LITTLE ROCK — When last seen at The Afterthought, Larry Brick and Rachel Fields were a duo. This weekend, they return with a band. Those who have seen them in Eureka Springs most likely have seen them perform as a six-person group.
The added firepower came into play in a natural, unhurried fashion, Brick explains of how they assembled a group to back them on their mix of originals and cover versions of gospel-flavored blues rock. Fields adds that they are working up an arrangement of a Ray Charles classic, “Georgia on My Mind,” to add to their set.
“The guys just showed up, one by one, and sat in with us,” Brick says. “They’re not doing it for the money. It’s more of a loyalty thing. They’ve been faithful to us, as we’ve been playing at the New Delhi [Cafe in Eureka Springs] for about five years now.”
The band members are Johnny Ray on bass, Caleb Bomar on drums, Casey Terry on saxophone and Randy Fairbanks on keyboards.
The New Delhi has become the place where local music fans tend to congregate, along with tourists who have heard tales of the gospel brunches that Brick and his wife, Rachel Fields, have been doing most Sundays, except when they are out of town. Now, they are about to be out of town more than ever.
“We’re moving to Fayetteville,” Brick says. “We tried to find a place to rent in Eureka, but couldn’t find anything. We’ll be able to work more often in Fayetteville, but we’ll still come back to Eureka on Sundays for the gospel brunch in the mornings and stay for the evenings, when we leadthe worship service at First Methodist Church here.
“Hopefully, we’ll get to play four or five nights a week by being in Fayetteville. We found a place, called Legacy Blues, on a side street off of Dickson Street, a white-tablecloth sort of place that has a good listening-room atmosphere, where people pay attention to the music.”
After Brick and Fields played their February show at The Afterthought, they traveled to Memphis for a showcase for Blind Raccoon Productions, so that they wouldhave more possibilities to do shows on a regional basis - in larger markets that include Tulsa, Kansas City and Memphis.
Following Friday’s show at The Afterthought, Brick and Fields will go to Jane, Mo., to make a video, which they hope will help them in their gradual conquest of the music world.
“We’re trying to get more of a presence on YouTube,” Brick says. “The record business has changed quite a bit from when I was playing with Terry ‘TW’ Williams in Hot Springs, and we don’t know exactly what to do, except to try a lot of new things. We hired a booking agent who’s looking into getting us some work at the casinos in Tunica [Miss.].”
The following weekend, the band will be back at the New Delhi, with its new twostory deck, and there will be a show in Basin Park, all a part of the Eureka Springs BluesWeekend, formerly known as the Eureka Springs Blues Festival.
Fields is hoping they will be able to see blues singersongwriter Ruthie Foster, one of the headliners at the Blues Weekend.
“She’s out there doing what we’re doing, and I’m hoping that we can see her show, if we’re not playing at the same time.”
Plus there’s wrapping up the move to Fayetteville on the agenda. Fields has three daughters - an 11-year-old and 8-year-old twins - and they’re looking forward to the move to a big city.
“The twins have never learned to ride a bike, even though they have them, because they’ve always lived in the country where there isn’t much pavement to ride on,” she says. “So it looks like the move will enhance our lives, not necessarily just turn us into city folks.”The Brick Fields Band
9 p.m. Friday, The After
thought, 2721 Kavanaugh
Blvd., Little Rock
Admission: $7
(501) 663-1196
Weekend, Pages 37 on 05/24/2012