Parmalee’s progression
Dark times led quartet to ‘flip the script’ on tunes
Before the guys in the country quartet Parmalee had a record label, they’d already endured enough tumult to fill an episode of VH1’s “Behind the Music.”
In 2010, the band was held at gunpoint while loading their RV after a show. Drummer Scott Thomas was shot three times; he happened to have a concealed carry permit and returned fire, killing one of the assailants. Thomas survived, though he spent over a week in a coma and went through extensive physical therapy.
A year later he was back behind a drum kit, and the band was eventually signed to the country label Stoney Creek.
“It was a tough incident, and it was something hard we went through,” Thomas said. “But it definitely brought us closer. Musically, it changed us a little bit, too. When we came out to finish that last album, we were in a low place, so we flipped the script. We wanted to write positive, fun songs.”
Parmalee, which brings its upbeat brand of pop country to the Knitting Factory on Saturday, truly fits the definition of traveling family band. Thomas’ brother Matt fronts the band, their cousin Barry Knox plays bass and their college friend Josh McSwain is the guitarist.
“There are pros and cons,” Thomas said. “We can argue and get mad, but at the end we’re still family. It’s like a married couple – everybody knows when to leave each other alone. But we work well together, and I think we’re pretty easygoing.”
Parmalee’s last record, “Feels Like Carolina,” was released in late 2013, and the single “Carolina” cracked the Top 10 on the country charts. Now the band is halfway through writing and recording its new album, and Thomas says they’re collaborating with some of the top songwriters in Nashville.
“(The new album) is going to be similar with our three-part harmonies, which is what we’re getting noticed for,” Thomas said. “But we’re still progressing and trying to write better songs. But vocally it’s going to be the same. It’ll still sound like Parmalee. Well, hopefully it’ll still sound like Parmalee.”
As for their live shows, Thomas promises that the band always has more than enough energy to spare.
“We throw in a few old covers that we were brought up on,” he said. “We do a parody of Miley Cyrus’ ‘Wrecking Ball,’ but we change it to ‘Fireball.’ We just turn the show into a fun event. We’ll throw in a couple serious songs, then we kick the party back up. It’s like a rollercoaster ride with a few loops in it.”