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Uncle Slim - A Rock-n-Roll band that derives all of it's energy, songs,
slangs, games and other ideas from the hollows of Tennessee.
The stage show called the "Slim Hollow Rock Opera", starts in Confederate
times and goes all the way to the present. Tales, legends, lore, and true
life experiences all told in Grunge, Country, Punk, Acid Rock-a-Billy songs.
The names have been changed to protect the innocent.
The story line follows one place in the hollows of Tennessee, where a pack
of wild hillbillies force a Confederate soldier named "General
Willis" over Beaver Creek Falls
with his only possession after the war, his Mules. They thought he
was dead but General Willis and
his Mules landed on a hidden island behind the falls. General Willis quickly went
incognito and learned to blend in. Folks around the Holler learned to call
him "Uncle Slim",
hence the name "Slimland". Uncle Slim learned to farm the beautiful land around the falls on the
lower bottom that was surrounded by woods. Holler Folk only saw him on rare
occasions when he needed supplies. He never attended any of the towns meetings
or creek gatherings and in fact "Holler Folk" never knew where he
lived. Some had seen him coming and going through the woods and thought it
best to leave him alone. You see most folk in the Holler stayed out of a certain
section of the woods for fear of "Snake
Man". The Holler Folk made a landmark
out of an old cedar stump in the woods. If the sun was setting on the ridge
and you were past the stump, Night would fall before you could get out and
the evil spirit of the woods was bound to get you.
As time passed, the Legend grew of another man that lived beyond those woods,
"Old Man Riley".
A mysterious man, he made his livin' peddlin' moon shine. He would take his
secret recipe up from the lower bottom, through the woods to the upper barren
where most of the "Holler' Folk" had settled. He hid his bags of
silver near his secret still only by moonlight. Known to be the ugliest man
in the holler, he was feared by even the revenuers. He was found shot in the
head and was so disliked by the holler folk, they just left him for the buzzards
on the bank of Sycamore Creek.
Later when some went to find his body, it had disappeared. Others dared to
try to find his stash and even more tales began to spread of the haint called
Snake Man that lurked
in the woods, especially at night. Some swear they saw a shadow of a man watching
them--others just disappeared. Some "Holler' Folk" believe their
mules could sense this evil spirit before they could see him. And the legend
still grows of Snakeman....
There was, however, one man from the holler who was rumored to have talked
to Snakeman. That man was "Reverend
Tacky Jack". His home was a holdout for lost souls. He taught
them his own brand of religion with the good book and a gun. While Tacky preached
his belief in God, he also preached his disbelief in the "system"
and "the establishment", otherwise known as " the
Man". Tacky's fortress was built
just at the edge of the woods of Snake
Man's lair. On his property was believed to be a well with purist,
coldest drinking water in the world. Lots of people tried to drink from the
well and were never heard from again. Tacky was another man that the Holler
Folk learned to fear and disassociate. He quickly preyed upon new arrivals
in town and invited them to stay on his commune as his guest. Those who did
wound up staying with him and becoming his followers, except one young boy
who happened his way.
Tacky
found him wondering through the woods one dusk. The boy was following Tacky's
3 legged dog. He had never seen one before and the boy thought it was hurt.
Before the boy knew it, he was past the stump and the sun was on the ridge.
The boy was deep in the woods and was thirsty, hungry, and scared. He was
just about to drink from the most inviting well he had ever seen when a voice
from behind the trees shouted, "Don't drink the water." The boy
turned around and the Reverened appeared. He explained to the boy the well had poison water
that would give him typhoid. He told the boy to follow him and he would give
him food, drink, and shelter from Snake Man, since it was to late to head
for home. That night Tacky persuaded
the boy to stay with him awhile. Tacky
grew to love the boy as his own son. The boy as he was growing
up learned to play harmonica on the banks of Sycamore Creek. Tacky didn't
like his love for music and that's why "The
Mule Boy", Buddy
Rush planned to escape.
One evening while Buddy was playing his harp, Brother
Rich was fishing with Reverend
Bart and heard him. They found Buddy and talked
to him about playing in a band. They told him about Johnny
Hammer that was a guitar player that
he should meet. Johnny Hammer had played with some bands around the holler and was starting his
own band and thought Buddy might be able to join up. Buddy told them he would need a place to stay because Tacky would never
let him leave if he knew he was going to play music.
Brother Rich and Rev.
Bart persuaded Buddy to jump in the boat and they would take care of everything,
so the three of them took off to Johnny
Hammer's.
The town had gown quite a bit since Willis had last seen it when he a just a small boy. They damned
up the creek and named it COD DAM, owned and operated by the Cod
Dam Power Company. It now had a strip
mall and the area had become a regional spot to fish and watch the submarine
races.
Bart wanted
to take Buddy
to a recording studio to meet up with Johnny
Hammer. Hammer and the Mule Boy hit off immediately. They called up
Cousin Kaley and his bass and started
making a little noise. The next thing you know they were writing songs and
playing at one of the towns popular watering holes. It wasn't long until the
band Uncle Slim was a regional
success.
One day one of Uncle Slim's cousins from his mother's brother's side came to see the old home
place from France. It just so happened while she was in town Buddy seemed to be the one
she called upon to show her around town and be her fishin' guide. She reminded
Buddy about his
past and it soon was reflected in the bands music.
As fate would have it a stranger passed through town. He was staying over
nite to have some repairs done on his car. He was in the entertainment business
and persuaded the boys to go to Hollywood where he could make them stars.
He signed them to contracts and they left the next day.
Once in Hollywood the boys found themselves loosing control. The music took
a back seat to promotions, parties, and the city fast lane. Finally,
Bart, Rich, Kaley, and Johnny leave Willis and head home.
After periodic bouts with the Man (police), out of money, and out of luck, the Mule Boy
joins the Navy. Buddy then found himself in worst shape than he was before so he jumps
ship. He finds himself in Naples at a Rolling Stones concert. Buddy realizes he needs to go home to the "Holler" and
get back to his way of life and music.
The SLIM LINE
Descendants of Uncle Slim include:
Old Man Riley, Snakeman, Reverend Tacky Jack and Buddy Rush
all could be one in the same. Such as, you can Slim an Earl, Earl a Willis,
Willis a Jackson,
but Simpson is evil.
1. Old Man Riley
- Moonshiner who made his livin', totin' his 'shine from the lower bottom,
thru the woods, to the upper barren. Legend has it he was shot in the head
by an unknown murderer. His body was left and never found again. People to
this day still search Sycamore Creek for his stash of Silver Eagles. No one
knows where it or his body are buried.
2. Snakeman
- The voodoo man, the devil, an evil presence, "Simpson", all have
been used to describe this H A I N T who no man has ever seen, but all know
he's there.
*** People in the holler, to this day, still do not let the sun set with them
in the woods. ***
3.Reverend Tacky Jack - He's got a holdout at the edge of the woods. Legend has it he's
the only man to have ever talked to Snakeman. It is believed he knows where
Old Man Riley's body and stash are buried. Known to have housed lost boys,
they said on his property was a well with the coolest, purist water in the
world. Many a men quenched their thirst at the well and were never heard from
again. He stands armed and ready for the end of the world.
4.Buddy Rush
- Distant son of Uncle Slim, some say part mule, also known as Willis aka
the live Muleboy. He learned to play harp while fishing on the banks of Sycamore
Creek. Played in local bars and tried to make it big in Hollywood, joined
the Navy. Jumped off a ship to see the Stones and went home to the holler.
UNCLE
SLIM HOME PAGE / SLIMLAND