Kerosene Brothers

Not many bands open for themselves when performing. When the same musicians flip from one band named Kerosene Brothers to another named Hayseed Dixie (more Appalachian hillbilly style), that can and does happen. The trademark of both bands is the amount of alcohol the musicians consume while performing, and they often switch styles from one band to the other during a performance.

John Wheeler (aka Barley Scotch) received his first acoustic guitar as a Christmas gift from his father and started creating his own country version of rock songs. During college he played fraternity parties with various bands and found that the crowds sang along when he introduced the AC/DC covers. He had found his niche and headed for Nashville where he did session playing. After Wheeler met brothers Dale Reno (aka Enus Younger) and Don Wayne Reno, the three formed the Kerosene Brothers. They decided to cut some demos of AC/DC songs during one of their beer-drinking jam sessions. In 2001, these demos led to a full-length album, A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC, which sold over 100,000 copies and reached number 14 on the Top Internet Albums Chart in 2001; number 47 on the Top Country Albums chart; and, in Australia (home of AC/DC), number five on the Country Charts. The trio, along with members Dave Harrison and Jake Byers, released that record under the band name Hayseed Dixie, and they performed over 100 live dates during the summer and fall of 2001. In May, 2002, while maintaining the persona of the Kerosene Brothers in the background, Hayseed Dixie recorded A Hillbilly Tribute to Mountain Love, which reached number 39 on the charts. "Mountain love" for this album meant a mixture of songs about drinking, killing, and cheating. By February, 2003, still under the hillbilly name of Hayseed Dixie, the band created Kiss My Grass: A Hillbilly Tribute to Kiss. All three albums were released by Dualtone.

Switching to their alter-ego identity, the Kerosene Brothers recorded an album under their own moniker in September, 2003. Released by Audium, Choose Your Own Title* carries the subtitle of "Exciting New Interactive Album Title Technology." With songs like "I'm Gonna Lie," "Hellfire & Brimstone," and "Mr. Wrong," fans found some of the same flavors as Hayseed Dixie: liquor and ladies, expressed with a warped sense of humor. While Hayseed Dixie takes rock & roll songs and adds the hillbilly instruments, the Kerosene Brothers take hillbilly songs and add the rock & roll instruments. And that takes true musical talent, especially if you're drunk.