Fiddleworms is an American

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

group from

Muscle Shoals, Alabama Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located on the left bank of the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 census, its population was 13,146. The estimated popula ...

. The band was originally formed in 1994 by Russell Mefford, Chris Quillen, Scott Kennedy, and Matt Ross. Later, Rob Malone (formerly of the

Drive-By Truckers Drive-By Truckers are an American rock music, rock band based in Athens, Georgia. Two of five current members (Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley (American musician), Mike Cooley) are originally from The Shoals region of northern Alabama and met as ...

), David MacKay (husband of Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay formerly of the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

and who appeared in the first Grammy-winning video,

Elephant Parts ''Elephant Parts'' is a collection of comedy sketches and music videos made in 1981 by Michael Nesmith, formerly of the Monkees. Nesmith produced the video through his company Pacific Arts. ''Elephant Parts'' is one-hour-long with parody comme ...

), Mitch Mann, Clint Bailey and Daniel Ledford, would join the band. The band's latest release is '' See The Light'' 2012.

History

The band known as Fiddleworms was formed in 1994 and is signed with

Heart of Gold Records Heart of Gold Records is an American independent record label, established in Florence, Alabama. Artists who have released material on Heart of Gold include The Heart of Gold Band, Donna Jean Godchaux-Mackay, BoomBox, and Fiddleworms. Heart ...

. The band name is based on folklore from the Muscle Shoals area called "fiddling for worms" in which a young tree sapling by the river is split and a saw is run over it. The vibrations from the saw are said to cause large earthworms to come to the top of the mud, which are called "fiddleworms."

Music

Fiddleworms play a wide array of original songs as well as several covers. Their music includes elements of original and traditional rock, southern alternative, jazz, reggae and folkVolkswagen Catfish
''Homegrown Music'', Retrieved September 25, 2008. They are featured each year as a regular act at the

W. C. Handy Music Festival The W. C. Handy Music Festival is held annually in Florence, Alabama, sponsored by the Music Preservation Society, Inc., in honor of Florence native W. C. Handy, the "Father of the Blues." The non-profit Music Preservation Society was formed in 1982 ...

Discography

*''

Yellowhammer The yellowhammer (''Emberiza citrinella'') is a passerine bird in the Emberiza, bunting family that is native to Palearctic, Eurasia and has been introduced species, introduced to New Zealand and Australia. Most European birds remain in the br ...

'' (1996) *'' Year of The Cock'' (2005) *''Live Bait'' (2007) *'' Volkswagen Catfish'' (2008) *''See the Light'' (2012) * ''Perfect Storm (Live At The NuttHouse)'' (2015) *''Southern Belle'' (2020)

Notes

References

Volkswagen Catfish Swampland Review, August 20, 2008Elephant Parts on imdbVolkswagen Catfish on Homegrown Music

External links

The Fiddleworms WebsiteFiddleworms collection
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

's live music archive Rock music groups from Alabama Musical groups established in 1994 Jam bands 1994 establishments in Alabama Muscle Shoals, Alabama {{US-rock-band-stub