Ride the Sugarland Express By Malcolm Doak.
Sugarland exploded on to the scene in 2004 with their multi-platinum debut Twice the Speed of Life. Their most recent 2008 release-Love on the Inside-made history by claiming the Number One position on both the Pop and Country charts within weeks of its release. This latest release contains the song “Stay”, which recently captured the Academy of Country Music’s Song of the Year 2008.
In addition to churning out the hits, Sugarland has been keeping up an ambitious touring schedule as well. Five years ago, Atlanta-based guitarist Scott Patton took a hiatus from his own successful Ten Story Relapse project to take the helm as Sugarland’s Musical Director and Guitarist. On stage with Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush, Patton is joined by the likes of New Orleans musicians Annie Clements (bass, backing vocals), Better than Ezra’s Travis McNabb (drums), VOX endorsee Thad Beaty (guitar) - along with fellow Atlantean Brandon Bush (keyboards).
Having worked with Nettles prior to her Sugarland days, Scott knew the chemistry of this all-star lineup would surely sound sweet!
Back at the end of January, Scott was able to reunite with founding members Mark Milam, John Douglas, and the rest of Ten Story Relapse in Atlanta; opening for Shawn Mullins in a benefit gig to support the Atlanta Chapter of the Recording Academy.
Throughout this whirlwind of activity, Scott has made the VOX AC30HH hand-wired Heritage series his amp of choice; along with the matching V212H 2 x 12 hand-wired Heritage cabinet. Lately, Scott Patton’s trusty VOX Virage guitar has been right there with him. Scott recently shared some of his impressions of the Virage with us:
“This is a great guitar! It has looks and feel for days, but the thing I love most about the Virage is the versatility factor that the VOX Three-90 pickup system offers. I can have a big, harmonically driven tone or a smooth single coil sound or a blend of them both – all with a user friendly, logical switching system. This allows me to move between lead and support roles without compromising my tone. When you pair up that kind of sonic freedom with an extremely well crafted instrument like the Virage, the result is pretty exciting and very musical. I have been using it a good bit in the studio on some Sugarland recordings as well as with several artists from the Atlanta area and my own project, Ten Story Relapse.”
Wow! Thanks, Scott. We’ll look for you on the road – and on the charts!
Listen to Scott’s “Clean-Chime“, played on his AC30HH and V212H.
Listen to Scott’s “Dark-Sustain“, played on his AC30HH and V212H
Check out this video of Scott with his AC30HH and V212H!
