Matt Wake

1 week ago | al.com | Matt Wake

During a break in class, Ronnie Knight doodled on a piece of paper. He was taking a University of North Alabama business management night course the company he worked for at the time paid for. That night, Knight, back home in North Alabama after graduating from Vanderbilt University, sketched out an electric guitar. It echoed vintage Gibson or Fender electric guitar designs without aping them. The form looked classic yet new. Back when he was 12, Knight had tried to build an electric guitar.

1 week ago | al.com | Matt Wake

Greenbrier Restaurant is located between an Amazon fulfillment center and a field of crops. Some symbolism in that. Famous for their barbecue and fried catfish, Greenbrier’s a business dating back to the 1950s, when North Alabama was much more rural. They continue to thrive in a digital era and a Huntsville-area restaurant market that’s growing exponentially. “That is not a normal restaurant by any means.

2 weeks ago | al.com | Matt Wake

In 1977, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio cofounder and Swampers guitarist Jimmy Johnson offered a local band called Jackson Highway a song called “Old Time Rock and Roll.” The band, named after Muscle Shoals Sound’s 3614 Jackson Highway address, centered around songwriting brothers: singer/guitarist Dennis Gulley and bassist/backing vocalist Russell Gulley. Dennis had sung lead vocals on the original demo for “Old Time Rock and Roll,” penned by Shoals songwriters George Jackson and Thomas E. Jones.

2 weeks ago | flipboard.com | Matt Wake

"Edge left. He was feeling that he couldn't serve both god and man. I decided I couldn't either. So we both quit." How Bono and The Edge's faith in Jesus almost destroyed U2Spirituality has always been at the core of U2's music, but early on in the Dublin band's career, some members of the group started to question …

2 weeks ago | al.com | Matt Wake

Not sure how many musicians are fans of pop-country superstar Morgan Wallen and rap legend Kendrick Lamar. But Pynk Beard -- an R&B songsmith turned country crooner -- is among them. “I love both those guys, man,” Pynk Beard says. “They do a good job of speaking their cultural language. Hip-hop and country music, they’re both really just about where you’re from. “That’s the first thing you’re gonna know about a hip hop artist, and basically the same thing is true about a country artist.