We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
On Saturday, June 13 at the Bear Paws Saloon, the Tj Overcast Band will be performing at the Amber Miller Benefit. This is a community fundraiser and dance to help Miller with her medical expenses as she receives treatment for cancer.
The event will take place from 7:30 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. at 213 Indiana Street in Chinook. It follows on the heels of a May 16 fundraiser for Miller, sponsored by Bikini Coffee, Shores Floral, Finley's Food Farm, Patty's Greenhouse, and Gary & Leo's IGA. Miller works as a clerk at Ace Hardware.
According to Overcast, owners of the Bear Paws Saloon, JD and Joanne Powell hired him after their original band cancelled. Overcast identifies himself as an outlaw/neo-traditional country singer, songwriter, and guitar player from North Central Montana. His long history as a working man in a rural area is reflected in his music.
Joining Overcast on stage Saturday night will be Kolton Lodge on drums and Dave Carlson playing bass. "When I play under the name Tj Overcast Band, that means it'll be me and whoever I can throw together for that night's gig," Overcast said.
The son of award-winning cowboy singer, performer, recording artist, and author Ken Overcast, Tj was introduced to music at a young age. He attributes his musical roots and work ethic to several influences: receiving early exposure to singers such as Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings, growing up on the same cattle ranch his great grandfather started, and working alongside his family.
"I was raised down one of those dirt roads that many singers sing about," Overcast said. "I know all about small town life and about the connection to both the people and the land that living here brings."
Having grown up on a Lodge Creek cattle ranch and later performing various jobs before starting his own small-town business, Overcast has firsthand experience as a member of the rural, working class. His non-music business, Overcast Restoration is a water damage restoration service that offers 24-hour emergency water removal and structural drying.
Overcast's music reflects both the pleasures and the pains experienced by working men and women from around the world, but especially from small-town USA. His style and delivery is reminiscent of classic performers such as Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson while also sounding like more modern performers, Cody Jinks and Sturgill Simpson.
"The country music of the sixties, seventies, and early eighties is what I grew up on. I could relate to the stories the musicians were telling in their songs because they resembled the stories of my own life. I guess that's why I have always loved them."
Featuring that same ballad-like feel, Overcast's music is often delivered in a traditional country style. In fact, Overcast is looking forward to the release of his first album at the end of this summer. Although he recorded the album in his home studio, it is being mixed and rematched by Opal Studios in Portland, Oregon, under the direction of producer and sound engineer, Kevin S. Hahn.
Although the album-which is still untitled at this point-will feature cover songs like Mel McDaniel's "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On," it is mostly original songs with lyrics composed by Overcast. Three of those original tracks have been pre-released as singles on Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming platforms: "Lonely Old Road," "Nowhere but Forward to Fall," and "Small Town Prison."
"I want my music to reflect how people feel," Overcast explained. "So, 'Lonely Old Road' is a song about having a lover leave and not really knowing why but hoping the individual finds what he/she is looking for.
"And 'Nowhere but Forward to Fall' tells the story of a person who is begging for forgiveness after he has made a mess of his life. It's about having your back to the wall with nowhere else to turn. I have fans tell me that they can relate to those lyrics.
"Finally, 'Small Town Prison' has a huge following of larger middle-aged ladies who wonder about their choices to remain in their home towns rather than escaping."
About this song, one of Overcast's fans remarked: "This is country the way it used to sound. Keep it up, young man, because there are a lot of us who miss this music. I'll be following you to see where you go."
Even though one's past has the potential to hold a person down and living in a small town can feel like a "prison that [we've] been sentenced to for life," Overcast has done quite well for himself as he continues to author his own life story from his home in Chinook.
In addition to the Amber Miller Benefit on June 13, Overcast will be performing on Friday, June 12, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Vizsla Brewing. He invites interested individuals "for a great evening of outlaw country and classic rock." At Vizsla, which is housed in the Holiday Village Mall building at 1733 Highway 2 NW in Havre, Overcast will be playing a mixture of songs from familiar artists, along with some selections from his upcoming album.
