The Parks
Johnny and Clint Park are father and son, united in their passion for Southern-rock barnburners and thoughtful country ballads, determined in their willingness to challenge the status quo.
Johnny had an interest in music early on -- immersing himself in the music of the Outlaw movement. By his teens, Johnny hit the circuit with his own hard-edged music. For the next 10 years, Johnny was earning a living playing music "there was a club on every corner in Texas with live music," he says.
In 1988, Johnny and his wife Sondra moved the family to Music City without a single contact. He quickly discovered that clubs could not sustain the family, and he began writing songs in earnest. Within five years of his arrival, he signed with Atlantic Records as one-half of the duo Archer Park. They landed a pair of singles on the Billboard charts, released one album produced by Randy Scruggs.
The duo did not last and Johnny was at a crossroads in his career. "I actually went out and got a day job and did some physical, manual labor," he laughs, "and went, 'I don't like this at all. I need to go back to playing guitar and writing music.'
At this time Clint was developing his own music style. Clint started playing drums in a band he formed with his best friend that covered Metallica and other hard-rock acts. He moved on to drums in a high-school ensemble that played jazz songs and backed theatrical music productions. "Sondra and I both just looked at each other when Clint started singing," Johnny recalls. "I think that was the first time we realized our boy had some real musical talents."
Eventually, Clint picked up acoustic guitar and formed another duo with a friend in the area. Johnny occasionally sat in with them, but father and son soon decided their musical connection-grounded in a deep-rooted blend of country and Southern rock-was stronger than the one Clint had with his original musical partner.
"We'd always played together, you know, pickin' out some songs at home but never in front of an audience like that," Clint says. "I think we were both surprised by how the crowds reacted to what we were doing onstage."
Once they had enough original material together, manager John Dorris brought their music to the attention of Lyric Street Records Senior Vice President A&R Doug Howard, who trekked out to Gallatin to catch the band. In short order, the duo had a recording deal and a chance to make a full album.
The Parks debut album has an authentic bar feel and blunt sincerity, a record that celebrates its musical ancestry but feels every bit a 21st-century interpretation of Southern, working-class life. The grooves are confident and energetic, and the twin-guitar textures of Johnny Park and Sonny Deaton bring a crisp bravado to the commanding heartland sound.
That sound reflects not just two men, but two generations. The genre is bound to remain a staple of American music for years to come, and The Parks intend to do the same.
"Once music gets in your blood, you'll do it until the day you die," Johnny concludes. "You look at a lot of these old guys that are out there-Merle Haggard and a few others-and you wonder, 'Don't they have enough money to retire? Why are they still doing it?' Because they love it. That's all they know. I guess as long as the fans will keep coming to see them, they'll keep doing it. And so will we."
