Ambrose | Interview | “Southern Hard Boogie Rock”

Ambrose recorded and self-released a fantastic boogie hard rock album in 1978.

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The band was formed in Cookeville, Tennessee and performed in the mid-south during the 1970’s. They were a popular local act in their hometown and opened for many bigger acts during tours. Original members of Ambrose were Billy Dyer, Tommy Smith, Nathan Smith and Pat Vick. Dan Ealey was their personal manager.

What’s Cookeville like and what can you say about growing up in this town?

Billy Dyer: Cookeville was a small town in the 60s. Simple times. I played outside, listened to music and I would go to the movies with my friends. I loved music and started playing guitar at the age of five. I would take my guitar with me to school and play for my friends and they would sing along with the songs I would play.

How did you first get exposed to rock and roll music? What were some of the records you first brought home?

Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson are the first records my mother bought me but when The Beatles came along on the Ed Sullivan show I said this is what I want to do. Play rock and roll music. I was exposed to rock and roll music through my small AM / FM radio that I would carry around outside listening to WLS in Chicago.

What were some of the bands you were part of and what can you tell me about them?

My first band was called The Blue Angels in the 5th and 6th grade. We did win first first place for the 4 H Battle of the bands. We played the Beatles and the Monkees and an original song we wrote. Other bands I played in were Breakwater, Gold Dust, J Gardner Styll before Ambrose formed.

Did any of the bands you were part of release a record or a single?

Before Ambrose most of the bands I played with did cover songs by Grand Funk Railroad, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and all the other bands famous at that time. None of the other bands before Ambrose I played with did not release any records or singles.

Can you elaborate on the formation of Ambrose? How did you guys know each other and how did you decide to choose the name “Ambrose”?

I played with Tommy Smith and Nathan Smith in a band called Gold Dust and that is where I connected with them. I met Pat and Vick in high school and we became close friends. When the Gold Dust band broke up. I formed the band Ambrose. A girlfriend of one of the band members came up with the name Ambrose and we liked that name.

Lynyrd Skynyrd must have been huge in your life…

Yes. I became a fan when I heard the song ‘Free Bird’ in high school and then Lynyrd Skynyrd came to my hometown in 1974 and played at our college in Cookeville, Tennessee. I had front row seats. When the concert was over I went backstage to meet the band. I also got to look at their equipment on stage. The security man was a friend of mine and he let me go backstage. I became a huge fan that night. I also became friends with Ed King around ten years ago. Super nice guy. Ronnie Van Zant was standing in front of the stage talking to three girls when the concert was over.

Tell us about the early days of Ambrose. What kind of material did you play and when did you start working on your own songs?

We started out writing songs and playing rock and roll cover songs. We played ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, Queen, The Charlie Daniels Band and all the heavy great rock and roll songs of that period in the 70s.

What were some of the bands you played with?

Ambrose played with Hydra, The Charlie Daniels Band, Sugarloaf, The Drifters, Dave Loggins, Barefoot Jerry.

We also jammed with The Marshall Tucker Band. I got to meet Paul McCartney and Wings in 1974. We also jammed with Ted Nugent’s guitar player in Atlanta. Just a few highlights.

Are there any local bands that stood out and you would like to mention?

There were a lot of great local bands in the 70s in Cookeville. South Wind, Pepper Lake, Straw Hat Blues Band and many more bands. A lot of great local talent.

Did you get in any trouble for your long hair back then?

Yes [Laughs]. When I was in junior high school the principal would always ask me when are you going to get a haircut. I would always avoid him. Long hair in Cookeville was not popular in the 70s but playing in my band helped having long hair make things a little better.

I asked that because the title of your album is ‘Bust Your Nose’.

I came up with the title song ‘Bust Your Nose’ from a guitar player friend that played in anther band and when he would come to see Ambrose play live Mike would yell out, “bust my nose with some rock and roll”, because we played so loud using Marshall stock 100 watt amps.

The album was self-released. How many copies did you press?

We pressed a limited amount of LPs and 8 track tapes. 1000 copies of each and we also recorded 2 singles. The ‘Bust Your Nose’ LP is selling for $200 each or more around the world. Google Ambrose ‘Bust Your Nose’ and the LPs are in Germany, Russia, England and all over the world.

“Ambrose played all our original songs on the road and we could play the songs backwards if needed”

What can you tell us about the recording process? Who was the producer and how many days did you spend in the studio?

We booked a recording studio in Nashville called Laurel Tree studios. The producer was Don Cusic. Don Cusic is an American author, songwriter and US popular music book writer. The engineer was Paul Richmond. He worked with Led Zeppelin and Isaac Hayes. Ambrose spent a week in the studio.

Ambrose played all our original songs on the road and we could play the songs backwards if needed. We over dubbed some of the guitars on a few songs and vocals. Paul said if you can play the song, he can record them and we said, that’s no problem. We got this.

What was the usual songwriting process? Did you get together and jam until something was written or did you bring songs with you and present them to other members.

Each member of the band wrote songs. We would bring in ideas of the songs and work them out with the band. We would bring in original songs and work the parts up. We were going with the style of music of heavy southern rock.

What are some of the strongest memories from recording it?

​We recorded the ‘Bust Your Nose’ album in Nashville at Laurel Tree recording studio on a 24 track analog machine. Ambrose worked up the songs in our practice garage. We played the songs on the road and we had them tight​. ​​​The recording process was very easy. We did know the songs so well from playing the songs live. We just plugged in and recorded the songs. We did double track some of the vocals and some of the leads.​ ​

I wrote the song ‘Bust Your Nose’. I got the idea from a fellow musician friend who would come and watch Ambrose play. He would always scream out “bust my nose”. We played loud rock and roll hard driving music. I wanted to delay the singing in the studio but there was no delay back in the day at this studio. I hooked up my Echoplex delay and ran the vocals through it and the delay worked out great. ​​Pat Vick played the side guitar and he is one of the best slide players I have heard.​

‘​Getting Right’ was written by Tommy Smith, our bass player and lead singer.​ ​This song is about playing in a rock and roll band and living the rock and roll lifestyle. We played double lead in the studio and Pat and I used our 100 watt Marshall amps with 4 x12 cabinets​.​​

​’Breakout’ was written by Tommy. A hard driving rock song about playing rock and roll and playing out on the road. Pat and I took turns in the middle of the song in the studio playing lead guitar.​ ​

‘Rock and Roll Lady’ was written by Pat Vick slide, lead guitar and vocals. Pat is the lead vocal on this song. This song is about a girl that would come and see us live and love to hear us play. She was a rock and roll lady. In the studio we played double leads at the end of the song and double track this chorus vocals​.​​

​’Angel In Disguise’ was written by me, Nathan Smith and Pat Vick. Pat is singing the lead vocals. We came together and wrote this song. It’s about a girl who followed the band around. We came up with some ideas and put this song together. In the studio we double track some of the vocals on the chorus and give the song a Skynyrd touch on the rhythm guitar​.

​’Please Miss Squeeze’ was written by Pat Vick. Tommy Smith lead vocals. This song was written as a play on ‘Please Please Me’ by the Beatles​. ​

‘Bluesy Day’, I wrote this song. Pat Vick plays slide guitar on this song and we do a double lead at the very end of the song. The song is about being on the road and playing rock and roll.​

‘​Annabella’ was written by Nathan Smith, our drummer. The song is about a passed out girlfriend.​ ​In the studio we double track the leads and vocals. I also used an acoustic guitar in the middle to slow down. This song was like our ‘Freebird’. Ambrose used 100 watt Marshalls in the studio. Our bass player ran directly into the mixing board. Nathan, our drummer, used his own drums in the studio. We did some double tracking of the guitars and vocals.

I still have the original huge reel to reel 24 track of the Ambrose ‘Bust Your Nose’ LP. Ambrose toured the south east and we played all the southern states.​ ​We were a touring band and continued to write songs. Ambrose also played Myrtle beach one summer at the club called the Keg on the beach. We played up stairs rock and roll and the group Alabaman played up stairs country music. We got to meet Molly Hatchet out on the road. We were playing at a college party and down the street Molly Hatchet was playing a party. We would take breaks and go watch them play and they would come and watch us play on their breaks. Ambrose would tour 5 or 6 weeks at a time and come home for a week break when we were​​ not playing.

There were also two singles released. What can you say about that? Were they meant for radio play?

Yes we released two singles and they were played on local radio and played in other states that Ambrose was playing in. The LP ‘Bust Your Nose’ is playing all over the world in certain underground radio stations. The first single was released on the ‘Bust Your Nose’ LP. The second single was about a police officer friend and our manager at that time wrote this song called ‘Badge 77’ by Dan Ealey and the second song on the single is called ‘I Love To Rock’. I wrote this song about the experience of playing live with a rock and roll band.

Tell us about the promotion of the album and what are some recollections from playing with other bands?

Our manager Dan Ealey and Ambrose promoted the LP and we sold them on tour. The LP ‘Bust Your Nose’ stayed number 1 in Cookeville for a month or so. Ambrose was a special guest for The Doobie Brothers. Super nice guys. We had a great time jamming with The Marshall Tucker Band in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Charlie Daniels was also a great person and nice guy.

“We were like brothers”

The energy between you was incredible!

The Ambrose members had a magic about the band that came together every time we played live or practice. There was something there I can’t explain. We were also very close friends. We were like brothers. We are still friends today.

What happened next?

Ambrose toured the south east and promoted our LP ‘Bust Your Nose’. We came close to getting a record label with Capricorn Records but the label closed before we could get signed.

What currently occupies your life?

I played in a band for the last 20 years called Merseyside and we recorded a CD called ‘Absent Without Leave’. I work part time. I played with a local band live last year at some outdoor concerts because their guitar player took some time off. I also play with an orchestra at the church I attend every Sunday.

Is there any unreleased material by Ambrose?

Yes. Ambrose worked on a second LP before the band broke up. I believe there are four songs never released.

How did you get so good at guitar?

I started out playing guitar at the age of five. I just loved music at a young age and I still do today. There were no guitar teachers in this area when I was a kid. I play by ear and I play my guitar every day. When I first started playing guitar I would put a record on the turntable and work up all the lead parts and chords by ear. I still play my guitar every day.

Looking back, what was the highlight of your time in the band? Which songs are you most proud of? Where and when was your most memorable gig?

My highlight was meeting Paul McCartney and Wings. Playing with Charlie Daniels, being a guest with the Doobie Brothers. Ambrose was the first band to play the Hopper Eblen Center in Cookeville with Barefoot Jerry. I am proud of the ‘Bust Your Nose’ LP. The music lives on today and we still have fans around the world.

Thank you for taking your time. Last word is yours.

Thank you for letting me do the interview about Ambrose. I am glad people are still interested in the band today and buying our LPs. I will keep on playing my guitar as long as my hand keeps moving. I still have the love for music and it makes people happy. I will rock on.

Klemen Breznikar

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Headline photo: Ambrose photographed outside at Billy Dyer’s old home.

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