Backwoods Revival
About Us
Left to Rt. Phillip, Jeremiah, Tim, Judd, Stanley
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, 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 good lookin' one in the bunch) on Guitar and Judd Rooks on the good ole Banjo.
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, 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 good lookin' one in the bunch) on Guitar and Judd Rooks on the good ole Banjo.
Stanley Rooks
On the Upright Bass and singing harmony is Stanley Rooks of Geraldine, AL. Stanley, once the mayor of Whiton, Alabama, 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. The cannon on the home page of our site, is the very cannon Stanley used while fighting the Yankee's. 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.
Tim Smallwood
A founding member of Backwoods Revial, Tim is a unique individual to say the least. He has a long list of talents that range from professional Farrier, snake wrangler, poet, excellent singer, song writer and not the least of which, Resonator Guitarest. Tim began playing the Resonator Guitar (Dobro) later in life, but his determination and talent allowed him to excel quickly on his instrument. Tim began to pursue the top players in the industry "to be good you must learn from the best". His list of contributors to his talent are some of the best musicians in the world of bluegrass, such as, Rob Ickes, Jerry Douglas, Phil Ledbetter, Randy Kohrs and the list goes on.... Tim plays a Custom made 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. 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. 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.