Chuck Mead plays country music with rock n’ roll swagger — and volume. In a recent appearance with his band, the Stalwarts, at Jammin’ Java, he treated the audience to a concentrated dose of rollicking, hardcore honkytonk, playing songs from his time with BR549, material from his solo career, and some beloved covers.

Mead hails from Lawrence, Kansas, which he called “the center of the universe.” (It may not be the center of the universe, but it is home to the University of Kansas, and also the residence of noted writer William S. Burroughs.) Though he’s long since moved to Nashville, his Kansas roots form a major part of his musical identity, especially on his album Free State Serenade — the title alludes to how Kansas was made a free state in the Missouri Compromise of 1850. At Jammin’ Java on August 8, Chuck played one of the songs from that album, “Knee Deep in the Wakarusa River.” Another song told the story of the murder of the Clutter family — made famous in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood — from the perspective of the killer.

Watch Chuck Mead perform “Knee Deep in the Wakarusa River” live on YouTube:

Chuck moved to Nashville in the ’90s when he was fronting B5549. They became known for playing at one of the city’s famous honky tonks, Robert’s Western World, and they also achieved success on the country charts, with their initial, self-titled album reaching No. 33, and producing three charting singles. In 1997, there were nominated for the Best New Duo or Group at the Academy of Country Music Awards, and, the previous year, they won for International Touring Act at the Country Music Association Awards. Mead opened his show Thursday night with one of those songs, “One More Saturday Night.” For “The Devil In Me,” the band brought in the Jordanaires, a gospel quartet who backed up Elvis. “They knocked it out in 15 minutes,” he said, “and spent the rest of the time telling Elvis stories. That’s why I moved to Nashville.” 

In addition his career as a solo artist, Mead has also served as the musical director/supervisor for Million Dollar Quartet, a Broadway musical that tells the story of the 1956 recording session at Sun Studio in Memphis that brought together Elvis Presley, Jonny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins. He also served as musical supervisor/director for the television miniseries Sun Records.

There’s a lot of humor in Mead’s songs,like “Not The Man For The Job,” Nothin’ But A Smile,” “Not the Man for the Job,” and “Daddy Worked The Pole.” “Daddy worked the pole,” the song goes, “so momma wouldn’t have to.” He joked, “Andrew Jackson wanted to hear this, and while I don’t agree with some of his politics…” before playing”Ain’t No Train to Memphis Anymore.” Later in the set, he wiped his faced with a towel and remarked, “I’m sweating like Mike Pence at a gay rally.”

True to Chuck’s roots playing in bars and honky tonks, there are always some party songs in his repertoire. He wrote “When I Come Home,” he said, after one of those long nights out playing. He always includes several covers, like “There Stands the Glass,” “Settin’ the Woods on Fire,” and “Cherokee Boogie,” which closed the set. Chuck shared that he’s working on new material, and he played a song he cowrote with Marty Stuart (Chris Scruggs, Marty’s bassist in the Fabulous Superlatives, was a member of BR549 for a time). Other songs included “When The Sun Goes Down,” “The Shape I’m In In,” “Sunday Evening,” and “Little Ramona (Gone Hillbilly Nuts).” His bass player sang  Elvis’s “Now or Never.” For his encore, he did “Shake” and “That’s Why They Look Better At Night.”

Chuck Mead is always a lot of fun. His songs rock loud and groove, and he’s one of the funnier people out there in the world of music. This concert was a good time, as it always is with Chuck.