09.10.04 The Daily Beacon Volume 97 Number 19 Small town musician alters country's style The first thing since "Footloose" to mix dancing and the Church of Christ into one is playing at Manhattan's Bistro & Bar Friday. Stephen Simmons, a singer/songwriter born and raised in Tennessee's Canon County, has written an album that could be the answer for everyone, or anyone whose ever been brave enough to ask a question about the Church of Christ. Don't read too into the lyrics though, Simmons isn't insulting anyone. While growing up, like a lot of people, he began to see holes in the way he was being raised. On one hand, he partook in the simplistic, wholesome rural country life, and then on the other he began to wonder about the devilish, sinful people who lived in the cities. Naturally, he wanted answers himself. His new album, "Last Call" attempts to put some of these questions to sleep. Simmons' sound can hardly be called rock-a-billy, but listeners wouldn't exactly liken it to their grandparents twangy "Live from the Grand Ole Opry" albums either. Think Ryan Adams minus the drinking, heartache and no clever little ditty about his favorite city. However, Simmons does have a tune about his favorite county lines and how good it feels to leave them behind. His lyrics echo the feelings of saying goodbye to the place you've called home, but not exactly feeling remorseful about it. "County lines/Run in funny ways/But once they draw 'em up/They don't ever change/They say you can't go back/So don't even try/Take one more step/And kiss your County goodbye." Recorded in Nashville, "Last Call" features quite an array of talent, such names as guitarist Kenny Vaughn, drummer Paul Griffith, bassist Dave Jacques and cellist David Henry. The album has picked up attention all around, seeing as it pulls at the heart strings of anyone who has ever escaped small town living. Although Simmons writes about his time spent in Woodbury, Tenn., he employs universal themes that explore the human soul beyond the honky tonks. The song "Bow Down" speaks of a small town cop and the childhood friends he let get away with cooking crystal meth, only to have irony served up as he found his eldest son, dead from an overdose of their main dish. These collective themes mix with close to the heart stories to give "Last Call" a feel beyond the country rock it may be stereotyped as. The album is more than just a lamentation over a woman leaving and the trailer park burning down. Simmons has managed to take a genre that Nashville is known for, transform it's style and play it in an unconventional way; yet, it still has the deep meaning needed to attract listeners who will understand the emotion poured into the songs. – Emily Ledbetter