Page Brothers set to take ‘another step’ at Honey Jam
Staff Photo: Carlton Fletcher
By Carlton Fletcher
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ADEL — The Page brothers — the actual brothers themselves, singer Dakota and guitarist Travis — are music fanatics. When they’re not playing music, which isn’t often, they’re listening to it.
That love for music has turned what might have been just another gig for the talented brothers — whose Southern rock/country/blues/Americana musical sound is augmented by bassist John Graham and drummers Paulie D and Steve Satterwhite (more on the dual drummers later) — into “another step” up the musical evolutionary ladder for the Page Brothers Band.
“When we have the opportunity to play shows with other artists we respect — to maybe meet and talk with them and to see them play — we consider that another step forward for us,” Travis Page, whose blistering guitar licks have attracted critical praise, said this week as the Page Brothers Band prepared for the Oct. 9 Honey Jam 2022 at Chehaw Park in Albany. “This show is one of those steps.
“We got turned on to Handsome Jack some on the radio but especially when this show was announced. Now, Cody and I don’t listen to anything else; we’re obsessing. When we drive to a gig, we put on Handsome Jack and leave it on repeat.”
The Page Brothers are themselves drawing the kind of attention the Honey Jam headliners have generated with their blues/rock aesthetic. The Adel siblings have emerged from COVID as one of the hardest-working — and in-demand — acts in the Southeast. And their star is rising even as they adjust to health-related issues that have added another degree or two of difficulty to each gig.
Drummer Paulie D, whom Travis Page said deserves a lot of credit for keeping the Page Brothers focused on their music, recently underwent cancer surgery and is preparing for radiation and chemo treatments. Satterwhite (“He’s doing a really good job filling in”) has allowed the band to continue playing without missing a beat.
Graham, meanwhile, is on crutches after recent knee surgery, which became necessary when he fell through a stage at a recent gig.
The brothers themselves have been playing together for eight years, and their eponymous band for half of that. Southwest Georgia fans have seen them evolve into a tight-knit unit that features Dakota Page’s rumbling Johnny Cash of a voice, Travis Page’s ballyhooed guitar work, and the tight rhythm work of Paulie D./Satterwhite and Graham.
“I feel like the difference in the band from four years ago when we first started is like night and day,” Travis Page said. “I think we’re all better at our craft because we’ve all been willing to work on it, to grind it out.”
One of the concerns band members have is trying to bring the energy of their live performances into the studio. That, Page said, will be the goal as the Page Brothers work to release a new album as 2022 winds down.
“We’ve settled on a soulful kind of sound for this album,” the guitarist said. “Our last album (the excellent “Blood on the Bible Belt”) was more outlaw country/Southern rock, but the new material we’re working on is more natural, more bluesy.
“What we really hope to do is capture some of the energy of our live performances in the studio. We’re a live band, and we’re really rolling around with the idea of recording some of the songs on the album live in the studio.”
Page said he, his brother and his band are looking forward to the opportunity to share the Honey Jam stage with Far 2 Fresh and Handsome Jack.
“We’re woodshedding, working on some of our new stuff and even a few new covers,” he said. “I can promise we’ll have a killer set list for Honey Jam.”
The Page Brothers’ Honey Jam set is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
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