By Jeremy Pinnell & Kevin Broughton
The UFC’s “International Fight Week” is upon us, which means hard-hitting analysis from your rough-and-tumble troubadour and humble scribe. Oh, and there’s talk of potential musical collaborations, too. Let’s dive in.
Kevin: Early July means International Fight Week in Vegas, and the UFC has put together a good -- maybe not great, but really solid -- card for its 290th pay per view. Alex Volkanovski -- whom I think is the toughest fighter in MMA -- will defend his belt for the fifth time against Yair Rodriguez. Featherweight champ Brandon Moreno seems to fight about every two months, and he's a slight favorite over Alex Pantoja for the flyweight belt.
The one that has me really intrigued is the middleweight scrap between former champ Robert "Bobby Knuckles" Whitaker and Driscus du Plessis. Whitaker is a heavy favorite; I think there's a big chance for an upset. Bo Nickal, the freakish former Penn State wrestler...well, the UFC is certainly pacing him along in the early stages of his career; he's a -2,400 favorite over...who knows, it doesn't matter.
Finally, Ruthless Robbie Lawler will retire after his fight with Niko Price -- and they put Robbie on the prelim card.
So, that's a lot to choose from. What stands out and piques your interest on this card?
Jeremy: Anytime I can see Volk fight it’s entertaining. He’s a motherfucker. Might be one of my favorites right now. I feel like he’s fighting on a whole other level than anyone else right now. The way he pieced Holloway up was so impressive. He went the distance with Islam; he’s the man.
Yair is cool and expressive and I guess he’s on a little run, so we’ll see. And you’re right: The card isn’t great. They gave Robbie to the prelims, and he probably needed to retire sooner. But as an artist sometimes we can’t or won’t see it. It’s not my call but he’s a legend. Who’s Bo Nickal?
Kevin: Such a hater. International Fight Week also means a new class of fighters inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. This year's honorees are: Former middleweight champ (and a top 5 in the GOAT conversation) Anderson Silva; Jose Aldo; Jens Pulver (the first 155 champ in the UFC); and Cowboy Cerrone who...well, he's the only UFC fighter to appear on Justified.
Thoughts on this class?
Kevin: Sheesh. You’d think a Kentucky boy would like Justified, one of the best TV shows of the last decade. I guess Yellowstone is more your speed, but don’t get me started. Anyway, it may be because I just finished the Showtime miniseries George and Tammy (it's extremely well done, BTW), but I've been thinking about duets of late. Have you ever recorded a duet with a lady, and is it something you might like to do?
Jeremy: I would never turn down a duet, but I also don’t care if I ever do one so…
I’ve never seen the George and Tammy thing, but it looks cool and my buddy Logan Ledger appears on an episode or two, from what I understand. He’s an amazing artist in his own right.
Kevin: Oh, wow, yeah. He played Georgie Riddle, one of the original Jones Boys. Very cool.
I know you didn't ask my opinion -- hey, it's never stopped me -- but might I humbly suggest your fellow Kentuckian Kelsey Waldon? Prine (praise be upon him) was impressed enough to sign her to his label, and I know for a fact she gives a good interview. What more do you need, and how do we make this (brilliant) idea happen?
Jeremy: Kelsey is good people and she has her own thing, and no one sounds like her. She’s killer.
Kevin: A tad non-committal, but let’s move on.
As long as I'm brainstorming and dispensing career advice, hear me out on this one. The completely sane Leroy Virgil -- who digs your stuff -- has a steel player (Chuck "Utah" Bradley) who's also into jiu-jistu. I sent Leroy our last Mixed Music Action column, he's now convinced that Hellbound Glory needs to do a mini-tour with Jeremy Pinnell. "At least," he said, "we won't have to pay for security." Whaddya think, Cuz? I say it makes perfect sense.
Jeremy: Well, I’m a huge Hellbound Glory fan, first of all. I think “Dial 911” might be one of my favorite country songs of all time. It’s perfect. I would never turn that tour down.
Kevin: Yeah, that’s probably my favorite cut from the Pure Scum album. Leroy’s voice is damn near perfect.
As we close this one out, you been listening to any cool music lately? Tell me something good.
Jeremy: Cool music? Hmm. Croy and the Boys just released a killer single called “I Get By,” and it’s my new favorite. So, I’ve been going back through their catalog and have been enjoying that. I’ve also been listening to a podcast called “Breaking Points” that gets me current and through the day. So, that’s my life.
Kevin: Okay, buddy. Good talk. I know you’re on the road later this month (ahem, still no Atlanta dates), so stay safe out there. Talk soon.
By Kevin Broughton
Well, this is certainly a new sound – and look – from FTM’s favorite scum-country progenitor, Leroy Virgil of Hellbound Glory. Frankly, folks, it’s not of this world. Not of this continent, anyway.
Virgil and ever-faithful steel player Chuck “Utah” Bradley crossed the Atlantic for an audio and video collaboration with the upstart Noise Music Group. The results are something to behold.
Seriously, my first thought on seeing the video was the opening phrase from my favorite HbG song, “Vandalism Spree:” You’re looking pretty as a picture…
We caught up with Neon Leon for our shortest – and sanest – conversation ever, about crossing the pond, making new friends, and what’s up next.
You described this song as “a new style for Hellbound Glory,” and that’s certainly the case, especially when one sees the video. You traveled to England for some sessions. First question, with whom, and how did this come about?
The song was produced and engineered by George Shilling and Paul Gorry. On one of their trips to America, they caught a show with Shooter and me at the Whiskey-a-Go Go in Hollywood back in about 2017. We corresponded via email from time to time, and I had told them I might like to come over there and record if they knew anybody in the business. It just so happened that they were getting ready to start their own label. So they invited me out, and we said “Fuck it,” and got on the plane and went over.
We’re headed back over there in July to record some more.
The production is really impressive. These Brits must be quite taken with you, the way you cleaned up for the video, huh? You look like you’d showered and everything.
(Laughs) Yeah, they do a lot of work with the fashion industry, too, so they know how to make people look good.
Oh, nice!
I didn’t clean up that much; just combed my fucking hair. They know how to get the right angles, I guess.
It seems frivolous on its face to ask about the inspiration for a song about drinking, but why don’t you take a stab at it? Where did “The Undertow” come from?
You know, it’s one of those songs you hear about that takes 20 minutes to write, dude. I had the melody in my head for a couple of months, just messing around with it. I just woke one morning with a hangover out in Reno, and just wrote. And there it was.
What key is it in by the way? I was trying to look at your hands in the video…you weren’t using a capo, were you?
No capo; it’s in the key of A, but it’s built around the F sharp minor chord, going back and forth with A and D.
How long since you’ve stepped out of your Shooter Jennings comfort zone?
Oh, wow. You know, I haven’t worked with anybody but Shooter…well, he’s produced all our albums since 2017. I do stuff on my own here and there that I produce on my own, but Shooter was the first real producer I worked with. For this session, Paul had the whole song mapped out in his head before I got there. All the arrangements he had written out on the computer.
He told everybody what to play, and all I did was sing…and I had the guitar solo. That was my part.
You said you’re heading back to England next month. Will you tour any while you’re there?
Yeah, I have a couple of festival dates and some club dates lined up; they really want to make something happen over there, along with their other band The Black Skies (seen in the video.) They hope to bring The Black Skies over to America at some point as well. But we’ve got a couple weeks’ worth of gigs.
Did you say something about a blues album in your future, or did I dream that?
Yeah, Shooter and I are looking to get back into the studio in L.A. toward the end of the summer, either August or September, and try our hand at a blues record; we want to see what we might accomplish in that genre. Which is cool, because blues and country are cousins. I’d like to try something more in that direction.
Cool. You got any songs?
Yeah, I’ve got a handful of songs written for that one, along with some classic covers from the 1920s and 30s.
Well, this new cut is a keeper, dude.
Thanks, buddy. Talk soon.
***
Bonus media:
Those high-brow, artsy Brits made a mini-documentary of HbG’s time in England. Watch it at your leisure here:
Someday someone will make another good Thanksgiving movie, right?
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By Kevin Broughton
The report of my death was an exaggeration.
-- Samuel Clemens, May 31, 1897, London
We are mere journalists. We acted in good faith, relying on the reportage of one of the finest country music blogs, which sounded the alarm: Hellbound Glory is doomed yet again. Neon Leon is killing off this..whatever-it-is thing, and once more on Halloween. Just six years after he’d done it the first time.
The notion seemed so unfair. Hellbound Glory had just put out two stellar albums, with the help of Shooter Jennings’s picture-perfect production. Could this be happening again? We’ve chatted up the enigmatic Leroy Virgil twice, here and here, so surely we can clear this up. Right?
Yeah, sure.
The suspect was last seen in Aberdeen, Wash., bound for Reno, Nev. Contact this site’s publisher with any clues.
Well, um, I didn’t really say we were snuffing out the band name; it’s more of a ritualistic killing of the Hellbound Glory myth. (Laughs)
…okay.
Whatever “Hellbound Glory” is.
So, “whatever it is” and “soon-to-be was” will be no more?
Well…I don’t know. We killed it off once, and it didn’t go anywhere. I don’t even know, man. I don’t have a plan, and I don’t even know what’s going to happen.
Um, okay. Let’s flesh this out with a few questions…
I’m making it up as I go along.
Fancy that.
Last time around, you even dumped your assumed name, Leroy, for your given one, Leon. At least for a little while. In fact, what should I be calling you right now? Do I have to change your contact info in my phone?
(Laughs, hard) Well, I don’t know what your contact info says.
It says, “Leroy Virgil.”
Yeah, well, I’ve always liked “Leroy.” I picked that name. It’s a good one. I like “Virgil.” That was a name that was picked for me. And…my last name is “Bowers.”
I know. I remember all the sh*t you’ve said to me. I’ve recorded all of it, then written it down.
For both Pinball and Pure Scum, “Hellbound Glory” was essentially you, a steel player sometimes named Rico, and Shooter’s band. Was that configuration just not getting it done, or is it just something about the name?
Well, you know, Rico had to go; he had a baby, and…
Yeah, he “knocked some chick up,” as you said last time…
…yeah, he had to go take care of that, and I’m not sure where he is right now. I did give him a van to live in. The Hellbound Glory van, in fact. I hope he’s doing okay; I haven’t heard from that dude in a long, long time. Last time I saw him, he was in Reno, trying to get out near Salt Lake City.
Okay, but I don’t understand what it is you’re putting to death this time. Is it the “Hellbound Glory” name? Are you not gonna play with Shooter’s band anymore?
Oh, no! I’m getting ready to make a record with Shooter’s band, just as soon as I can get in the studio. It’s the Hellbound Glory myth, or the Hellbound Glory spirit…whatever it is, we’re gonna kill it off on Halloween. And it’ll be back. Hellbound Glory will outlive all of them…All the big names in country music you hear about now, Hellbound Glory will be around long after they’re gone.
Um, okay. I’m trying to stick to my script here, which is always a bitch when I’m talking to you…
But we’re having fun, right?
Oh, absolutely. Play a song for me.
Okay. I’ve been writing songs every day!
[Actually plays song.]
That’s pretty good. Your songwriting and vocal chops are right up there with your status as an agent of chaos and confusion. Care to comment?
Well, thank you very much. I put a lot of work into the last album, trying to get the vocals just right. I wasn’t born with the natural gift of a great voice, so I’ve really tried to work on it as much as I could…uh…yeah. I’m very proud of it. Thank you for saying that.
But you do like to sow chaos and confusion? You’ve said as much before when we’ve talked.
I just like to have fun. Always just smiling, and always having a good time.
Uh-huh. So, when you say you’re going into the studio with Shooter’s band to make another record…can you just sorta tease out for us what the name will be on the album? Not the title of the album, but the name of the artist who’s making the record?
(giggles) Hellbound Glory.
[Again, feeling like he’s been punk’d.] But you’re killing it off!
It’ll be called “The Immortal Hellbound Glory.”
[Is quite sure of it, now.] Oooohhhh. Okay.
Are you doing a ceremony again, with a coffin and sh*t, like last time?
I don’t think…I don’t know. I might head up to Olympia (Wash.) Some friends up there are building a coffin. We might set it on fire, with a puppet in it. I haven’t decided yet; I don’t know.
Kind of a spontaneous thing, I guess.
So looking ahead to a 2021 we hope will be better than the current year, what’s next for Leroy Virgil/Leon V. Bowers/Neon Romilar?
Well, I think I want to get a podcast going. A Hellbound Glory podcast.
Yeah?
Yeah. Seems like a good medium to get into.
All the cool kids are doing it.
Yeah, you know. Talk about the band; talk about Hellbound Glory. The Hellbound Glory Podcast.
I’d listen. Of course, it might puzzle some people, what with the band name/myth getting snuffed Saturday night…
You know, I don’t mean to be confusing or conceited. It’s all in good fun.
[Laughs]
But I will tell you a story. Have I ever told you about where the name “Hellbound Glory” came from?
I’m quite sure you haven’t.
About two months before I moved to Reno, I had a dream. It was about a hell-bound train, and the train was called “Hellbound Glory.” Isn’t that great?
The story’s a little shorter than I anticipated, but I can absolutely see a big, coal-huffing train with the name “Hellbound Glory” painted across the engine, spewing black smoke.
It’s great, right?
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Damn right, it’s great, Leon. Sorry to hear about your soon-to-be-dead band. We only mentioned it eleventeen thousand times. Hellbound Glory is Dead. Long Live Hellbound Glory.
