Off the Beat'n Path was released on June 7, 1986.                    Click to hear TAKE ME DOWN

The 7 song EP was produced by Bruce Bossert

(our sound man for several years) and The RCC

and engineered by Bruce except for Take Me Down,

which was engineered by Douglas Edwards. The

EP was recorded and mixed primarily at The Sound

Connection in Nashville, TN with the exception of

Take Me Down and Forget Me Nots being mixed at

DIY Studios in Hendersonville, TN. All songs were

written by Joe Blanton except for Heart Full Of Soul,

A Yardbirds cover, written by G. Gouldman.

All songs were arranged by The RCC.

(Trivia) The album was financed by Robert Logue

who had just received an inheritance from his

grandmother. The EP was dedicated to the memory

Homer Earnest and Julia Tubb Dowell Ashley

for their posthumous contribution. Chris's father

did our printing and provided art direction.

The Royal Court designed the cover art with

photography by Chip Chilton and the logo design

by Mike Howell. The Church on the cover and the

photos of Joe, Robert and Oscar were all shot in

Adams, TN., home of the Bell Witch legend. The EP

was released on vinyl only and only 1000 were pressed.

(I have seen them in collectible stores and on EBAY

for $75. I have a box of 25 unopened EP's.) The EP

also came with an insert featuring lyrics on one side

and collages created by each band member on the other.

Robert designed the Backwoods Buddha logo and Joe

designed the Desperation Records logo. Also printed

on the back cover are the words, "Desperation Breeds

Strange Activity," the opening line of the first song on

Side 1, The Lottery. A video was directed for Take Me

Down by Patrick McGuinn (son of Roger (Byrd's) as a

project for his film class. The black and white video

mixes a live RCC performance at Elliston Sq. with

footage from The band wandering through the woods

of Hendersonville. You can view the video on The Reels

page. I will eventually re-master the EP for a release on

CD.