Concert Schedule

Charlie Overbey may be a lifelong Californian, but his songs are steeped in the timeless traditions of the American South. After years of touring the world supporting acts ranging from David Allan Coe and Blackberry Smoke to Social Distortion and Motorhead, Overbey slowly amassed a collection of introspective original songs that transcend the endless rock & roll party, taking a stark, undeniably honest look at some of life’s most gritty moments. The result is Charlie Overbey’’s new LP, Broken Arrow.

Coined as ” The Punk Rock Spy In The House  Of Honky Tonk” Charlie’s new album Broken Arrow is a triumphant collection of road-hardened alt-country tunes born of Overbey’s upbringing in what he calls “the school and church of Johnny Cash,” Broken Arrow features guest appearances from The Mastersons (who also play in Steve Earle‘s band The Dukes), Miranda Lee Richards (who sings on duet single “Slip Away”) and Eddie Spaghetti of the Supersuckers, and was produced by Ted Hutt who recently won a Grammy for his work with Old Crow Medicine Show, and has helmed multiple albums by Lucero, The Gaslight Anthem, Dropkick Murphys and many more.

“I’ve never worked with anybody like Ted,” Overbey says, reflecting on the sessions. “This is the first time I’ve ever let go and trusted somebody else as a partner in my songs. He really pulled some stuff out of me that I had not planned on delivering. Honestly, these songs can be hard for me to sing—they come from a deep, real and sometimes dark place.”

Self-aware and introspective without relying on played-out tropes of love and loss, Overbey’s songwriting is genuine, fearless and visceral. Authentic, reverb-drenched ‘70s-channeling album opener “Slip Away” gets right at the heart of life’s darkness, chronicling the heart-wrenching suicide of a young girl. Accompanied by wailing pedal steel and the haunting harmonies of Miranda Lee Richards, the song sets a tone of somber acceptance in the face of mortality.

“The Ballad of Eddie Spaghetti”—featuring a guest appearance from its namesake—also addresses mortality, though from a different perspective, confronting Spaghetti’s recent struggles with cancer. While the refrain, “If I die at 47, if I die before my time / Will they drag me up to heaven or deliver me to Hell in my prime” might read as a last will & testament, the soaring vocals and upbeat tempo elevate it to an awe-inspiring, fist-pumping battle cry. As Overbey sees it, “You gotta step up and kick life’s ass sometimes.”

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Overbey was exposed to country music early and often. It wasn’t something he sought out on his own—his father owned a 1947 Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar, and almost every time it was played, out spilled a Johnny Cash song. Overbey recalls these times fondly and admits they shaped his musical growth, though it took years of punk-rock rebellion before he’d come to appreciate the genre’s influence on him. “When you’re raised, and it’s all around you,” he says, “it’s the last thing you want to be a part of.”

Overbey’s first success in the music industry came when his cowpunk outfit Custom Made Scare landed a deal with Side One Dummy Records in 1998. But before the band’s debut album dropped, Overbey went on the run from the law for months, finally turning himself in and spending a year in prison. The very same week he was released, the band hit the road immediately, and toured heavily into the new millennium alongside seminal punk acts such as Suicidal Tendencies, Social Distortion, Agent Orange, Zeke and REO Speedealer.

A side project of Overbey’s called Charlie & The Valentine Killers also toured in the late 2000s with David Allan Coe and Lemmy’s side outfit The Headcat. “It was still days of angst,” Overbey says, but the country-leaning project’s sound served as an important precursor to his current solo work backed by the Broken Arrows.

Looking ahead to the March 2018 release of Broken Arrow, Overbey is gearing up to hit the road with a vengeance for the first time in years. He and the band are already working on songs for a follow-up record that will draw from the same rich vein as Broken Arrow. Overbey isn’t one for idle hands—when he isn’t playing or writing, Charlie has become a well-known name in the fashion world with his one-of-a-kind, hand-shaped Lone Hawk Hats, for devotees in the Americana scene, including the camps of Blackberry Smoke, Miranda Lambert, Lucero, the Foo Fighters, Dwight Yoakam, Cage The Elephant, Kaleo, and Miley Cyrus. Lone Hawk Hats were even the focus point in a recent Stella McCartney campaign.

It’s a craft Overbey taught himself by trial and error, ultimately carrying with it the same authenticity and attention to detail you’ll find in his songwriting. They are available at several high-end locations, including he and his lady’s brick-and-mortar shop Honeywood Vintage / Lone Hawk Hats on ultra hip York Blvd in Highland Park, Los Angeles.

As the album title suggests, an existential darkness permeates Broken Arrow. It is the work of a road-savvy rock & roll veteran who sees the world as it is, fully grasping the jagged pain of life. But this darkness isn’t a dead end—Overbey’s songs are shot through with enough hard-fought resilience, determination and optimism to remind listeners the only way out is forward, and that the wild ride of life is a mysterious and beautiful gift.

Randy Davis- Lead Vocals and Guitar

 Randy was born in Sacramento, California. As a child, The Beatles were the first major influence that started his love for music. He would hang out after school at a little the music shop called The Music Box. Mr. Childs, the owner, took Randy under his wing, knowing that his father had just passed away from a heart attack, and his mom and older sister, Cheri, had pretty much lost everything. Mr. Childs gave Randy his first guitar, and that’s how it all began. Music was wide open at that time, Jimmy Hendrix, Bob Dylan, The Allman Brothers, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Jackson Browne, Van Morrison, The Grateful Dead and The Woodstock Movie fueled Randy's passion for song writing. He had his first gig at a 3rd grade school function where played his first original song ”Spring Fever”. Randy’s High School years saw him put bands aside, where he excelled as a wrestling champion. Right out of High School he started racing motorcycle professionally, and also won state and national championships in racquetball. Rock Climbing and surfing pretty much rounded things out. Randy moved to Huntington Beach in 1977 where he recorded his first demo tape which landed him a publishing deal. He only wanted to be a songwriter, but was persuaded to perform one of his songs for a sound track. That set things in motion for a band. With his neighbor introducing him to Rick Weller (Randy’s only lead guitarist, until he passed away), they soon found bass player Greg Boyer. These three formed the core of lousy little gods. Various drummers filled in, with the most notable being, Jon Schwatrz of Weird Al’s band. The boys had opening slots with 38 Special, The Doobie Brothers, Dave Mason, Eric Burdon and others. The band played all the LA venues, The Troubadour, House Of Blues, China Club, The Coconut Teaser and Orange County clubs, The Coach House, The Galaxy, and more. Warner Bros, Geffen Records, Interscope Hollywood and MCA were all in looking at the band. Music started going through some changes and the window to sign a deal, closed. Marriage, kids and 20 something years later, here we are.  The timing seemed right, while still doing long distance recordings with Greg Boyer (who moved back to Kansas); a live band was a must for Randy. He says that it’s fate that brought Ken and Darren in to his life. Always grateful for Rick and Greg, he’s ready to step out in uncharted territory with Ken and Darren and start the rebirth of lousy little gods. Let’s rock!

Ken Kowalski - Drums and Percussion

Ken grew up Burlington, Ontario just outside of Toronto in Canada. Around age 8, he found his Uncle's drums in his Grandparents attic and was immediately hooked. His influences came from many of the big name ‘60’s & ‘70’s Rock drummers and 80’s Rock and Punk Rock drummers. But, he also had the unique influences from Canadian musicians that were huge inside Canada but never broke outside the border. As his drumming progressed he started forming basement bands and playing shows at high schools and backyard parties. During this time, he also joined the drum section of the Burlington Teen Tour Band where he honed his rudimental skills and got to tour many parts of North America. Before leaving Toronto in 1986 to attend the Musicians Institute (MI) in Hollywood, Ken studied with Paul DeLong (Kim Mitchell and others), and credits him with the push that got him into the Percussion Institute of Technology (PIT) at MI. At PIT he studied under the likes of Joe Porcaro (yes Jeff’s Father!) Ralph Humphery  (Frank Zappa, Wayne Shorter, Al Jarreau and many others), Casey Schuerell (Gino Vannelli, Jean-Luc Ponty among others), Chuck Flores (Woody Herman), Maria Martinez (Barry White, Rita Coolidge, Johnny Paycheck, Nancy Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds) and Steve Houghton (Woody Herman, Rufus Reid and others). While at MI, Ken met Scott Oliver, Raym Barrett and Lee Brian (now with Fat Daddy Special); the musicians that ended up forming Charlemagne who had a great run from ‘87-’93.  They opened for Helix and Heaven’s Edge and played The Whiskey, The Troubadour, The Coconut Teaser, Red Light District and all the major clubs in the SoCal ‘80’s Rock scene.  After just missing out on signing a major record deal with WEA and then MCA, the band signed with Eonian Records. As Grunge emerged and the ‘80’s Hard Rock era ended,  it was time to raise a family, so Charlemagne came to an end. After a 23 year break from playing, Ken jumped right back in after meeting Randy and hearing his music.

Darren Smith-Bass and Backing Vocals 

Darren Smith grew up in Colorado, he began playing guitar at a young age, and formed a punk rock band with his high school friends. Heading to the University of Northern Colorado the band evolved  to include some college buddies and they played throughout the Denver area at college parties and the few clubs that featured punk rock. In the late 80’s Darren and 2 band mates moved to Southern California and began playing a hybrid punk rock in an environment dominated by hard rock and hair metal. The scene wasn’t inviting to a 3 piece band from Colorado playing punk influenced music and looking more like a precursor to grunge more than anything going on in LA at the time. Darren decided to move to San Clemente where he got involved in the martial arts business and dedicated his time to surfing and skating, only playing music for fun. In the late 90’s he discovered the new technology of non linear editing and enrolled in school at Video Symphony in Burbank California and got certified as a Pro-Tools engineer as well as learning video editing, Photoshop and web design.  Darren set up a recording studio and began playing and producing music for various artist and forming a band The Step Kids with childhood friend James Neff.  Darren and James wrote and produced an album entitled: AKA The Step Kids with Darren writing, engineering, and playing guitar, slide, keys and bass. It was at this time Darren’s focus shifted to the bass guitar and he began to dedicated most of his time to it. After playing bass with some other local musicians over the years, Darren was itching to find two things: a good singer and a good drummer. At the urging of his wife he placed an ad in Craigslist with a short video clip. As luck would have it the ad was answered by Randy Davis and he won an audition with lousy little gods.