride in a region also known for stock car racing and mountain charm.
"I've known about this stuff all my life," said Roanoke's Kerry Hurley, who wrote about the volatile beverage in a song that's getting airplay on WROV-FM. "I was in high school, probably 15 or 16 years old when I first took a drink of it. I thought I was going to die."
Hurley, lead singer of the Thrillbillyz, and David Boitnott, a former Thrillbilly and bona fide Franklin County resident, penned the lyrics for "Franklin County Moonshine" a few years ago. The rest of the band - which has since changed members - chipped in with drum beats and song construction.
In 1995, they put it down on a CD that recently resurfaced from the place where most new music goes to grow old without grace or acknowledgment.
That Franklin County moonshine
Lights you up like sunshine
"The first time I ever encountered any moonshine was when I was in sixth grade," said Boitnott, now 39. "There was a fellow that was about three years older than us, but had been out of school for some mysterious reason. His daddy was making moonshine, and he bought some apple brandy to school."
In Franklin County, people are of two minds when it comes to moonshine, he said. "On one side, the legend of it has some appeal."
Hurley, 30, elaborated: "It's not just people getting together to make some liquor. It's tradition. These are old family recipes, and people are keeping tradition alive."
The other side: "It's wrecked people's lives," Boitnott said. "I would hope that people who enjoy the song are doing it from the folklore aspect and not taking it from a point of salesmanship."
And people are enjoying the song, said Buzz Casey, program director for WROV.
"It's gotten a very good response," he said. "It was our number one most-requested song for a couple of weeks."
That means about 10 to 15 requests a day, he said.
Casey Jones, host of "The Homegrown Show," which airs Sunday nights on the radio station, received the Thrillbillyz CD, "Romp," along with other music that had been recorded at Salem's Flat Five Studios. He passed it on to the program director.
"Franklin County Moonshine" stood out, Casey said. Plus one of WROV's between-song IDs declares the station is "serving the moonshine capital of the United States. It was
a great tie-in. We thought people were going to dig the song just because of what it was about."
Despite the airplay, no one from the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, nor the county administrator's office, recalls hearing the song on the radio.
"I'll have to pick it up and listen to it," said Bonnie Newlon, assistant county administrator. She said she's glad, though, that a local group had written about moonshining. "It's part of our heritage."
When Uncle John ran dry, the people cried for more
"It's a story, and my favorite songs are stories," Hurley said.
"Franklin County Moonshine" is about a man named Uncle John, who goes to church on Sunday and works in the sawmill during the week. In between, he makes moonshine in the mountains, lugging 100 pounds of corn meal to his 80-gallon still.
Boitnott said he garnered a few of those details from the Foxfire books, a series of stories and interviews about Appalachian culture and the old-timey way of doing things.
In one of the books, a character named Simmie Free talks about carrying the heavy corn meal up a big hill and challenges, ``See if you don't break a sweat."
"In his mind, moonshining is as honest an occupation of labor as any you can name," Boitnott said.
Although Hurley might argue that singing is the most honest occupation - especially if you put your soul into it as he does, closing his eyes when the music moves him.
Hurley first formed the Thrillbillyz when he was living in Los Angeles, searching for an elusive acting career. Some California natives used to call him a hillbilly on account of his accent, which is peppered with Southwest Virginia. "I thought about it, and I'm not really a hillbilly," he said. "I'm a country boy, and I like a good thrill."
Thus came the name for a band that has been through several incarnations as it moved from L.A. back to Virginia, from one group of musicians to another when band members pursued other musical outlets.
Boitnott went on to get a job at GTE Mobilnet. He still plays fiddle on occasion or picks up his acoustic guitar. He has yet to hear his song played on the radio.
The new band members, a steady lineup, include Tommy Vermillion on guitar, Dave McGraw on drums, Thom Dorathy on bass, and Hurley, who promised himself when he was in his early 20s that he would stick with music forever more.
"When there's a tugging match between my brain and my heart, I always go with my heart," he said. "My heart told me music was where I needed to be."
Over the years, he's played in a heavy metal group known as the Acid Clowns, and other groups that played straight-up rock. The members of the Thrillbillyz find their roots in blues, as do the members of Blues Hangover, who recently took Hurley on as their singer.
When he chose music, Hurley plunged headlong into a lifestyle that features, among other perks, a tight budget and a day job.
"I have eaten Ramen noodles and pork and beans a lot to be able to hone my craft," he said.
He enjoys his job, working for a collection agency settling payments on people's delinquent credit card bills. With L.A. girlfriend Cynthia Parra settled here in Roanoke and his song on the radio, "Right now I'm on top of the world," he said.
He still hopes to make it in the music business, and hopes "Franklin County Moonshine" will get his group some attention beyond the Roanoke Valley. Just two weeks ago, a reporter from Washington, D.C., here to do a story about moonshine, heard the song and drove over to visit Hurley, who keeps a half-filled mason jar of peach moonshine on top of his refrigerator. He brings it out on special occasions.
"It's a way of life around these parts," Hurley said.
"It's a mountain thing. A lot of people wouldn't understand."
To listen to "Franklin County Moonshine," call InfoLine at 981-0100 in Roanoke or 382-0200 in the New River Valley. Enter category 7810.
LENGTH: Long : 120 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: CINDY PINKSTON/THE ROANOKE TIMES. David Boitnott andby CNBKerry Hurley have written a song, "Franklin County Moonshine,"
that's getting heavy play on WROV-FM. The single is on the
Thrillbillyz' "Romp" CD. color.