August `11 - Texas Music Magazine

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Tiger by the Tail
Iron & Wine performs at the 10th edition of the Austin City
Limits Music Festival in September.
Lone Star Lineup
You can’t take the Texas out of ACL Fest. Artists with Texas connections at this year’s sold
out Austin City Limits Music Festival — held
Sept. 16-18 at Zilker Park — include Jack Ingram, Court Yard Hounds, The Greencards,
Seth Walker, Milkdrive, Tyler Bryant, The Durdens, Gary Clark Jr., Patrice Pike, Iron & Wine,
Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses, Ruby Jane
and Asleep at the Wheel. Sara Hickman will put
on a show for the kids during the day on Friday
and Saturday, and Hayes Carll closes out the
Texas delegation Sunday night on the Austin
Ventures stage. Fort Worth native Hudson
Moore will kick off the festival at 11:15 a.m. Friday, followed by the Barton Hills Choir, which
returns for its second ACL performance.
q&a
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“If social media can topple a government,”
posits Dale Watson, “it can cave in an airline.”
The country maverick took to YouTube recently with “Tiger Airways,” about his struggles
with the Singaporean discount airline. Back in
April, the company lost a box of CDs that Watson imported from Europe for a gig in Australia at the Byron Bay Bluesfest, then refused to
reimburse him for both the lost music and the
$500 excess baggage fee for the discs. The
video has already logged more than 24,000
views, caught the attention of the Huffington
Post and led to Watson performing for Fox
News in New York. “The power of a song has
really surprised me,” reflects Watson, who’s
since been compensated for the damages.
The controversy
hasn’t
slowed
down Watson either. He’s just
released a travel
guide for musicians called Road
Warriors’ Guide
to
Roommate
Etiquette and a
Zalman King-directed documentary, Crazy Again,
both available on
Amazon. Austin’s Watson experienced a special brand
of customer disservice. (Photo courMan in Black is tesy Dale Watson)
scheduled to cut a new album at Willie Nelson’s Pedernales Recording Studio, and he
recently wrapped some sessions at Memphis’
legendary Sun Studio in a style — stand-up
bass, acoustic guitar and snare drums — he’s
coined the “Texas Two.” “That studio still has
that sound and vibe,” enthuses Watson, who
holds down the Continental Club in Austin on
Monday nights. “You get that feeling; it’s just
electric in there.”
Criminal Mind
Miranda Lambert chose Good Morning America July 11 to announce that her next album,
Four the Record, will be released Nov. 1 (that’s
right — 11/1/11). Lambert’s fourth album will
be the follow-up to 2009’s Revolution, which
yielded three No. 1 singles — “White LIar,” “The
House that Built Me” and “Heart Like Mine” —
and an additional top-10 hit, “Only Prettier.”
Lambert hopes to add to her already crowded mantle with a
fourth platinum album. (Photo courtesy www.fitceleb.com)
Four The Record will build upon the foundation of her three previous platinum albums
and showcase her evolution as songwriter and
vocalist. “Four The Record has so many meanings,” Lambert says. “I love the play on words,
and my records always have a little crime in
them.”
Electric Powers
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Some necessary improvisation — and we don’t
mean musical — marked the ninth-annual Texas
Music Awards July 9 in Linden as the electrical transformer powering the newly renovated
Academy of Texas Music building failed after
the show’s first segment. Volunteers sprang
into action, building a makeshift stage outside for the remainder of the event. “Not one
person complained,” production assistant Bill
Smith says. “It was truly magical.” Shake Russell earned his third Entertainer of the Year
award; Bob Livingston took home best album
honors for Gypsy Alibi; Christen Sawyer (Sugar Land) and David Fenley (Fredericksburg)
were named best female and male vocalist,
respectively; and Austin’s Bob Cheevers was
honored as best singer-songwriter. Backseat
Molly (Palestine) was voted Rising Star; KHYI
95.3 in Dallas was named best broadcast radio station; and Tim Henderson and Freddy
Powers earned lifetime achievement awards.
Powers, now in the advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease, was on a one-day pass from his
hospital room in Dallas and offered an emotional acceptance speech.
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Texas Leaguers
Members of Reckless Kelly were on the field at
Round Rock’s Dell Diamond June 28 to present three checks totaling $30,000 to members and representatives of three area youth
baseball groups: the Miracle League at San Antonio, the Miracle League at Town and Country
and Del Valle Little League — proceeds from
the band’s 3rd Celebrity Softball Jam held
May 1 at the ballpark. The band also donated
a Toro truck bed full of bats, balls, mitts and
more from its inaugural Reckless Recycling
Program, which asked Jam-goers to bring new
and gently used baseball equipment for youth
in need. Thousands of fans filled the stands for
the centerfield concert and softball game that
featured two teams, Sultans of Sing and One
Hit Wonders, made up of sports greats and
musicians such as MLB players Greg Swindell and Kirk Dressendorfer, boxing champion
Jesse James Lieja and members of Reckless
Kelly, Micky and the Motorcars and the Randy
David Abeyta (left) of Reckless Kelly entertains the softball
crowd at Dell Diamond. (Photo James Grayson)
Rogers Band, as well as Muzzie Braun, Dale
Watson, Pauline Reese, Wade Bowen, George
DeVore, Asleep at the Wheel’s Ray Benson and
many others.
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of Jimi Hendrix, also 27.) Meanwhile, Robert
Johnson’s famous blues recordings from the
1930s in San Antonio and Dallas left the world
with the only lasting memories of his incredible
talent after his early death. Legend has it that
when he left Texas and went to Mississippi, he
was poisoned after flirting with another man’s
wife at a club. According to the book The 27s:
The Greatest Myth & Roll, more music stars
have died at 27 than at any other age.
At the height of her career, Joplin was known as the Queen of
Rock ‘n’ Roll. (Photo courtesy www.officialjanis.com)
Curse 0f 27
The recent death of singer Amy Winehouse
brought to mind the names of other famous
musicians who, like Winehouse, died at age
27. Two members of this dubious group have
strong Texas ties. The most well-known, obviously, is Janis Joplin, who died of a suspected
heroin overdose at that age in 1970. (Her death
followed by fewer than three weeks the death
All Jazzed Up
Don’t be surprised if you witness a whole lot
of stompin’ and a hefty dose of hollerin’ at
your local Jazzercise joint courtesy of — that’s
right — Hayes Carll. The singer’s latest album,
KMAG YOYO (& Other American Stories), is sure
to make many year-end best-of lists, but Carll
may have another career alternative if he ever
gets tired of the road: Jazzercise instructor.
KMAG’s opening tune, “Stomp and Holler,” has
been added to Jazzercise’s corporate set list
for the current 10-week period. And Michael
Chandler, one of several Jazzercise franchise
owners in Houston, says he isn’t surprised
that Carll made the set list. “Our corporate
chairman picks out the music and works
out all the new routines that go with the
songs, and she can
be pretty amazing with what she
comes up with,”
Chandler says. “I’m
not exactly certain
how she picks out
songs for any one
cycle, but she does
have a great set of
ears.” When told
about his inclusion, Carll deadpanned, “I need to
go public with this
Time to swing: Carll is ready
for his workout. (Photo courright now.”
tesy Lost Highway Records)
Sox Appeal
Hell yeah, Kevin Fowler likes beer — that’s
no secret. And in his new “Hell Yeah, I Like
Beer” video, directed by Fowler himself, the
country hitmaker is joined by a slew of familiar Texas music faces — including Pat Green,
Ray Benson, Jack Ingram and Josh Abbott
— who want to share their love for an ice cold
brew, too. But if you’re a baseball fan, you’ll
also notice Red Sox pitchers — and Texas natives — Josh Beckett, John Lackey and Clay
Buchholz (along with fellow Boston pitcher
Tim Wakefield) contributing cameos as well,
in the shadow of the famed Green Monster
at legendary Fenway Park. The video quickly became the most viewed video on CMT’s
website. As for the single, the second track
off Fowler’s upcoming Chippin’ Away album,
the song has become a favorite in clubs and
dance halls across the Lone Star State and
beyond, earning him his eighth No. 1 hit.
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AUGUST
4-6
Rock the Desert
Festival Field
Midland
www.rockthedesert.com
5-7
Lollapalooza
The festival honors the memory of Mance
Lipscomb. (Photo courtesy Arhoolie Records)
Grant Park
Navasota Blues Fest
www.lollapalooza.com
Grimes County Expo Center
August 12-13 • Navasota
www.navasotabluesfest.org
Schulenburg Festival
Originally held as a benefit to establish a scholarship fund in the memory
of late Navasota blues musician Mance
Lipscomb, the Navasota Blues Fest has
been a mainstay in Grimes County for 15
years. Since it was first held in 1996, the
Blues Fest has grown to include two days
of music, food, family entertainment
and fundraising for the Mance Lipscomb
Scholarship Fund. Lipscomb, who lived
most of his life as a tenant farmer, represented one of the last remnants of the
19th-century songster tradition, which
predated the development of the blues.
His eclectic repertoire included ballads,
rags, dance pieces, and popular sacred
and secular songs. This year, festival
performers include Michael & Melissa
Birnbaum, Tubie & the Touchtones, Don
Kesee & the Bluesmasters, the Steve
Howell Trio, Bernie Pearl, David Egan &
Twenty Years of Trouble, Rob Roy Parnell, Texas Johnny Brown & His Quality
Blues Band and, on Saturday night, the
Texas Johnny Brown Blues Review with
Brian “Hash Brown” Calway, Christian
“Vienna Slim” Dozzler, Dave “The Comet” Haley and Eric Demmer. The festival
will also feature a Blues Brothers tribute, a silent auction and the scholarship
presentation by Jimmy and Lee Roy Lipscomb, Mance’s grandsons. Tickets are
$14 for Friday, $20 for Saturday and $25
for both days.
Chicago
Wolters Park
Schulenburg
www.schulenburgfestival.org
Houston International Jazz Festival
Discovery Green
Houston
www.jazzeducation.org
6
Sounds of Texas Concert Series
with Delbert McClinton
Crighton Theatre
Conroe
www.thesoundsoftexasmusicseries.com
Aaron Watson entertains at the
Schulenburg Festival Aug. 5.
(Photo aaronwatson.com)
17
Blues on the Green
Zilker Park
Austin
www.kgsr.com/blues
19-27
North Texas State Fair and Rodeo
Fairgrounds
Denton
www.ntfair.com
20
Blues on the Hill
McKelvey Park
Harlingen
www.bluesonthehillharlingen.com
26-27
Dia de los Toadies
Whitewater Amphitheater
New Braunfels
www.thetoadies.com
27
Austin Bat Fest
Ann Richards Bridge
Austin
www.roadwayevents.com
Margarita and Salsa Festival
Heart O’ Texas Fair Complex
Waco
Pauline Reese performs at the North
Texas State Fair and Rodeo Aug. 22.
(Photo paulinereese.com)
www.hotfair.com
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Foster & Lloyd
It’s Already
Tomorrow
Effin Ell
CLICK TO BUY ON ITUNES
As good as this
record is, listeners
may
wonder whether the
careers of Del Rio
boy Radney Foster and veteran songwriter/
producer Bill Lloyd were so fulfilling and so
financially lucrative that these guys had solid
reasons for waiting 20 years to give it another
go. Whatever the thinking (or the issues?) that
kept it from happening, the old chemistry (or
tension?) between Foster’s earnest, poetic altcountry leanings and Lloyd’s pop music predilections is still a potent formula for solid songs,
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q&a
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top-quality playing and catchy arrangements.
The trademark Everly Brothers harmonies are
everywhere, while hooks like “you can’t make
love make sense” drop in abundance and sink
in deep in a hurry. The title track mixes Foster’s taste for almost-saccharine/maudlin
sentiments with Lloyd’s penchant for Byrdsish Rickenbacker twang and makes a nice foil
to the roadhouse country rocker “That’s What
She Said” — about the guy who always has to
employ a double entendre that seldom works
with the fairer sex. In fact, the album seems
to alternate between radio-friendly love songs
(that sound like Nashville hit machine demos)
and rockers like “Hold That Thought” that can
stand toe to toe with outfits like Rockpile. In
fact, the rockers are so stout and bursting with
fire that one wishes the duo could commit to a
rock record, forget about covering all the niche
bases for a second, and just let it all hang out.
— WILLIAM MICHAEL SMITH
new releases
July 19
Back Porch Mary
July 19
Mike Zito
July 26 Jimmie Vaughan
July 26 Brandon Rhyder
July 29 Tom Cheatham
Aug. 2
Midnight River Choir
Aug. 2
Rodney Parker &
50 Peso Reward
Aug. 2
Johnny Cooper
Aug. 2
Brian Coy & the
Remaining Few
Aug. 9
Kevin Fowler
Aug. 9
Micky & the Motorcars
Aug. 16
Guy Clark
Aug. 16
Eli Young Band
Aug. 16
Eric Hisaw
Aug. 23 Curtis Grimes
Aug. 23 Ana Egge
Aug. 23 Sunny Sweeney
Aug. 30 Robert Earl Keen
Aug. 30 Sally Crewe & the Sudden Moves
Aug. 30 Stoney LaRue
Sept. 6
George Strait
Sept. 13 Reckless Kelly
Sept. 27 LeAnn Rimes
Life is Now
Greyhound
Plays More Blues, Ballads & Favorites
Live at Billy Bob’s
Scars That I’ll Keep
Welcome to Delirium?
Live in the Living Room
Self-released
Eclecto Groove
Shout Factory
Live at the Pub II
Pieces
Apex
Bad Turkey
Chippin’ Away
Raise My Glass
Songs & Stories
Life at Best
Ghost Stories
Doin’ My Time
Bad Blood
Concrete
Ready for Confetti
Transmit/Receive
Average Joes
Smith Entertainment
Dualtone
Republic Nashville
CDBY
Self-Released
Ammal
Republic Nashville
Lost Highway
8-Track Mind
Velvet
Here for a Good Time
Good Luck & True Love
Lady and Gentleman
Smith Entertainment
MCA Nashville
Self-Released
Asylum-Curb
Bravo, Max!
Dog’s Light
Self-released
For a relatively
new indie pop
outfit,
Dallas’
Bravo,
Max!
comes on like
seasoned pros
on Dog’s Light,
the band’s impressive,
fulllength debut. Full of unexpected twists and
turns, the songs from this quintet of multiinstrumentalists range from the exotic, rockabilly-tinged “Hotel Denalian” to the more
Smith Entertainment
Self-Released
Smith Entertainment
Smith Entertainment
traditional alt-country of “German Chocolate
Cake.” Frontman Johnny Beaumont has a tendency to over-emote a bit, but the songs seem
to demand this type of intensity. For example,
the delicate acoustic vibe early on in “Hey
Jane” warrants Beaumont’s vocal histrionics.
Helped along immeasurably by the cool, accordion stylings of Ellie Stevens, by song’s end
“Jane” rocks like Yo La Tengo on amphetamines
as the music catches up with the singer’s passion. Dog’s Light successfully maintains a listener’s interest from beginning to end, a feat
that’s uncommon on a first album. It’s easy to
imagine Bravo, Max! becoming one of Dallas’
premier musical outfits, whatever the genre.
— DARRYL SMYERS
q&a Gary P. Nunn
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ernor Rick Perry named him “Ambassador of
Texas Music.” However, Nunn cites another
accolade as his favorite. “The thing I’m proudest of,” he says, “is the day [in 1995] I became
a member of the West Texas Walk of Fame in
Lubbock, with Buddy Holly, Waylon Jennings,
Bob Wills and Roy Orbison — all those guys
who were my heroes.”
Last year, Nunn released Taking Texas to
the Country, which showed he’d lost none of
the wit and wisdom that’s become his trademark. Speaking from his home in Austin in
late July, Nunn discussed his career and what
makes Texas music so special.
(Photo courtesy www.garypnunn.com)
Singer-songwriter Gary P. Nunn has been associated with Texas music for nearly half a
century. So you might not know that he was
born in Oklahoma, initially wanted to become
a junior high or high school marching band instructor, and, when he transferred to the University of Texas, majored in pharmacy. None
of that stuck, of course, because Nunn arrived
in Austin smack dab in the middle of the socalled outlaw music scene. He was playing
bass for Michael Martin Murphey, Jerry Jeff
Walker and Willie Nelson at the same time; he
was the leader of the Lost Gonzo Band that
backed Murphey and Walker on stage and in
recordings; and he’d honed his songwriting
skills long before playing keyboards on Walker’s still famous 1973 live recording, Viva Terlingua. Never did he dream, however, that his
self-penned tune, “London Homesick Blues” —
with its “I want to go home with the armadillo”
chorus — would become the theme song for
Austin City Limits.
Inducted into the Texas Hall of Fame in
2004, Nunn is a Texas music legend from here
to Europe. Former Texas governor Mark White
named him an “Official Ambassador to the
World,” and, not to be outdone, current gov-
You’ve played music for half a century. Have
you seen it all?
I doubt I’ve seen it all, but I’ve seen a lot of
it. [Laughs] I’ve seen it from a Texan point of
view. I’ve watched this Texas music industry
from its beginning, and I’ve seen it grow and
grow. Even in the past 10 or 15 years, it’s really
grown and developed. I think the music scene
all over Texas is very special.
How has the industry changed the most?
There was a time when if you didn’t have a
major record deal, you couldn’t make a record. We started off just trying to make our
own records. Then we saw the coming of CDs.
And now the Internet has revolutionized music
sales and marketing tremendously.
The music that you and Jerry Jeff Walker
made in Austin in the ‘70s was labeled progressive country. Of course, that label came
years after you’d been making that music.
What did you call your style back then?
Back in those days, we were all in rock ‘n’ roll
cover bands, playing college bars and frat parties. About as close as we came to country music was listening to Buffalo Springfield. What
changed things was the coming of songwriters
like Jerry Jeff Walker and Michael Murphey
ed to have the opportunity to play bigger venues and get out of bars for a while. These guys
had record deals. When I played with Jerry
Jeff in the Lost Gonzo Band, those were wild
days. Jerry Jeff liked pushing the envelope
and talking on the ledge.
Nunn has hosted and performed at the Texas Music Awards
ceremony. (Photo courtesy www.texasmusicawards.org)
and Stephen Fromholz — and, of course, Willie Nelson. They wrote their own songs. The
sound came more from the folk scene than
the country scene. It evolved into a kind of
folk/country thing, and it was given the label
progressive country. Compared to traditional
country music, it wasn’t even close. People
were country dancing to our music, that’s for
sure.
Why do you think Austin has been such a revered spot for Americana music?
Originally, it was the fact that the University
of Texas was there, so there was a market for
bands. There were a lot of clubs, and the fraternities were always booking bands. The college students drove the market. The betterpaying gigs were in Austin, especially during
the fraternity rush season. We’d drive in from
Lubbock when I was in a band called The Sparkles. There were just a lot of gigs to be had.
That hasn’t changed. Austin is just a great city
on a beautiful river in a great part of the state.
The city is changing, however. It’s changing
right before our very eyes — it’s a much more
metropolitan area, more urbanized. It’s a big
city instead of a small college town.
You started out playing bass for Willie, Jerry Jeff and Michael Martin. Those are three
very different personalities.
Yes, they are, but once you get to the music,
the personality issues go away. You always
just play the best you can. It was all a challenge and a learning experience. I was delight-
Is it true that “London Homesick Blues” was
a throwaway written in a hotel room?
When you’re doing it for fun, when you’re not
trying to craft a song for an audience, when
you’re spending time and expressing yourself
... often those songs are the best ones. When
I wrote that song, I wasn’t thinking about how
audiences might react to it. Now, I think that’s
why people like it so much.
You’re considered an icon of Texas music.
When people find out you’re originally from
Oklahoma, do they tease you about being a
traitor?
I moved to Texas when I was 6. I think I’ve
been here long enough, and everybody knows
where my loyalties lie. I did buy some property
in Oklahoma a long, long time ago, and I had to
go up there and take after my family’s place
for a time. We enjoyed the country living and
doing the ranching thing, but the music business is all in Texas.
In your song “Austin Pickers,” you sing
“They don’t like me in Nashville.” That song
was released in 1999. Do you think they like
you now?
People in Nashville have always been guarded
about people from Texas. I suppose they view
us as maybe taking some of their business
away. They’re sensitive about the Texas scene.
I think it all comes down to dollars and cents.
Any dollar that’s made singing country music
in Texas is a dollar not made in Nashville. It’s a
regional thing as well.
You’ve been honored by two governors from
different political parties.
That’s right. We don’t play favorites when it
comes to music.
— DARRYL SMYERS