Eight is enough

After a nearly 10-year run and spending 13 years apart, local band the Lazy Eights are back for a one-night-only show on Oct. 11 at the Silver Peak Restaurant and Brewery. They played the grand opening of the restaurant 15 years ago and agreed to come back and play in honor of Silver Peak’s 15-year anniversary. The show will take place at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Silver Peak on the corner of Holcomb Avenue and Wonder Street.

The band includes Ben Wilborn on vocals, guitar, violin and mandolin, Joey McKinney on bass, Mike Tilton on guitars, and Derek Smith on drums. The band decided to call it quits in 2001 because they were tired and wanted to start families and careers. There was no animosity among them when they decided to split.

“It was like a good divorce,” said Smith.

They have remained friends and are excited for this 90-minute show comprised of two sets of all original songs.

Music has stayed in the band members’ lives in the 13 years the band has been silent. They expect to have most of the music come back to them while they rehearse, but they know that they have some practice to do before showtime. They’ll be getting together a week early, so they’ll have some time to work in the studio.

“It has been 13 years since we have played any of this music, and a lot of it is pretty arranged, pretty complicated,” said Wilborn.

The band’s sound started as straight bluegrass, but bluegrass doesn’t traditionally include drums, so the sound morphed into a bluegrass-rock hybrid.

“My favorite description I’ve ever got was a guy who said our band was like Paul Simon slamdancing with Buck Owens,” said Wilborn.

Although they didn’t fit the typical look and sound of the ’90s in their peak years, they were playing about 100-150 shows a year and produced three CDs in their time together.

The Lazy Eights played everything from weddings to festivals. They played because they loved to play, but they didn’t try to push the band into being big and famous.

“A lot of times in the beginning, people would want to book us, and the clubs would say, well the Lazy Eights play this, and you look like you’re looking for this,” said Smith. Clubs wanted cover tunes or bands looking and sounding like the hottest stuff at the time. But people still wanted to book them at bars and weddings.

“If you’re trying to say we were chronically unhip, then yes, we were chronically unhip,” said Wilborn.

The Lazy Eights will play two sets of their original tracks from their peak years in the ’90s. The members are excited to play for the Silver Peak anniversary and to get together for one last show. The Derailment will open the show. In addition to hosting the Lazy Eights the event will have a beer garden, food specials and drink specials.

“Everyone who is going to be there already knows who we are,” said Wilborn. “It’s going to be more of a nostalgic fest than a critic-pleasing show.”