We’ve got a special treat for you today, folks. Jonny Fritz (f.k.a Jonny Corndawg) has graciously offered us his Nashville Five. If you need a mechanic or a hat-shaper, you’re in luck.
I first saw Jonny live when he was touring with Dawes – he played his song “Trash Day” (watch the video of that performance here), which is a pretty funny tune about well, panicking over not taking the trash out. But to categorize Jonny as all silly-country would be surely wrong: while there’s undoubtedly a humor to his music, he cranks out old-school foot stompers in the vein of Jerry Reed and Roger Miller, another songwriter who often struggled with balancing novelty with serious chops. Good tunes prevail, as they surely do in Jonny’s case.
Jonny’s new record, Dad Country, is going to be out in 2013, and not only is he opening up for Wanda Jackson on 12.7 at 3rd and Lindsley but Jonny and his band will back the queen of rockabilly during her set.
Find Jonny on Twitter and Facebook, and check out Andrew Combs’ Nashville Five, dedicated to life on the road with Jonny and Shovels & Rope.
And now, Jonny Fritz’ Nashville Five :::
1. My favorite mechanic in Nashville, Bill Simpson: He’s got the most heart breaking story about his old life, being terminally ill, making a full recovery, quitting his job as a crooked mechanic and now helping people as much as he can. The first time I worked with him he quoted me on a CV joint for my van. I think he said the part was gonna be $75 and labor $75. Something like that, because I remember the the whole job being $150. Well, he said he’d come over to my house and fix it the next day at 10 am.. He went to the auto parts store and bought what he needed and the next morning around 10:15 I looked out the window to see if he was thee yet or not since I hadn’t heard from him. He was getting up from underneath the van and wiping his hands off. I went out to greet him and see if he wanted anything before starting… He just said “I’m done. It was cheaper than I thought because I went to Franklin to get the part and it didn’t take as long as I thought so you can just give me $80.” I gave him $100 and said “Well, I wasn’t raised that way. Here’s $100”. He looked up at me, handing back a $20 bill and said “I wasn’t either.”
Bill is the most honest mechanic I’ve ever met. I call him all the time and will recommend him until he tells me to stop. He works for himself and he lives south of Franklin but he’s always just come to my house when I need something done. For bigger jobs you’ll have to go to his place but its always worth it to know you won’t get screwed over. Bill Simpson – (615) 977-3332 tell him “Jonny – the guy with the red sprinter and the white van” sent you. Text or call.
2, Wayne Willis: He is my barber. He’s the shit. He cut George Jones’ flat top in the sixties and he cuts Merle Haggard’s hair to this day. $13 cut, old school, no bullshit. Don’t let the young guy with black hair talk you into a cut, though. He sucks. Wayne’s Unisex on Gallatin road, right across from Sherwin-Williams paint.
3. Gupton Motors in Springfield, TN: My reasons for liking Gupton are a bit skewed. I like to get my oil changed here for a few reasons. One being they work on sprinters and nobody else can… The other is that there’s this cool salesman named Sedric that hooks me up with fresh coffee and makes sure the hospitality fridge is stocked with freezing cold Dr Pepper. The Internet in the waiting room is blazing fast and there isn’t shit going on in Springfield so I like to spend the day up there, slurping down sodas, chatting with Sedric, watching Judge Judy and getting lots of work done.
4. Trail West: There’s a guy there named Blue that cleans hats and shapes them for free! He works for tips and he does a bang up job. This place is downtown, right in the thick of it.
5. Lawrence Record Shop: While you’re downtown swing by Lawrence Record Shop for some back stock, wildly out of print, underpriced, classic country gold. Mostly vinyl but they do have some cassettes and some novelty plates.
Chevy Beretta from Jonny Fritz on Vimeo.
Lockeland Springsteen 