Memphis band to open for Whitesnake -- Every Mother's Nightmare breaks 2-year hiatus

In an irony peculiar to rock and roll, the members of the Memphisband Every Mother's Nightmare, once paragons of the hard-rocking,harder partying lifestyle, now find themselves parents, upstandingexamples of the kind of authority they once rebelled against.

"That's what I said the other day," says lead singer and groupfounder Rick Ruhl, who has a 1-year-old son and an 8-year-olddaughter. "We were at rehearsal and everybody brought their kidsdown. I said, 'Man, rehearsal is sure a lot different than it usedto be in the old days.'"

They may be grown up and responsible, but to hear Ruhl tell it,Every Mother's Nightmare doesn't rock any less than they did whenthey started more than 30 years ago. In fact, more than two decadesremoved from their early '90s heyday - a period that saw the bandrelease two records on major label Arista, score a Top 40 hit, andtour with big names like Cheap Trick - Ruhl says the band is playingbetter now than it ever has.

"The music now has so much more depth," he says. "We had onlyplayed 13 shows back in 1990 when we were signed a record deal. Wewere in a $1 million studio and didn't know what we were doing. It'sjust progressed and grown. The music is so much different now. It'sjust so much better."

Tonight, Every Mother's Nightmare comes off of a two-year hiatusto open for British heavy metal heroes Whitesnake alongside theirMid-South contemporaries Tora Tora at Snowden Grove Amphitheater inSouthaven.

"I've never even seen Whitesnake before," says Ruhl. "And thelast show we played was two years ago with Tora Tora at Rocklahoma,so this will be good."

Originally from Knoxville, Ruhl first started Every Mother'sNightmare in 1987 in Nashville. An invitation from a producerbrought the band to Memphis, then a hotbed of new hard rock talentbehind the likes of Tora Tora, Mother Station and Roxy Blue. Theband got signed when they played a memorable showcase for AristaRecords' legendary founder Clive Davis in a Downtown warehouse. Thegroup's eponymous record came out that year with the No. 22 single"Love Can Make you Blind," a departure from the band's heavy, partysound that Ruhl dismisses as a commercial concession.

Another Arista Record followed in 1993, but soon afterward theoriginal lineup broke up. Ruhl regrouped, and in 2000 the bandreturned on the Austin independent label Perris Records. Afterputting out their third album on the label, 2002's Deeper Shade ofGrey , released under their fans longtime nickname for them, EMN,the band looked as if it may have hit another wall. But resurgencein '80s and '90s heavy bands that began around that time buoyedtheir fortunes once again and kept them out on the road for severalyears.

"Every time we think maybe this is the last record or whatever,something comes about," Ruhl says of the band's remarkableresilience. "Now with the Internet, there're so many type bands outnow. It's really cool. There's not one set, mainstream thing. It'skeeping us alive."

Even still, following their performance at the Oklahoma metalnostalgia festival Rocklahoma, the band, which also includesguitarists Travis Hall and Jeff Caughron, bassist Troy Fleming, anddrummer Shannon Harris, decided to take a break. Ruhl, for one, wasable to spend more time with his daughter, have a son, and devotemore time to his construction company.

Then, earlier this year, their manager called again with newoffers. The band now has a handful of dates lined up with Whitesnakeas well as some shows with Poison. And being back in the saddle hasalso got the band writing and thinking about a new record.

"It's great because we're still seeing new audiences when weplay," Ruhl says. "There's a lot more kids than we expected. "

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Whitesnake with Every Mother's Nightmare and Tora Tora

When: 7 p.m. today.

Where: Snowden Grove Amphitheater, Southaven.

Tickets: $25, $35, $39.50, available at the box office andTicketmaster.

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