Bio
Stace England hails from southern Illinois in the Great American Midwest, and found his creative footing in Chicago during the early '90s with House Afire, one of the first country/roots bands in what was to become a very vibrant alt-country scene. House Afire enjoyed tremendous fan support, and released one album, Progress (Bigwood) in 1992.
England returned to the isolation of rural southern Illinois and recorded a project of aggressive folk material under the name Tecumseh, releasing the well-received Bearings (Union) in 1995. His next musical adventure was with the alt/slasher/country-rock outfit Jubilee Songbirds, which released the eclectic Birds of North America (Western Front) in 1997. England released his first solo record, Peach Blossom Special (Relay) in 1999, and a power pop CD in 2003, Lovey Dovey ALL the Time (Gnashville Sounds).
England's concept/historical album Greetings From Cairo, Illinois was a culmination of five years of research, hundreds of conversations and "countless hours of general hanging around" in what he describes as "the most fascinating town in America, bar none." The CD traced Cairo's history from 1858 to the present through the Civil War, lynchings, the blues years, civil rights struggles and spectacular decline. England was joined on the CD by top musicians from southern Illinois, Los Angeles and Nashville including alt-country legend Jason Ringenberg of Jason and the Scorchers. “Greetings From Cairo, Illinois” led to international interest in England’s music and stories from southern Illinois.
With 2007’s Salt Sex Slaves England, along with his stellar core band The Salt Kings tackled another bizarre slice of unknown US history weaving true stories of brutal salt production, slave breeding, kidnapped free blacks and murder in a supposed Free State, the Land of Lincoln, into a volatile, provocative Exile On Main St.-ish stew.
With 2010’s The Amazing Oscar Micheaux England and the Salt Kings set their sights on the incredible life story of Metropolis, Illinois born filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. After leaving Little Egypt he spent time as a Pullman porter, traveling all over the US and as far as South America. He then became the only African American to homestead a farm near Gregory, South Dakota. In his isolation he began to pen semi autobiographical novels, starting with The Conquest in 1913 and The Homesteader in 1917. A small, black owned movie studio approached Micheaux about making the standard short film of the period based on The Homesteader, he instead formed his own film company and wrote, filmed, produced and directed the sprawling epic, The Homesteader in 1919. It was a sensation in Chicago and other cities. Then, in a direct challenge to D.W. Griffith's racially charged Birth of a Nation Micheaux released his masterpiece, Within Our Gates in 1920. Audiences were stunned. The film remained lost for almost 60 years until a single copy was discovered in Spain in 1990. His triumph was the equivalent of making Citizen Kane without any financial backing from Hollywood or other connected sources. Micheaux bested Orson Welles in accomplishment, and by two plus decades, yet he is virtually unknown to most Americans. The CD was featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition and led to an innovative film festival tour.
America, Illinois in 2013 focused on songs from a post 911 United States filtered through the lens of the tiny village of America in Pulaski County, Illinois.
In 2019 England launched a project he'd always wanted to on the life of American songwriter Stephen Foster called Foster's Satchel. Recording was just about to begin on an album of rearranged Foster songs when Covid-19 appeared. The group did play live and plan to resume activity when the coast is clear.
The Red Hills Music Collective released it's debut record, Greetings from Lawrence County, Illinois in 2021. This covid project brought together numerous musicians from Lawrence County to paint a musical picture of life in rural America. Read about it on the home page.
In 2022 a new Salt Kings side project, Screen Syndicate, released their debut album, Roberta Stars In The Big Doll House, a celebration of Roger Corman, B-Movies and actress Roberta Collins, a terrific, spunky actress mired in terrible roles. The project was heavily influenced by the old Midway Drive In in Lawrenceville, Illinois and the films screened there in the 1970's staring Collins. Those films included Death Race 2000, the most famous B movie most teenagers never saw, but said they did.