NAMA XII Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Fred Tackett and Hall of Fame Winners Hunkr Down

Fred Tackett to be honored with Lifetime Achievement Award

The 2007, NAMA XII Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Arkansas native Fred Tackett. Tackett splits his time between Eureka Springs and Los Angeles when he’s not on the road touring with Little Feat.

Although Tackett is being honored for his talent and rich musical history, he said he has no plans to slow down. He has just returned from Europe and is busy planning FeatFest that will be Sept. 13-16 in Eureka Springs.

Best known to music fans as a member of the seminal rock band Little Feat, Tackett began as a sideman with Little Feat and later became a full-fledged member.

In music circles Tackett is well known as an expert studio musician who has played with some of the music world’s most recognized names.

Tackett began his musical career in the ‘60s. He spent a couple of years in college in Texas and then moved to Oklahoma City where he worked until 1967—the summer of love.

“I bailed out of Oklahoma City and got into a station wagon with a Filipino act called the Highbrows and eventually got to Hawaii,” Tackett said. “Jimmy Webb the songwriter found me there and brought me to Los Angeles to work for him.”

It was in Los Angeles that Tackett met his wife Patricia. “Patricia’s mom was the basic housemother at Jimmy’s where a whole rock band lived in this mansion in Hollywood.”

Webb introduced Tackett to studio work and his first job was working on Richard Harris’ album, The Yard Went On Forever. It was during this time that Tackett met Little Feat’s Lowell George who was in L.A. studying sitar at Ravi Shankar’s school.

“I did studio work until Little Feat fired Lowell and he and I got a band together to support his solo album,” Tackett said. “He died on that tour and the world stopped for a few months.”

After being set back by George’s death, Tackett bounced back and for the next three years (1979 through 1981) worked with Bob Dylan. After that Tackett and another Little Feat player, Bill Payne worked with Bob Seger on the American Storm album and tour.

“During that tour Bill asked me to join him in reforming Little Feat and we have been doing that until now. We are achieving a lot of cool stuff and we are not about to stop.”

The reformed Little Feat is a seven-piece outfit that keeps a busy touring schedule. After NAMA, Tackett will be rejoining Little Feat on April 21 for a summer tour that includes a performance at Wakarusa. The band will also be in the area to play two nights at FeatFest in Eureka Springs in September. Feat Fest will feature other bands, dinners and a variety of activities.

Tackett who is an expert guitarist, mandolin player and trombonist has recently released a solo album “In a Town Like This.” In 2003, Little Feat released “Kickin’ at the Barn,” carrying on the signature style of “California rock and Dixie funk-boogie” that is nonpareil.

In addition to its busy tour schedule, Little Feat also finds time for social causes. The band collected $20,000 after Hurricane Katrina and donated the money to the New Orleans chapter of Habitat for Humanity last year. The group has also collected and delivered books, school supplies and musical instruments to children in Jamaica and is working on a second drive.

In his career Tackett has lent his talent to the likes of Tom Waits, Bonnie Raitt, Allman Brothers, Jackson Browne, Lionel Richie, Leo Sayer, Carly Simon, Boz Scaggs, Rod Stewart, Harry Nilsson, Ringo Starr, Jimmy Webb, Glen Campbell, Valerie Carter, Judy Collins, Rita Coolidge, Vince Gill, Rickie Lee Jones, Nicolette Larson, Aaron Neville, Van Dyke Parks and many others with whom he has performed or recorded.

NAMA XII is please to honor Fred Tackett with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Hunkr Down to receive Hall of Fame Award

Rock band Hunkr Down will be honored by NAMA XII with a Hall of Fame Award, this year’s sole entry into this special group. A Hall of Fame award is the ultimate indication of a band or musician’s popularity, since NAMA winners are selected by the fans. Hall of Fame awards are given to those who have been winners in a single category for three years.

For more than a decade, Hunkr Down has been putting out rock that is just that. There is no fusion or diversion from the genre, simply good solid rock music that brings to mind Van Halen or Kiss. The band is made up of Kyle Gibson, Fred Bowling, Rusty Estes and Chachi Hampton. The group released their latest CD “Treats” in 2006.

Hunkr Down joins the following Hall of Fame recipients in this prestigious category: The Cate Brothers Band, Trout Fishing in America, Still on the Hill, Wildwood, Ultra Suede, Jed Clampit Band, Fallen, Oreo Blue, Big Smith, Cherry Brooks, Darren Ray, Emily Kaitz, Jed Clampit, Ernie Cate, Earl Cate, Porky Hill, David Renko and Clare Starr.