Scott H. Biram - not such a bad guy

And the guy really is a badass. In 2003, just a month after being hit head-on by an18-wheeler at 75 MPH, he took the stage at The Continental Club in Austin in a wheel chair – I.V. still dangling from his arm. With two broken legs, a broken foot, a broken arm and a foot less of his lower intestine, Biram unleashed his trademark musical wrath.

Biram was recently featured in American Songwriter, AMP Magazine, Thrasher, Paste, Daytrotter, Magnet, Blurt, Slant Magazine, and on the front page of the Austin Chronicle. “Bad Ingredients,” Biram’s fourth full-length for Bloodshot Records was recorded at his home studio in Austin and mastered by Jerry Tubb of Terra Nova Mastering (Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dwight Yoakam). The album delivers SHB’s classic throat-stomping style, but showcases a more mature songwriter — both lyrically and musically.

Witnessing Biram do his thing is a unique, irreplaceable experience. The Los Angeles Times wrote; “The one-man band is a tour-de-force of gutbucket guitar squabble, vocals so feral they’ll make you lock your doors at night, and a live set that goes down like a cocktail of whiskey, amphetamines and black-humored despair.” Bozeman will get a taste of that cocktail March 6, when Biram plays the Emerson with G. Love & Special Sauce. In the meantime, The RollingZone couldn’t wait to talk to this bad boy, and caught up with Scott on the road.

RZ: Hey man, how’re you doing? You got some time? 

SB: Yeah, I’m the passenger, so we’re good.

RZ: You’ve been to our part of the country before?

SB: Plenty of times. I’ve had some wild nights over at The Filler.

RZ: Do you write much of your material?

SB: Pretty much everything is original, though I do one or two covers on every record.

RZ: Do you have a special process for songwriting?

SB: Not particularly. I write ‘em as they come along. I don’t rush songs, but sometimes I do sit down to write. I’ve written 300 or so, some in five minutes, then recorded them the next day. It keeps you really fresh. I’ll get little ideas... I’m always making up stuff on my guitar. I’ll have dreams where I see my hands play strings and hear the chorus... I get up sometimes. Or I write down a bunch of titles and write around the title; that’s kind of a fun way to do it.

RZ: Do you still play with your 1959 Gibson?

SB: I have 17 guitars. I’ll usually take four or five on a tour. I switch from my ‘59 to my Gibson Explorer for heavy metal. I use it to play a lot of different stuff. I’m working on getting a Gibson sponsorship.

RZ: Any formal music ed? 

SB: Absolutely not. I’m self-taught and have played for 25 year.s I took some guitar in high school and I already knew that stuff, so it was kind of useless.

RZ: Do you play other instruments? 

SB: The keys, banjo and a little mandolin. I don’t do any of this on stage, but I play keys on my records. I play the drums.

RZ: Are there residual health issues from the accident?

SB: Yeah, I got this little condition where everybody constantly asks me about it.

RZ: Sorry.

SB: I’ve got metal rods in every limb except my left arm, so depending on the weather, I’ve gotta give myself a kick start... get wound up to start walking. I’ve got post traumatic stress. I’m nervous when I’m not the one driving.

RZ: Can you play any sports? 

SB: I play kickball with my friends, but I can’t run too fast.

RZ: Are you single?

SB: Not so much right now. My Facebook profile says I’m single.

RZ: Do you think you’ll have children? 

SB: I’ve been making up names for kids since I was young, but I don’t want to be one of those grandpa fathers. Tick tock, I don’t know. Oh yeah... I was born 4-4-74 — 444 is my magic number. Anytime I see one on the clock I look around to see if something significant is happening.

RZ: Are you tech savvy?

SB: I’m on Facebook and Twitter a lot. I keep my fans updated with all my bullshit (hehe... There was a Humvee on the road being towed; I thought that was funny). My dad was a computer programmer, and I’ve been on the computer since I was six [he’s 38 now]. But I don’t know what the hell someone’s talking about if they get all geeky. I went to college for art, so I’m pretty good with Photoshop, and I own my own recording studio, so I’m aware of ProTools.

RZ: Have you done the art on any of your album covers? 

SB: I did some of my older album covers. My friend and college professor Mark Todd is a well known artist and has done the last two.

RZ: Are you into cars? I have a ‘65 Ford Falcon Ranchero that belonged to my uncle and was in bad shape. I bought it and had it restored. I’m not much of a mechanic.

RZ: Do you listen to Click & Clack?

SB: All the time; we have XM in the van and listen to a lot of ‘Car Talk.’ Recently this musician called in asking if the car would last the whole tour. It was interesting to hear from someone else on the road.

RZ: So what’s with the bad boy reputation?

SB: That’s a bit of a stage persona. I’ve got a mouth and people think I’m some kind of tough guy. Which is funny if you saw the size of my biceps. I’m a skinny white boy. But I think it stems from all the whiskey I used to drink. Brave words and bloody knuckles only go so far... I play some pretty raunchy music and my crowds get a little rowdy sometimes. I’m up there with the best of the pervs. Just kiddin’. I’m not a maniac. I have bills to pay and travel the country yelling into a mic. I know I write good songs and play well.

RZ: Well, at least you have a healthy ego. Bolstered by booze...

SB: I’m on a strictly Guinness diet on this tour. I drink a lot of red wine at home, but not while on the road. It’s not good for your voice. White wine is good for the voice, but not red. Something about the tannins. Another trick is that greasy potato chips are good for your voice if it’s scratchy. I’ve read that several times on different websites. But you don’t need to eat too many chips on the road.

RZ: That’s true. Too bad road food isn’t better.

SB: “The Big Book of Touring” (something like that) has all kinds of tips. Don’t eat at gas stations.

RZ: Or airports.

SB: There’s a great airport in Austin for food; BBQ, Mexican food... It’s a hip airport. A member of Asleep at the Wheel has a bar there, and there’s a band playing in the middle. I hear it’s a good paying gig. I was asked to do it, but I turned it down cuz I don’t think they want to hear what I have to say in an airport.

RZ: Have you played with G. Love before?

SB: No, and I haven’t heard much of his music. I’m not a fan of hip hop, but we’re doing this tour cuz it’s a different combo. I’m gonna introduce some fans to him and he’ll introduce some to me. I’m usually doing 150 - 450 person shows on my own tours. We’ll be hitting The Fillmore West in San Francisco, a lot of House of Blues places, casinos in Tahoe. It will be some good exposure, I think. The pay isn’t bad, though it’s not the same as when I go out by myself. I’ve been pulling out all the stops in the last year. I signed with a management company that gives me the opportunity to be sponsored by publishing companies.

RZ: When did music producers become publishers?

SB: Publishing is where you register songs and get copyrights. People have to pay if they use your stuff on the radio, TV, etc. It’s your mailbox money. It’s important to write your own songs when you’re making widely distributed records. Otherwise, it gets expensive, especially if you’re doing a Tribute album.

RZ: Is there something we should know about the title of your new album?

SB: ‘Bad Ingredients’ just kinda sounded cool. Yeah... no, I just came up with the album title. It doesn’t have anything to do with the songs on it. A lot of my songs are pretty dark, pretty grittty blues. I generally sing about the trials and troubles of life and I go form blues to country to rock to metal to punk — always anchored in the blues. You gotta paint some kind of picture with the album.

RZ: Do you have any pets? 

SB: I have a Basset hound, Buddy Gus with one blue eye, and I raise chickens. The past summer we had 100-plus weather all summer, so I lost several to the heat, and possums got others, so now I’m down to one. When I get back I’m gonna buy some new chicks. They’re entertaining.

RZ: So you’re into the grow your own food movement? 

SB: I was doing it before that started. I grew up in the country; I’ve had chickens around me my whole life. I’m the hillbilly of the neighborhood. When I moved to the city I wanted to keep raisin’ them. It’s a statement to the Neighborhood Association. I also nailed a bunch of velcro shoes to a tree in my yard. They were on me for not bringing the trash can back into the garage when I had a broken leg.

RZ: Now that’s bad boy! What do you do to chill?

SB: I did a lot of studying, reading bios of musicians. I still read a lot on the internet, but there’s not as much quiet time now. I’m a big movie fan... and I like to have an ‘80s party in my living room a couple times a week when I’m home. Me, my girlfriend and roommate rock out to Steely Dan, Eddie Money, Bob Seeger, Men At Work, Huey Lewis... people who know my music won’t like that.

RZ: You’ve had some good exposure on TV.

SB: Yeah. I had three songs on Sons of Anarchy when they killed off an important character. I’ve also had stuff on My Name is Earl, Dog the Bounty Hunter, and The Darwin Awards. I’ve been in 10 or 15 documentaries, including a couple French ones. A good one was ‘Seven Signs’ by JD Wilkes. I always end up being the comic relief in these movies.

RZ: Do you have some parting words? 

SB: Stay in school and don’t do drugs. Do as I say, not as I do.

Be sure to see Scott H. Biram live in Bozeman with G. Love & Special Sauce Tuesday, March 6th at the Emerson Center.