Charlie Overbey – In Good Company
Charlie Overbey may be a lifelong Californian now residing in New Mexico but his songs are forever steeped in the timeless traditions of the American South.
He has spent many years touring the world & supporting acts ranging from David Allan Coe to Blackberry Smoke to Motorhead to Foo Fighters. Overbey once again has amassed a collection of introspective original songs that transcend the endless rock & roll party, taking yet another honest look at some of life’s most gritty moments. The result is Charlie Overbey’s new LP In Good Company.
Coined as ” The Punk Rock Spy In The House Of Honky Tonk” and hailed by Rolling Stone as an “ LA Cult Figure” Charlie’s new album “ In Good Company” is a triumphant collection of road-hardened alt-country tunes born of Overbey’s travels successes and failures.
In Good Company is a collection of Overbey’s roots blending Rock & Roll with Country and is pure Americana. In Good Company is produced by Overbey and mixed by Ted Hutt featuring an all-star cast with guest appearances by Marcus King & Jaime Wyatt, Nils Lofgren, Charlie Starr, Rami Jaffee, Jimmy Vivino, Duane Betts, Corey McCormick, Eddie Spaghetti, Taime Downe, Chris Masterson, Stuart Mathis, Danny B Harvey, Courtney Santana, Jon Graboff, Sarah Gayle Meech and more!
Reflecting on the album recording process Overbey says “ I wanted to release an album of material that meant a lot to me spiritually and emotionally using some old and some new unreleased material. I wanted to take a stab at producing it myself and picking just the right friends & players to perform on each song which I think worked out perfectly! I couldn’t stray too far from the genius of Friend and Producer Ted Hutt though who still mixed the album”.
Self-aware and introspective without relying on played-out tropes of love and loss, Overbey’s songwriting remains genuine.
The first single “ Champagne Cocaine Cadillacs & Cash” is a story of true love mixed with debauchery gone wrong and features Marcus King on Guitar, B-3 Organ, and Vocals along with the sultry vocals of Jaime Wyatt.
The second of the first four singles is “ Life Of Rock & Roll”. A tribute to musical friends and heroes gone too soon that features Duane Betts on guitar, Courtney Santana, Taime Downe, Eddie Spaghetti, and more on vocals.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Overbey was exposed to country music early and often. It wasn’t something he sought out on his own—his father owned a 1947 Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar, and almost every time it was played, out spilled a Johnny Cash song. Overbey recalls these times fondly and admits they shaped his musical growth, though it took years of punk-rock rebellion before he’d come to appreciate the genre’s influence on him. “When you’re raised, and it’s all around you,” he says, “it’s the last thing you want to be a part of.”
Overbey’s first success in the music industry came when his cowpunk outfit Custom Made Scare landed a deal with Side One Dummy Records in 1998. But before the band’s debut album dropped, Overbey had been on the run from the law for years finally turning himself in and spending a year in prison. The very same week he was released, the band hit the road immediately and toured heavily into the new millennium alongside seminal punk acts such as Suicidal Tendencies, Social Distortion, Agent Orange, Zeke, and REO Speedealer.
A side project of Overbey’s called Charlie & The Valentine Killers also toured in the late 2000s with David Allan Coe and Lemmy’s side outfit The Headcat. “It was still days of angst,” Overbey says, but the country-leaning project’s sound served as an important precursor to his current solo work.
Looking at the release of In Good Company, Overbey fresh off of his third Sirius XM Outlaw Country Cruise is gearing up for a plethora of touring and has dates coming up with Blackberry Smoke, Marcus King and some Festival plays already on the books.
Overbey isn’t one for idle hands—when he isn’t playing or writing, Charlie has become a well-known name in the fashion world with his one-of-a-kind, hand-shaped Lone Hawk Hats, for devotees in the Americana scene, including Blackberry Smoke, Marcus King, Lainey Wilson, Beyonce, Foo Fighters, Sheryl Crow, and the lead Cast of the hit television series “1883″. Lone Hawk Hats were even the focus point in a Stella McCartney campaign.
It’s a craft Overbey taught himself by trial and error, ultimately carrying with it the same authenticity and attention to detail you’ll find in his songwriting. They are available at several high-end locations, including his and his lady’s brick-and-mortar shop Honeywood Vintage / Lone Hawk Hats on ultra hip York Blvd in Highland Park, Los Angeles, and shops where they now reside in New Mexico living the off-grid ranch life.
As the album title suggests, In Good Company is an all-star cast.
It is the work of a road-savvy rock & roll veteran who sees the world as it is, fully grasping the jagged pain and joys of life. Overbey’s songs are shot through with enough hard-fought resilience, determination, and optimism to remind listeners the only way out is forward, and that the wild ride of life is a mysterious and beautiful gift.
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