Mobile, Alabama’s Red Clay Strays started out as a local cover band. In 2016, they officially formed as the Strays, adding a couple players to round out the five-person outfit. After a few years gigging around the state and some festival slots, the band hit it big in 2023 when their song “Wondering Why” went viral on TikTok. It climbed up the Billboard charts and landed the band a deal with RCA Records. That led to their Dave Cobb-produced second studio LP, Made by These Moments, which was released on July 26.
In September, the band made their debut at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on tour behind the record, and guitarists Drew Nix and Zach Rishel brought a beautiful stable of American-made 6-strings for the occasion. They gave PG’s John Bohlinger a tour of the goods.
Brought to you by D’Addario.Faylands from Fairhope
Both Nix and Rishel play Fayland guitars, made by Chris Fayland in Fairhope, Alabama. Nix gives a quick, Ricky Bobby-esque rundown of his Fayland T-style: “It’s good wood, it plays real good. I don’t know what to do with my hands.” He strings it with .010s.
Memphis-Made
For semi-hollow “squishiness,” Nix turns to this Gibson ES-339, made in Memphis. This and Nix’s other guitars, including his Fayland and his 2017 Les Paul Classic with PAF-style Geppetto pickups, carry striking, detailed straps made by Jon Wye.
Drew Nix's Amp
Nix tours with two “run of the mill, Guitar Center” Fender Twin Reverbs, which he switched to after “blowing up” Rishel’s Fender Hot Rod Deville. The Ryman gig was being recorded, so Nix had a second one on hand in case the first ran into any issues.
Nix’s Straightforward Board
Nix runs a Pedaltrain Metro 24 board, which is loaded with an Ernie Ball VP JR, Peterson Strobostomp, JHS Whitey Tighty, Browne Amplification Atom, JHS Morning Glory, Xotic EP Booster, Strymon El Capistan, and Strymon Flint.
Fairhope "Firebird"
Rishel loves his Faylands, too. He tours with a baby blue “Mark II” Fayland Strat, equipped with stainless-steel frets and a Tele-style bridge pickup. His Fayland “Firebird” Tele is even more of a stunner, with its candy-red finish and firebird decal. This one has a trio of Lollar pickups, and a traditional three-way Tele switching system. A button between the volume and tone knobs activates the middle pickup for Strat-style tones and modified switching.
A Fine Vintage Super Reverb
Rishel picked up this 1968 Fender Super Reverb from Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville, which he calls “the best guitar shop in the world.”
Zach Rishel's Pedalboard
On his board, Rishel runs a TC Electronic Polytune 3, SRossFX Sun King, MXR Custom Badass Modified O.D., Greer Super Hornet, SRossFX Echo Flex, TC Electronic Hall of Fame, SRossFX Dual Roebuck, and Keeley Dark Side. It’s all powered by a Mooer Macro Power S8.
On October 4th, Southeastern Records will release Live From The Ryman Vol. 2, the new live album from six-time GRAMMY Award winner Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit. Live From The Ryman Vol. 2 draws from multi-track recordings by the band’s longtime front-of-house engineer, Cain Hogsed, from four of the last six years of sold-out shows at Nashville’s legendary Ryman Auditorium. Hogsed co-produced the album alongside Isbell, and mixed the tracks with Nashville, TN’s Todd Tidwell.
Live From The Ryman Vol. 2 features 15 live versions of songs from the band’s last two critically acclaimed, award-winning studio albums - Reunions (2020) and Weathervanes, (2023), as well as stunning rendition of “The Last Song I Will Write,” from Isbell’s 2009 self-titled release, and a poignant cover of Tom Petty’s “Room at the Top.”
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, Live From The Ryman Vol. 2
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s Weathervanes won two 2023 GRAMMY Awards for Best Americana Album and Best American Roots Song (“Cast Iron Skillet”). Weathervanes was produced by Isbell and released in June of 2023. The record is a collection of grown-up songs: Songs about adult love, about change, about the danger of nostalgia and the interrogation of myths, about cruelty and regret and redemption. Weathervanes was called one of the albums of the year in 2023, and received critical acclaim from the likes of NPR, Rolling Stone, Uproxx, Paste, Relix, and many, many more.
Since his first show there in 2014, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit has sold out over 50 nights at the Ryman Auditorium. Isbell and his band are likely to add to that number this October, when he’ll perform another eight nights at the Ryman. Tickets are still available for his annual residency there. Support includes Alice Randall (10/10), Garrison Starr (10/11), Mary Gauthier (10/12), Caitlin & Liz Rose (10/13), Matraca Berg (10/17), Iris DeMent (10/18), Gretchen Peters (10/19), and Kim Richey (10/20).
Isbell and his band the 400 Unit released their next album Weathervanes during the summer of 2023. Weathervanes was produced by Isbell. The record is a collection of grown-up songs: Songs about adult love, about change, about the danger of nostalgia and the interrogation of myths, about cruelty and regret and redemption.
Isbell also appears as Bill Smith in the Oscar-nominated Martin Scorsese film, Killers of the Flower Moon, which received a 2024 SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture. Isbell’s time on set with Scorsese informed Weathervanes. He watched the great director work, saw the relationship between a clear vision and its execution, and perhaps most important, saw how even someone as decorated as Scorsese sought out and used his co-workers’ opinions.
“It definitely helped when I got into the studio,” Isbell says. “I had this reinvigorated sense of collaboration. You can have an idea and you can execute it and not compromise -- and still listen to the other people in the room.”
For more information, please visit jasonisbell.com.
