In the Neighborhood

with Scott Baston of Moonshine Still...

Written by: G.Cole

Brandyhouse, January 3, 2004
photos by: jamgrrl.com

Jamgrrl recently learned by way of good friend, Chad Denney, that a very cool
cat resides right in her neck of the woods.   In the shadow of national bird
sanctuary and hiking trail kingdom, Kennesaw Mountain, lives Jamgrrl.  (Did you
know it's the law to own a gun in Kennesaw if you own a home?  Not much
breaking and entering over here.)  Next door to this safe haven and one of
Atlanta's best kept secrets for solitude and natural beauty lives Scott Baston,
Guitarist/Lead Vocalist with Moonshine Still.  Scott's a resident of Woodstock,
Georgia.  How cool is that?  He lives in a town with the same name as the
greatest festival of love, peace, and good music ever, Woodstock, and the same
name as a beloved Snoopy character...who happens to be a bird!  

Well, seeing how things are so "neighborly" and all,  I felt like starting this interview off with
some family-oriented questioning...  

JG:  Scott, you're a Georgia boy... Where exactly were you born & raised?

SB:  Macon, GA...near Cordele.

JG:  Do you have any brother or sisters?

SB:  Yeah.  I actually have a large family – three stepbrothers and one half sister. One of my
brothers is Bryan Gordon but he’s also my best friend.  And my half-sis, well we talk on a
weekly basis.  She’s getting ready to graduate high school...so she asks me a lot of questions...
life stuff.

JG:  Did you attend or graduate college?

SB:  The Fall of ’94, I attended Middle Georgia College.  I didn’t graduate & I ended up going to
4 different colleges, including the University of Georgia.  <smile> I didn’t apply myself, but I
also learned college wasn’t for me.  It’s not for everyone.

JG:  yeah...I agree.  Although I have a masters degree at something.  It’s definitely not what I’m
doing in my life now.  So, how about pets?  Did you have any pets growing up?

SB:  All the time!  Cows, chickens, pigs, dogs – lots of dogs, cats...whatever came crawling out
of the woods into the yard! <big smile>

JG:  What do you think about the Atlanta music scene?

SB:  I think Atlanta is similar to San Francisco with diversity. There is so much growth taking
place.  In some ways it’s becoming a melting pot.  Georgia in general is the roots of basic
music.  You’ve got blues, jazz...born here.  And Macon is one of the biggest - with the most
history in music. Used to be if you wanted to make it in this genre, you had to come out of
Macon.  

JG:  For fun – Are you personal friends with Ralph Roddenbery?

SB:  Maybe in my martini dreams! <chuckle>

JG:  Ok ok...here’s one...Are you personal friends with Jeff Dunham?

SB:  Yes!  Incredible guy.  Jeff has done more for the music scene than any other human being
– especially in our genre.  He’s helped mold the scene.

JG:  How do you describe the jam scene?

SB:  Well... You find every band that doesn’t fit Clear Channel being shoved into it.

JG:  What do you think of Galactic playing 99X and no Z93 stage at Music Midtown?

SB:  I noticed there wasn't a Z93 stage & it disappointed me.  It disappointed me that no
representation for this genre is there.  In fact I think it’s kinda an insult to Dunham.

JG:  What if Dunham organized a separate, alternative festival that occurred the same
weekend as Music Midtown – would you want to be a part of that?

SB:  If Dunham had his own festival I’d be more than happy to be a part of it.  But to be frank,
if the folks at Music Midtown called us up and wanted us to play, we would play Music Midtown
too.  I gotta give props to Clear Channel.  Bands like Robert Randolph & Family, Derek Trucks
Band, Government Mule...even these bands have their connections – have gone to Clear
Channel but don’t sell their soul.

JG:  Do you see it as a way to build an alternative fan base – maybe pull fans you wouldn’t
otherwise have access to...something like that?

SB:  I think it does and it’s a sticky situation.  There’s a lot of politics involved.  You could start
burning bridges.  As for Z93 stage, if someone came up to me and talked about it, I’d talk
about the lack of representation.

JG:  Real quick...one last question...Do you think Atlanta has fans that care about the music?  

SB:  Atlanta is a very political scene when it comes to music.  All about who you know than
what your music is about.  It should be about listening to the message not hype surrounding
the band.  Yes, there are people here that care about the message.  And these are the same
people that tune in Dunham’s Sunday night show and come out to Dunhams in the Daytime
event at Smith’s on Saturdays.  These people don’t have an interest in the mainstream – they
attend festivals – burn discs – listen to the message.

--------------------END-----------------------------

I asked Jill, Scott's wife, how she
handled a relationship with a
music man that's on the road so
much. Her reply...

"I'm an artist too.  I think it's good
Scott has his thing.  It takes him
away but I have my time.  And, when
you have independent pursuits, it
makes you happy." -Jill Baston,
3/15/2004