Heath Green and The Makeshifters’ self-titled debut album will be released on limited vinyl, CD, digital and streaming formats March 3rd via Alive Naturalsound Records. The Birmingham, AL-based band’s heavy sound has been compared to Leon Russell & The Shelter People, Joe Cocker and Humble Pie.
Can you tell us about yourself? Where you’re from and what you’ve been up to over the past few years?
We’re from Birmingham, Alabama. We are 4 guys that have been playing in different bands, solo, and backing other artists for a while. I had some tunes and these guys are some of my favorite musicians and friends. So, we thought we’d have a go at it, and it ended up coming together so organically that we made a record in 3 days. Alive records picked it up through the help of Lee Bains from The Glory Fires and since then we’ve just been trying to figure out how to get it to the masses so everyone can dig it as much as we do.
How would you describe your music?
Good honest rock n’ roll with a little bit of soul.
Can you tell us a little bit about your influences?
That’s difficult to answer because we are constantly digging to find new music, whether it’s something old that we have never heard, or something just came out that grabs us. I would say on this record, musically we were pulling from bands like Ike and Tina Turner, Led Zeppelin, The Stones, Wilson Pickett, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Humble Pie, The Faces, and Tom Waits.
What are you currently promoting?
We have a self titled debut record on Alive Records called Heath Green and The Makeshifters that we are real excited about.
Have you got a particular song you’ve done that you’re particularly proud of, one that might define you?
We are proud of the record more as a whole, and we think it should be listened to that way. There’s not one particular song that defines us. No matter what we are playing, we’re always all in whether it be cover songs, something off the record, or something new we’ve written. We think whatever song we are playing at that moment defines us.
What are you currently listening to?
I can’t speak for the other guys, but lately it’s been The Staple Singers, Doug Sahm, seventies Dylan, Elmore James, Big Mama Thornton, Bukka White, and Harry Nilsson.
And your favorite album of all time, the one you couldn’t live without?
Probably Leon Live (Leon Russell). But there’s a long list of alternates.
What are your hopes for your future career?
Our hopes are that people will dig this record enough to allow us to keep making music for years to come, and keep turning people on.
If money were no object, what would be your dream project?
Our dream project would be something like Mad Dogs and Englishman, or better yet, something like The Festival Express where we would take some of our favorite bands out and pay for everything, and just concentrate on the music and the fun.
What’s the best thing about being a musician?
The best thing about being a musician is being able to do it. There’s that something that’s just in you where you can’t help but to do it, and you find yourself in the middle of a song where the feeling and communication is on a level that is unexplainable. When you’re not thinking and you are just there where you are supposed to be at that time and it all comes together.
And the worst?
Missing your family.
Finally, have you anything you’d like to say to the readers of Americana UK?
We hope you dig this record and any future records we put out. Keep searching and supporting whatever music turns you on. Music is everywhere and everything. Peace, love, and good luck.
