Recently, I had the pleasure of listening to a local band called Liberation.  The music was tight and sound was awesome as reflected by the excitement of the crowd who had come out to hear them.  To my surprise, I learned that they have been together for some 37 years and are still going strong.  

Between 1970 and 1972, there were two very successful top 40 road acts that were booked in BG on a regular basis, one was Wild Country which later became Alabama and the other was Micky Hiter & the Music City Limits in which guitarist Philip Douglas was a member. Philip left the group and started Liberation in 1972.,   The original line up was Philip Douglas/guitar, Billy Lawrence/Bass, David Finney/Drums, Don E. Williamson/Keyboards.   The group played 4-6 nights a week at Nellie O’Bryan’s for 31 years before moving to the Crossroads Bar and Grill in 2005 where it entertains 4 nights a week.  

The members of the band are Amy Federick (keyboards), Tia Michelle Hendrick (bass) Doug Anderson, (drums) and Derek Lawrence (guitar) I recently sat down with Amy and Michelle to talk about their enduring contribution to local music.

Each of you has been a fixture on the local music scene for quite some time. Can you tell us a bit about your personal and musical histories?

Amy: I was a classically trained pianist who played for church from the time I was a kid and accompanied musicals all the way through college.  Then I decided that I wanted to be a pop musician because it seemed like I was missing out on fun and the whole play-by-ear side of music.  I bought a Korg M-1, joined a few bands and ended up moving to Nashville in 1993.  About three weeks later, Philip Douglas gave me a job playing 6 nights a week with Liberation.  

Michelle: I grew up around a family of great musicians and entertainers and was lucky to hit the road and be a part of their shows, learning from them.  I performed my first live show when I was 4.  My mom would say, “you don’t have to be good right now, just cute.”

 How did you get started as Liberation?  

Michelle: I had spent time working in and out of BG as a road musician with project groups, artists and sometimes as a member of different house bands.  I was pretty much always in competition with Liberation.  Philip and I had a great respect for each other’s business plans and had talked about if the time was right and there was an opening, I would join the band.  I joined in 1993.

Amy: Liberation has been around a long time.  I think I was six years old when it was formed.  Ha!  

Who influenced you as musicians?  

Michelle: It’s hard to say. I grew up with big band/country/rock-a-billy/rock & roll of all kinds. I have been playing for 45 years so I can say I have a lot of influences.

Amy: My brother and sister.  They were older than me and were really into rock and roll and especially the Beatles.  He played guitar and she played piano.  When I taught myself to sing, I listened to a lot of Wynonna and Bonnie Raitt.  My favorite keyboardists are Booker T, Benmont Tench and the late great Barry Beckett.  I like their soulful, funky, laid-back, in-the-pocket style.

What is your favorite sort of gig?

Amy: It’s when the players are rested, living for the groove, not over-playing and trying their best to make the current song sound better than they’ve ever played it before.  Also, it’s important for the players to believe in themselves with humility and have a great sense of humor about the whole thing.  

How do you define your sound?

Michelle:  “BIG”  We follow The Liberation Formula:  “Watch and Listen to the crowd.  Don’t jump on fads.  Be there every night.  Make them want more.”

Amy: Liberation attempts to sound like either the actual recording of a great song or a very good version of a great song.  There are four of us and it can be challenging at times to copy some of the greatest studio players in the world.  We attempt to find the closest sounds to match recordings.  I use a Yamaha motif which has a lot of great vintage keyboards sounds onboard.  I also play a Hammond organ with a Leslie speaker.  We have a lot of respect for writers, musicians, producers and everyone involved in getting songs recorded.

All musicians have stories about the places they’ve played and people they’ve met over the years, Can you each share one particularly interesting or memorable one with us?

Amy: Liberation played at the Red Carpet/Executive Inn/Travelodge for many many years.  I have many great memories but I always think of a group of thirty or so bagpipers who used to stay in the hotel during Glasgow’s Highland Games.  Every year, they would come down to the lounge in full attire including kilts and would march in, playing their bagpipes.  They would form a huge circle around the dance floor and play to the crowd for ten or fifteen minutes.  It was all I could do not to cry during Amazing Grace it was so beautiful and incredible.  Another great memory is the last night we played there.  Lots of people were turned away that night, it was an incredible send-off for that club and us.

After all these years, where do you want go with your music?

Amy: I’m working on a Master’s degree at Belmont University in piano performance and music education.  I expect to play, teach and write music the rest of my life.  

Do you currently have or are you planning for a CD?

Michelle:   Liberation has always had great writers in the band.  The band is known as a top cover band so I could see a mix of favorite covers and originals on a live CD.

Amy: I do have a CD.  It’s called “However We Like” and contains songs I wrote.  The band needs to record a live CD in my opinion!

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Amy: I’ll let Michelle do that.

Michelle: First of all Jack, Amy and I are honored to represent Liberation in this, its 37th year. Liberation founding member Philip Douglas has entrusted us to be good stewards of a great entertainment history and we work everyday to maintain that standard.  Visit our website www.liberationband.com, and join the Liberation fan page on Facebook.  Liberation has so much history in Bowling Green that we are building a page devoted to contributions from past Liberation members and fans.  We would like to encourage anyone with pictures, video, articles, stories and other memorabilia to contact us.  

Thanks Jack for a great interview!  

Jack: You’re very welcome! Thank you both for your time and candor.   I am sure everyone joins me in wishing you and Liberation many more years of awesome music.

About the author: Jack Montgomery is a librarian, author and associate professor at Western Kentucky University where he handles bookings for musical acts in University Libraries, Java City coffeehouse. Jack has also been a professional musician since 1969 and performs with a celtic quartet called Watersprite. Visit him at MySpace/shadowdancerjack or on Facebook.