Dec `11

ture from The Blues Foundation for his previous book, Stevie Ray Vaughan: Day by Day,
Night After Night: The Early Years.
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says event organizer Cynthia Muñoz. “I see
it as promoting Latino culture and building
bridges and understanding among all cultures
— through music.”
Willie & Auld Lang Syne
While most septuagenarians prefer to ring
in the New Year in
their recliners, Willie
Nelson — wizened
enough to pass for Father Time — will return
to Austin this Dec. 30
and 31 for two New
Year’s Eve performances at ACL Live.
(www.countryschatter.com)
The
Red
Headed
Stranger will welcome special guests including Ray Price (both nights) and The Gourds
(New Year’s Eve). Those attending the second
The Final Years
Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza is the most competitive
festival of its kind in the U.S. (www.mariachimusic.com)
Dueling Sombreros
Every year, over 1,000 mariachi musicians
convene in San Antonio to participate in mariachi music workshops, competitions, concerts
and more. The eight-day Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza features some of the world’s best
mariachi music, and this year’s event — which
began Nov. 27 — runs until Dec. 4 at San Antonio’s Lila Cockrell Theater. Started in 1979
and designed to promote cultural preservation, Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza is now
the largest and longest-running festival of its
kind in Texas. It also plays host to the largest and most competitive mariachi group and
vocal competitions in the United States. “We
want to help educate people so they see mariachi music as this elegant, sophisticated art
form that’s played by multiple generations,”
A new biography offers fans
a microscopic
look into the final days of Stevie
Ray
Vaughan,
whose career
was cut short
by a tragic helicopter crash
when the artist
was just 35.
Stevie
Ray
Vaughan: Day
by Day, Night
Hopkin’s book chronicles SRV’s final
days. (Courtesy Hal Leonard Perform- After Night: The
ing Arts Publishing Group)
Final
Years
should, as its title suggests, be reserved for
Vaughan’s most ardent fans. Biographer Craig
Hopkins has crammed the pages with hundreds of photos, ephemera and detailed firsthand accounts from Vaughan’s family, friends
and band members. (The book also contains a
foreword by Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top.) Hopkins,
who lives in Cedar Hill, Texas, received the
2009 Keeping Blues Alive Award for Litera-
extra
PUBLISHER/
S T E WA RT R A M S ER
TOM BUCKLEY
e d i t o r - i n - c hie f
E D I TO R
C o n t ribu t o rs L A U R A C . M A L L O N E E
M A T T P O R T I L L O
CO P Y E D I TO R K A T Y G O O D
show will enjoy a balloon drop, a champagne
midnight toast by Woodbridge Sparkling and
even a special appearance by the real Father
Time — hopefully sans scythe.
Polka Time
For those traveling on I-35 this holiday season,
a stop for kolaches in the Czech town of West,
Texas, is almost essential for survival. But in
a new book, musician Jimmy Brosch, together with writer Theresa Cernoch Parker, asks
Texans to consider another important (though
often overlooked) Czech contribution: polka
music. Jimmy Brosch Remembers Twenty
Legendary Texas Czech Polka Bands profiles
20 ensembles — including Brosch’s own Happy
Country Boys — spanning generations from
the late 1860s to the last dance of the Vrazels‘
Polka Band in 2009. “People kind of forgot
about these bands,” says Brosch. “We used to
dance to their music, we played with them at
dances, and all of the sudden they’ve been forgotten. I decided to try to bring them back.”
The book contains vintage photos from previously unshared family collections as well as
portraits of three surviving band leaders. A
companion CD allows readers to experience
the music along with the stories. On Dec. 2,
Parker (herself a third-generation Czech/German/Irish-Texan) will sign copies at the Toys
for Tots Fundraiser at Knights of Columbus
Hall in Houston. The book and CD can be purchased online at www.20polkabands.com.
ANNE HERMAN
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R eproduction in whole or part is prohibited .
Jimmy Brosch and the Happy Country Boys.
(www.mysanantonio.com)
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The Long Center in Austin is home to the Austin Music
Memorial, which now pays tribute to 40 musicians after the
Nov. 18 ceremony. (www.topboxdesign.com)
Music Memorial
Among the many parcels of hallowed music
ground in Austin, one is particularly noteworthy. The Austin Music Memorial is a tribute
of sorts to the many late musicians (and others who have contributed to the music com-
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munity) who did their part to improve Austin
and its prolific music scene. For each person
inducted, a personalized engraved plaque is
placed on the City Terrace of the Long Center
for the Performing Arts, which overlooks Lady
Bird Lake and the picturesque Austin skyline.
On Nov. 18, Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell and
the city’s music division hosted a ceremony
in which 10 late Austinites were inducted and
honored with their own plaques: Raymond
Guerrero Donley (1892-1963), Sims Ellison
(1967-1995), Dolores Fariss (1912-1993), Keith
Ferguson (1946-1997), Walter Hyatt (19491996), Benjamin Leo “B.L.” Joyce (18881980), Gloria Jean-Brown Manor (1941-1999),
Thomas James “TJ” McFarland (1946-2005)
and Randy “Biscuit” Turner (1949-2005). The
Austin Music Memorial is in its fourth year of
existence, and with this year’s inductees, it
now honors 40 people. More information can
be found at the following website:
www.cityofaustin.org/music/memorial.htm
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Big Shoes
The Houston Symphony’s former executive
director and CEO, Matthew VanBesien, was
recently listed in a New York Times article
among candidates being considered to fill the
top executive director boots at New York’s
Philharmonic Orchestra. Aside from managing the nation’s oldest symphony orchestra, the current director earns a lucrative
$807,000 a year and oversees a $69 million
budget. VanBesien, who left Houston in 2009
for a gig as managing director of Australia’s
Melbourne Symphony, hasn’t confirmed the
report.
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Happen-Ins, Graham Wilkinson, Balmorhea
and the Black Angels, but the station welcomes all genres of music. “Different is good,”
Brecht says. “Strange music is cool. Being independent is cool. Not fitting in is cool. Music
that sounds like it was recorded in a log cabin
is cool.” Tune in at www.listentoAIR.com.
Boland vs. Fowler
After a two-month reign on the Texas Music
Chart, Jason Boland & the Stragglers’ hit,
“Mary Ellen’s Green House,” finally tumbled
from No. 1 to No. 4 as Kevin Fowler’s “That
Girl” took over the top spot. If it’s any consolation to Boland, his song is still No. 1 on the
TexNet50 chart, where Fowler’s song, coincidentally, remains at No. 4.
Houston, We Have Awards
Independent Radio — Online
Convinced Austin radio stations weren’t doing
enough to promote local music in the capital
city, musician Chris Brecht launched Austin
Independent Radio in December 2010. By
August, the free online station had grown
from entertaining a 300-listener audience
to claiming more than 15,000 daily listeners
internationally. Brecht, who himself performs
as Chris Brecht & Dead Flowers, calls it an
“online festival for independent artists,”
where any bands can submit songs or demos
for consideration. He claims the station has
more in common with AM radio of the late
‘50s, when it wasn’t impossible to get a new
band or sound on the airwaves. The current
playlist includes tracks from over 80 artists,
including Asleep at the Wheel, Quiet Company, Kat Edmonson, Mike and the Moonpies, the
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The Houston Press distributed its silver records
at the 22nd annual awards ceremony Nov. 14.
More than 40 awards were given in categories
as diverse as Best Song (“Drank in My Song”
by Kirko Bangz) to Best Mixtape (Killa Kyleon’s
Candy Paint & Texas Plates 2) and Best Record
Store (Cactus Records). Robert Ellis (pictured
below) took home awards for Best Songwriter,
Best Country and Local Musician of the Year
and Best Guitarist (tying with Kelly Doyle).
Other winners included Sideshow Tramps for
Best Americana, Little Joe Washington for
Best Blues, Monica Matocha for Best Pop
Artist and thelastplaceyoulook for Best Rock
Group (whose frontman, Nava, snagged
Best Male Vocalist).
Perhaps the evening’s
sorest loser was Delicious Milk, who, despite having recorded
only one song (too
vulgar to mention
here), was nominated
for 10 awards but received none.
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DECEMBER
2
Rock Solid Holiday Party
Benefiting Mental Health America of Texas
La Zona Rosa
Austin
www.rocksolidholidayparty.org
Have a holly, jolly time of it at this year’s
Bazaar. (www.texasbb.org)
ARMADILLO CHRISTMAS
BAZAAR
Palmer Events Center
December 14-24 • Austin
www.armadillobazaar.com
3-4
Dickens on the Strand Festival
The Strand National Historic Landmark District
Galveston
www.dickensonthestrand.org
4
“Hits from the Hill” CD Release Party
SugarHill Recording Studios
The Continental Club
This season, skip the fruitcake and head
over to the 36th Annual Armadillo Christmas Bazaar, where you can find a gift for
everyone on your list and also enjoy live,
local music in the process. Held Dec. 1424 just across the street from the site of
its original 1976 birthplace — Armadillo
World Headquarters — the self-described
“honky tonk bar shopping experience” is
an Austin staple. This year, over 160 Texan artists and artisans will sell fine art,
jewelry, ceramics, sculpture, metalwork,
leatherwork, glass, apparel, books and
even furniture. Though some shoppers
from bazaars past have complained of
overpriced goods, many booths will offer
gifts under $25 in addition to higher-end
items. Besides, you can’t beat the $5
admission charge ($8 nights and weekends) to hear over 30 old and new artists perform, including Ray Wylie Hubbard, Band of Heathens, Eliza Gilkyson,
Kat Edmonson, James McMurtry, Robyn
Ludwick, Slaid Cleaves, Sahara Smith
and Kyle Park. Though seating at the
events center is limited, the dance floor
will be open along with a full-service bar.
Say what you want about the merits of
fruitcake, but your relatives — and ears —
will thank you.
— LAURA C. MALLONEE
Houston
Ray Price performs at Willie Nelson’s
Family New Year. (www.the9513.com)
9
Bugs Henderson Benefit
McDavid Studio
Forth Worth
www.sugarhillstudios.com
www.basshall.com/mcdavidStudio.jsp
14
19
Texas Rocks on Holiday Bash
(for members & guests)
Gibson Guitar Showroom
Austin
www.grammy365.com
Holiday HAAM Jam
Antone’s
Austin
www.antones.net
30-31
Willie Nelson and Friends
Family New Year
ACL Live at the Moody Theater
Austin
www.acl-live.com
31
New Year’s Eve at Padre’s with
Jimmie Dale Gilmore and
Butch Hancock
Padre’s
Marfa
www.padresmarfa.com
31
Granada Theater New Year’s Eve with
Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights
Granada Theater
Jimmie Dale Gilmore rings in the New
Year at Padre’s in Marfa.
(www.jimmiegilmore.com)
Dallas
www.granadatheater.com
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stirring and, well, lively voice that enlivens
her songs with a lust for the spiritual connectivity that well-crafted and compassionate songs will always be capable of creating.
— GLEASON BOOTH
Vanessa Lively
Uncovering Stones
Self-released
CLICK TO BUY ON ITUNES
Lively has uncovered some universal truths
with Uncovering Stones. On this, the San
Antonio native’s fourth release, Lively celebrates the magical power that music has to
unite, inspire and induce soul-sharing intimacy across cultures and borders. A globetrotter whose travels have taken her from South
America to Northern England, Lively absorbs
the rhythms and muses from experiences
to create a unique and mesmerizing sound
all her own. Producer (and husband) Jason
Lively weaves together a world of textures
and tempos, with pleasant aural surprises
within every track. Highlights include “Digging Up Dirt,” about the search for roots and
relevance, which opens the album with a lazy,
carefree island feel, the uplifting and encouraging “Follow Your Heart” and “Skeletons,”
a recognition that we’re all pretty much the
same on this planet and our individual foibles
are no reason to let buckets of rain fall on
our joyous parades. Lively’s is a passionate,
Explosions in the Sky
Take Care Take Care Take Care
Temporary Residence
CLICK TO BUY ON ITUNES
Explosions in the Sky’s sixth album was a
self-admittedly difficult one for the Austin
quintet to realize, a regrouping since 2007’s
All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone. Yet Take
Care emerges with a ringing clarity and calm
that suggest the band has embraced and risen beyond their Friday Night Lights success
into a more subtle and confident space. Still
expansive, as with the epic coil of “Be Comfortable, Creature” and the surging pulse of
closer “Let Me Back In,” the guitars shimmer
against the album’s dominant percussion,
cascading in post-rock rhythms that flit and
melt but scour beneath the surface. Most
notably, though, is the register of restraint
and even hopeful pull of this instrumental LP, standing as one of the group’s best.
— DOUG FREEMAN
new releases
Nov. 1
Nov. 1
Nov. 1
Nov. 1
Nov. 1
Nov. 8
Nov. 8
Nov. 15
Nov. 15
Nov. 15
Nov. 21
Nov. 22
Nov. 29
Nov. 29
Dec. 6
Dec. 13
Dec. 13
Jan. 3
Jan. 17
Jan. 31
Feb. 7
Feb. 28
Miranda Lambert
Four the Record
Sony
Jeff Allen
Jeff Allen
Savvy
Seth Sherman
When the Moment is True
Nine Mile
Rick Broussard’s Two Hoots Come and Take It
Self-Released
and a Holler
Austin Allsup
Sink or Swim
Self-Released
Cody Johnson
A Different Day
Self-Released
Mitchell & Harris
Traveling By Moonlight
Wiggle Stump
Cross Canadian Ragweed
Box of Weed
Show Dog/Universal
Will Sexton
Move the Balance (Reissue)
Self-Released
Radiola
Standard Broadcast
Bouncing Ball
Willie Nelson
Remember Me
R&J
Darstar
Tiny Darkness
Idol
Beyoncé
Live at Roseland: Elements of 4 Columbia
Kris Gordon
Don’t Let Go Tonight
Frio
Larry Joe Taylor
Tales and Tunes Vol. 2
Winding Road
Ben Schane
Old Song
Self-Released
A Tribute to Guy Clark (various)This One’s for Him
Icehouse
Eric Taylor
Live at the Red Shack
Blue Ruby Music
Cory Morrow
Live at Billy Bob’s Texas
Smith Entertainment
Ruthie Foster
Let it Burn
Blue Corn
Josh Grider
Live at Billy Bob’s Texas
Smith Entertainment
Pat Green
Songs We Wish We’d Written II Sugar Hill
Salim Nourallah
Hit Parade
Tapete
As a producer, Nourallah is known for
bringing out the best in musicians. He’s
the notable force behind several of the Old
97’s latest, as well as Rhett Miller’s last
solo project and Buttercup’s The Weather
Here. He even took home Best Producer
honors at this year’s Dallas Observer Music
Awards. His latest effort in front of the mic,
however, mixes Nourallah’s signature brand
of nostalgic pop with his growing network
of some of the best artists in Texas: Joe
Reyes, the Grammy-winning guitarist from
Buttercup, John Dufilho (Deathray Davies
and Apples in Stereo), Jason Garner of
Polyphonic Spree and I Love Math, and
keyboardist Richard Martin (Shibboleth).
Hit Parade is a study of childhood, travel,
regret … and dancing, carefully straddling
the lighthearted and heavy. The title track
and “Friends for Life” are more somber
than the optimistic titles would indicate,
but the disc takes a playful turn with the
disco-infused “Travolta” and the childhood
longings of “Channel 5.” “Never Felt Better” and “Goddamn Life” are the heart of
the CD, vividly capturing the complicated
nature of adulthood — the pain, uncertainty
and beauty. Funding this project with a successful Pledge Music campaign that enlisted the support of his fans, Nourallah is one
of several musicians of late to demonstrate
new ways to continue making the music he
loves. — CINDY ROYAL
q&a Lisa Morales
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The songs are very emotional.
I’ve been writing and singing sad songs since I
was a little girl, and I’ve always been accused
of saying too much. My mother’s death was
very hard to watch ... a big piece of my life suddenly gone. I don’t know whether we suppress
our feelings, but I just had this huge eruption,
and it all came out on that album. I was trying to figure out where I was in my heart, in
my love, in my passion. I was going through so
much at once.
surface victoriously. On it, Morales’ voice runs
a wider gamut of emotion than in previous Sisters Morales releases — a noticeable depth she
credits to her friend-turned-producer Michael
“Cornbread” Traylor. Though Morales now
lives in San Antonio, they laid down the tracks
in Austin, and after friends and fans pitched
in $17,535 through the online project-funding
website, Kickstarter, the album was released
in January. Texas Music spoke with Morales
about her new solo career, creative upbringing and plans for the future.
(Photo by Fred Jimenez)
Most fans know Lisa Morales as the brunette
half of Sister Morales, which formed in 1989
when she and her sister, Roberta, moved to
Houston from stints abroad and linked musical arms. For two decades, the sisters weaved
alt-country border music with deeply honest
lyrics, crooning confessionals in English and
Spanish about the wins, losses and what-ifs of
love. Their music won several Houston Press
Awards, including Best Folk and Acoustic
group, Best Country and Western Group and
Best Duo. But after four albums and a few European fall tour dates with Trace Adkins, the
Sisters Morales have called it quits.
It’s a change that came after many
other changes in Morales’ life. In 2009, the
sisters’ mother (for whom their 2002 album,
Para Gloria, was dedicated) died after an ugly
fight with ovarian cancer. Almost simultaneously, Lisa’s marriage to guitarist David Spencer dissolved. In the aftermath of tragedy, she
found herself writing songs and remembering
her mother’s encouragement to record a solo
album. Morales took that advice to heart, and
the result is A Beautiful Mistake — 12 songs
that plumb the depths of grief and somehow
Why did Sisters Morales end?
Honestly, I didn’t expect it to end. It wasn’t my
decision. Our Spanish show had a really beautiful sound, but I think the Sisters Morales thing
had run its course. And yes, it’s permanent.
Never say never, but ...
Is the rest of your family musical?
There was always someone singing in our
house. My father had this beautiful, huge
voice, and we’d all sing mariachi songs when
we’d get together. Even today, there’s some
strange kind of echo. We revisited our old
house in Tucson, and the people living there
told us, “We hear singing sometimes.” When
my sister and I grew older and moved out, my
mom said she could still hear us singing on the
other side of the house.
It sounds like you had a pretty creative upbringing.
I’m really very lucky to have grown up in a
creative household. My mother wrote poetry
in Spanish and in English. She once wrote this
poem on her manual typewriter, and she kept
shifting the page as she typed. When she finished, she’d created an image of the Virgin of
Guadalupe with the letters. She was always
doing things like that. In my teenage years,
after my dad died, I drew all this art on my
wall because I was frustrated, and she never
Morales went out of her comfort zone to record the emotional A Beautiful Mistake. (Photo by Fred Jimenez)
said a word. She never told me not to draw
on my wall but instead allowed me to express
everything I was feeling. When my dad died, I
bought a guitar and went into a back room and
closed myself off to the world, and she never
disturbed that either. She put a pad of paper
in every room, including the bathroom, for me
to write.
Why did you decide to embark on your solo
career?
My mother had been telling me for years, “You
have to go and do your solo projects. You need
to do your jazz album; you need to do your
country album.” She looked at me and said,
“Everyone else will be fine.” After she died,
that kept echoing in my head. I’d written all
these songs out of grieving, and I didn’t want
to shelve them.
The album has a different feel than past Sister Morales releases.
I went out of my comfort zone. The way I sing
is totally different from how I sang before. Michael really captured that. I handed a lot of
things over to him, which I normally don’t do. I
sent him the recordings as I was writing them
at night when my kids were in bed. Even now
when I sing, I go back to that quieter voice. It’s
a total immersion of emotion. Before, nobody
was telling me on the other side of the glass if
it was good or bad or indifferent. People would
usually say, “Well, you can sing. You know how
to sing.” I wanted more than that, and Cornbread gave me that.
Did working on this album change you?
Right now I’m at the most creative time in my
life. The walls have come down, and that place
where I started from has come back up even
more fertile and creative than before. I’m cultivating it, and it’s multiplying in so many ways.
My mother’s death shook me into a different
world. It made me pop back and embrace life.
What does the future hold for you musically?
Are you working on anything new?
We’re about to start a second album. I’m also
producing a Latin-Jazz-Cuban-TraditionalMexican combination album for someone else
— Leticia Rodriguez, Carrie Rodriguez’ aunt.
I might produce another Americana artist. I
wouldn’t mind being a part of something other
than just Lisa Morales. I’m thinking something
country. Maybe something jazz. I just want to
do it all. — LAURA C. MALLONEE