Formed in Austin, TX, by Jim Brighton and Butch Zito, Stackabones was a fixture on the Austin music scene in the mid-’80s. The band found its way into Deadhead circles when its first single was played between sets at a Grateful Dead show. Shortly thereafter, the band went into the studio with pedal steel hero and former New Rider Bobby Black to record their first album for Relix Records. Fast forward two decades later and Stackabones is still going strong.
The name Stackabones comes from Woody Guthrie’s nickname for his young daughter Cathy Ann, who was tragically caught in a fire at the age of five. That night, Woody stayed with Cathy Ann singing songs to her, until she died in the morning. He called her his little Stackabones. Jimmie and Butch’s love for Woody’s songs, teachings, and especially his ability and desire to sing and dance in the face of death, is one of the reasons they have dedicated their music and life work to Stackabones.
The band’s latest release, “The Wax Still Drips” released in 2011 on the Yellow Sound Label, is already getting radio airplay and attention from both coasts. Featuring George Marsh (David Grisman Quintet) on drums and Howard Wales (Jerry Garcia) on keyboards, “The Wax Still Drips” shows that Stackabones continues to forge their place in the annals of the jam band genre.