Long Low Rumble

Long Low Rumble was an instrumental rock band formed in Athens, Georgia during mid-summer 1987 by drummer Bradley Jacobsen, guitarist Rick Naylor , bassist Daryl Black, and violinist Mamie Fike (later with Athens' bands Asa Nisi Masa, Chickasaw Mud Puppies and Jackpot City).
For nearly the next two years, the short-lived band became critically acclaimed in the Southeast, but never released any LPs or CDs. Several cassette tapes were released to fans and club owners along with their press kits. They shared a practice space on North Jackson Street with two local bands, Ruben Kincaid and We Peoples — a space once used by the B-52's.
Their first performance was at Studio B in Greenville, South Carolina, opening for Ruben Kincaid. And their first Athens gig was performed at the 40 Watt Club on Clayton Street, July 28, 1987. Inspired by seminal groups like The Replacements, Iggy Pop, Joy Division and local favorites Pylon, Love Tractor, Doo Blan Tant, The Squalls and others, the band adapted their musical upbringing into dark, driving melodic instrumentals layered with guitars and lead violin. Long Low Rumble often performed instrumental versions of Joy Division's "Twenty-four hours" and "New Dawn Fades" as part of their set, along with covers of "Give Me Some Money" by Spinal Tap and covers of songs by little-known bands like The Mentors. The band played sporadic gigs in Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama and Georgia.
Early on, and still without a proper name, the group made a joke out of the process of picking a name for themselves. As Athens is infamous for giving birth to thousands of bands, they began by creating separate flyers for a gig, each with different band names such as the Flying Pucks, The Dancing Dots and Still, to name a few. Often, they used images found in the trash at Kinko's on Broad Street, then managed by Bob Hay from The Squalls. With the subject at an impasse, even a name suggested by Replacements' frontman Paul Westerberg was dismissed. To help solve the issue they consulted ORT. A venerable fixture around Athens, William Orten Carlton — better known as ORT — carried a notebook that he filled with possible names for bands. The four borrowed the notebook and decided on the name at the Grill in downtown Athens.
Early in 1988, the band added Trey Ledford on lead guitar. Also, Ledford, Jacobsen and vocalist Jim Stacy went on to form The La Brea Stompers in that same year. Stacy played harmonica and sang, Jacobsen played percussion on a red wagon and later a black metal mailbox. And Fike also recorded as a guest soloist on the Chickasaw Mudd Puppies' first LP in 1988 and with local strings-based rock quartet Cordy Lon in the early '90s. Stacy, further, acted as Long Low Rumble's manager for a time.
The band had two recording sessions: one in October 1987 with Doo Blan Tant's Robbie Collins and February 1988 with Mark Maxwell, recording four or five songs each. Two songs were played on WUOG in Athens and WRAS in Atlanta. Long Low Rumble went on to open for national and international acts such as The Jesus and Mary Chain, Fetchin' Bones, Opal, The Squalls and others. Their final gig took place on March 7, 1989 in Athens with the Pretty Tiny Bullies in support at the now defunct Uptown Lounge on Clayton Street.
Black went on to earn a PhD and to teach history at Auburn, University of California Irvine and elsewhere. Currently, he's making music with the Chattanooga, Tennessee band Heaven's Basement. Ledford lives in New Orleans. Jacobsen works as a copywriter in Atlanta. Fike went on to perform with Asa Nisi Masa, and currently performs with Heavy Feather. Rick Naylor died from a Pulmonary edema in February 2000.
In 1988, Creative Loafing's David T. Lindsay, the Atlanta music critic, called the band "The next step in the evolution of Southern Rock."

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