An incredible guitar player, songwriter, singer and bandleader, the Reverend has been flying under the radar for years—despite recording and performing with everyone from Lucinda Williams to Chuck Berry and John Lee Hooker.
After spending his teenage years playing all over Arkansas, Spradlin flirted with stardom in L.A. back in the ’90s with a major-label-assembled roots-rock project that was derailed by the grunge explosion. He almost hit it again with No Depression-approved alt-country band The Skeeterhawks in the early 2000s before their label vanished into thin air with their masters and was never heard from again.
Spradlin lost heart for a while, gave up rock & roll, got a straight job at a nonprofit and soon found himself wandering the middle of nowhere in Ghana, Africa. He had an epiphany there one day when he heard a Muscle Shoals soul track coming from a random hut in the bush, was inspired to create again, came home, befriended and was mentored by legendary rock & roll producer Jim Dickinson (The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Big Star, The Replacements), and ended up delivering the eulogy at Dickinson’s funeral.
Along the way, Spradlin managed to assemble a supergroup with Los Lobos guitarist David Hidalgo, Elvis Costello drummer Pete Thomas, and now-deceased gospel-organ legend Rudy Copeland (Solomon Burke, Johnny Guitar Watson)—he was just so good they wanted to make a record with him, and Rev. Greg Spradlin and the Band of Imperials was born. Back in 2010, they made an amazing Hurricane Katrina-inspired record called Hi-Watter, mixed by Tchad Blake (Tom Waits, Los Lobos, The Black Keys).
But then, as if an act of God, an unexpected series of tragedies and major life events derailed the Reverend’s musical plans—his wife got pregnant, a close member of Greg’s family passed away, his old drummer and close friend of 15 years died, followed by his dog, and his cat. You get the picture. So Hi-Watter was shelved for a decade.
After spending his teenage years playing all over Arkansas, Spradlin flirted with stardom in L.A. back in the ’90s with a major-label-assembled roots-rock project that was derailed by the grunge explosion. He almost hit it again with No Depression-approved alt-country band The Skeeterhawks in the early 2000s before their label vanished into thin air with their masters and was never heard from again.
Spradlin lost heart for a while, gave up rock & roll, got a straight job at a nonprofit and soon found himself wandering the middle of nowhere in Ghana, Africa. He had an epiphany there one day when he heard a Muscle Shoals soul track coming from a random hut in the bush, was inspired to create again, came home, befriended and was mentored by legendary rock & roll producer Jim Dickinson (The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Big Star, The Replacements), and ended up delivering the eulogy at Dickinson’s funeral.
Along the way, Spradlin managed to assemble a supergroup with Los Lobos guitarist David Hidalgo, Elvis Costello drummer Pete Thomas, and now-deceased gospel-organ legend Rudy Copeland (Solomon Burke, Johnny Guitar Watson)—he was just so good they wanted to make a record with him, and Rev. Greg Spradlin and the Band of Imperials was born. Back in 2010, they made an amazing Hurricane Katrina-inspired record called Hi-Watter, mixed by Tchad Blake (Tom Waits, Los Lobos, The Black Keys).
But then, as if an act of God, an unexpected series of tragedies and major life events derailed the Reverend’s musical plans—his wife got pregnant, a close member of Greg’s family passed away, his old drummer and close friend of 15 years died, followed by his dog, and his cat. You get the picture. So Hi-Watter was shelved for a decade.
