Scott H. Biram

All Music Guide:

Scott H. Biram offers up a unique blend of "real" country, old-school acoustic blues, and punk, with influences ranging from Minor Threat and Slayer to Bill Monroe and Mississippi Fred McDowell. Biram is a one-man band, playing all his songs on a 1959 Gibson hollow body, yet each song he plays differs vastly from one to the next, and Biram dishes out a rare sense of self-confidence and independence only rivaled by the originators of outlaw country music themselves.

Biram's number one love is the blues. Next in line come punk, metal, country, bluegrass, Tejano, and zydeco. The one-man band was born and raised in a rural area in the Black Land Prairie region of Texas, a stretch of land characterized by tall grass and rich fertile soil that stretches from north Texas to the San Antonio area. Biram regards Lightnin' Hopkins and Doc Watson as two of his major musical influences. He was exposed to blues during childhood and has played guitar and other instruments since. He played in a punk band throughout high school and college called the Thangs, and later played in two bluegrass bands: Scott Biram & the Salt Peter Boys and Bluegrass Drive-By. He got a taste of life on the road by touring with Bluegrass Drive-By, but has been a one-man band since the late '90s.

In 2003, Biram was nearly killed when his truck was involved in a head-on collision with a semi on a Texas highway. Less than two months later, Biram played a legendary show at Austin's Continental Club, performing on-stage in a wheelchair with IVs still dangling from his arms -- and that set has helped define his rebellious and relentless attitude ever since. Biram has released multiple albums independently, which he sells at his live shows. The Dirty Old One Man Band appeared in 2005, Graveyard Shift in 2006, and Something's Wrong/Lost Forever in 2009, all of them from Bloodshot Records. Biram returned in 2011 with Bad Ingredients, also on Bloodshot Records.

Wikipedia:

Scott H. Biram, aka Scott Biram, SHB, Hiram Biram, or The Dirty Old One Man Band (born April 4, 1974) is an award winning American blues, punk, country, heavy metal musician, and record producer based in Austin, Texas. He is primarily known as one of the prominent musicians of the One Man Band musical genre.

Biography

Biram was born in Lockhart, Texas, United States, and raised in Prairie Lea and San Marcos, Texas. He graduated from San Marcos High School in 1992 and then from Southwest Texas State University (now called Texas State University) in 1997 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Prior to becoming a one-man band, he was a member of a punk band (The Thangs) and two bluegrass bands (Scott Biram & the Salt Peter Boys and Bluegrass Drive-By).

Biram first released five albums under his own record label, KnuckleSandwich Records. His first album was This is Kingsbury?, released in 2000. This was followed by a second release, Preachin' & Hollerin in 2002. In February 2003 he released his third album, Lo-fi Mojo, recorded live on the radio in Austin, Texas. In April of 2003, while recovering from a major head-on collision with a big-rig semi truck he recorded and released the "Rehabilitation Blues E.P." The recording was made at his parent's home while he was still bedridden from his crash. In 2004, he released The Dirty Old One Man Band. Subsequently, it was re-released (with a few changes) in 2005 when Biram signed with Bloodshot Records from Chicago, Illinois. After signing with Bloodshot, Biram released Graveyard Shift (2006), and Something's Wrong / Lost Forever (2009). Something's Wrong/Lost Forever reached #5 on the Billboard Blues Chart. His fourth record on the Bloodshot label, Bad Ingredients, was released on October 11, 2011. The Album reached #35 on the iTunes Rock Chart on the day of release. A week after the release of Bad Ingredients he appeared on the cover of the Austin, TX weekly magazine, The Austin Chronicle.

On March 25, 2003, Biram was involved in a head-on collision with a big-rig semi truck, which resulted in both his vehicle and his body being crushed. He survived the wreck and was flown to Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. He suffered from a broken femur, knee, foot, and arm, and severe internal injuries. Metal rods and pins were placed in all of the broken bones, and one and a half feet of his intestine had to be removed from his body. One month later he was back on stage at Austin's Continental Club playing a show from a wheelchair with an I.V. still dangling from his arm.

Since 1999, Biram has toured the United States, Canada, and Europe (performing approximately 200 dates a year). Between 2005 and 2011, he had toured Europe and the UK fourteen times.

Biram's musical style covers a wide spectrum. "I grew up on Doc Watson, Leadbelly and Lightnin' Hopkins," he revealed, "and in college, I discovered more obscure people like Lil' Son Jackson and Mance Lipscomb." Biram mixes roots music, CB radios and a punk rock attitude. "I kind of pride myself on being able to release my emotions freely and not hold back at all," he says. "So many people these days have timid little weak voices like they're scared to belt it out."

Although primarily known as a One Man Band, other musicians have participated and appeared on multiple Biram releases. Austin, TX musicians, The Weary Boys appeared on songs featured on Biram's records, "Preachin' and Hollerin'" and "The Dirty Old One Man Band". Particularly the songs "Truckdriver," "Sweet Thing," and "Ocean of Diamonds". John Wesley Myers and Van Campbell of Black Diamond Heavies appeared on two songs on Biram's release "Something's Wrong Lost Forever". Walter Daniels, more widely known for his harmonica playing, contributed saxophone solos on the song "I Want My Mojo Back" which was featured on Biram's 2011 record, "Bad Ingredients". Percussionist, Matthew Puryear of the local Austin, TX band Chili Cold Blood also contributed various percussion on several of the songs on Biram's "Bad Ingredients" album.

In 2012, Scott H. Biram's 8th release, "Bad Ingredients", won "Best Blues Record" with the Independent Music Awards.

The song "Blood, Sweat & Murder" from The Dirty Old One Man Band album, was used in the television program, Dog the Bounty Hunter, in the episode titled "A Helping Hand" and also on an episode of NBC's My Name Is Earl. His song "Hit The Road" was also used on Dog The Bounty Hunter. "Lost Case Of Being Found," "Still Drunk, Still Crazy, Still Blue," and "No Way" were used in season four of FX Cable Channel's Sons Of Anarchy. His song "Wreck My Car" was used in the film, The Darwin Awards, starring Winona Ryder and Joseph Fiennes. The Biram song, "BBQ Commercial" is used in a television commercial for Rudy's Country Store and Bar-B-Q, a popular Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Colorado restaurant chain. Biram has appeared in many documentary films, including a part in J.D. Wilkes 2008 film, Seven Signs: Music, Myth & the American South. Biram appeared in the 2008 German film The Folk Singer: A Tale of Men, Music & America. He was also featured in the French documentary, One Trip Some Noise. Biram's music was featured in the documentary, Running Heavy, and another short documentary entitled "The Tuesday Nighter". He also appears in the film "My Blue Star", a biography about the late Hasil Adkins, a prominent musician in the One Man Band genre.

Hard rock band, Nashville Pussy covered his song "Raisin Hell Again" on their 2005 album, Get Some! Hank Williams III covered Biram's song, "Truckdriver". Biram will appear as a guest on the second 2012 release of southern rocker Shooter Jennings.