Bands to Watch: House of Cards

You heard of "Walk the Line." How about "Draw the Line"?

No, it's not another Hollywood movie about a country-music star. It's Brian Butler laying the ground rules for House of Cards, his popular country-rock band that regularly plays Doc Holliday's and BW's Saloon.

Though they play country, Butler draws the line against playing the most commercial hits. He prefers more obscure songs, or mixing in classic rock in exciting ways.

"Predominantly, people who come out to see a country-music band, they listen to the radio all day long and then want to hear the band play the same songs all night," Butler said. "That has worked great for Next of Kin. It's worked great for Coyote Joe. But it's not the direction I wanted to take it. You have to do some of that stuff, but there are times when I draw the line."
That means no novelty songs, like "Watermelon Crawl" by Tracy Byrd or big hits from Kenny Chesney or Tim McGraw.

"Well, we might do Tim McGraw, but something a little more obscure,"Butler said. "There's a song by Bruce Robison that he cut, 'Angry all the Time.' People think we're playing a Tim McGraw song, but we're not."

They play a half-dozen Keith Urban songs, a few by Dierks Bentley, and Jason Aldean's "Hicktown." You also get an intriguing medley that starts and ends with "Sweet Home Alabama,"while squeezing in "Take the Money and Run" and "Werewolves of London." They also re-arranged Kenny Loggins'"I'm Alright."

All of it works because House of Cards features a seasoned band, led by ace guitarist Jim Froman.

"One of the great things about this band is we've all got the same sense of humor," Butler said. "We're all sarcastic as get out, but it's so easy to get along with everyone. That's huge to me."
So was this news: A song Brian co-wrote with his brother Ric -- who's in Nashville, playing in Long Strap --made the cut for John Corbett's upcoming CD. Corbett, you recall, starred in "Northern Exposure,""My Big Fat Greek Wedding," and "Sex and the City." Butler talked to Showcase about House of Cards.

HOME BASE Northwest Pennsylvania.

BAND MEMBERS Brian Butler, bass, lead vocals; Jim Froman, lead guitar; Jackson Froman, keyboards, vocals; Tim Kownacki, guitar, mandolin, vocals; Rob Roth, drums.

THE INSPIRATION After Ric moved to Nashville, Brian returned to Pennsylvania and took a break for a year before starting House of Cards. When they started out, they played rock by Matchbox Twenty, 3 Doors Down, Collective Soul, and others at places such as Forward Hall and Docksider. Then Brian broke his wrist, which put the band on hold for six months.

"Then we got back together in 2004 and discussed it and realized our forte would be country, given Jim [Froman] is really a good country-music guitar picker. And it's Rob's forte," Butler said. "So we made the swing to a more country-rock thing."

STYLE Country rock.

SAMPLE ARTISTS YOU COVER Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley, Little Big Town, Jason Aldean, ZZ Top, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Kenny Loggins. They also play some Ric & Brian Butler originals.

FIRST CD YOU BOUGHT "Um, it was an album," Butler conceded. "Styx, 'Grand Illusion.' I was really into Styx. That's probably when I was starting to have a real interest in buying records."

SONGWRITING INFLUENCES "That's all over the map for me," Butler said. "When I sit down to write sometimes, I'm thinking Matchbox Twenty. Sometimes I'm thinking Eagles. It just depends. Sometimes it's cookie-cutter Top 40 country radio. The song I just wrote will be more in that vein."

DESERT ISLAND CDS Butler's picks: Jude Cole's "View from Third Street" and "Start the Car"; Don Henley's "End of the Innocence" and "Greatest Hits"; Billy Joel's "Storm Front"and "Greatest Hits"; Matchbox Twenty's "Mad Season"; and "Sons of the Desert."

HOUSE OF CARDS WOULD LOVE TO OPEN FOR "Eagles. They're just so great in so many ways," Butler said.

CDS Not yet. However, Butler with brother Ric and D. Scott Miller wrote "Waiting on a Heartache" that's on John Corbett's upcoming CD.

WEB SITE www.hocmusic.com.

UPC0MING GIGS Saturday at 9:30 p.m. at Denny's Bar and Banquets, 10004 Route 98, Edinboro; March 16-18 at 9:30 p.m. at BW's Saloon, I-90 and Sterrettania; April 1 at Denny's; April 14-15 at Doc Holliday's, I-90 and Route 97. --Dave Richards