J. F. Oakes - Ten Years and an Acorn: The 484 South Band to Present (2019)

J. F. was born in the historic southern city of Vicksburg, MS. Shortly thereafter his family moved several places around the South (Hattiesburg, MS; Gonzales, LA, Vicksburg again, etc.) for the next few years before finally settling down in his hometown of Monticello, Mississippi. While traveling as a small child with his mother to Texas to visit relatives, or on trips across the country with his father, the radio was always on. And when it wasn't, the old victrola at grandma's was available. From Hank Williams, Sr. to Jose Feliciano to Johnny Horton to Jimmy Rodgers to Johnny Cash, they all had their time in his young ears.

As a teenager growing up in Mississippi, 70's/Early 80's rock and roll would pull hard at his heart. The Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, The Band, etc. seemed to be the soundtrack to his life and mind.

In the early 80's he played in a couple of high school band's and even got to play with Mississippi's on Cary Hudson (Blue Mountain) while opening the Atwood Music Festival (Mississippi's longest running outdoor festival). Hudson's cousin, Chris, was in the band and this connection would stir up again in the 90's as Oakes did design work for the upstart Alt-Country BLACK DOG RECORDS label that Hudson became a part of.

Through that connection Oakes was able to see the inner workings of a top notch recording facility and hear some great Southern artist's (The Juvenators, Cary Hudson, Taylor Grocery Band, John Stirratt (Wilco/Gimmecaps), The Hilltops, Virgil Brawley, Marah, Duff Dorrough, Beaver Nelson, The Continental Drifters, and so many more) first hand.

In late 2007, he joined the Southern Rock group "The 484 South Band" with former high school band mate Keith Schultz. The 484 South Band have had two critically/financially successful albums, 2009's "Mississippi Nights", and 2011's "21 Miles of Bad Road." The 484 South Band also opened for The Eli Young Band and Wade Bowen, headlined Baton Rouge's Capitol Area Walk three years in a row (10-15,000 people at the event), and appeared in a brief scene in BAD ASSES ON THE BAYOU with Danny Trejo (Machete) and Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon).

By the end of his time with THE 484 SOUTH BAND he began to work on some original music to release. It was intended to be a short EP with acoustic material that he'd collected over the years, but it quickly grew into a full band album.

Jeffrey Reed (Sound Engineer for Thacker Mountain Radio, formerly of Ardent Studios and Black Dog Records) mixed and mastered the first album (ACKNOWLEDGE THE CORN) at the world famous Tweed Studios (owned by Andy Ratcliffe) in the heart of the Delta in Oxford, Mississippi. Special Guests on the album included grammy winner Billy Earheart (Amazing Rhythm Aces & Hank Jr.'s Bama Band), Mark Yavocone (Thacker Mountain's Yalobushwackers) and Max Williams (Kudzu Kings). Also on the album were former band members Twain Pigott, David Johnson, Phil Cangelosi, Keith Schultz, and Bill Romano. Joe Ferguson, of Clinton, MS, provided bass on several songs; Matthew Reid played guitar on several tracks, and Nick Smith, played acoustic guitar on the album as well.

The hard rocking second album (WEST OF CAPRICORN) was released in 2017. It was a full on return to Oakes' Southern Rock roots. It was recorded at ARDENT STUDIOS in Memphis, Tennessee with JEFFREY REED at the helm. Players at the initial session included JUSTIN SHOWAH (Jimbo Mathus and the Tri-State Coalition, Taylor Grocery Band), Max Williams (KUDZU KINGS), Ryan Rogers (Jimbo Mathus and the Tri-State Coalition, Chris Cagle), and Billy Earheart (The Amazing Rhythm Aces, Hank Jr.'s Bama Band, Al Green).

At the end of 2018 Oakes pulled most of his music from the digital platforms, but plans to release a compilation of his work in October 2019. The album will cover his days with 484 SOUTH, the solo albums, a live performance, a cover, some redo's/remixes of songs off WEST OF CAPRICORN and a new song or two. So keep an eye out.