Coleman Easterly was originally a pianist, but it took decades for this artist to find his voice, after he was encouraged, at the age of 64, to step up to the mic. There’s no stopping him now, with single ‘Jukebox Brawl’ the pre-cursor to his first full-length vocal album.
Growing up in Cleveland, Tennessee, Coleman Easterly was six years old when he first started playing piano, inspired by a family friend’s performance on a 3-tier electronic organ. Music has been his passion ever since, and he honed his skills in talent shows and his high school jazz band, where he discovered improvisation, and thus opening the door on a whole new world of songs and sounds.
Somehow, apart from a company band playing at annual manufacturing customer conferences, Coleman managed to separate music from the rest of his life, while he raised a family and built a professional career. His debut instrumental release, ‘Keeping My Day Job’, illustrated this, served as both reflective project and a humorous nod to music’s place in his life.
In 2019 however, everything changed. He moved to the idyllic Latitude Margaritaville in Daytona Beach, Florida, and here he found a vibrant community of like-minded neighbours, who hosted frequent driveway jam sessions. Suddenly, he had what he had always longed for, and he soon became a core member of The Coral Reef Corner Band, playing at community events, driveways, cul-de-sacs, town-center stages, and regional venues all around the Daytona Beach. Over the following years he saw his stage confidence increase, and he started singing with the band, taking on more and more songs. The praise of audiences helped his confidence even further, and he finally decided to step out in faith and embark on a new chapter as a vocalist. With the help of songwriter and producer Randall Lee Richards, he’s refining his craft, and now feels this is exactly what he was meant to do.
‘Jukebox Brawl’ feels like we are stepping into a rowdy watering hole, somewhere deep in the backroads of Tennessee. It’s “Friday night down at the Rusty Nail”, and Coleman tells the story, of two drunken women, who have their hearts set on a particular soundtrack. Tempers start to flare, while distorted guitars build up the raw energy of rock-country grit. The song’s storyline might sound familiar: Nashville songwriter Keith Mohr took inspiration from a real-life story about two women arrested for fighting over a jukebox at a Waffle House, and swapped out that setting for a bar. Easterly’s vocals are gravelly, and gruff, authentically Tennessee, and listeners will feel transported to the bar, as if they themselves are watching it all going on.
The music video for ‘Jukebox Brawl’ invites viewers into the real life Rusty Nail in Nashville, where Easterly narrates, and a feud between his wife Katherine, and Randall Lee Richards’ wife, Maribeth (in real life the pair are best friends). Tensions mount right from the start, with the two women darting looks at each other before ending up face to face, the crowd surrounding them cheering them on. It’s just another Friday night at the Rusty Nail, and while the cops may eventually put an end to it, next Friday is just around the corner.
Watch the music video for ‘Jukebox Brawl’ below, and find out more about Coleman Easterly and his music online on his official website, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
