About Us
Brothers and Friends
Backwoods Revival, like many bands, began with a few friends and two brothers, who decided to get together and jam. The group being full with talent and years of friendship fell together quite well. No one thought it would turn into an almost full time gig. Well guess what, it became more full time than anticipated. Several of the members came and went to follow other bluegrass groups or other interest and here we are. The last five standing, correction NOW six. Stanley Rooks on the upright Bass, Tim Smallwood on Resonator Guitar (affectionately called the Dobro or Guitar with a hubcap in the center), Jeremiah Johnson on Mandolin, Phillip Dooley (the displaced rock and roller) on Guitar and Judd Rooks (female heartthrob) on the good ole Banjo and last but certainly not least, Chad Daniel on fiddle and vocals.
Backwoods Revival, like many bands, began with a few friends and two brothers, who decided to get together and jam. The group being full with talent and years of friendship fell together quite well. No one thought it would turn into an almost full time gig. Well guess what, it became more full time than anticipated. Several of the members came and went to follow other bluegrass groups or other interest and here we are. The last five standing, correction NOW six. Stanley Rooks on the upright Bass, Tim Smallwood on Resonator Guitar (affectionately called the Dobro or Guitar with a hubcap in the center), Jeremiah Johnson on Mandolin, Phillip Dooley (the displaced rock and roller) on Guitar and Judd Rooks (female heartthrob) on the good ole Banjo and last but certainly not least, Chad Daniel on fiddle and vocals.
Stanley Rooks
On the Upright Bass and singing harmony is Stanley Rooks of Geraldine, AL. Stanley, once the mayor of Whiton, Alabama,now Geraldine Councilman. He is also the proud father of our Banjo picker, Judd Rooks, and old enough to have fathered most of the rest of the band members.
He has a brilliant singing voice, in fact, it was once said when he opens up his voice to sing, the angels part the clouds in heaven and lean down just to hear. Stanley has been around BlueGrass music all his life. He is the son of the Late Charles Rooks Jr., who spent most of his adult life playing bluegrass. Stanley originally began playing the flute, later progressed to playing the tambourine and in 1995, began his journey in bluegrass by playing his dad's upright bass and helped begin Backwoods Revival in 2002. Stanley now plays a Maple EC-9 "Englehardt" bass and the bass his dad played for many years before his passing.
Tim Smallwood
Tim, a founding member of the group, is one of the most unique members of the group, to say the least. He would be best described as, snake wrangler, comedian, song writer, GQ cover model and an expert on the genus names of most the reptilian creatures found in the southeastern United States. Last but not least he is an accomplished Dobro'est. Usually referred to as the guy that plays that guitar with the 1949 Buick hubcap in the middle. All jokes aside, Tim is a very accomplished musician with a long line of mentors and teachers to his credit. He had the opportunity to play along side of many of the industries greats, such as, Rob Ickes, Phil Ledbetter, Randy Kohrs, Tim Graves. Tim plays an Indian Rosewood/Spruce top Resonator Guitar designed and custom made by acclaimed luthier Tim Scheerhorn.
Jeremiah Johnson
A excellent musician on the mandolin and guitar, Jeremiah is also a gifted bluegrass vocalist. Jeremiah cut his musical teeth on good ole, down home, bluegrass. He started playing as a young boy and singing along with the likes of Bobby Osborne, Bill Monroe and many others and bluegrass got into his soul. He has been referred to as the "man of a thousand songs". Heck, he could sing and play all night and never repeat the same one twice. If we could only get him to cut his hair, we're sure he would be destined for stardom. Jeremiah's long time idol and friend is Bobby Osborne of the Osborne Brothers(also Rocky Top X-Press) and Jeremiah plays one of Bobby's personal mandolins he purchased from Mr. Osborne himself in 2007. Jereimiah is from Fyffe, Alabama....you know...where all the UFO's are.
Phillip Dooley
Phillip's clean and solid guitar style, along with his unique lead and tenor vocals add to the distinct sound of the group.
Phillp began playing guitar at age 11 and, unlike the others, followed a different muscial path. He played electric and accoustic guitar in many clubs across the southeast playing southern rock and country ,as well as, the Jazz band in college.. He played with several garage bands, "Legend", "SilverCreek" and eventually landed his first paying gig at 18 with "Panama" touring the southeast, later being hired as guitarest/singer/songwriter for a tour band called " Rodeo". He and "Rodeo" opened for several top groups such as, Pirates of the Mississippi, Billy Joe Royal, B.B. Watson, Diamond Rio, Ricky Skaggs and others. Post "Rodeo", he traversed across much of the the southas lead guitar with a Cover Band called "Cutting Edge". Bluegrass has been a major and welcomed change of playing style and continues to shape his distinctive guitar sound. Phillip is the sound system and recording guru of the group and without him, the band would be...well...much quieter.
His guitar of choice is a Handmade "Dooley" dreadnought he built himself. You can have one too, just bring the cash!
Phillp began playing guitar at age 11 and, unlike the others, followed a different muscial path. He played electric and accoustic guitar in many clubs across the southeast playing southern rock and country ,as well as, the Jazz band in college.. He played with several garage bands, "Legend", "SilverCreek" and eventually landed his first paying gig at 18 with "Panama" touring the southeast, later being hired as guitarest/singer/songwriter for a tour band called " Rodeo". He and "Rodeo" opened for several top groups such as, Pirates of the Mississippi, Billy Joe Royal, B.B. Watson, Diamond Rio, Ricky Skaggs and others. Post "Rodeo", he traversed across much of the the southas lead guitar with a Cover Band called "Cutting Edge". Bluegrass has been a major and welcomed change of playing style and continues to shape his distinctive guitar sound. Phillip is the sound system and recording guru of the group and without him, the band would be...well...much quieter.
His guitar of choice is a Handmade "Dooley" dreadnought he built himself. You can have one too, just bring the cash!
Judd Rooks
Banjoist, Judd Rooks hails from the infamous town of Geraldine, Alabama. Many a hot lickin', banjo pickin', wanna-be's came out of this little southern town but, this one my friends, is the "real deal"! Judd began playing banjo just a few years ago and with grit, determination, talent and hours of 4:00a.m. practice, he has developed in to a killer musician. We constantly hear new licks and tricks every time we get the honor of picking alongside of him. Now as far as a man of many words..you will be lucky to here more than a sentence. Your never gunna hear him sing, heck, your lucky to hear him humm but, when he plays he let's his banjo do his talking for him. He played with "Outta Tyme" before joining "Backwoods Revival".
Judd was inspired to play banjo by his pawpaw, the late Charles Rooks Jr. who spent most of his life playing bluegrass.
Chad Daniel
Born in 1975 in Guntersville Alabama, Chad began his musical journey at an early age. Several of us came from diverse musical backgrounds before bluegrass but, Chad is perhaps miles from his beginning as a musician. The first tape he ever bought was Beethoven's greatest hits.
He took piano lessons at eight, joined the marching band in junior high and played slide trombone. After hearing one of Bach's violin concertos (not a word normally spoken in bluegrass circles) Chad simply HAD to have a violin. He taught himself to play from a VHS tape. (pre CD kiddies!) Later he took a few lessons from our local bluegrass star Gary Waldrep and began easing into bluegrass by default. He was a member of the Northeast College Jazz Band and later, a member of the Jacksonville State Orchestra playing viola. (that's a fiddle on steroids for all you county folks) Somewhere along the way he dabbled in banjo, became an accomplished guitarist, learned the chello and played fiddle/violin on and off for the last 10 years or so playing at his local church and with friends from work. Did I mention that he can play almost every catchy jingle he has ever heard on television and he can do hundreds of impressions(ask him for a Sean Connery). We're not exactly sure how we found him, but as long as we can keep him chained to a microphone stand, he's staying with us!
He took piano lessons at eight, joined the marching band in junior high and played slide trombone. After hearing one of Bach's violin concertos (not a word normally spoken in bluegrass circles) Chad simply HAD to have a violin. He taught himself to play from a VHS tape. (pre CD kiddies!) Later he took a few lessons from our local bluegrass star Gary Waldrep and began easing into bluegrass by default. He was a member of the Northeast College Jazz Band and later, a member of the Jacksonville State Orchestra playing viola. (that's a fiddle on steroids for all you county folks) Somewhere along the way he dabbled in banjo, became an accomplished guitarist, learned the chello and played fiddle/violin on and off for the last 10 years or so playing at his local church and with friends from work. Did I mention that he can play almost every catchy jingle he has ever heard on television and he can do hundreds of impressions(ask him for a Sean Connery). We're not exactly sure how we found him, but as long as we can keep him chained to a microphone stand, he's staying with us!
