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Rodney CrowellAbove and BeyondBy Richard Skanse

Rhett Miller (& Mr. Record Man) on 20 grand & messed-up years of Old 97’s

Radney FosterLydia LovelessAdam CarrollRay BonnevilleDawn & Hawkes& more

plus

A m e r i c a n a R o o t s & R o l l

2 | LoneStarMusic LoneStarMusic | 3

Photo by John Carrico

inside this issue

Notes From the Editor 8 AfterAwhile—ByRichardSkanse

NEWS10 LoneStarMusicAwardsRecapandWinners12 Willie,SRVInductedtoAustinCityLimitsHallofFame13ACLMusicFestivalLineupAnnounced14ArtistsTakethe“RealWomenRealSongs”Challenge16 KentFinlayBenefitinLuckenbach16RIP:SteveSilbasofCasbeers17New&RecentReleases18InProfile:AdamCarroll—ByJimBealJr.19InProfile:RayBonneville—ByTiffanyWalker21InProfile:LydiaLoveless—ByD.C.Bloom22InProfile:Dawn&Hawkes—ByD.C.Bloom

COLUMNS24 RowedOver:GeorgeStrait:TheEndoftheTrail—ByHollyGleason26TrueHeroesofTexasMusic:RodKennedy,1930-2014 —ByMichaelCorcoran27MyFriendRod,thePatronSaintofFolkMusic—ByTerriHendrix28RodKennedy:ThePassionofaLegend—ByBobLivingston

FEATUREs 30 Q&A:RhettMilleroftheOld97’s—ByRichardSkanse 48RadneyFosterTalksAbout“Everything”—ByLynneMargolis 52TheWagoneers:WaitingontheWagonTrain—ByRobPatterson

REVIEWS56 AlbumReviews

JohnFullbright,BruceRobison&KellyWillis,RodneyCrowell,RandyRogersBand,JoshGrider,Dave&PhilAlvinandmore66 Mr.RecordMan:Old97’s—ByRichardSkanse

LSM Music Chart79 LoneStarMusicTop40Albums StaffPicks

VENUE SPOTLIGHT80 RiverRoadIceHouse,NewBruanfels,TX—ByDaleMartin

Rodney CrowellAbove and Beyond

by richard skanse pg 36


NEW R H RWhere roots meet the here and now!

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s.com

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ELIZA GILKYSONTHE NOCTURNE DIARIES

Startlingly INTIMATE and powerful songs of CONSCIENCE and the SPIRIT from the great Austin Music Hall of Famer. “One of the most infl uential artists on the American folk scene” - MAVERICK

RAY BONNEVILLEEASY GONE

A SMOLDERING MASHUP of funk, blues, and powerful story-telling from one of the most INTRIGUING and LYRICAL Americana artists working today. “a 21st century musical alchemist!” - BLUES MATTERS

CARRIE ELKIN & DANNY SCHMIDT

FOR KEEPS

A terrifi c COLLABORATION with universal resonance by two of Austin’s great singer-songwriters exploring RELATIONSHIP and COMMITMENT!Elkin is “spellbinding!” - BBC RADIO • “In today’s underground folk world...Schmidt is spoken of in reverent tones.” - Austin Chronicle

Red House LoneSt 2014 Spring.indd 1 4/17/14 10:31 AM

Publisher: Zach Jennings Editor: Richard Skanse CreativeDirector/Layout:MelissaWebb CoverPhoto: DavidMcClister Advertising/Marketing:KristenTownsend Advertising: EricaBrown Artist&LabelRelations:KristenTownsend

Contributing Writers

Contributing Photographers

Richard Skanse John Carrico

TerriHendrix BethHerzhaft

LynneMargolis DaleMartin

MichaelCorcoran Vicki Farmer

HollyGleason Susan Roads

D.C.Bloom PatrickCrawford

ScottSchinder RodneyBursiel

TiffanyWalker VanessaGavalya

JimBealJr. DavidMcClister

RobPatterson EricRyanAnderson

KellyDearmore

BobLivingston

DaleMartin

SubscriberService:Tosubscribe,[email protected]. For address changes, email [email protected]“addresschange”orwrite to: 202-CUniversityDrive SanMarcos,TX78666,Attn:SubscriberServices

Advertising:For rates, ad specs or advertising information,emailKristenTownsendatKristen@lonestarmusic.comorcall1-800-TXMUSIC.

Reviews:To be considered for a review, please submit CDand/or press kit to: LoneStarMusic, Attn: RichardSkanse at LSMMag Reviews, 202 University DriveSanMarcos,TX78666.

LoneStarMusic Magazine is published bimonthlyby SuperflyMusic LLC. 202-CUniversityDrive, SanMarcos, TX 78666. Copyright © 2014 by SuperflyMusic LLC and/or individual contributors. Allrights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in partwithout written permission is prohibited. Viewsexpressedhereinarethoseoftheauthorexclusively.Typographic, photographic and printing errors areunintentional and subject to correction. Artiststhemselvescontributemuchof thecontentof thismagazine.ThinkofthemagazineasbeingratedPG-13,occasionallyR.

after awhile

NotesfromtheEditor |ByRichardSkanse ItwasfouryearsagothismonththatIfinishededitingmyfirstissueofLon-eStarMusic.Iliketothinkthatasateamwe’vecomealongwaysincethen,butIwasproudfromthestarttobewelcomedintotheLSMfamilyandespeciallyproudthat thefirstcoverstory Igot towrite for themagazinewasabout theKerrvilleFolkFestival.ThepassingoffestivalfounderandlongtimeproducerRodKennedyatage84onApril14makestheanniversaryofthatissuebittersweet.Insidethisissue,MichaelCorcoranpaystributetoKennedyandhisstoriedcareerinhis“TrueHeroesofTexasMusic”column,whilelongtimeKerrvilleperformersandfrequentLoneStarMusiccontributorsTerriHendrixandBobLivingstonpaymovingrespectsoftheirown.Personally,Ifeelhonoredtohavehadthatoppor-tunitybackinearly2010tospendafewhourswithbothKennedy(whowasal-readyretired)andhisprotégé/successor,DalisAllen,talkingabouthislegacy.Forthewayhetookhislifelongloveofmusicandhadthevisionanddeterminationtoturnitintosuchabeautifulandimpactfuldreamcometrue,IthinkKennedywasasmuchofatrueartistasanyofthehundreds(ifnotthousands)thatheeverbookedathisfestival.Andevenat80yearsold,hehadoneofthesharpestmemoriesofanyoneI’veeverinterviewed.Kennedy’smovedonnow,butyoucanbethismemorywillliveonforaslongaspeoplecontinuetomakethepilgrimageouttoQuietValleyRanchyearafteryearto“HealintheWisdom”ofsong. Fittingly,ourcoverstoryinthisissueisonanother“Rod”whoisverymuchalegendinhisowntime:RodneyCrowell.I’veinterviewedCrowellanumberoftimessincethereleaseofhis2001masterpiece,The Houston Kid,andIalwayscomeawayfromtheexperiencewithrenewedrespectforthemanandhiswork.Ifyouhaven’tpickeduphis latestalbum,Tarpaper Sky, Ican’t recommend ithighlyenough.Andthesamegoesforhis2011memoir,Chinaberry Sidewalks,whichiseverybitaseloquentlywrittenasanyoneofhissongs.Ispentthebet-terpartofthelasttwomonthshappilyrevisitingCrowell’sentirecatalog,andIprobablyspentjustasmuchtimecranking20-years-worthofOld97’salbums(especiallytheirmostexcellentnewone,Most Messed Up)inprepforour“Mr.RecordMan”columnandourQ&AwithfrontmanRhettMiller.AdamCarroll,RayBonneville,RadneyFoster,andLydiaLovelessalsogotplentyofplay,alongwiththeterrificnewalbumsfromJohnFullbrightandKellyWillisandBruceRo-bison—allofwhichyou’llfindprofiledorreviewedinside. Finally,onbehalfofallofushereintheLSMfamily,I’dliketothankevery-onewhoparticipatedinoursixthannualLoneStarMusicAwards,heldApril27inSanMarcos.Cheerstoallofthenominatedartistswhoperformed(allofthemwinnersinourbook),themanyguestpresenters(fromMCMattsonRain-erofKNBTtotheinfamousGillWebbtotheoneandonlyRobertEarlKeen),andofcourseallofourgeneroussponsors:RebeccaCreek,RedDirtHurricane,KNBT,KOKE,36D,RedHouseRecords,SouthernThread,StraitMusic,theZone,TexasMusicScene,BarefootAthletics,DicksonProductions,LiveatBillyBob’sTexas,andCooper’sBBQ.Andespecially,thankstoeveryfanwhomadeitouttotheMarcfortheshow or who tookthetimetovoteon-lineforthewinners.We couldn’t havepulleditoffwithouty’all.Andnextyear,let’s all get togeth-er and do it again.Who’sin?

THEPARTYNEVERENDS:OK,maybenoteverybody“gothammered”attheLoneStarMusicAwards;someofuswaiteduntiltheofficialafterpartyatCheathamStreetWarehouse(whichendedwiththeBeaumontsblastingthrougharip-roaringcoverofMotörhead’s“AceofSpades”soloud,youcouldn’tevenhearthepassingtrain).Buthammeredornot,agoodtimewashadbyallthewholenightlong.Ican’trememberwhathaduslaughingsohardwhenthisshotwassnappedbackstageattheMarc,butoddsareitwassomethingREKsaid.Fromleft:WillyBraunofRecklessKelly,RobertEarlKeen,JoeEly,RichardSkanse,andZachJennings.(PhotobyJohnCarrico)


lsm news

“Hey operator, cancel the phone call/I hear somebody knockin’ at the door …” AnytimeJoeElysingsthoselinesinconcert,bestcancelyourplansforgoinganywhereforthenextsevenor10orsometimeseven15minutes.Becausethat’s“CoolRockin’Loretta”knockin’,andonceElyletsherin,thereain’tnobodygoingnowhereuntilshe’shadherwayandmoppedboththestageanddancefloorwitheveryonewithinearshot.OntheeveningofSunday,April27,thatmeantnotonlyElyandhisbackingbandforthenight,RecklessKelly,butalloftheotherAmericanaroots’n’rollartists—plusafewhundredfans—gatheredinsidetheMarcindowntownSanMarcosforthesixthannualLoneStarMusicAwards. Theepic“Loretta”closedthethree-song“J.E.R.K.”setbyElyandRecklessKellythatkickedoffwith“Dallas”immediatelyafterEly’sinductionintotheLoneStarMusicHallofFame.Itwasarguablythehighlightinanightcelebratingnothingbuthighsfromthelast12monthsin Texas,RedDirt, andAmericanamusic and— in the caseof Ely and fellowLSMHall ofFame inducteeKentFinlay—storiedcareers spanning fourdecades.RecklessKellywouldreturntothestage(sansEly)afewminuteslaterfortheirextendedheadliningslot,afterthepresentationoftheevening’slasttwoawards:SongoftheYear,toWilliamClarkGreenfor“SheLikestheBeatles,”andAlbumoftheYear,toJasonBoland&theStragglersforThe Dark and Dirty Mile. WhiletheHallofFameinducteesareselectedbyLoneStarMusic,thewinnersoftheLSMAwardsaredeterminedbyfanswhovoteonlineafteranominatingcommitteeof industryinsiderspicksthecandidatesforeachcategory.RecklessKellycollectedtwoawardsoftheirown,forAmericana/Roots-RockAlbumoftheYear(Long Night Moon)andMusicianoftheYear (forCodyBraun.)Otherwinners in theartistandmusiciancategories included JasonIsbellforSongwriteroftheYear,CodyCanadaandKaceyMusgravesforMaleandFemale VocalistoftheYear,theduoofKellyWillisandBruceRobison(CountryAlbumoftheYear,forCheater’s Game),GuyClark(Singer-Songwriter/FolkAlbumoftheYear,forMy Favorite Picture of You), Oklahoma’s Turnpike Troubadours (Live Act of the Year), Thieving Birds(EmergingArtistoftheYear),andLloydMaines(ProduceroftheYear).AlsohonoredwereDicksonProduction’sannualMusicFestinSteamboatSprings,Colo.(FestivaloftheYear)andSanMarcos’storiedCheathamStreetWarehouse(VenueoftheYear,nicknamedthe“GrueneHallAward”afterthehistoricdancehallwasretiredfromeligibilityafterwinningfiveyearsinarow.)And8-year-oldDierksCanadaenteredtherecordbooksastheyoungestLSMAward-winnereverforhisAlbumArtoftheYear-winningpaintingusedforthecoverofhisdadCodyCanada’sSome Old, Some New, Maybe a Cover or Two. (Dierksactuallypainted thepiecewhenhewasonly6.) TheeveningkickedoffwithmasterofceremoniesMattsonRainerofKNBTintroducingZaneWilliamsandKylieRaeHarris,twooftheup-and-comingartistsfeaturedonthecurrentseason of TV’s Troubadour, TX. Their three-song set, which included a duet onWilliams’“Pablo andMaria,”was followedby performances throughout the rest of the evening byfellow nominees Chris King (backed by his full band), Slaid Cleaves (who sang his crowd-

Musta notta gotta lotta sleep that night!HallofFamerJoeElyteamswithRecklessKellytorocksixthannualLoneStarMusicAwardsinSanMarcos. |ByRichardSkanse

pleasing “Texas Love Song,” anothernominee for Songof theYear), EmergingArtistwinnersThievingBirds(whosefrontman,AceCrayton,hadalsobeenintherunningforMaleVocalist),CountryAlbumwinnersKellyWillisandBruceRobison,and,justbeforetheHallofFameinductions,WilliamClarkGreen,whosefull-bandsetnaturallyincludedhiswinning“SheLikestheBeatles.” Firstintroducedatlastyear’sawardsshow,theLoneStarMusicHallofFamewasstartedtorecognizeartistswhosemusicandcareershavecometoexemplifyTexasandAmericanamusicatitsfinest—andwhohaveplayedanundeniableroleininspiringandevenguidingcountlessothersintheirwake.WillyBraunofRecklessKellyhadthehonorofinductinglegendaryLubbockrockerandsongwriterJoeElywithhelpfromaveryspecialguest,2013LSMHOFinducteeRobertEarlKeen.Keendidn’tperformthisyear,buthissurpriseappearanceandcharacteristicallyfunnybutreverentintroremarkswereasenthusiasticallyreceivedbythecrowdasElyandRecklessKelly’ssubsequentpowerhouse“J.E.R.K.”set—nottomentiontheemotionalacceptancespeechbythenight’s other HOF inductee, songwriter and Cheatham Street Warehouse don KentFinlay.Finlay’sfameandnamemaynotbeaswidelyknownasEly’s,buthisimpactontheTexasmusicsceneasamentorand/orfatherfiguretoartistsrangingfromGeorgeStraittoToddSnidertoRandyRogerstoWilliamClarkGreencannotbeoverstated.ToparaphraseSlaidCleaves,oneofthehandfulofCheathamStreetalumnionhandwhohelpedinducthim,“Youjustcan’thaveaLoneStarMusicHallofFamewithouthavingKentFinlayinit.” Agreed…and,done.

2014LoneStarMusicAwardWinners

AlbumoftheYear:JasonBoland&theStragglers,Dark & Dirty MileSongoftheYear:WilliamClarkGreen,“SheLikestheBeatles”SongwriteroftheYear:JasonIsbellLiveActoftheYear:TurnpikeTroubadoursAmericana/Roots-RockAlbumoftheYear:RecklessKelly, Long Night MoonSinger-Songwriter/FolkAlbumoftheYear:GuyClark, My Favorite Picture of YouCountryAlbumoftheYear:KellyWillis&BruceRobison,Cheater’s GameMaleVocalistoftheYear:CodyCanadaFemaleVocalistoftheYear:KaceyMusgravesEmergingArtistoftheYear:ThievingBirdsMusicianoftheYear:CodyBraunofRecklessKellyProduceroftheYear:LloydMainesFestivaloftheYear:MusicFestAlbumArtworkoftheYear:DierksCanada,forCodyCanada’sSome Old, Some New, Maybe a Cover or Two

OURFAVORITEPICTURESOFY’ALL:(Atleft)CodyCanadaandhis8-year-oldson,Dierks,showofftheirnewLSMAwards(forMaleVocalistandAlbumArtoftheYear,respectively.)(Oppositepage,fromtop)HallofFameinducteeJoeElyanddoubleaward-winnersRecklessKellydothecoolJ.E.R.K.;AceCraytonofEmergingArtistwinnersThievingBirds;SongoftheYearwinnerWilliamClarkGreensingsaboutBeatles.(Thispage,fromtop)ZaneWilliamsandKylieRaeHarriskickofftheshow;ChrisKingkeepsitcountry;SlaidCleavessingsa“TexasLoveSong”;2014LSMHallofFameinducteeKentFinlay(whoseCheathamStreetWarehousealsowonVenueoftheYear)withhisproudchildren,Jenni,HalleyAnna,andSterlingFinlay;CountryAlbumoftheYearwinnersBruceRobisonandKellyWillis;2013HOFinducteeRobertEarlKeenandWillyBraunofRecklessKellyintroducingfriendand2014HOFinducteeEly;backstagewithWillyBraun,Keen,Ely,andMusicianoftheYearCodyBraun.(AllphotosbyJohnCarrico)


Acl’s pride and joy Wil lie and Stevie among first Austin City Limits Hal l of Fame inductees 19452014By lynne margolis

Asheslicedthroughathrongofpeoplenibbling hors d’oeuvres and sipping cock-tailsatKLRU-TV’sStudio6A,madefamousasthespotwhereAustin City Limitstapedsomanyofits40seasons,DoubleTroubledrummerChrisLaytonsaid,“IfeellikeI’vejustcomebackhome.” For Layton, bassist Tommy Shan-nonandkeyboardistReeseWynans,whojoined their late bandleader, Stevie RayVaughan, in the first group of inducteestothenewAustinCityLimitsHallofFameonApril 26, itwasmore like coming fullcircle. With fellow inductees Willie Nel-son, founding ACL executive producerBillArhosandthelateUniversityofTexasLonghorns football coach Darrell Royal,VaughanandDoubleTroublehelpedmakenotonlytheshow,butAustinitself,worldrenowned. Nowcelebrating its40thanniversary,Austin City Limits lays claim tobeing thelongest-runningmusic program in televi-sion history. Nelson performed on the1974pilot,whichhelpedArhos convinceskepticalPBSprogrammerstheshowwasworthpickingup,andRoyal,whoseearlysupport drew artists such asMerle Hag-gardandGeorgeJonestothestage,helpeditgainanationalaudience.VaughanandDouble Trouble, of course, drew viewerswho’d previously regarded the show asonlyacountry-musicshowcase. Theceremonyandperformances,andafollow-upeventonJune26atACLLiveattheMoodyTheater,wheretheshowisnowtaped,willbeturnedintoatwo-houranniversary special for likely Novemberairing. Talent announced so far for theJuneshowincludesGaryClarkJr.,JimmieVaughan, Sheryl Crow, Kris Kristofferson

andJohnMayer;JeffBridgeswillemcee. KLRU-TV CEO and general managerBillStotesberysaid theACLHallofFameitselfwillopenaroundthenattheMoodyTheater.Agrowingtimelineofeveryart-ist who has performed on the show al-ready covers ahallwaywall there, andagallerycontainstheworkoflongtimeACLphotographerScottNewton.Asforfutureinductees, Stotesbery said, “Right now,we’re looking at the obvious inductions,thepeoplewhoweremost important togetting the show started. As we go for-ward, it’ll be contributions to the show,significanceof the artist and importanceofthatepisodeinthehistoryoftheshow.” Boththeshowanditsoriginalstudio,inUT’sCommunicationsBuildingB,havebeen designated as an official landmarkbytheRockandRollHallofFame,thoughsurprisingly,VaughanandDoubleTrouble,who gave electric blues a much-neededjoltofenergyinthe1980s,arenotyetinthathalloffame. Theywere,however,fetedinfinestyleat Studio 6A, along with their fellow in-ductees.(Vaughanalsowillbethesubjectofanexhibittitled“Pride&Joy:TheTexasBlues of Stevie Ray Vaughan,” openingJune 12 at theGrammyMuseum at L.A.Live.) Nelson performed with Lyle LovettandEmmylouHarrisbeforeMatthewMc-Conaughey’s induction speech, in whichhenoted,“TherereallywouldbenoAus-tin City Limits without Willie Nelson, allright?It’sassimpleasthat.” Accepting the honor, Nelson com-mented, “I’ve said it a hundredtimesormore; Austin is the best thing that hap-pened to music. Austin is where music

comestogether.” Executiveproducer/hostTerryLickonainductedthenow-retiredArhos,saying,“IfWillie is inmanywaystheheartofAustin City Limits,BillArhoswasthedrivingforce,thespiritthatkepttheshowgoing.” Notinghe’stheonlyinducteewithoutastatue,ArhostoldastoryaboutNelson’s2006pot bust, earning a huge laugh. Re-tired Longhorns Coach Mack Brown in-ductedRoyal,callinghim“Oneofthefirstand biggest fans of Austin City Limits.”Lickona said Royal’s famed pickin’ partiesinspiredACL’ssongwriter-sessionepisodes,andRoyal’swidow,EdithRoyal,added,“Helovedhis family,he loved football andhelovedmusic,morethananything.” Jimmie Vaughan was on the roadtouring,buttapedathank-youforhislatebrother.AndLaytonadded,“Stevieisstillhere. He’s here in this building. … Thisplaceishome.Itfeelsgreattobebackonthisstage.” Thenhe,Shannon,andWynanscalledout one blues star after another: KennyWayne Shepherd, Mike Farris, DoyleBramhall II (who played “Change It,”whichhisfatherwroteforVaughan),Rob-ert Randolph Jr. and BuddyGuy. For thefinale,“TexasFlood,”thestagesupportedDoubleTrouble,NelsonandhissonLukas,Lovett,Bramhall,Guy,ShepherdandNel-son’sharmonicaplayer,MickeyRaphael. Thatkindofstarpower,areflectionof40yearsofAustin City Limits talent,sug-gestsACL’sHallofFamewillonedaystandastallastheRockandRollorCountryMu-sic halls of fame. For these inductees atleast,it’stheperfecthome.

ACL Fest leaves heritage

headliners behind Forthefirsttimeinits13-yearhistory,theAustinCityLimitsMusicFestivalwillnothaveonetop-tierheadlinerwhosecareerbeganbeforethe1990s,muchlessthe’80sorearlier.Theclosestthingtoa“heritagerock”actamongthetopeightannouncedfortheOct.3-5and10-12festivalisPearlJam.TopnamesalsoincludeEminem,Outkast,Skrillex,Beck,CalvinHarris,LanaDelRay,Foster the People,andLorde(forthesecondweekendonly).Until2013,whenitjumpedintothe’80swithLionelRichie,DepecheModeandtheCure,thefestivalalwayshadatleastoneBabyBoom-friendlyheadliner,alaNeilYoung,TomPetty,StevieWonderorBobDylan. Asfortherestofthelineup,theReplacementsandJimmyCliffmightbeconsideredthemost senior of themajor acts. As always,Asleep at theWheel is on the bill, alongwith avarietyofgospelactssuchastheLegendarySoulStirrersandJonesFamilySingers.Butroots-musicartistsseemsparserthaninthepast,makingACLFest,whichtakesplaceinZilkerPark,seemmorelikesisterfestivalLollapaloozathanever.AhandfulofAmericanaactswillappear,though, including theAvettBrothers,Robert Ellis,Turnpike Troubadours, Lake StreetDive,ParkerMillsap,NikkiLane,RayBenson&Milkdrive,andElizabethMcQueen.Moredetailsareavailableataclfestival.com.—LYNNEMARGOLIS

PhotobyScottNewtonCourtesyofKLRU-TV


Lonestarmusic.com

we have VINYL, too!

PhotocourtesyofCaryCooper


On the top shelf of a bookcase inCary Cooper’s living room in Dallas sitsan ordinary bowl filled with 52 cut-uppieces of paper, each with a seeminglyordinary word written on it. Words like“panic,”“vulnerable,”“joyful,”“envious,”“thoughtful,” “puzzled,” “negative,” and“demure,” all taken from a therapist’schart of human feelings. But that bowlandthose52piecesofpaperarekindofmagic, because by year’s end they willhavesparkedwellovera1,000brandnewsongsbyadedicatedgroupof22talentedwomen songwriters from around thecountry.What’smore,everysingleoneofthosesongswillbesharedwiththeworldonYouTube. Cooper, the keeper of the bowl andthe ringleaderof thegroup,first startedthe “RealWomenRealSongs” projecta year ago — inspired by a YouTubecollaboration that her 12-year-olddaughterwasparticipating inwithothertweens. “Each week they would have athemeandtheywouldpostavideotheymade based on whatever the themewas,” Cooper says. “And one day mydaughtersaid,‘Mom,youshoulddothiswith your songwriter friends and writesongs!’SoIjustkindofstartedwithsomefriendsofmineforthefirstseason,andIdidn’tknow ifwewouldmanage topullitoff,butweendedupmakingitthroughthewhole year. After that ended I tooka three-month break before startingthis season, but I had already startedrecruitingpeople.” IncludingCooper,nineofthewomenparticipating in this year’s RWRSprojectwereeitherborninorliveinTexas:TerriHendrix,BettySoo,SaraHickman,ConnieMims,StephanieMacias(akaLittleBrave),

KateHearne,LisaMarkley,andEllis(nowbased inMinneapolis). LucyWainwrightRoche, Dorit, Honor Finnegan, NatalieYork, and Annika (at 16, the youngestmemberofthegroup)allliveinoraroundNew York City. The rest of the group ismade up of Alice Peacock (Nashville),Megan Burtt (Denver), Anne Vogelzang(Madison, Wis.), Tracey Grammer(Doylestown, Pa.), Tylan Greenstein andIngrid Elizabeth (Berkley, Calif.), andsister-in-lawsEmily andHopeDunbarofNebraska. Cooper assigned each of the21otherwomenasetdayoftheweekonwhichtosubmittheirsongs(threewomenaday, sevendaysaweek for52weeks),leavingherselfasa“floater”toposthersong onwhatever day itwas needed tofillahole;invariably,sometimeslifeand/or touring schedules can get in thewayandaparticipanthastositaweekout—thoughat18weeksintotheprojectmostallofthemhadstayeddiligentlyontrack. “What’s funny is, you kind of learneveryone’s personalities by how andwhentheyturntheirsongsin,”observesCooper,whocollectsthesubmissionsviaDropBoxandspendsatleastanhouradayuploading them all herself to YouTube.“Therearesomewhoareveryregularandturntheirsongsinliketwoorthreedaysearly,and therearesome Iknownot toexpecttohearfromuntilrightatmidnightthedaythattheirsongsaredue.Andthenothersareemailingmeweeklysaying‘Ohmygod,I’msosorry,I’mgoingtobelateagain!’Andit’stypicallythesameonesineach category.” (She credits the Dunbarsisters, both schoolteachers, for beingthemost reliably punctual, but tactfullydeclines—witha laugh—tonamethemostchronicprocrastinators.)

Regardless of their variable timemanagement skills and busy schedules,though,it’snotreallytheweeklydeadlinethat proves themost challenging aspectof the project for many of the womeninvolved — just as it’s not the taskof writing songs on demand based ashared prompt or theme that makesRealWomenRealSongsunique(it’shardly

the first songwriter pool built aroundthatconcept.)WhatsetsRWRSapartandreally tests the writers’ commitment isthefactthatratherthanjustsharingtheirworkwitheachotherviaemailorprivateget-togethers,theyrecordvideosoftheirsongs knowing that each and every oneof them will be posted online. And ifyou think that’s not a big deal for evenseasoned artists who make their livingsharingtheirartinpublic,guessagain. “Sharing the songs on YouTube istough,” admits Terri Hendrix. “I’m aperfectionist, and someofmy songs arenotalways‘done’whenthey’returnedin— they aremoreor less ideas. I endupmaking the deadline, but sharing those

CaryCoopergaveherselfand21ofherfemale

songwriterpeersachallenge:writeasonga

weekfor52weeks,andsharethem—warts

andall,finishedornot—ontheInternet.

ByRichardSkanse

Real women, real songs — lots and lots of songs

songswithahugeaudienceischallenging.” BettySoosecondsthat.“It’sdefinitelyscary uploading a video each week andknowingthatveryearlyversionofasongthat Imightnotever choose toperformagain will live on the Internet forever,”she says. “Forever.” Sara Hickman evenaddressed that paranoia directly in herplayful, beat-poet style submission for

Week11’sprompt,“Panic.” Butdespite—orperhapseveninspiteof — such reservations about sharingsome of their songs with the publicsoonerthanthey’dlike(ifatall),manyofthewomenhaveembracedthechallengeby trying out different instruments andevenmusicalstylesoutsideoftheirusualcomfort zones — or at least the onesthey’re best known for. The rule withRWRSis,anythinggoes. “I imagine I am not unlike manyartists in that I write in a number ofstylesathome,butnotallofthosesongsmakeitontoalbumsbecausetheydon’tfit the theme, genre, instrumentation,etc., of an album I’m recording,” notesBettySoo. “But I think thenatureof thisprojectdoesgivemorepermissiontoput

whateverwe’rewritingoutthere,evenifit’snotexactlywhatpeopleareexpectingfromus.” AmongthesurprisessofarhavebeenCooper showing off her schoolyard “cupsong” skills in her Week 3 (“Demure”)submission,andHendrix—bestknownforplaying guitar, mandolin, and harmonica— sitting down at a piano for herWeek

7 “Found” song. BettySoo hasincorporatedloopsandherownmulti-tracked backing vocals insome of her RWRS videos, andHendrixalsowentfull-ontechnoforWeek10’sprompt,“Happy.” “When you’re writing ondeadline and need to turn ina song a week, it makes youthink outside of the box,”says Hendrix, who’s actuallyexpressed interest in recordinganelectronicaalbum for years.“Ihadablastwith‘Happy,’butitwas toughbecause I loopedallthesevarious recordings Ihaveofpeopletalking,andIwasjustabout done with it when I hitonewrong button and deletedtheentirepiece.IwasneverabletogetitexactlylikeIwantedit,butIfinishedit.That’soneIplan

oncontinuingtoworkon,though—Istillhearitthewayitshouldbeanditbothersmethatit’snotthatway…yet.” BettySoosaysshehasa“gut feeling”that someofherRWRSsongsmaymakeit onto one of her albums down theroad, “whether in their current form oredited,” and doubtless more than a fewoftheotherwomen’ssongswill,too.Butstockpilingmaterialreallydoesn’tseemtobethemainobjectiveforanyoneinvolved. “Forusthewholepurposeisnotonlytowrite a lot, but also to be vulnerableandsharethecreativeprocesswithotherpeople,” Cooper says. “The hope is thatwe inspire other people on their owncreativejourneys,nomatterwhattheyareandnotnecessarily just songwriting.WehaveapublicRealWomenRealSongspage

on Facebook, and I love thatwe have aphotographerwhopostsphotosonthereweeklybasedonthepromptthemes,andthere’salsoavisualartistwho ismakingthese really awesome collages. And wehave a number of people who aren’tofficially involved in theprojectbutwhofollow the prompts and post songs totheir own YouTube pages and share thelinkswithusonFacebook.It’sbeenreallyneattowatchitevolvelikethat.” In addition to their weekly songsubmissions, each of the 22 womenin the group has also been recordingmonthlyvideoblogs.Thosehaven’tbeenposted publically yet, but Cooper plansto compile and edit them together intoa RWRS documentary at the end of theyear.Afterthat,she’llbegintheadventurealloveragainwithanewgroupofwritersfor RWRS’ third season. “I already havepeopleexpressinginterest,saying‘Iwanttobeapartofitnexttime,’”Coopersays.“SoIthinkit’sdefinitelycaughton.” In themeantime, this year’s crop ofRealWomencontinuestowriteon…andonandonandonandon.It’samarathonthat doesn’t necessarily get any easier,butkeepsongivingweekafterweek. “This project brought me out of along dry spell, and a creative fire feelsgood,”enthusesHendrix. “I’malsoa fannowofeverywoman in thegroup. It’sasisterhood of good women, and everyartist is unique. Cary is doing a reallyspecialthinghere. It’stakingawhole lotof her time, but I hope the sisterhoodshe’screatedmakesherfeelgood.”

You can follow Cooper, Hendrix, BettySoo and the rest of the 22 women of RealWomenRealSongs on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/RealWomenRealSongs and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/realwomenrealsongs.

“Sharing the songs on YouTube is tough,” admits Terri Hendrix

BettySoo says rwrs gives them the freedom to

“put whatever we are writing

out there,even if it is not what

people expect.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Songwriters rally to help friend and mentor Kent Finlay f ight cancer

lsm news

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Steve Silbas, the other half of Casbeers’ “Barb ’n’ Steve,” passes

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AsthelongtimeproprietorofSanMarcos’CheathamStreetWarehouseandmentortoupandcomingsongwritersandper-formers,KentFinlayhasplayedakeyroleinhelpingtolaunchthecareersofaveritablewho’swhoofLoneStarnotables,includingGeorgeStrait,StevieRayVaughan,ToddSnider, JamesMcMur-try,TerriHendrix,RandyRogers,andcountlessmore.Soit’snowonderthateversinceFinlaywasrecentlydiagnosedwithare-lapseofbonemarrowcancer,there’sbeenanoutpouringofsup-portfromtheTexasmusiccommunity.InlateMarch,600friendsandformerstudentscametogetherforaFinlaybenefitconcertin Luckenbach. Performers included Ray Benson, Bruce Robi-son,JonDeeGraham,CodyCanada,OwenTemple,andFinlay’syoungest daughter, HalleyAnna. Kent’s other daughter, Ameri-canaradiopromoterJenniFinlay,summeduptheevent—whichraisednearly$15,000betweendoordonations,asilentauction,andtipjars—as“abeautifuldayfilledwithamazingsongsandlove.Ourheartsaresofull.” Highlights includedTemple’shauntingtakeonFinlay’ssong“MinesofTerlingua”andBenson’senergeticeventcloser,“Luck-enbach,Texas.”“Songwriter,mentor,curator,teacher,historian,”Temple said, describing Finlay’s distinct roles in shaping Texasmusic.“Usually,it’sjustone.Theamazingthingisthathe’sallofthose.Kenthasencouragedandparticipatedinandhelpedcre-atethebestofwhatTexasmusichasbeenandis.” Importantly,Finlayhasalwayssupportedsongwritersspan-ningallgenres.GrahamnotedFinlay’saffinitytowardoutsiders.“Kent’sareallyopen-mindedfellowwhotookaninterestinmeasfarbackastheSkunksin1978,”hesaid.“Atthattime,therewerealimitednumberofplacesapunkrockbandcouldplay.Henever talkeddowntous.Hewouldevenhangoutwithus.Hecouldsensethatweweretestingboundariesandthere’snothingmoreoutlawthanthat.KentFinlay likespeoplewho fuckwiththerules.”—BRIANT.ATKINSON

OnApril8, justfivemonthsafter losinghisbelovedwife,BarbaraWolfe,tocancer,formerSanAntonioclubownerSteveSilbasdiedinahospicetwoweeksaftersufferingaheartattackandstroke.Hewas51.Silbas,whohaddiabetes,hadbeeninailinghealthforsometimeevenbeforeWolfe’spassing,butremainedoptimisticthroughhisgriefwhileundergoingdialysisandwaitingforakidneydonor. Forthebetterpartofadecade(1999through2008),SilbasandWolfeownedandoperatedtheAlamoCityrestaurantandconcertvenueCasbeersonBlancoRoad,whichspecialized inservingupdeliciousenchiladasandhamburgersandbookinglocal,regionalandtouringAmericanasinger-songwritersandrootsrockacts.In2008,theymovedthebusinessintoanoldMethodistchurchintheKingWilliamHistoricDistrict.CasbeersattheChurch(laterrenamedSanAntoneCafe&Concerts)maintainedthemenuandintimatefeeloftheoriginalCasbeersinitsdiningareabutalsofeaturedalargerlistening-roomlikeconcertspaceinthechapel,completewithchurchpewseating.Itwasabeautifulvenuewithterrificacoustics,butitonlylastedfouryears.Thecoupleclosedthebusinessinthespringof2011,citingtheeconomicdownturnandSilbas’healthissues(hehadhadopen-heartsurgeryearlierthatyear.)Thevenue’sfinalconcertwasaBobDylanBirth-dayBashtributeshowonMay24,2011. Silbaswasburiedwithhiswife’sashesinSanAntonio.Atthememorialservice,TexassongwriterDavidRodriguezsangBuckOwens’“TogetherAgain”inhonorofthecouplewhoendearedthemselvestosomanymusiciansandSanAntoniomusicfansfor13years.—RICHARDSKANSE

HalleyAnna Finlay singing for her dad, Kent, at Luckenbach. Photo by

BrianT.Atkinson


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Seasoned(butnotbroken)bylifeandtheroadandhappilymarriedtohissecondwife,theTylerKidisfinallygrowingintohisownhard-lucksongs—andcrazyenoughtohelpsingGaryFloater’s,too.|ByJimBealJr.

Adam Carroll

PhotoCourtesyofAdamCarroll

Ray Bonneville

PhotobyRodneyBursiel He’s 39, but from a distance— andnot a long distance — Tyler-bred, SanMarcos-based Adam Carroll could passfor half that age. Carroll has a full headof perpetually tousled hair, an air of in-nocenceandan“awshucks”kindofde-meanorthat’srefreshingbutdeceiving. Below that hair are twinkling eyesthatdon’tmissmuch,andaslysmilethatintimateshe’seitheruptosomethingoriswellawarethatyou’reuptosomething,andhe’snotlikelytoturnhisbackonyou.ThoseattributeshelpmakeCarrollafirst-rateTexas troubadour;a storytellerwhostilllookslikeakidwhilewritingandsing-ing stark yet sympathetic songs aboutgamblers, ramblers, ex-cons, drunks,cab drivers, fishermen, thieves,washed-upmusicians, heartbreak and, now andthen,lovegoneright. Carroll’s new album, his eighth, Let It Choose You, is packed with all of theaboveplusaSouthLouisianaaccenthereandtheretoaugmenthisTexasstorytell-ingproclivities. “I studiedclassicalguitaratTyler Ju-nior College, but I wasn’t very good atcompeting in the guitar program,” Car-roll says.“Idiscoveredacreativewritingteacher, Candace Schaefer (now the as-sociatedirectoroftheUniversityWritingCenter at Texas A&MUniversity), at thecollege,anditjustblewmeaway.Ilovedthe writing, but I had a hard time withshortstories.Ihadtroublemakingsome-thingthatlongbeinteresting.” InspiredandinfluencedbythelikesofGuyClark,TownesVanZandt,RobertEarlKeenandotherwordsmithsinhislawyerdad’srecordcollection—andequallyin-fluencedbytheplayersonhismusician/choir-director mom’s side of the family

—Carrollturnedhistalentstothethree-minute song form. He worked coffeehousesandopen-micnightsand startedrambling around Texas working placessuch as PoorDavid’s Pub in Dallas, Flip-noticsinAustin,andCiboloCreekCountryClubandCasbeersinSanAntonio. Carroll’s 2000debut,South of Town,produced by Lloyd Maines, served no-ticetherewasanewkidaroundwhohadsomething to say.Maineshas sincepro-duced several Carroll projects, includingLet It Choose You. “Thefirsttwoalbums,South of Town and Looking Out the Screen Door, mostof thesongscameout in thishugewrit-ingspurtIhadinayear,year-and-a-half,”Carroll says. “Someof the songs, if theystumpedme,I’dgetfrustrated.ButIreadan interview with Neil Young where hesaidyousometimeshavetogoawayfromthesongandcomebacktoit.Ifitdoesn’tcomeoutrightaway,itdoesn’tmeanit’sabadone.” Fromthestart,thefresh-facedTylerkidwaswritingaboutthenittyandthegritty. “A lotof thesongs Iwrotewere likeapairofjeans,ashirtorasuitthatweregiventomeatacertainage,”Carrollex-plains.“Theyweretoobigforme.WhenI wrote them, some came from experi-ences Ihad.Butbeing lonely,havingex-wives,being in jail—at21Ididn’thavethose experiences. But I wrote aboutthem.AndIgrewintothem.Thesongsonthisalbum,somecertainlycomefromex-periencesIdidn’thaveat21.NowIcouldhavebeena character ina song IwrotewhenIwas21.” CarrollalsohasfallenunderthespellofSouthLouisiana,captivatedbythemusic,thefoodandthecultureofAcadiana.Let

It Choose Yousongsincluding“Bernadine,”“Tears inMyGumbo,”and“GoodBehav-ior”aredirectlyattributabletothatspell.“I’vealwayslovedthatmusic,”hesays.“Idon’tseehowyoucan’t.Ilovethetimingofthesongs,thebeautyofthelanguage,andthesoundofaccordionandfiddle.” And that dovetails with the experi-enceCarrollhashadsinginghissongs inplacesasfarfromhomeasItalyandHol-land.“Theworldisdifferent,butwhatev-erappealstopeopleisthesame,”hesays. Asisthecasewithalotofsingingsong-writers,Carroll’searlysongswerestraight-upsolitaryefforts.Overthepastfewyears,though,he’sdoneaconsiderableamountofco-writingwithfellowtravelers,includ-ing Owen Temple, Brian Rung, Jeff Plan-kenhorn,SusanGibson,MarkJungers,andMichael O’Connor. It was with O’ConnorthatCarrollrecordedthe2010duoalbum,Gulf Coast Blues, and Let It Choose You findsCarroll revisiting someof the songsfromthatsetthatco-writerO’Connorsangthefirsttimearound. Carroll’ssongshavebeencoveredbySlaid Cleaves, Hayes Carll, the Band ofHeathens,andCanadiantroubadourRog-erMarin.Carroll,inturn,hasbeenknowntocoverafewsongshimself,albeitmostlyfromonesomewhatquestionablesource.Foranumberofyearsnow,heandOwenTemple have balanced their own workwithworkthat’seitheralaborofloveorborderlineinsanity.They’vebeencollect-ingandrecordingthesongsofGaryFloat-er,anelusive—somewouldsaymythical—genre-hoppingsinger-songwriterfromMiami, Mo. Floater’s music admittedlyisn’t for all tastes; if H. P. Lovecraft hadlived longenough tohearhim, Floater’ssongs(nottomentionhisharrowingtall-

Onarecentspringevening,RayBonn-evillepeeredoutfromtheshadowcastbythebrimofhishatintothecrowdjammedinside Austin’s storied Cactus Cafe andsaidquietly,“Ican’treallyseeyou,but Icanfeelyououtthere.”Hethenlaunchedinto a groove that was so smooth anddark, itwas intoxicating.By thetimehe

got to thechorusof “Love isWicked,”atrack from his recently released albumEasy Gone,theroomwasmesmerized.

If you were lucky enough to havebeentherethatnight,aftertheeffectsofthegrooveworeoff,youmayhavefoundyourself scratching your head and ask-ing, “Just how exactly did all thatmusiccomefromjustoneguy?”Sure,yousawthe stomp boards, harmonicas, and gui-tars,buttherichtexturesanddarktones

Bonneville conjuresup with these toolsare almost supernat-urallyhaunting.Takeitfromnolessan authority onmat-ters of musicianshipand groove alchemythanGurfMorlix,whodoesn’t beat aroundthe bush when it

comes to hailing Bonneville’s presencebothonstageandonrecord.“He’stheab-solutebestintheworldatwhathedoes,”

Morlixsays.“Hedoeseverythingsowell.He’sthekingofthegroove.Andthen,hejusthappenstobeareallygreatelectricguitarplayer.And then,he justhappensto play harmonica better than anybodythis side of Charlie Musselwhite. Andthenhewritestheseamazingsongs,andhe’ssuchagreatsinger.Andthen,he’sgotthefeetgoing—he’splayingthedrums,too!It’samazing.” Like any artist who has masteredtheircraft,Bonnevillemakesitlookeasy,but asheexplains, that “easy” sound istheculminationofhavingplayed“thou-sands of nightclubs, juke joints, bars,andsmokyget-home-at-4-o’clock-in-the-morninggigs.Afterawhile,thestuffgetsintoyourblood.” Thetruthis,though,musicseemstohave always been in Bonneville’s blood.AsakidgrowingupinQuebec,Canada,herecallsbeingdrawntothetwangyelectric

Searchingforelusiveanswersandan“easy”gonehidingdowninthegroove|ByTiffanyWalker

talesfromtheroad)probablycouldhavegiven him nightmares. Carroll and Tem-ple’srecentlyreleasedthirdFloater“trib-ute”album,Who Cares, featuressuchob-scuregemsas“Let’sGetThisOverWith,”“I’manAlcoholic,”“TwoBoringLosersinLove,”and“HelloDiabetes.” “There’sasmallcircleofFloaterfansaround Cheatham Street Warehouse inSanMarcos,andtheycomeoutandsup-port him even though he never shows,”Carroll explains. “Asmany times as he’sbeenbeatup,heought tohaveametalcowboyhat.It’shardtogetkickedoutofCheathamStreet,butGary’sbeenbanned

for life. He’s an asshole, but, just whenI’ve heard about enoughout of him, hebringsasmiletomyface.” Fortunately,Carroll’sgotamorereli-able and sensible reason to smile theseday:hisnewwife,Canadiansinger-song-writerChristian(Chris)MarieCarroll.Thecouplemetin2012northoftheborderatRogerMarin’s Cicada Fest, and gotmar-riedlastyear.Chris,whoisatworkonanalbumofherownwithRobertEarlKeen’sbassist Bill Whitbeck, sang harmony onher husband’s Let It Choose You. In theliner notes, Carroll writes: “To my wifeChristian, thank you for helpingmefind

the courage to make this record. I loveyou.” “Iquitdrinkingthreeyearsago.Iwaslearningtobesober,”Carrollsays.“Ialsowentthroughadivorce.Ihadthesongs,but I thought, ‘What do I do?Howdo Imake the record? Howmuch work is itgonnatake?WhyshouldImakearecordatall?HowdoIsquarethenewstuffwiththeold stuff?AndChris said, ‘Shut yourmouth and go to your gig.’ She toldmethe songswere important and sowas I.Thenshesaid,‘Gouptoyourmusicroomandgetyourasstowork.’” Hedid.


Bonneville makes it look easy, but as he

explains, that “easy” sound is the culmination

of having played “thousands of nightclubs,

juke joints, bars, and smoky get-home-at-4-

o’clock-in-the-morning gigs. After awhile, the

stuff gets into your blood.”

LeaveittoaBuckeyegirltoputthepunkandfirebackinalt-country.|ByD.C.Bloom

Lydia Loveless

PhotobyPatrickCrawford

ItonlytakesaboutaminuteintoLydiaLoveless’s latest release, Somewhere Else, to realize that all those seeminglyhyperbolic comparisons to some ofmusic’s most legendary female voicesshe’sgarneredaremorethanwarranted. ButfortheyoungOhiowomanwhogrew up on a beef cattle farm halfwaybetween Canton and Columbus, sound-alike suggestions really used to get hergoat.Whenherleadguitarplayertoldathen-teenaged Loveless, “You sound somuchlikeStevieNicks,”itwasn’texactlyheardasacompliment.“Iwaslike,‘Fuckyou!’”admitsLoveless,23.“Iusedtobeadamant about not listening to thingspeopletoldmeto listentoortopeoplethey thought I sounded like. But I’velightenedupalot…IthinkStevieNicksisawesome—now.Soit’sactuallykindofnicetobecomparedtoher.” While Loveless may have lightenedup, Somewhere Else finds her rockingharderthansheeverhas—andcertainlyharderthanacoupleofothervocalgiantsshe’sbeencomparedto,JuneCarterandLoretta Lynn (even with Jack White’sassist),evermanagedtodo. Lovelesswastaggedwiththecatchallalt-countrydescriptorwhenhercritically-acclaimed Bloodshot Records debut,Indestructible Machine, dropped in late2011.Thatalbumskewedabitmorecowthan punk, more Patsy Cline than PattiSmith.ButSomewhere Elsecapturestheevolution of a young voice finding hertruevoice,attemptstogenrepigeonholeandcomparisonname-checkbedamned.Infact,noonehasexplainedtheLovelessSoundaswellasLovelessherself. Intheweeksleadinguptothealbum’srelease,

Lovelesswroteonherwebsite,“…Ifeellike I truly captured my sound at last.It’srock‘nroll, it’spop,it’schockfullofsexualinnuendoanditkindasoundslikesomething bleeding (not in the periodkindofway,well,maybealittle).” Rathercheekytalkfromthedaughterof a preacher man. But the parentalpulpit pounding didn’t last that long.“Dadwasapastorforthefirstnineyearsofmy life,” Loveless explains. “Then hehad a complete split from the churchandboughtabar.Thatwasourlifestyle.Iwasn’tallowedtopaintmyfingernailsorwatchMTVupuntilthen.” Loveless welcomes the opportunityto clarify some of the biographicalembellishments about thoseformativeyearsthathavebeencitedadnauseumtoexplainhowasweetlil’ bucolicBuckeyegal got steepedinsuchsaloonishwaysandaMerle-ishmusicalmeme. “Thewholebarthinghasgottenblownoutofproportion,”shesays.“Itwasneveracountryandwesternbar, and dad was the owner, notthe band booker. It was called theUnderground and there was a Mexicanrestaurant upstairs. So therewere a lotof partieswith theMexican dudes. Justgoodtimes.Butthatreallywasonlyforacoupleofyears.” The Loveless clan would soongravitate to Columbus, prodded toemigratebywhatshevaguelyreferstoas“some sort ofmisfortunes befalling us.”ButitcertainlywasafortuitousmoveforLydia,whosoondiscoveredapunkclubcalled Bernie’s where Carson Drew, thefamilybandthatincludedhersistersand

father, would eventually start playing.While the genetic venture evaporatedshortly after the family membersrecorded their first (and last) album,Loveless found a largely welcomingmusiccommunityinColumbusandfertilegroundtolaunchhersolocareer—albeitabitoffthebeatenpathfromwhereoneexpectsthenextbigthingtotakeroot. “For the most part, we’re reallysupportiveof eachother,” Loveless saysof the scene in theOhio capital,whereshestilllives.Yetsheacknowledgesthatthere were those who were baffled byher Bloodshot deal. “I feel free to talkshit about them because when I first

gotsigned,theyaccusedmeofsleepingmy way to the top of the indie labelscene,” she continues. “There’s a veryuptight country scene in Columbus thatiscompletelyconfusedwhynobodycaresabouttheirJohnnyCashcoversthattheyplayonceaweek.” Well played, Ms. Loveless. Point,set andmatch, actually. Because today,it’s people like Kevin Russell who areplaying Lydia Love-less covers. TheShinyribs/Gourds

guitarscomingthroughhisgrandmother’s“big pieceof furniture radio.” Bonnevillewouldstickhisearuptotheroughclothto listen, just sohecouldgetasclose tothatsoundashecould.Hismothersoonboughthimausedacousticguitar,andaf-terjustonelesson,hewasoffandrunningwithit.“Ididn’twantanymorelessons,”Bonneville says. “I justwanted todomyownthingwithit.” And that’s exactly what he did. Bythetimehegottohighschool,hisfamilyhadmovedtoBoston,andBonnevillehadgone electric. Influenced by British rock-ersliketheKinks,ManfredMann,andtheZombies,heformedabandcalledtheVIPswithsomeofhisschoolfriends,andtheytoured New England in a 1957 Cadillacambulance playing rock ’n’ roll at frater-nityparties. After a stint in Vietnam, Bonnevillesurrenderedtoasenseofwanderlustthatwould lead him back to Boston, briefly,thenontoplacesasvariedasAlaska,Par-is,NewOrleans,andfinally,in2006,Aus-tin.Alongtheway,he learnedtoflyfish,fly airplanes, and trust his instincts. Andwhen he wasn’t being distracted by his“mistress,theairplane,”hewasslowlyde-velopinghissignaturesound,whichtoday

isasrichandvariedasthesmellofsteamcomingoffapotofgumbo. The miles he’s lived have seasonedBonneville’s style. He picked up the rawsoundsof theblues inBoston,whereheencountered such great travelling blues-men as J.B. Hutto, Howlin’Wolf,MuddyWaters,andHoundDogTaylorwhiletheywere all still touring. He also discoveredthegreatbluesharmonicaplayerCharlieMusselwhite.Atthetime,Bonnevillewasdrivingacab,andsoonhewaspracticingtheharmonicainbetweenfares. After heading up the Ray BonnevilleBlues Band in Boulder, Colo., he left forAlaska to focus on his solo career andbecome friends with his harmonica rackand foot percussion. Though proficientoneachseparately,puttingthemtogetherwith the guitar was like learning an en-tirelynewinstrument.HefiguredinAlas-katheywouldpayhimtoplayevenifhewasn’tverygoodyet. From the rowdy bars of the PacificNorthwest,heescapedtoParis,whereforthefirsttimeheencountereda listeningcrowd.Therehe’dplayuptothreeshowsanight,withthelastonekickingoffat4:30in themorning.He laterhad similar gigsinNewOrleans,wherehereallyfoundhis

vibeamongsttherestlessspiritsandlazyrhythmsloomingovertheBigEasy. Itwasn’t until the ’90s, though, thatBonneville picked up his pen and begansketchingouthisownoriginal songsandluring listeners in with their provoca-tive images set amidst his atmosphericgrooves. On Easy Gone, his eighth al-bum and fourth for Red House Records,thepotent comboof hiswords andmu-sicwork tosuggest storiesmore than tooutright tell them, leaving any sense ofclosure to the listener’s imagination.Butalthough the title track finds Bonnevilleasking, “Where hasmy easy gone?” likeonesearchingforalesscomplicatedtimeand place, the song’s relaxed, hypnotictonesuggestsoneatpeacewith theun-certainty — knowing, perhaps, that theelusive answers he seeks are out there,justwaitingtobefound.Andifnot,sobeit. He leaves his songs open-ended andambiguous on purpose because it keepsthemthatmuchtruertolife. “There’s as many versions of what’shappening ina songas therearepeoplewho are listening to it,” Bonneville ex-plains.“Becauseeverybodyhasadifferentsortofhistory.”

cont. on page 76


“I used to be adamant about not listening to things people told me to listen to or to people they thought I sounded like. But I’ve lightened up a lot ... I think Stevie Nicks is awesome — now.” — Lydia Loveless

TheymayhavecharmedthatMaroon5guy(andmillionsofTVviewers)withtheirharmonieson The Voice,butforthisAustinfolkduo,thesweetestsuccessremainsthewritingandsharingofsongs.|ByD.C.Bloom

Dawn & Hawkes

PhotoCourtesyofDawnandHawkes

Thelineofmorethan30selfie-with-celebrity seekers snaking through thebeergardenatAustin’sWhipInonSXSWSunday was impressive for a duo thatonly had a four-song EP (2012’s Golden Heart)totheircredit.ButMirandaDawnandChrisHawkesweremuchmorethanjust another photogenic singing couplewith lovingharmoniesandcatchy tunes:Theywerenetworktelevisionstars,ridinghighontheirfirst15minutesofnationalfamethatcommencedthemomentAdamLevinespunhischairaroundandgushed,“That wasmy favorite performance I’veeverseenanywhereonThe Voice.” That was the fateful moment thatofficiallylandedtheAustin-basedfolkduointhesameclubasNakia,CurtisGrimes,and a growing list of other Texas artists(33todate)whohavereachedabroaderaudience via the popular NBC talentshow.AlthoughDawnandHawkeswouldeventually be eliminated just shy of the“playoffs”duringa“battleround”episodeinApril,theirrunonThe Voice stillcarriedtheirvoicestomillionsoflistenersacrossthe countrywho otherwisemight neverhave heard of the couple. It probablydidn’thurt salesof thataforementionedEP,either;Golden Heart madetheTop25ofBillboard’s FolkChart. The question for all contestants, ofcourse, is how to parlay that networktelevisionexposureintoacareerinmusicthatwilllast.Noonewantstobeforgottenby the business as quickly asNashville’s fictional Layla Grant — let alone anynumber of real would-be American

Idols and former Voice contenderswhosenamesescapeusatthemoment.Fortunately for Dawn andHawkes, theircommitmenttosongwritingremainstheirpriority.Levine’spraisingoftheirauditioncover of the Beatles’ “I’ve Just Seen aFace”mayhavebeenmusictotheirears,but they both firmly believe that in theend,itwillbethequalityoftheiroriginalmaterialthatwillmattermost. “Whether it’stoahandfulof fansora national audience, it’s all about howpeoplereacttoasong,”Hawkessays.“Youmaywriteasongandsomethingaboutittouchessomeoneinawayandatjustthetimetheyneeded.Theymayhaveneededthat song like they needed a chemist tocomeupwitha certainmedicine, and ifsomeonehadsquashedthatpersonfromwritingthatsong,theywouldhavemissedoutonthethingtheyneeded.” Fittingly, Dawn and Hawkes playedtheirfirstshowinfrontofalargeaudiencenotonaTVsingingcontest,butinasettingwhere the art of songwriting is reveredaboveallelse: theKerrvilleFolkFestival,from the stage of the Kennedy Theatre—namedforthelateRodKennedy,whostarted Kerrville’s New Folk Contest togiveaspiring songwritersa chance tobeheard.KennedyoftensaidthatNewFolkwasdesignedtohelpkidswritingsongsintheirbedroomandtooshy tosing themforanyone—adescriptionthatoncefitDawntoaT. “For the longest time I really waswritinginmybedroomandnooneheardthe songs,” says Dawn,whowent on to

becomea2012KerrvilleNewFolkfinalist.“Itwasn’tuntilotherpeopleheardthemand told me what they meant to themthatIknewIhadtodothis.” Now that their run on The Voice isbehindthem,thecouplecanconcentratefully on finishing their first full-lengthstudioalbum.“Thesongsforthenewoneareallwritten,”Dawnsays.“Wejustneedtositdownandrecordthem.” Doubtless the end result will helpgarnerDawnandHawkesevenmorefans,aswilltheirconcertappearancesinAustinandbeyond.Butiftheystillendupgettingrecognized now and then in airports orgrocerystoresbypeoplewhoonlyknowthemfromThe Voice,well,theyprobablywon’t snub any selfie or autographrequests. As music fans themselves,theycancertainly relate.Hawkes readilyrecalls thetimetheirpathscrossedwithanothercelebritysinger,longbeforetheyhadtheirownmomentinthesun. “Wewereperformingonanoutdoorstageand lookedupandtherewasGlenHansard, who was riding a bike by theplace, and he stopped to listen to ourset,” says Hawkes. No one else seemedtorecognizeHansardastheguyfromthemovieOnce, let alone as the songwriterandfrontmanofIreland’stheFramesandtheSwellSeason.“Wewantedtogetourpicturewithhimbeforeheleft,soIsaid,‘We’regoingtotakeabreakandgosayhito our friendGlen…’— so hewouldn’trideoffbeforewecouldmeethim!”


lsm Columns

Andso,theysayit’sover.Orfixingtobe.June7inArlington,Texas:thefinalshowwithalmosttoomanygueststoname,then—truly—theCowboyRidesAway.Forgood. Orsotheysay,butit’shardtobelieve.GeorgeStraithasbeenafixtureatthetopof the countrymusic game forwell over30years,winningawards,creating indel-iblesingles,anddefiningwhatitmeanstobeaclassiccountrystarforlargechunksoftwodifferentcenturies. Maybe it says something about thestateofourtailgate/moonlight/coldbeer/hot night/hotter babe nation. For what-ever reason, KingGeorge— amanwhoreveres Lefty Frizzell, Merle Haggard,George Jones,Hank Thompson, andBobWills—hasdecidedtopackitup.Whenhe does, he takes with him dignity, el-egance,understatement,top-shelfsongs,andafocusonthemusic,notthemanorthemayhem. Justconsiderthehits:“AllMyEx’sLiveinTexas,”“TheFireman,”“DoesFortWorthEverCrossYourMind,”“OceanFrontProp-erty,”“GiveItAway,”“TheChair,”“MarinaDel Ray,” “Unwound,” “Chill of An EarlyFall,” “Carried Away,” “She’ll Leave Youwith a Smile,” “Write this Down,” “FoolHearted Memory,” “I Just Wanna Dancewith You,” “I Can Still Make Cheyenne,”“Run,” “Amarillo ByMorning” ... and onandon.Thereare50No.1’sononeStraitcollection, and 22more hits on another. Listen to “Troubadour,” aNo. 1 from2008, and understand that honoring thelife,therooms,themusicwaseverythingthatmadeStraitwhohewas.Tohim,mu-sicwasaboutdistillingtheessenceofthe

post-cowboyromanticism,iconicismandeasy-going virility that defined being aTexanandastand-upguy. Heck, when Strait strode onstageinawhitehatatthe1999CMAAwardsto the flourish of twin fiddles andwasjoined by Alan Jackson for the pointed“Murder OnMusic Row,” it was amo-mentthatdecriedthelossoftraditionalcountryintherock/popcrossoverblitz.Sotopicalandinthemomentthen,butalsoprescientaboutthestateofcountrymusictoday. And yet Strait’smusic still holds itsownandfindsitswayagainstthestatusquotide,andthosehitsofhisjustkeepon coming. “I’ve Got a Car,” currentlyheadedtothetopofthecountrycharts,demonstrates there’s no loss of enthu-siasm for the man who won the 2013Country Music Association EntertaineroftheYearAwardinthemidstofwhat’sbeingbilledashisfinaltour.IfthoseEn-tertaineroftheYearAwards,woninthe‘80s, ‘90s and ‘10s, are about being anartistwho’sbroughtcountrymusictothefarthest reaches of our global culture,Strait’s earned ’em. More than beinga judgeon a talent contest, orwearinghisjeansjustso(thoughladiessurelikethewayStraitfillsouthisWranglers),thetaciturnTexanhasbeenplacesnocoun-trystarhadsinceWillieNelson. LikeWillie,who held down starringroles in Electric Horseman and Honey-suckle Rose, Strait even anchored hisownboxofficehit,Pure Country.PlayingDustyChandler,asuperstarwhoeschewsarena-sizedsuccess,Straitexploredwhatanchors“real”countryinthefaceofthe carny-ization of modern country — and

GeorgeStrait:Theendofthetrail(orsotheysay) | ByHollyGleason

RowedOver

established himself as a matinee idolwhile watching the soundtrack spendweeks atop Billboard’s Country AlbumschartenroutetosellingsixmillioncopiesandservinguptwoNo.1singles. Strait’s success reflected the powerofstrongmusic,acleanimage,andmain-tainingone’sdignity.Longbeforehewashailed as “King George,” Strait quietlyfilled arenas, sold in heavy-metal num-bers, and early adopted seminal song-writersDeanDillon,JimLauderdale,JohnPrine, Bruce Robison, and Jamey John-son,aswellasclassicistsBuddyCannon,Guy Clark, Frank Dycus, Dallas Frazier,RedLane,DickyLee,SangerD.“Whitey”Shafer,andSonnyThrockmorton.Healsohelped bring country music into majorstadiumswithhis Country Festival Toursin the ’90s.Uniting someof the genre’sbiggestnames—AlanJackson,theDixieChicks,TimMcGrawandFaithHillintheirprime — with tasty acts like Asleep attheWheelandLeeAnnWomack,Strait’sTexas-sizedtravelingfestivalwasasurveycourse in what real country should be. What countrymusic loseswhen theman who can ride, rope, rodeo, fish,

hunt, and act like a genuine gentlemanleavestheroadisasenseofauthenticity.Notsomeoneflexingtheir“lifestyle”asabrandextension,butanartistwhodrawsasmuchfromFrankSinatra’sgiftasastyl-istashedoesfrombeingthehigh-watermarkofRayPriceembodied. Somewhere along the horizon, ofcourse, Strait will punctuate what itmeanstoretirewithhislegacyintact.Un-like “Electric Horseman” Robert Redfordinhis suitofelectric lights,drawn in forthemoneyandthelastgaspoffame,orStrait’sownDustyChandlerneedingdes-peratelytogetbackhome,hewillreturntoaplacewherethefootlightsfadeandlifeemerges—andhecanletthemusic,themoments,thememoriesdotheworkrather than shamelessly aping for ap-plauseorchasingbad trendsdowndarkalleys in the name of irrationally tryingtoholdontosomethingthatissofarbe-neathhim. Maybe that’s what set Strait apart.Rather than trend, tilt, or tumble, heknows his strengths— and he canwalkawayatthetopofhisgame.Neverstay-ing too long at the party, he leaves his

legacyshiningasbrightasever,remindinganyone who’s paying attention that thekind ofmusic that endures comes froman artist’s core,maintains a standard ofexcellence,andshouldneverbedrownedincheaptricks,pyro,orcostumechanges. Let’s hope Nashville remembers.If not why, then at least the man whoembodied so much of what the genreis made of. Otherwise, it’s gonna be along rest of forever on the country dial.

“Sometimes I feel like Jesse James, still trying to make a name

Knowing nothing’s gonna change what I am

I was a young troubadour when I rode in on a song

And I’ll be an old troubadour when I’m gone ...”

26 | LoneStarMusic LoneStarMusic | 27PhotobyVanessaGavalya

FESTThree Days of Great Texas Music Benefiting the Cheatham Street Music Foundation, A 501(C)(3) Non-Profit Organization.

2014BIGCHEATHAM STREET WAREHOUSE

- SAN MARCOS, TX -

www.BIGFESTMUSIC.com

for tickets and line-up information, visit

JUNE 27-29

lsm Columns

RodKennedy1930–2014 Theex-MarineturnedKerrvilleFolkFestivalfounderdidn’tjustcreditmusicforchanginghislife;hespentmostofhislifereturningthefavor. | ByMichaelCorcoran

TrueHeroesofTexasMusic

My friend Rod, the patron saint of folk music ByTerriHendrix

RumorhaditthatRodKennedy,founderandpatriarchoftheKerrvilleFolkFestival,wasgoingtobeintheaudiencethatnight.Ifidgetedbackstage;pulledatthebibofmyoverallsandnervouslysecond-guessedmysetlist.“Toomanyslowsongs?Wouldfunnysongsbeokay?” Itwas1997andI’dbeeninvitedtocomeplayashortsetatPaulBarker’shouseconcertinAustin,Texas.Problemwas,Ididn’tfeelpreparedtoplaymusic for a listening audience, much less have a semi-audition for thepromoterof oneof themost prestigious festivals in the country.Duringmyweekly gigs on the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio, Iwas usedtohavingmymusic ignoredbycustomerswith theirbacks tome,headsleanedintostraws,suckingdowndrinksinclearplasticcupswithsalt-linedrims.Whilemargaritamachineshummedinthebackground,I’dsneakinanoriginalortwobetweencoversofVanMorrisonorFleetwoodMac;butasforpeopleactuallylisteningtowhatIhadtosay?Iwasn’tusedtothatatall. Ilookedatmywatch;itwastime.Afull-blowncaseofstagefrightsetmykneestoknockingasIwalkedtothechairplaceddeadcenterinfrontoftheaudiencesittinginfold-outchairsinthelivingroom.Iwasgreetedby silence. Absolute silence. With shaking hands and quivering voice,I launched into “Two Dollar Shoes,” tapping my right foot on the hardwordfloorasIplayed.Troubleis,whenItapmyfoot, it’susually intimetoatotallydifferentsongthantheoneI’mplaying—butitwastheonlythingIknewtodotokeepmylegfromquivering.WhenIfinallyhadthecouragetoopenmyeyes,Isawagrey-hairedmanwitharecedinghairlineinarecliner.Hisarmswerecrossed,eyebrowscinched,andhis lipswerepursedinapinched-offscowl.Givenhisposture,itwasperfectlyclearthathedidnotlikemymusic.Imighthavehadatouchofthejitters,butIwasstillRiverwalk-toughenoughtoshoothimasmilethroughbaredteeth.Heglaredbackatme. My set drew to its close with polite applause. As the audiencemurmuredaboutaftertheshow,awomanledmebytheelbowtomeetRodKennedy.Myheart sankwhen I realizedhewas thegrouch in therecliner.Littledideitheroneofusknowthatwithin24hoursofhimstifflyshakingmyhand,Rodwouldalmostdiefromaheartattack—onethathadactuallystartedwhileIwasplaying.Thusthehorriblelookshewasshootingmywayduringmyshow. ThenexttimeIsawRod,he’drecoveredfromhishealthscareandwasintroducingmeattheKerrvilleFolkFestival.Attheendofmyset,hehuggedmeandremindedmewithalaugh,“ThefirsttimeIheardyou,Ihadaheartattack!”Ihadtolaugh,too,becauseanunlikelyfriendshiphadblossomedeversinceourless-than-idealintroduction.Andjustlikeithadforsomanyothersbeforeme,thefestivalRodfoundedreallydidhelplaunchmycareerasasongwriter.IsoldmyP.A.,quitmyRiverwalkgigs,andsetoutinearnesttofindmywaytravellingthenationalandinternationalfolkcircuit. Whenmy careerwas knocked off the rails due tomedical issues in


Austin became known as a town offree spirits and cheap living in the ’70sand ’80s, but it took a lot of hardworkfrom people like Rod Kennedy to buildthe Groover’s Paradise that becamethe Slacker’s Playground. Although bestknown as the founder of the KerrvilleFolk Festival in 1972,Kennedymadehismark much earlier, helping to establishwhat became radio station KUT andpopularizing the outdoor music festivalin Austin in the ’60s with annual JulyconcertsinZilkerPark. Inatownfulloftalkers,Kennedywasado-er.WhenhepassedawayApril14atage 84, the talkwas about how theHillCountrywould’vebeenamuchdifferentplacehaditnotbeenfortheconservativeex-Marinewhowas profoundly touchedbysadandbeautifulsongs. WhenKennedyturned80,theeventwascelebratedwithathree-hourconcertat Austin’s Paramount Theatre featuringsuch Kerrville favorites as Robert EarlKeen,RuthieFoster,theFlatlanders,ElizaGilkyson, Bobby Bridger, Terri Hendrix,Randy Rogers and more. Before thatmilestone IvisitedKennedyathishouseinKerrvileandtalkedaboutacareerthatbeganwhenhewasthe16-year-old“boysinger” for the Bill Creighton OrchestrainhisnativeBuffalo,N.Y.Kennedydidn’thave to haul an instrument, so he wasdraftedtohandlestagehandchores,andwithinamatterofmonthshewasbookingtheband.“Iwashookedfromthatpointon,”saidKennedy,wholovedtosing,butfoundearlyonthathisplacewasbehindthescenes. HemovedtoTexas inthe late1940swithhismotherwhenshegotajobasabuyer for Sakowitz, an upscale clothierbased in Houston. After serving in theMarinesduringtheKoreanWar,Kennedybooked jazz, gospel, country, classical,rock, Tejano, Broadway shows — youname it — in addition to the singer-songwriters inKerrville,where themainstage bears his name. Under Kennedy’sstewardship, Kerrville grew from anindooreventthatattracted2,800people

over threedays into theworld’s longestcontinually running folk festival, whichannually draws more than 30,000 fansoveran18-dayrun. Kennedywasalreadyestablishedasapromoterin1972whenorganizersoftheKerrville-based Texas StateArts&CraftsFairaskedhimtoputonamusicfestivalatnighttokeepthecrowdsintown.TheKerrville Folk Festival was the crowningachievement of Kennedy’s career, buteven if it had never happened, hisimpactontheCentralTexasmusicscenewould’vebeenprofound. As a 24-year-old freshman at theUniversityofTexasin1954,Kennedyuseda school project to spearhead efforts toraise money for a campus radio stationthat would become a reality four yearslaterwhen KUTwent on the air.WeeksaftergraduatingfromUTin1957,Kennedyandthen-wifeNancyleeboughttheKHFIclassicalmusicstationfor$21,000. TherootsofKerrvillewereplantedattheZilkerHillsideTheaterin1964,whenKennedy began booking and hostingthe KHFI-FM Summer Music FestivaloversixnightsinJuly.MondaywasFolkNight and included such acts as BobDylanmentorCarolynHesterandTexascountrybluesmenLightnin’HopkinsandManceLipscomb. Kennedyworked hard and expectedthesameofthoseinhisemploy.Healsodemanded respect for musicians. Therewas that infamous night at emmajoe’son Guadalupe street when Kennedyflattened a drunk Blaze Foley, who wascausingaruckusduringafolksinger’sset. Teaming up with Newport Jazz andFolk Festivals founder George Wein,Kennedyco-promotedtheLonghornJazzFestivalatDischFieldin1966andinsideatMunicipal Auditorium (later renamedPalmerAuditorium)thenextyearwhenitrained.Thejaw-droppinglineupsincludedDizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, DaveBrubeck, Stan Getz, and Nina Simone,plus homecoming sets from Austin-born Teddy Wilson and Kenny Dorham.“Thelonious Monk trashed his hotel

room,”saidKennedy,whosebehind-the-scenes recollections — including somehugemonetary losses at Kerrville whenit rained— fill his 1999 autobiography,Music From the Heart (EakinPress).MonkadmittedswingingfromthelightfixturesandpaidtheDowntownerHotel$400. Kennedy, who never had childrenbecause, he said, his work schedulewouldn’t be fair to them, opened theChequeredFlagfolkclub,namedafterhispassion for racecardriving,at15thandLavacastreetsin1967.HeputtheSpeedMuseumnextdoorin1968todisplayhiscollection of vintage Porsches, FerrarisandMaseratis. A conservative owner of sports carsowning a folk club in the ’60s seemedincongruous for the times. But then,Kennedy has always been a model ofduality. His best friend of 40 years wasthe liberal singer Peter Yarrow of Peter,Paul&Mary,yetuntilhebackedBarackObamain2008,Kennedywasanstaunchright-winger. “Rod is that rare combination ofsensitive listener and a former Marinewhohas thedetermination to just plowthrough when things get tough,” saidGary Hartman, director of Texas StateUniversity’s Center for Texas MusicHistory, in 2010. Preserving musichistory was a cause dear to Kennedy,

who donated 43 boxes of papers andmemorabiliafromRodKennedyPresentstoUT’sCenterforAmericanHistorywhenheretired. “Justhavinghimaroundandwatchingashowsortof raises thebar justabit,”said Lloyd Maines, who played in thebackingbandforthe80thbirthdayevent.“I thinkhispassionandpersona iswhathelpsmaketheKerrvillefestivalaspecial-feelingplace.” Taking his cue from his militarytraining, Kennedy laid down the rulesthat kept Kerrville unique: no talking inthe audience during a performance, norecorded music between sets, and getthatdrumcircleoutofthecampgrounds.Kerrville was built on reverence for thesongwriter. “I was pretty intimidated by RodwhenImethimin1981,”saidKennedy’sneighbor Robert Earl Keen in 2010.“Not justbecauseofhis reputation,butbecause he ran something that I verymuchwantedtobeapartof.”Keensaidthat when he won Kerrville’s New Folkcompetition in1983, “it validatedmusicasacareerchoiceforme.” Although he continued attendingthe festival up to last year, Kennedyretired in 2002, leaving the producer’sseattohislongtimeprotégé,DalisAllen.When I interviewed Kennedy in 2010hewasinloveandtakinghisretirementseriously,with nine time-shares all overtheworld. He got a check everymonthfromtheKerrvillenonprofit (“Mytitle isconsultant,”hesaid,“butnobodylistensto me anymore.”) He also sold Enlytendietary supplements. Robust at 80, hewastheproduct’sgreatestendorsementandduringhislastfewyearsatKerrville,hehadaboothsellingtheproduct. Aboveall,though,hestilllistenedforgreatsongsuntiltheveryend. “Musicchangedmylife,”hesaidfouryearsago.“WhenIwasintheMarines,I had amission that hadnothing todowith feelings. You’re just not aware ofanythingelse.ButI’veheardsongsthatmademecry.”

RodKennedyandTerriHendrixatKennedy’s80thbirthdaycelebrationattheParamountTheatrein2010.PhotobySusanRoads

Kennedyatthe2013KerrvilleFolkFestival.PhotobySusanRoads

2003, Rod started calling to check in onme and never stopped. It felt good to beacknowledgedbyhim.Huggedbyhim.Seenbyhim. Itwasa lifelineofencouragement— for both of us. He was inspired that Ididn’t quit performing, and I was inspiredby his stick-to-itiveness with the singer-songwriter.Iadmiredandappreciatedhow,even in an era when cell phones becamethird appendages and audience attentionspanssometimesseemedtodwindletothatoflabrats,Rodcontinuedtoendorsemusicthatmadeyoustop, listen,think,andfeel.He took pride in knowing that he was anintegralcentrifugeinfolkmusichistory.Hisawareness of his legacy remained even astimequietlytookawayhishealth,carkeys,home, and eventually his independence.Hemade sure that those who stepped intofillhisshoesatQuietValleyRanchwouldcontinueto“welcomehome”notonlythesinger-songwriters he always believed inbut the audiences who truly shared withhimthatsameloveofmusic. The last time I saw Rod was when Istopped by his nursing home to put on alittleconcert.Hewasn’tfeelingwellenoughtovisit.Andnow,he’sgone.I’mwaitingforhisphonecall.And it’snotgoingtocome.I’m at odds about his death. I know hisbodyhadgivenoutonhimandthathewasin greatpain.But I can’thelpbut selfishlywish he could have witnessed one morefestival, because my fondest memories ofKerrvillewillalwaysbeofgettingtowatchhimbaskinhisdream.I’dliketositontheothersideofthestageandwatchhimsoakintheshow.I’dliketowatchthisex-Marineleanonhiscane,peerovertherailfromhisVIP seat, and take in the nuances of eachperformancewiththat intelligentsidewaysgrinonhisface. Dear patron saint of the folk singer,ambassador to the songwriter, friend —as the embers from the campfires at thisyear’s festival crackle with songs, you willbemissed.Goodbye,Rod.

rod kennedy: The passion of a legend

ByBobLivingston

RodKennedywas a crustyold bird. There aremany tales of his irasciblenature,hisrulingtheroostandhispenchantforkickingmusiciansofftheKerrvilleFolkFestival foronereasonoranother—includingyourstruly.Ontheotherhand,RodwasamusicalvisionarywhoproducednotjustfolkbutjazzfestivalsandalsoopenedtheChequeredFlag,oneof thefirst folkclubs inAustin.HefoundedtheKerrvilleFolkFestivalin1972andhelpedjumpstartthecareersofcountlesssinger-songwriters.Hewasaprettyconservativeguyinalotofways,buthepartneredupwithleft-leaningfolkiesfortheloveofthesong. IhadthehighprivilegeofbeingonthatfirstKerrvilleFolkFestival,playingbasswithMichaelMurphey.ThefestivalwasheldintheMunicipalAuditoriuminKerrvilleandLBJshowedupatsomepointwithlonghairandsatintheaudiencewithalltheothermusiclovers.TherewasnowaytoknowthenthatKennedywouldstick itoutthroughthickandthin,eventuallymovetheFestivalouttotheQuietValleyRanch,andbravescorchingheatandflashfloodsandstillkeepeverythingafloat—foranother30years! Holdingforthfromhiscaptain’schairinthewingsofstageright,Rodranatightship.Therewasabigclockrightunderyournose;yougot40minutestoplayandthatwasit.Astheyearsrolledby,Iplayedthefestivalseveralmoretimes:withtheLostGonzoBand,JerryJeff,BobbyBridger,andWillisAllanRamsey.Inthe’80sIplayedthreestraightyearsasasoloperformer.Thethirdyear,RodtoldmeIwouldn’tbeaskedbackforbeingillpreparedtoplaymy6p.m.setaftera54-hourplaneridefromIndia.Hell,hewasprobablyright.Iwasmassivelyjetlagged,myhandswereswollenandsorefromsomewilddrumlessonsinIndia,itwas105degreeswiththesundeadcenterinmyeyes,andthestagepianowouldn’tstay intune. Itwastheperfectstormfordisaster. Iwasdisoriented,andhalfwayintothesetmymindwentblank.Iaskedforrequests.Somebodyyelledout“MerleHaggard!”andIimmediatelylaunchedinto,“Downeveryroadthere’salwaysonemorecity…”Rodwasnotamused.Andhenevergavemeanotherchance. In2002,RodturnedthewheelovertoanewFestivalproducer,DalisAllen,andIthinkIredeemedmyselfsomewhatandhaveplayedsomerespectablesetsonthe“mainstage”sincethen.Threeyearsago,Rodsurprisedmeandmadesomeamends forbanningme fromthe festival.He saidheknewthat in thepasthehad“ruffledsomefeathers,”andwasseekingsomefolksouttosayhewas sorry. I guess I’dfinally passedRod’s litmus test of folkdom,but I’mnot100-percentsure. On April 14, 2014, Rod passed away “surrounded by love and music,”accordingtoDalis.OnApril26therewasamemorialserviceinKerrville.Itwasfullofmusiciansandwell-wishersand therewasaMarineHonorGuard thatmarcheddowntheisleandpresentedanAmericanflagtoDalis.Ihadn’tthoughtmuchaboutRodbeingaMarine,butDalisgavemeaclueastowhatRodwasallaboutwhenshesaid,“AMarinedoesnotfail.” Eventhoughwehadthatlittlethinghappenbetweenus,IhadgreatrespectforRodKennedy.Hegaveusoneofthegreatestfolkfestivalsinthecountry,andhisfolkethic,passion,tenacity,andloveofsongwritersandsongswasinfectious.Rodwasoneofakindandwe’llallmisshim.Safetravels,amigo.

BobLivingston,AmiliaK.Spicer,BillOliverandBettySooatKerrvillein2009.PhotobySusanRoads


Q and A

RhettMiller

“We’ve been doing this longer than you’ve been alive …” So begins the first song on the Old97’s 10th studio album, Most Messed Up,andifyou’renotafanofsongsthatshamelessly get self-referential — letalone veteran rock ’n’ roll bands thatrefuse to quietly move aside after 20goodyearstorespectfullymakeroomfornewkidshalftheirage,well…stepoffthetracks.Truetoitsname,Most Messed Up crashes through the door three sheetstothewindanddead-setonfindingnotjustahook-uporpunch-upbutadozenrounds of each. The four 97’s (singer/guitarist Rhett Miller, bassist/singerMurry Hammond, lead guitarist KenBethea, and drummer Phillip Peeples)may all be a lot older than they werewhentheyfirst rolledoutofDallaswiththeir1994debut,Hitchhike to Rhome,butnot even their salad days as BloodshotRecords-certified, major-label-bidding-war-provokinginsurgentcountryupstartsfoundthemeversoundingquitethisfull-

tilt and go-for-broke on record. It’s thesound,Milleradmits,ofabandthatstillverymuchhassomethingtoprove. “I’ve always been grateful in a waythat there was nomassive success thatcame along, because the hunger thatpropelled me when I was 15 years oldand doing my first gig has never goneaway,”saysMiller,callingfromhishomeinNewYork’sHudsonValleyadaybeforereconveningwiththerestofthebandtokickoffafour-monthtour.“You’realwaystryingtoproveittosomebody,whoeverthat is — like the cool kids, or when Iwas young, the girls— and I’ve alwaysfelt thatand I’vealways likedthat. I likethe drive and the ambition. And yes,I always want to be better and be thebestsongwriterthatIcanbe,andIwantpeopletorecognizethat,too.Iknowthatthere’s something gross about saying it,butthere’sareasonIgetuponstageandtrysofuckinghardeverynight,andthat’sthatIwantthemtogetit. “I don’t want to spend my life

apologizing for, you know, trying to bea kick-ass rock ’n’ roller,” he continues.“BecauseIthinkthere’ssomethingnobleabout spending your life in pursuit ofthat,andI’mproudofit.” DoubtlesstherestofOld97’swouldconcur, and the performances on Most Messed Up certainlybackthatup.Butit’spart ofMiller’s job to talk the talk, andhe’sacquittedhimselfsowell inhis roleas frontman, principal songwriter andband spokesperson that the rest of thegrouphaslongsincecometotermswithhisoccasionalneedtopopoutforasoloalbumeverynowandthen.He’satrooper,too: At this year’s South By SouthwestMusic Conference and Festival, Millertrekked down to Austin for a week’sworthofOld97’spromoworkallbyhislonesome.Whenwe catch upwith himaweek later, he’s still recovering—butneverthelessreadytohit theroadagainin24-hoursandgetbacktothebusinessofwalkingthewalk.

You were just back in Texas for SXSW,but you were the only Old 97 here allweek. How many frontman-get-out-of-jail cards did you earn by handling allof theband’s SXSWpromotionaldutiesyourselfthisyear? [Laughs] Man … my manager justcalledme to thankme again for all thehardworkorwhatever.ButIliketowork.So if I have to godown thereand leavethe family, I’mfinewithworkingmyassoff. But boy, it kickedmyass this year. Ihadlikesevengigsin48hours,andthenthe panel I did and two interviews andtwo photo shoots … it was really a lot.And when I got back I was sick for 48hours,justwithacoldandfrombeingrundown.SoIhadtosleepforlike15hoursjusttorecover.Butthat’sfine.LikeIsaid,Ilovetowork.

Youwereborn inAustinandgrewup inDallas,buthomeforyounowisinupstateNewYork.Howdidyouendupthere?

My wife and I were in L.A. whenwe figured out we were going to haveakid,andwe justcouldn’t really justifystayingtherebecausewecouldn’taffordanything we would have wanted. Andwe ended up really loving it here. Welive outside of a little college town 90minutes north of Manhattan, and it’sunexpectedly a beautiful place to live.AlthoughIdomissTexas. You’re a longway from the rest of theOld97’s,whoarekindofscatteredoverthe restof the country:KenandPhilliparestillinDallas,butMurrylivesoutinCalifornia,right? Yeah, Murry lives in Pasadena, andKenandPhillipareinLakeHighland.

Doyouthinkthefactthatyoualllivesofar apart has actually been a factor inwhytheyOld97’shavestayedtogetherfor so long? Would the band still betogetherifyoualllivedinthesametown

allthistime? [Laughs] No,Ithinkyouhaveagoodpoint. I think when we come together,we’re really together, and when we’reapart…wedon’tneed tobe together. Ithink there’s something nice to that. Ittakes some of the pressure off. It’s likewhenIdoasolorecordandItourbehindit a lot and I really get to where I misstheguysandI’msohappytogettocomebackandmakearecordwiththem.Andthenbythetimewe’vemadeanOld97’srecord and toured the record and doneall thework for that, I’m really ready togobacktothesolostuffforalittlebit.Soyeah,Ithinkyourpointisagoodone—absencemakestheheartgrowfonder.

Whenyou’re inthemiddleofmakingasolo record — obviously you’re not allbyyourself,butdoyoueverconsciouslymisstheguys?Like,“HeyMurry,listentothis!Oh,wait...” Like the phantom pains kind of a

TheOld97’sfrontmanonthesecretstosurviving20yearstogetherinarock’n’rollband,thejoyofdroppingf-bombs,keepingupwithTommyStinson,andnotmeetingAxlRose.

ByRichardSkanse





“We’renotreadytobeanold-timeyband.We’renotreadytomakeeasygoing,backporch,toe-tappingalt-country.Inaway,Idon’tknowifitwouldbebetterifwewere;maybeoldstersareabettermarketforustotryandplumb.But,whatever.”

thing? Yeah. You know, there’s a thingthat happens that’s kind of like that.AfterfinishingtheOld97’srecordatthebeginning of the year I went straight toPortland to start work on a solo recordwith Chris Funk and his band, BlackPrairie,whichismostoftheDecemberistsplusacoupleofotherplayers.Andtherewere some contentiousmoments at theendofthe97’srecord,likethereisinanydemocracy— therewas someback andforththatwasreallyheated.AndsoIgottothissessioninPortlandwiththeseotherguys,anditwasjustsoeasygoingbecausewe didn’t have all the baggage that 20years of history can sometimes bring—andbecause I got tobe theboss. TherewereafewmomentswhereIthoughttomyself,“Oh,Iwanttodothis…Iwonderhow I’m going to convince them?” AndthenIthought,“Ohyeah,Idon’thavetoconvinceanybodyofanything,Ijusthavetoaskthemnicelyandthentheydo it!”Sonot to say it’s betterorworse,but itis different. But the 97’s wouldn’t havea 20-year catalog that’s as loved as itapparentlyisifitwasn’tforthatpushandpulldynamicthatmakesuswhatweare.

Speaking of that push and pull, havetherebeentimesoverthecourseoftheband’s historywhen the 97’s really did

feel up against the ropes or about toimplode?Haveyouevercomethatclosetocallingitaday? I’m suchanoptimist that I’venevergiven into the fear or awareness ofany proximity to an implosion. But inretrospect,Iknowthatthereweretimes,likeintheearlydaysoftheband—likethere is in any band — where you’rewondering if this thing was going towork.Andthenyoulookatyourfriendswho have jobs and who are makingactual money and have some security.So I would bet that there were a fewmoments where we could have easilygiven up. But at the same time, thingsreally kept moving; we did the Dallasrecord, then we did the Bloodshotrecord, andwewent straight from thatto the bidding war with all the labelstrying to give us as much money aspossibletogetustosignwiththem.Andfromthatstraightto,youknow,wehadaprettygloriousthree-yearrunonElektrawhere they were spending a ton ofmoneytogetpeopletoknowaboutourband,whichwasfantastic—althoughinretrospect I can see how that businessmodel failed. You don’t need $300,000tomakearecord—comeon!Butallofthose years moved pretty quickly, andthere wasn’t a lot of time for second-

guessing. And there wasn’t a lot to beunhappyabout.Wewerequicklymovinginto the position of being basically assuccessfulasthelevelofbandsthatwehadalllookeduptoandemulated,likeXand the Pixies.Maybewenever playedarenasliketheClashdid,butyouknow,theywereopeningfortheRollingStones,so whatever. We kind of pretty quicklygottothepointthatwehadallwantedtobeat. Afterthat,thenexttimethatkindofoffered a lot of opportunity for disasterwaswhenElektrawas folding,and Ihaddecidedtomakeasolorecord.Thathadnothingtodowithmewantingtobecomea famous pop star, which of course Igot accused of a lot at the time; it wasreally justthat Ihadall thesesongsthatthe band didn’t like, and it was makingme fucking crazy that I couldn’t releasethem anywhere. I didn’t see it as beinganeither/or;Ithought,Icandothisand that,andthefanswillheartherecordandrealize, “Oh yeah, these aren’t Old 97’ssongs, this makes sense.” And honestly,I think that’show it’sworked itout.Butthere was a time when I was makingThe Instigator and all the changeswerehappening when I think we could havestopped being a band. I think there wassomefearandbadfeelingsgoingaround.

Butintheendwejustcametogetherandsaid,“Ifwecangetoverthis,wecanbeabandforfuckingever.Wecanbe70yearsoldandstillbedoingthisandpeoplewillstillbewantingtohearus,ifwedoitright.”AndfortunatelyIthinkwediditright.

TheOld97’salbumDrag It Up came out right afterThe Instigator.Was that theband’stherapyrecord? Yeah,Drag It Up waswherewereallysort of worked through those growingpains.AndIcanstillhearallofthatwhenIlistentoit.Therearesomefunmomentson that record — I’m really proud of“Won’t BeHomeNoMore,” and I think“The New Kid” had some elements oftriumph about it — but that’s a toughrecord.Itwasatoughrecordtomake,andsometimesit’satoughrecordtolistento.ButI’mgladwemadeit;youknow,you’vegottamakeittogoontothenextone.

I think that “next one,” 2008’s Blame It On Gravity, reallydidconveyamuchmore positive head space for the bandasawhole,andacoupleyearsafterthaty’allhadsomuchnewmaterialtoworkwith thatThe Grand Theatre ended up beingtwoalbums(Volume I in 2010 and Volume II in2011).Buttomyears,Most Messed Upsoundslikethemostassertiveandenergeticrecordyou’veevermade.Andit’salsoprobablythemostrecklesssounding—liketheOld97’sonabender.Whatsparkedthatattitudeaboutit? That’s a good question. I’m notpositive I have a full answer for it. Youknow, in terms of the songs, the song“Nashville”istheonethatkindofopenedthe floodgates with these themes. And

thatwasafluke. I’dgottenput togetherwith this old songwriter in Nashville,JohnMcElroy, andhe said, “I think youraudiencewould like it if youwalkedoutonstage and said ‘fuck.’” And we gotwastedat10a.m.athishouseinNashvilleandwrotethissongintwohours.Andit’sfunnybecauseoutofallthesongsontherecord it’s got themost narrative voice;it’sthemostremoved,kindoflikeashortstory.But it reallyopenedmeup to theideathatIdon’thavetobesubtleorhidebehindanything,thatIcanjustwalkoutonstageandgo,“Fuckit,I’mgoingtobehonest—allthestuffthatIonlyalludedtoonall theother records, I’mgoing tojust fucking standupand sing it; Idon’thavetobeembarrassed.This isreal life,we’re all grownups here.” And that wasreallyliberating,knowingthatIcanbeasfucked-upasIwantandthatIdon’thavetopretend tobegreat, and if the songsarerawandIletmyselfgothere,thenit’sprobably going to bebetter than if I tryto do something fancy and hide behindsomethingelse. That said, though, it doesn’t meanthat all the songs are straight-upautobiography. I’m probably a little bitbetteroffthantheguyonthatalbum.Butit’sdefinitelyme.

Soit’snotnecessarilyapersonalmid-lifecrisisbeingworkedoutthere. Well,a littlebit. Imean,everybodyIknowisgoingthroughtheshit;it’spartofbeinginyourearly40sandrealizingthatthesweetbirdofyouthhasnotonlytakenoff,butflownawaytosomebodyelse.

Ithinkmyfavoritelineontherecordis

“I’mnotcrazyaboutsongsthatgetself-referential,” from “Longer Than You’veBeenAlive”—asongthatisunabashedlyas self-referential as any you’ve everwritten. But I also always loved “TheOne” from Blame It On Gravity. I justthink it’s fun when you kind of name-checktheotherguysintheband. [Laughs] Yeah, or when my friendRobertwillendupinsongs.ThereasonIthinkIwrotethatlineisbecauseIheardan echo ofmy friend Jon Brion’s voice,who produced The Instigator for me,and who’s somebody I really admireas a songwriter and as a producer andas a person. When we were makingThe Instigator, I had a song called“This Is What I Do,” and it was prettyself referential, too. I actually namedgirlfriends frommy past by name. AndJonsaid,“Ilikethissong,butingeneral,I really don’t like songs that are selfreferential.Ithinkitsortofkillssomeofthepotentialforuniversalityofasongifyoumakeitspecificaboutyourself.”AndI’ve always worried about that a little,andit’skindofnaggedmeasI’vewrittensongsinthe12yearssincethen.Butpartofthisrecord,andthatsonginparticular,was, fuck it—there’sno rules.And if Iwanttosingaboutbeinginarockbandfor the last 20 years, I’m going to singaboutit,andI’mgoingtotellthetruth.Sowhenweplaythatsong livenow, I’llsingthatline,“I’mnotcrazyaboutsongsthat get self-referential,” and then I’llsay,“Toolate!”

One of my other favorite songs onthe album is “Intervention,” whichfeaturesaguestappearancebyTommy


PhotobyEricRyanAnderson

StinsonoftheReplacements(andmorerecently,Gunsn’Roses).Howdid thatcomeabout? Tommy was there for the basictracking of the final two songs on therecord, which were “Intervention” and“Most Messed Up.” And then he playsadditional guitar on three other songs,too.Butoneofthemostfunthingshedidwas…Tommy’snot theworld’sgreatestsinger, per se, but there’s a lot of funbackground vocals and yelling that hedoes, especially on “Intervention.” Weweretryingtodosomebanterattheendof the song where the guy who’s goingthroughtheinterventionwouldsay, like,“Give me back my beer!” or, “I’m notthatbad, Icanstopanytime,” thatkindofthing.Andattheveryendofthesong,TommysayssomethingthatIdon’tevenknow what the fuck he’s even talkingabout, I think maybe it’s a drug dealerreferenceorsomething,buthesays,“Yougot…yougotHuggyBear’swalletphonenumber?” [Laughs] It’s so perfect. And his voice isso distinctive. I like Tommy a lot. Heactuallyhadalottodo,Ithink,withthisrecord being all sloppy and raw and asunapologeticallyrock’n’rollasitis.

Howlonghaveyouknownhim? Tommy and I did a charity event inPhiladelphia about five or six years ago,andwestayedintouch.Wejusthititoff.Westayedupallnightlongthatnight,andIactuallybraggedaboutitforacoupleofyearsthatIhadtocarryhimandhiswifeatthetimetotheirhotelroomandpourthem into their bed— that I’dmatchedhimshotforshotandwhatever.Andthensure enough, when he came to Dallaswhen we were doing pre-productionfor this record, I stayedup thinking thatI couldmatchhimagain, andwoundupfalling down and breaking my elbow inthehotel roomafterwards. So, thanks alotTommy!But Iguessthemoralof thestory is, nomatter what you think, youcan never out-drink Tommy Stinson. Sodon’teventry.

Ithinkit’satripthathe’sbeeninGunsn’RosesnowforalmostaslongasSlasheverwas. Wellhe’sbeeninGunsn’Roseslongerthanhewasinthe‘Mats!Whichiscrazy.

You did another interview recentlywhereyoutalkedaboutTommyinvitingyouout to catch aGNR show inDallasandhangoutwiththebandafterwards.DidyouactuallymeetAxlRose? I saw Axl through an open dressingroomdoor,andhewaswearingamumu

andgettingafootrubfromasmallAsianwoman.ButIwasnotinvitedtomeethim. I’m actually anAxl defender and a stilla big GNR fan, but that image of himsoundsaboutright. [Laughs] Yeah. It was a pretty goodshow, though. If you’ve seen them playrecently,you’veprobablynoticedthathehasotherpeoplesingabunchof songs,whichgetsalittleold.Butitwasaprettygoodshowanyway.

I’ve noticed that on past records, theoneortwosongsthatMurrysingsandwrites kind of stand out from yours,stylewise—almostlikeinterludes.Buthissong“TheExofAllYouSee”onMost Messed Up seems very much in thesameveinasyoursongsontherecord.Didhewriteittomatchthemoodordiditjusthappentofit? Murry broughta handful of reallybeautiful songs tothe table, and if wehad made a differentrecord,Icouldimagineat least two or threeMurry songs on therecord. But when thisrecord was sort oftakingshape,hecameto us and said, “Look,this record is so tight,and so conceptualin a way, that I don’treally see a bunch ofmy songs fitting onit. I just see this onesongthatwouldreallymakeitrock.”Becausehe hasn’t had justone song on a recordI don’t think sincemaybe our very firstrecord. But that was his choice; he justreallywantedthisrecordtobewhatitis,areallytight,sortofhigh-conceptthing,andhedidn’twanttotakeitawaysowewouldhavetobring itback… I thinkhejustwantedtomaximizethepunchofthemessageoftheothersongsontherecord.Which is a testamentagain tohow longwe’ve been together and how the egoshavekindofallmelloweda little.We’relike a little army, man, roaming aroundthecountry.

Were the sessions forMost Messed Up radicallydifferentfromtheonesforThe Grand Theatre? They were not radically different,becausewewereinthesamestudiowith the same producer (Salim Nourallah),andwedidkindofthesamething,where

wedidsomepre-productiontoworkoutthesongssothatwecouldgoinandcutthem basically live off the floor. Butwediditmoresothanwedidon The Grand Theatre.OnThe Grand Theatre,wereallyleft a lot of room for tons of overdubs,andIendeduphavingtore-singabunchofstuff.Onthisrecord,mostofwhatyouhearwascutliveaswerecordedtotape.Almosteverysinglelineofmine,andalotofKen’sguitar,too,andthewholerhythmsection.Andtheimperfectionsareoneofmy favorite thingsabout the record. I’mso sickened by thewaymusic’s becomethis really clean,perfect sounding thing.Where’s the humanity in that? I’m sortofafraidforthefutureofmusic,becausekidsaregoingtolistentoitandgo,“ugh,whywouldIwanttobepartofsomethingthat a machine can do? Why would Idevotemylifetoit?”

Looking back at The Grand Theatre — not to nitpick, but I was alwaysdisappointedthatyoudidn’tjustreleaseall the songs from those sessions as abig“screw-it”doublealbum,allatonce,insteadofintwoinstallments.Wasthatevertheplan? Yeah.Well,Iwantedittobeadoublealbum. Iwanted it to be thewhole big,commercial disaster, but New WestRecords apparently was trying to makemoney.Whichisfine—Ican’tbegrudgethem that. And in the end, itwas goodthatwespread itout,becausewithThe Grand Theatre Volume Two, some newsongscameinandthesongsthatwehadgotalotbetter.Soitwouldn’thavebeenas fully realized ifwe had done it all atonce. But yeah, I for surewanted to dothedoublealbum.

You mentioned New West. You’renowwithATO,whichIbelieveistheOld97’sfifthlabel.Istherealwaysaperiodofplayingcatch-upwhenyousign with a new label, just to bringeveryonethereuptospeed?Doesitfeellikestartingover? I would say that so far it’s beeneasy and good. I don’t know if it’smore work for our manager … itprobably is, but that’s good — theyshouldearntheirmoney!ButIneverhad todo it somuch. TheElektra toNewWestswitchwasreallyeasyandpainless,andwehadsomegoodyearswiththem,andIstillhavesomegoodfriendsatthatlabelandtherewerenohard feelingsat all. Theyweregreat.But it did make sense to switch forus, and I don’t think we could havepicked a better label than ATO, withthewayitskewstowardyouthfulandrocking.We’renotreadytobeanold-timeyband.We’renotreadytomakeeasy going, back porch, toe-tappingalt-country. In a way, I don’t knowif itwouldbebetter forourcareer ifwewere;maybeoldstersareabettermarket forus to try andplumb.But,whatever. I lovetherosterATO’sgot,I love thepeople at the label, and itfeelslikesuchaperfectfitforus.

SoIknowyou’renotlookingtocallitquitsanytimesoon,butthisbeingtheband’s20thanniversary, is thereanyone moment in the Old 97’s historythatstandsoutasapersonalfavorite? Gosh. It’s funny, but I think mylackofnostalgiahasprobablyhelpedinmycareer.Imean,it’ssuchalameanswertosaythatit’salwaysthenewrecord that’s the thing that I’mmostexcitedabout.But inthecaseof thisrecord, I’m more excited even thanusual.Whenwegotbackthemastersfor this record and I realized howsuccessfulwehadbeenintranslatingthesesongsintothissortofstatementofpurpose,andhowunlikelyitis,forabandwithoutmassivesuccess,tobeable to do it for this long ... that’s ahugefeelingofaccomplishment.AndItakeagreatdealofprideinwhatwedo.Andthenlatelythere’sbeensomemoments of validation, critically andfrommypeers,andIfeelgoodaboutright now, and I feel good about thefuture.For the last, I’d sayfiveor10years, I’ve been really aware of thelonggameinawaythatIhadn’tbeenbefore.IknowthatIwouldliketobethekindofsongwriterthat,youknow,likerightnow,Iwantthe20yearolds

to look up to and go, “I want to dothat, Iwant tobeable todo this for20yearsandstillmakegoodrecords.”And I look at Willie Nelson or KrisKristofferson, and I think, I want tobe that: I want to be that guy thatpeople lookup towhen I’manelderstatesmanandsay,“Hediditright.”

That kind of sounds an awful lotlike Matthew McConaughey’s Oscarspeech. [Laughs] Yeah — I’m chasingmyself! But I do feel pretty goodabout things rightnow.Knockwood… I’m about to be on tour for fourstraight months, so we’ll see how Ifeelafterthat.


“The imperfections are one of myfavoritethingsabouttherecord.I’msosickened by the way music’s becomethis really clean, perfect soundingthing. Where’s the humanity in that?I’msortofafraidforthefutureofmusic,becausekidsaregoingtolistentoitandgo,‘Ugh,whywouldIwanttobeapartof something that amachine cando?WhywouldIdevotemylifetoit?’”

RhettM

iller

From Houston’s Chinaberry sidewalks

to Nashville, L.A., and the top of the

country music charts, Rodney Crowell

has lived long and prospered by the

art of the song. But he’s still hell-bent

on chasing his own elusive carrot as far

as he can run. By Richard Skanse

Above and Beyond

PhotobyDavidMcClister



It’s Tuesday,March 11, the nightbefore the starting gun for theofficial opening of the 2014South By Southwest MusicFestival and Conference, andRodney Crowell is already offand running on his 11-shows-in-

four-days promotional blitz. “I’ve got arecordcomingout,soI’mgoingbeggin’,”hesaysattheoutsetofoneofhisfirstofinterviewsoftheweek.“Rattlingthe‘love-me’cupacrosstheprisonbarsoflife.” Thequipgetsasimpaticochucklefromfellow songwriter Ray Wylie Hubbard,whohas luredCrowell anhour southofthe SXSW hubbub in Austin to talk andplay on Roots and Branches, Hubbard’sweekly KNBT-FM radio program tapedliveinfrontofasmallaudienceatTavernontheGrueneinNewBraunfels.“Thelasttime I sawyou itwas inAugusta,Ga.—itwas an ice storm, and therewas alsoanearthquake,”Hubbardsaysbywayofintro. “We’re a hard-hat area when wegettogether,”nodsCrowell. Mother Nature sits this one out,though Crowell isn’t Hubbard’s onlyguest: he’s slotted between an up-and-coming Civil Wars-type Americana duofrom Nashville called the Carolina Storyand regional favorites Midnight RiverChoir. But Crowell’s the only cat in theroom with a pair of Grammy Awardsto his name — the latest, for his BestAmericana Album-winning duo recordwith Emmylou Harris,Old Yellow Moon,noteventwomonthsoldyet.When Roots and Branches producer/KNBT programdirector Mattson Rainer congratulateshimontherecord(whichalsowonAlbumoftheYearatthe2013AmericanaMusic

Honors&Awards),Crowell feignshubris(“Wejusttookalltheawardsthatwecouldhaul home!”) and recounts an anecdoteabout asking abewilderedNARAS rep iftheycouldpleasemailhisGrammycheck directlytohishomeaddress,because,hetoldthem,“thisisreallyimportanttome,andIwanttoshowittomywife.’” “They gave me a look like, ‘Is heserious?’”Crowellsayswithamischievouslaugh. “‘Well, Mr. Crowell … you know,there’sactuallyno…it’svotedonbyyourpeers …’ And I said, ‘Man, I’m joshingyou!’TheythoughttheyhadaruberightoutofEastHouston…” Crowell later plays one song from Old Yellow Moon, the reflective “OpenSeasononMyHeart,”andcloseswiththeexquisitetitle track from1995’s Jewel of the South —oneofthehandfulofgoodbutlargelyforgottenalbumsherecordedinthedecadebetweenhis1988countrysmash,Diamonds & Dirt, andhiscriticallyacclaimed, 2001 Americana “comeback”statement,The Houston Kid.Butthefactthat he first plays three songs in a rowfrom his aforementioned new record,Tarpaper Sky—andnotonepickfromthefistfulsoftime-andchart-provenclassicshe’s penned over the last 40 years —comesacrossnot somuchas “love-me”beggingasitdoestheconsciousactofanartistwho’sreallynotbigonvictorylaps.CrowellsaysasmuchwhenRainer,playingthe straight man to the freewheelin’Hubbardbytryingtocoversomemissedbasesintheinterview,dutifullybringsupCrowell’sbest-sellingrecord. “You’vehadNo.1songs,andtop10songs,andyouhadfiveNo.1songsfromone album, Diamonds & Dirt,” Rainer

marvels,earningacheerfulwhoopfromthe audience at the mention of thealbum. “You and Michael Jackson … Idon’t know howmany albums producefiveNo.1songs…” “Well,whataboutit,Mattson?”Crowellaskswryly.“Whatareyoudrivingat?” “Ijustthoughtitshouldbementionedbefore you get out of here, some ofthe successes that you’ve had,” Rainerpresses. “Whatwouldyou saywouldbeyourcareer-definingsong…thesongthatgotpeopletoreturnyourphonecalls?” Crowell mulls it over for a momentbefore conceding that his ’70scomposition “Till I Gain Control Again,”memorably covered by both EmmylouHarris and Willie Nelson, was the mostprobable “door opener.” Thiswinsmorecheersofrecognitionfromtheaudience,butthewayhesortofsquirmsaroundthequestion belies a clear discomfort withthe notionof defining his career by anyfixedmomentintime. “Not to avoid your question, butit’s kind of hard to talk about success,because the carrot needs to stay outthere, you know?” Crowell explains. “Idon’twanttoownthecarrottooclose. “Success is a funny thing,” hecontinues,“inthat,bythetimeyougettosuccess,it’sgone.” Hesaysthiswiththeconvictionofamanwhoknows from truth, as learnedfrom decades of first-hand experience.But the funny thing about RodneyCrowell is how many times he’s alsoproveditwrong.

CrowellRodney

CountingtheduorecordwithEmmylouHarris,one-offside-projectslike1997’sThe Cicadas and2004’sThe Notorious Cherry Bombs, and2011’s somewhathard-to-categorizeKIN: Songs by Mary Karr and Rodney Crowell,Tarpaper Sky isCrowell’s18thalbuminarecordingcareernowspanningnearlyfourdecades.Factoringinrecords(outsideofhisown)thathe’shelmedasproducerdoublesthatcatalog,whileafullround-upofalbumsfeaturingCrowell’snameinthecreditsasasongwriter,guitaristand/orsingerincreasesthetallyexponentially.

Notabadrunforaguywhotitledhis1978debutAin’t Living Long Like This. Butasshouldbethecasewithanyartistworththetitle,it’snotthequantityofCrowell’sworkthatmattersmostsomuchasthequality.Andthelongevityofhiscareerwouldn’taccountformucheither ifnot for the fact thathe’snotonlymaintainedhis standardofquality,butconsistentlystrivedtopushithigher—ideallyjustoutofevenhisownreach.Mailboxmoneyandtouringonnostalgiaalonemaypaythebillsandevenkeepafortunatefewflushforlife,butCrowellhasn’tgonethedistanceasaperformerandsongwriterbycoastingonthefumesofpastglories.Songslike“TillIGainControlAgain,”“Ain’tLivingLongLikeThis,”and“AfterAllThisTime”(oneofthosefivecharttoppersfromDiamonds & DirtandhisfirstGrammywinner)stillholdupdecadeson,buttherewouldbenoHouston Kid or Tarpaper SkyifCrowellwasn’tstillwritingsongsfittostandbesideifnotevenabovethem—asattestedbysuchhighlightsfromhislatestas“FamousLastWordsofaFoolinLove,”“TheFlyboy&theKid,”andespecially“OhWhataBeautifulWorld.” Whetherornotthesongshewritestodayorwillwritetomorroweverregisteras“hits”orgarnermoreGrammysdoesn’treallymatter,either;that’snotthecarrotCrowell’schasing.Butthat’snottosayhehasn’tcaughtupcloseenoughtothatkindsuccessforittobumphimontheheadmorethanafewtimesovertheyears.TheremaybeahandfulofbiggerhouseholdnamesinAmericanaandTexas(andcertainlycountry)musictodaythanCrowell,butfewofhispeershavehadcareersmarkedbyasmanyspikesingoodfortune—bothcommercialandartistic—ashehas. Hetookhishardestknock/realitycheckonthechinimmediatelyuponlandinginNashvilleinAugustof1972.Crowell,whohadjustturned22,high-tailedittoMusicCityfromHoustonwithpalDonivanCowart,flushwithhighhopes stokedbyaalbumthey’dmade together inLouisiana for a hustler who’d told them he’d landed them a 10-record deal with ColumbiaRecords.Butoncetheygottotown,theyfoundoutthey’dbeenhad:therewasnorecorddeal(letalonetheaccompanyingtourthey’dbeenpromisedasasupportactforKennyRogersandtheFirstEdition),andboththetapesandpublishingrightstotheirRodney & Donivanalbumhadbeensoldoff forawhoppinghundredbucks to theWilburnBrothers’Sure-FireMusic company.Crowell andCowartnever sawapennyof it, astheirdubiouschampionhadalreadyskippedtown.Thealbumneversawthelightofday,though,asCrowell’skeptitunderlockandkeyeversinceheandCowartcharmedtheirwaypastareceptionistandpinchedthemastersfromtheSure-Fireoffices.(“Goodforyou,”DoyleWilburntoldCrowellwithalaughyearslater,afterCrowellconfessed/braggedabouttheheist.) After that inauspicious start, though, Crowell’s all but run the tablesthroughouthisentirecareer.Hemightrightfullyarguethatnotion,andit’dbewrongtochalkanyorallofitsolelyuptoluck,butsufficeittosaythatafast-forwardsurveyofhislast40yearsreallybacksupthelineinhis2003song“Earthbound”abouthimmakingout“likeabandit.”NotlongaftersnatchinghisfirstrecordbackfromtheWilburns,CrowellfellinwiththemisfitcrowdofMusicCitymavericks(manyofthemfellowTexasex-pats)orbitingaroundGuyClarkandTownesVanZandt,andfindingthestonestosharesongswiththatcircleraisedhiswritingchopsandconfidenceindoubletime.Bothservedhimwellwhenaright-place/right-timecircumstancelandedhimapublishingdealunderguitarist/songwriterJerryReed(of“AmosMoses”fame),andsoonafterwardsademotapeofhissongsfounditswayintothehandsofproducerBrianAhern,whowashelpingayounggrievousangelnamedEmmylouHarrisshapeherRepriseRecordsdebutinthewakeofGramParson’sdeath.Crowell’s“BluebirdWine”endedupbeingtheopeningtrackonthatalbum,1975’sPieces of the Sky,and“Till IGainControlAgain”tookflightonHarris’secondalbumlaterthatsameyear,Elite Hotel.BythetimeHarriswasmaking1976’sLuxury Liner,Crowellwasn’t justcontributingsongs:hewas living inLosAngelesandrecordingandtouringasamemberofherHotBandalongsidesuchseasonedvetsasJamesBurton,EmoryGordy,andGlenD.Hardin.HarrisandahandfulofHotBandmembersinturnsangandplayedonCrowell’sWarnerBros.debuttwoyearslater(alongwithRyCooder,Dr.John,WillieNelson,andMickeyRaphael.) Ain’t Living Long Like This stillholdsupasoneofthebestrecordsCrowellhasevermade,thoughitdidn’tmakeCrowellastarinhisownright.Buthissongsontherecordweren’tlongforobscurity.Harrisrecordedboththetitletrackand“LeavingLouisianaintheBroadDaylight”

CrowellatSXSW2014.PhotobyJohnCarrico

There may be a handful of bigger household names in Americana and Texas (and certainly country) music today than Crowell, but few of his peers have had careers marked by as many spikes in good fortune — both commercial and artistic — as he has.


onher1978albumQuarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town,andtheOakridgeBoyslaterpolished“LeavingLouisiana”(co-writtenbyCrowellandhisoldpartnerincrimeCowart)intoaNo.1smash.WaylonJenningsalsorumbledhiswaythrough“IAin’tLivingLongLikeThis,”takingittoNo.1in1979andsecuringitsplaceintheOutlawcountryhalloffame. JohnnyCash’scoverofthealbum’s“SongFortheLife”(onhisown1978record,Gone Girl)wasnotahit,butCrowelldidhititoffwiththeManinBlack’sdaughterRosanneroundaboutthesametime.Theymarriedin’79,raisingCrowell’sdaughterHannahfromaprevious,short-livedmarriage in themid-70sandproducinganother threedaughtersof theirown(Caitlin,Chelsea,andCarrie.)CrowellalsoproducedRosanne’sfirstsixalbums,culminatingin1987’sKing’s Record Shop.Hisburgeoningproductionskillswereput toadditionaluseonapairofearly ’80sGuyClarkalbumsandevena1982livealbumcalledThe Survivors byJohnnyCash,CarlPerkins,andJerryLeeLewis—23yearsaftera9-year-oldCrowellwastakenbyhisfather,anaspiringcountrysingerhimself,toseethesamethreelegendsperformatHouston’sMagnoliaGardensonthebanksoftheSanJacinto. Crowell’sfirstthreealbumsofthe’80s—1980’sBut What Will the Neighbors Think,’81’sRodney Crowell,and’86’sStreet Language—didn’tfarenearaswellastherecordsheproducedforhiswife,buthecaughtupwithavengeancewith1988’sDiamonds & Dirt.IncontrasttotheslickbutspikyL.A.songwritervibeofthethreealbumsthatprecededitandevenhisprogressive-countryleaningdebut,Diamondswasunabashedlycountry,witheverysongseeminglyfine-tunedformaximumradioimpact.Goosedwithrockabillyrave-upsandBakersfield-stylehotlicksandbuoyedbyEverlyBrothers-worthyclassicpophooksandharmonies, it’dprobablybedeemedtooedgyandAmericanabycurrentClearChannelstandards;butreleasedatthetail-endofwhatSteveEarlelatercalledcountrymusic’s“greatcredibilityscare”—a15-minutewindowofgoldenopportunityforCrowellandfellowiconoclastslikeEarle,DwightYoakam,andLyleLovett—Diamondshitthemainstreamatexactlytherighttime. AlthoughCrowell’snextrecord,1989’sKeys to the Highway,kickedanothertwosinglesintotheTop5,thebighitsdriedupquicklysoonafter.Theensuingdecadealsotookaheavyemotionaltoll,bookendedbythedeathsofhisfatherandmotherandalsomarkedbytheendofhismarriagetoCash.Still,Crowell’s’90swerefarfromtheclassicBehind the Music third-actcrash.His“selfishlyamicableandthoroughlymoderndivorce”fromRosanne(asCrowellwoulddescribetheir1992splityearslaterinhismemoir)didn’toffermuchinthewayofexcitingtabloidfodder,andtherewerenoaddiction-addledmidlife-crisismeltdownsorriches-to-ragsstoriesforthegossips,either.Hetookcareofhisdaughters(sharingcustodywithRosanne),metand fell in lovewith thewomanwhobecamehis thirdwife (countrysinger and actress Claudia Church,who he’s still happilymarried to today), and kept on

workingandwriting.Andthoughthefouralbumsherecordedbetween1992and1997didn’tsellalotofcopies,theywereallreleasedonmajorlabels,andnomatterwhathetriestotellyoutothecontrary,they’reallprettydamngood(especially1992’sLife Is Messy).Andthenhewrotehismasterpiece.Orattheveryleast,therecordthat launched themost acclaimed and creatively bountiful stageof hiscareer,13yearsafterhisapparentcommercialpeak:2001’sThe Houston Kid. The cathartic (though not always comforting) process of writingandrecording thesongson thatalbum—almostallof themrooted inautobiography or drawn from compositememories of his parents anddirt-poorHoustonchildhood—rebootedCrowell’smuseandspunit360.First he looked all thewayback to his parents’ courtship to shape theframeworkforhismemoir,Chinaberry Sidewalks (publishedbyKnopf in2011). Thenhe turned inward, back around to the present, andfinallystraight ahead and up for the songs that would form his next severalalbums: 2003’s soul-searching (and stirring) Fate’s Right Hand; 2005’sseething and beautifully despairing The Outsider; and 2008’s brutallyhonest andmoodily ruminative Sex & Gasoline. The sum total of thatstunningfour-albumrun(plusthebook)isavividself-portraitofamaninfullatthetopofhisartisticgame.ThathealsostillworksandplayswellwithothersisaffirmedbynotonlyhisrecentGrammy-winningduoalbum

withHarris,buthis2004reunionalbumwithhisoldroadband,theNotoriousCherryBombs,and2011’sKIN,thecollectionofsongsheco-wrotewithhisfavoritefellowHouston-rearedmemoirist,MaryKarr,andthenrecruitedahostofhismostdistinguishedAmericanapeerstocolorinwiththeirownvoices. Tarpaper Sky(releasedinAprilonNewWestRecords,markingCrowell’sdebutonthelabel)isCrowell’sfirstalbumissuedsolelyunderhisownnameinsixyears.Blamethegaponirresistiblewomen:Heactuallystartedthealbumbackin2010,butpusheditasidewhentheKarrandHarrisprojectscameup. “ThesongsthatMaryand Idid justsortofcaughtfire,andthenextthingyouknow,

wehadarecord,”hesays.“Andthenrightaboutwhenthatwasgettingdone,Emmycalledmeandsaid,‘Let’sdothis,’sothenthatnaturallyjumpedahead,too.” Crowellrecallsarecentconversationinwhichhewasasked,“Whatareyouupto?”andwassurprisedbyhisownreply.“Itoldthem,‘Ihaveasolorecordcoming,’”hesays,thenlaughs.“Asolorecord!Itjustsoundedoddtome,likeIwastakingtimeoff from being in a band or something.Therewasthatfour-yearperiodinthereI guess where I was collaborating withwomen,butitstillsoundedweird:‘Ihaveasolorecordcomingout!’” It’s now Friday of SXSW week, andCrowell has talked to so many peopleabouthisnew“solo”recordoverthelast

fewdaysthathe’sprobablyexperiencingseriousdeja-vu.Towit:justafewminutesago, hewrappedhis second appearanceon a Ray Wylie Hubbard-hosted radioshowof theweek, this time for a SXSWspecial on Sirius/XM Radio’s “OutlawCountry” channel. The taping was doneinawoodshedintheEastAustinbackyardof Texas Music Office director CaseyMonahan,andit’sMonahanwhosecuresusaquietplacetotalkonthebackporchofhisacross-the-streetneighbor.Crowellisgraciousandforthcoming,butmostofourinterviewwillendupbeingcontinuedviaphoneaweeklaterwhenhe’sbackathishomeinNashville,ashe’sinclearneedofafewhoursofcrashtimebeforebeingdueonstageattonight’sofficialAmericana

Music Association showcase downtown.Likeall SXSWsets, it’s only a teaserandall-too-short; tomorrow night’s crowdatMcGonnigal’sMuckyDuck inHoustonwillnodoubtbetreatedtoaconsiderablymore generous survey of his 40-yearcatalog. But tonight, 40 minutes and afistfulofsongsnewandoldareallCrowellandhistightlywoundband—anchoredby the extraordinary guitarist SteuartSmith, a longtime Crowell collaboratorandsometimeEagle—needtosealtheirweek inAustinwithabang…and leaveeventhemightyLucindaWilliamswithaverytoughacttofollow.

You’re at the tail end ofwhat’s been a busy weekfor you here. How’s yourSXSWbeen?Tonight’syourlastshow,right? Yeah.Dayoneand twowerealotoffun,justseeing

howmany gigswe could get in.We gotinfour,butIthoughtwecouldhavefitinseven.[Laughs]I’mkidding.Wecouldhavedonefive,though.Andthenyesterdaywegot the hook at my own record label’sparty…butthatwaskindoffun,too. That’safinewaytostartarelationship. I thought, “This is really auspicious,man! They gave me the hook!” And itpissedmeoff,youknow?ThenIthought,youknow, itshouldbethatway.Anyway,theysaidwedid30minutes,butI’msurewe only did 26.We could have got onemore song in. I shouldhavebeenamananddoneanothersong.

Theysaywhenyougotoprison,thefirstthingyou’re supposed todo isfind thebiggestguyintheyardandpunchhimintheface.Toassertyourself. Yeah. You know, I wimped out. I’mpissedoffatmyselfforwimpingout.

At the tapingyoudid theotherday forRayWylie’sshowinNewBraunfels,youwere asked about success, and I lovedwhatyousaidaboutalwayswantingtokeep the carrot in front of you.Wouldyoubegoingstircrazy rightnow ifyoudidn’thaveanewprojectreadytoworkonrightafterwinningyourGrammy? Idon’tknow.Goodquestion.When Iwrote Chinaberry Sidewalks, during thelast three years ofwriting that, Iworkedeveryday.Everyday.Youknow,I’dtakea

Sunday off every now and again, maybetwo in a month. But man, I just like towork.AndaslongasI’mworkinglikethat,Idon’treallygoofoffanymore.Idon’treallytake vacations. So I get these songs, andtheystarttomovetheenergy,soI’vegotto record them. I’vegotenoughsongs inthecanforanotherrecordalready,andI’vegot some more new songs coming, andEmmy and I arewriting some songs andthinking about making another record,too. So it’ll be interesting to seewhat itfeelslikesomedaytonothaveanythingtoshow.I’mnotsayingthatIwanttodothat,butIhaven’teverreallyconsideredit—ifI’dberestlessornot.Ifthingskeepgoing,ifIdon’tfalloverdead,I’llprobablyworklikethisuntilIdo.Imean,I’veraisedfourgirlsandtheyallhavetheirlivesnow,andClaudiaandIjusthaveadogtotakecareof,soIcanprettymuchjustdowhatIwanttodo.Andoutsideofworking,Imighttakeawalkaroundtheneighborhood,butthat’saboutit.Otherthanthat,Ijustwanttogetbetter at playing the guitar and trying tofigureouthowtoplaytheblues. Iwanttocomebacktothatinabit.Butlet’s startwithTarpaper Sky.Whatwastheoriginalcatalystforthisalbumwhenyoustarteditbackin2010? I really wanted to experiment withSteuartSmith,who,youknow…wehadworkedonThe Houston Kid intentionallytogether, and we had worked onDiamonds & Dirt intentionally together,butthentheEaglesgothim.AndwehadworkedsporadicallyontherecordsthatImadebetweenHouston Kidandnow.Butwehadsometimewherehewasofffromthe Eagles, and I said, “Let’s go into thestudio, let’sgetsomeofthoseguysfromthe Diamonds & Dirt sessions, and let’s

seewhatwecancookup.”AndsoSteuartandIjuststartedconversationswhereheasked,“Whatdoyouwanttodo?”AndIwent,“Well,Iwanttodosomelandscapepainting.” Sowe sort of startedworkingfrom there, and the conversation went,“Whatwouldthatbelike?”

Whatexactlydidyoumeanby“landscapepainting”?Canyouelaborate? Yeah. “Long Journey Home,” “Feveron the Bayou,” “Frankie Please” …althoughthey’renotlikepastoral,wistfulvisionsofwhatitlookslikeoutthere,thenarrativeinthosesongsisnotsosingularas,youknow,Fate’s Right HandandThe Houston KidandSex & Gasoline. Or The Outsider. Well,ItendtothinkofThe Outsider aslesssingularandmorejustpissedoffaboutinvadingIraq—buteverybodywaspissedoff about invading Iraq. ButTarpaper Sky was really less a singular narrative frommyperspectiveandmore…it’snotreallybroad-stroke love songs, like commercialbroadstrokes,butitdoespullthecamerabackalittlebittolookatthesubjectmatter. Anyway,oncewehadthatideainmind,thefirst thingwedidwas try tofindouthowtorecorddifferently,soweunpluggedthe headphones in the studio and goteverybody to play just to the naturalsoundoftheroom,sothatitwouldallbelive. Instead of a production, the recordis a performance. The last three years,that’swhat I’ve beenmost interested in.I kindofworemyself outonproduction,so I think I’llbecommitteda lotmoretoperformancefromnowon—whichmeansplayingandsingingitlive,andthat’syourrecord. And that’s what Tarpaper Sky is:Landscapesandliveperformance.


“I don’t really take vacations. I get these songs, and they start to move

the energy, so I’ve got to record them. I’ve got enough songs in the

can for another record already, and I’ve got some more new songs coming ... It’ll be interesting to see

what it feels like someday to not have anything to show.”


You mentioned working with SteuartSmithanumberoftimessinceyoumadeDiamonds & Dirttogether.Butwhatwasitaboutsomeoftheotherplayersfromthatrecordthatmadeyouwanttoworkwiththemagain?Whoelsedidyoubringbackfromthosesessions? Well, Barry Beckett (piano/organ)passed away, and he was a big part ofthat record back then. Barry was theballast, you know, this great musicianfrom Muscle Shoals who we were allwanting to impress. So Barry’s gone,but Eddie Bayers (drums) and MichaelRhodes (bass)haveplayedonpracticallyeveryhitrecordtocomeoutofNashville.And because they’reworkingmusicians,theygetcalledtoplayonalotofrecordsthatthey’renotnecessarilyproudof;youknow, honestly, they’d tell you that. Butthey’re really good musicians, so I waslike, “C’mon man, come on over hereand let’s do this.” They’re fun to workwithandreallyspontaneous.Oneofthereasons for unplugging the headphoneswassothattheywouldnotbeinthesamemindsetthattheyareinwhentheymakethepopcountryrecords.

Didanyofthesongwritingcomeoutthatspontaneous,live-in-the-studiosetup? Well,youknow, I’dhad“Feverof theBayou”for25yearsbutithadnolastverse.Will Jennings and I started the first twoverseswaybackthere,andwesaid,“ThisiskindofclichéCajunstuffhere,whatdowedo?We’vegoneasclichéwith thesefirsttwoversesaswecouldpossiblygo.”Sobythe last versewewere justata loss.ButwheniffinallydawnedonmethatIcouldwrite a bunch of clichéd, Cajun English-Frenchpatoisandgetourselvesoutofthejam,newlifecameintothatsong. And “God I’m Missing You” actuallycame from KIN. Lucinda sang it on thatrecord,becauseweleteverybodythatweinvitedchoosethesongstheywantedtodo.IactuallyhadmyfingerscrossedthatI’dgettosingthatonemyself,butLucindajumpedon it, and you know, “Yes baby,that’syours!”Andshekilledit.But Istillhadmyownversioninmind,andfigured,“ThisisOKtodothisagain,thisisalongwayfromwhatshedidwithit.” “JesusTalktoMama”wasathingthatI wrote just thinking about my mother.ShewasaPentecostalgal,youknow,andshe always wanted me to write gospelmusic. She thought that’s what I shoulddo.Anyway, IwrotethatonewhenIwasinAustralia.And“GrandmaLovedthatOldMan”hadbeenaroundsinceThe Houston Kid—Iwroteitrightafterthatrecord,but

it just didn’t really fit the next couple ofthingsIdid.“TheLongJourneyHome”wasprobablyfiveorsixyearsoldbeforeIgotaround to it,and“TheFlyboy& theKid”hadbeenaroundforawhile,too—Iwrotethat10yearsagowithGuyinmind. So you know, I would say the thingaboutTarpaper Skyis,there’s25-year-oldsongs,10-year-oldsongs,9-year-oldsongsonthere.Thenewestsongsare“FamousLast Words,” “What a Beautiful World,”and “I Wouldn’t Be MeWithout You.” Iactuallydidn’trealizeBillyJoeShaverhada song of his own called “I Couldn’t BeMeWithoutYou,”whichisfunnybecauseyou’d think I would know everything ofBilly’s.SoIcalledhimandwaslike,“Billy,I’ve written this song here, and I didn’tknowyoursong…”Buthejustsaid,“Heyman,youcan’tcopyrightatitle!”

Knowingthatyouwrote“TheFlyboyandtheKid”withGuyClarkinmind,rightorwrong, I immediately peg you as “theKid.”Haveyoualwaysbeen“theKid”inonewayoranother? Imean,youwere“thekid”whenyouplayeddrumsinyourdad’shonky-tonkbandgrowingup,andthere’snotellinghowmanytimesyou’vebeenreferredtoas“theHoustonKid”inprintsincethatalbumcameout. Well,with“TheFlyboy&theKid,” itjustrhymed,that’sall.Andthe“HoustonKid” thing wasn’t anything I was reallythinking about at the time when wemadethatrecord,butitjustkeptshowingupinthosesongs,andsothat’showthatbecame that. But Steuart Smith and Ididusedto jokeaboutthis thingwhere,anytimewewereinacartogetherwhenitwassnowingandtherewasiceontheground, if Iwas theonedriving Iwouldspeedup,hitthebrakesandseeifIcouldmake it slide.AndSteuartwould alwayssay,“That’stheKidcomingout!”

LikealltheothersongsfromKIN,youco-wrote“GodI’mMissingYou”withMaryKarr. I know you’ve long been a fan ofherproseandbooks,butshehadneverwrittensongsbeforeyoutalkedherintoit. Did she bring anything new to theprocessthatyoucanputyourfingeronthat’sstuckwithyou? Ohsure,that’seasy.That’srealeasy.Mary’s a poet of the page, you know? Idon’t know if you’ve read any of herpoetry, but she’s got five or six booksof poetry. So when I kind of cajoledher into doing it, I said, “Come on, youshould really trustmewith this…” AndIwanted to find everywaywe could toletthepoet’svoicespeak.Andhere’sthe

simplest example of that: “Anything ButTame,”whichisoneofmyfavoritethingsthatwewrotetogether,theopeninglineforthemelodythatIhadwas,“Whenourfeetweretoughasnailsandoureyesweresharpasflint.”Iliked“nails”becauseyoucan really sing that “a”vowel.ButMarywasshakingherhead,andshesaid,“No…ourfeetweren’ttoughasnails.Whenyou’rerunningaroundbarefoot,yourfeetweretoughashorn.Likehooves.”Isaid,“Yeah,you’reright,butitdoesn’tsing,like‘nails’does.”ButIstartedsingingitwith“horn,” and now, Iwouldn’t sing itwith“nails”inamillionyears,because“horn”issomuchbetter.Andthatwasthepoet’svoice,notthesongwriter’s,becauseifthesonghadbeenallmine,Iprobablywouldhaveshotitoutthereasnails.Now,therewerestill a fewtimeswhere therewerewordsthatMaryhadwhereIsaid,“Mary,Ican’tsingthese,nobodycansingthesewords—Iknowit’swhatyouwouldputon the page, but it just can’t be sung.Toomanyvowels.”Andinthosecases,itwouldbethesongwritingtechniquethatwouldoverrulethepoetchoice.Buteverychance we got, we followed the poetinstinct.AndnowIdoitalot,alotmoreconsciouslythanIusedto.

Whataboutwritingyourmemoir—didthat experience inform the way youwrite songs now? What did you takeawayfromthat? Revision. Revision, revision, revision… revision! More revision. What’s thatquote by Truman Capote? “Great booksaren’t written; they’re re-written.” SoI spenda lotoftime revisingnow. I stillgetthosegoodcouplets,youknow,butifI getmaybehalfofa songorverse thatjust fallsoutof theair,youcanbet thatthe second half of it is going to involvea process of revision, trying to cobbletogethertherestofthesongwithversesthatsoundjustasfreshandjustasgood.Iusedtoletsecondhalvesofsongsstandonthemeritofthefirsthalfofthesong.ButIdon’tdothatsomuchanymore.

Does all that painstaking revision everget in the way of pure inspiration,though?Doyoueverlosetheplot? Idogotoofarsometimes.ButIdon’tthrowanything away; I just keep looking,keep digging, keep listening. AndsometimesIgobackandgo,“Oh,Ihadthisrighttwoweeksago.”

Speaking of revision, on Old Yellow Moon,youfinallygotaroundtosingingandrecordingyoursong“BluebirdWine”

—38yearsafterEmmylousangitonPieces of the Sky.Butyouchangedsomeofthewordsinit. Right.ThatwasEmmysaying,“Thisisuscomingfullcircle,you’veneverrecordedthis,let’sdothis.”Isaid“OK,butIgottarevisethis…Thosefirsttwoverses,Idon’tlikethosesoftrhymes.”Therewassomethingabout thenot-quite-saying-what-I-meantaspectofa21-year-old’sversionofasongthat justdidn’tsitwithme.Backin1974,whenIfirstheardherversionbeforetherecordcameout,Ithoughtitwaslike,perfect,becauseIwasseducedbythebeautyofthatarrangementandtherecordingandhervoiceandjusttheideaofmysonggoingoutthere.Butyougetalittledistancefromitandyougo,“Hmm,thosefirstcoupleofversesareweak.”ItookaswingatitformyveryfirstrecordthatImade,andwejustdidn’tgetit.Maybebecausesubconsciously—Idon’tthinkIknewthisconsciouslyatthetime—Icouldn’tstandbehindit.

That songfirstgot toEmmylouviaapublishingdemoofyours, right?WereyoustilllivinginNashvilleatthetime? No,IhadmovedtoAustinbythen.Butbeforethat,thisbassplayerthathadworkedwithAnneMurraycamethroughNashville,Imethimthroughaguitarplayer,andhesaid,“Yougotanysongs?”Isaid,“Here,takethistape.”AndhetookituptoCanada,anditjustsohappenedhetookittotheguywhoendedupproducingEmmy.Wellintheinterim,IbailedonNashvilleandImoveddownhere,overonEndfieldRoad,inlate’74.ButEmmyrecordedthatrecord,did“BluebirdWine”and“TillIGainControlAgain”(thelateronherElite Hotel album,alsofrom1975)andthencamethroughhere,playedtheArmadillo,andcalledmeandsaid“Comesitinwithme.”ThatwasJanuaryof’75.Andthenextday,shesaid,“I’mgoingtoL.A.tomorrow,andI’vegotanextraticket—youwanttogo?”Thatwasbackwhenyoucouldtravelonsomebodyelse’sticketandyoudidn’thavetodealwithsecurity.SothenextdayIwenttoL.A.withherandstayedforsevenyears.IjoinedtheHotBandandgaveupmyplacehere(inAustin).BeforethatIhadactuallyplannedtolivehere. Shehadalreadyrecordedyoursongs,buthadyouactuallymetEmmyloubeforeshecamethroughAustinandinvitedyoutositinattheArmadillo? Yeah,IhadmetherinD.C.alittlebeforethat—Iwentandtaughther“TillIGainControlAgain.”Andwehititoff,endedupstayingupallnightplaying,singingcountrysongs. WhatwasyourfirstimpressionofEmmylouwhenyoumether? Myfirstimpression?[Laughs]

EmmylouHarrisandRodneyCrowellatSXSWin2013.PhotobyJohnCarrico


Well,IcanonlyimagineEmmylouHarrisin1974…didshespinyourheadaround? Hah!Myfirstimpressionwas,IwalkedintotheChildHeraldinD.C.,there’sthiswillowygirlonstagesinging,andofcourseitwasloveatfirstsight.Ididn’tknowshehadaboyfriend.Sofirstthingsfirst, Iwas like,“I’vegottomakeaplayforthisgirl!”Andsheverykindlydodgedmyadvances.Andsowegotintoadiscussionaboutmusicandwestartedplayingandsinging,andthankfullydidn’tmessupagoodfriendshipbecauseofmyboneheaded… Boner? Yeah.So,actually, itbecamereallyproductiveasopposed towhatmighthavebeenreallydestructive.AsEmmysays,westillgetonandplaytogetherbecausewenevergotmarried.Andthere’ssomethingaboutthat,youknow?Thatwecanbecollaboratinglikewedonow,whereashadweblownitwaybackwhen…

SoyougoouttoL.A.andendupplayinginEmmylou’sHotBand.You’vetalkedalotinthepastaboutwhatanimpactGuyClarkandTownesVanZandthadonyouwhenyoufirstgottoNashville—howbeingaroundthemcouldbereallyintimidatingforayoungwriter,butalsoagreatlearningexperience.Butwhatwasmoreintimating:figuringouthowtowritesongsaroundthoseguys,orgoingtoL.A.tojoinabandwhereyouhadtoplayguitarnextto… JamesBurton?[Laughs]Samething!Samething.MyeducationinNashvilleintheearly’70swith those guys you justmentionedwas all about learning how towrite songs andfiguringouthowtoknowaboutthecraftofthelanguage.Ihadasenseofmelody,buttobearoundthoseguys,Iwaswatchingguyswhoreallyknewlanguage:GuyandTownesandMickeyNewbury;IwasaroundMickeylessthanGuyandTownes,buttheywereallproducinglanguage,like,seriouslanguage.Andso,Igotit,Igotthatthat’swhatitwas.Iwasyoungandimpressionable,butitwastheperfectthingformetostumbleintotoreallybeadedicatedsongwriter. And really,mydedication to “the carrot” thatwewere talking about, it goesbacktothere.BecauseIwaswatchingthoseguysgoing,“Fuck!”IrememberTownesplaying“Pancho&Lefty”notlongafterhewroteit,anditwaslike,“Fuckme!”

AndthenIgotoL.A.,andI fall intoabandwithGlenHardinandJamesBurton…andyouknow,EmoryGordy.Sothatbecamealessoninarranging,inhowthesegreatmusiciansplayedtogether.Theydon’treallythinkalotaboutthelanguageofsongs,butman,theywerereallyinsidearrangingabandofsixmusicians,howtoarrangeeverything.Theywouldtalkabouthowtomakeaguitarpartandapianopartandafiddlepartandallofthisstuffworktomakemusic,whichwasanotheraspectmyeducation.AndthatinformationiswhatIusedlateronwhenIwasproducingrecords,likesomeofthoseRosanneCashrecords…itwasfromwhatIlearnedbeingaroundthoseguys.Imean,thefirstdayIgottoL.A.,IwalkinandJohnHartfordandRichardGreenearesittingatthekitchentablethereonLaniaLane,talkingaboutarrangingsongs.

Unless I’m mistaken, Emmylou’s cover of “Pancho & Lefty” on 1977’sLuxury Liner wasTownes’firstbigcutasasongwriter.Butbythatpoint,shehadalreadyrecordedahandfulofyoursongs.WereyoueverawareofanydegreeofjealousyfromTownesoranyofthoseotherguyswhoyou

reallylookeduptoandstudiedunder,butwhohadn’tyet“brokenthrough”quitelikeyoudidsoquickly? Well,youknow,Townescouldn’tbepissedoffaboutthat,becauseIgotEmmytorecord“Pancho&Lefty,”andheknewit.ButmyconversationswithEmmywereneverreallyaboutmysongs.They’dbemorelike,“‘BlueKentuckyGirl’isagreatsong…howwoulditsoundifyousangit?”AndGuyknewthatconversationwasgoingon,becauseIwashavingthesameconversationswithhimandhewashavingthemwithotherpeople.GuywastalkingtoMickeyRaphaelandtellinghim,“YoushouldgetWillietorecord‘TillIGainControlAgain.’”SoMickeytakesthatsongtoWillieandhestartssingingit,andthatwasthewaythatallworked.Alotofpeoplewerepushingeachother’ssongs.SoIdon’tthinkitwascompetitive.Although,Icouldclaimalotofnaivety,becauseIwasjustinascenehavingfun,andyouknow,youstepinthewater,getontheboat,andyou’realreadydowntheriver.Butstill,thediscussionaboutsongswasneveraboutmine;itwasaboutthesong.

Iknowyoudidn’tstarttoreallyhoneyoursongwritingcraftuntilyoustartedhangingwithTownesandGuy,butyoualreadyhadsomedegreeofmusicexperiencebeforeyougottoNashville—havingplayedinbandsincollegeandhighschoolandallthewaybacktowhenyouwereplayingdrumsinyourdad’shonky-tonkbandasakid.AndyoucametoNashvillethinkingyoualreadyhadarecorddealforthealbumyou’dmadewithDonivan

Cowart. Was it with Donivan that youfirststartedwritingsongsofyourown? Yeah. He and I have been runningtogethersinceabout1970.ImetDonivanmy first day of college at Stephen F.Austin,oratleastonwhatseemslikemyfirstday there. Somebodyknew Iplayedthe guitar, and they said, “Oh, I knowthisotherguythatplaysguitar,too,”andit was Donivan. So we started playingguitar and hanging around and trying toimpress girls, andeventuallyweaccrueda few dollars from playing together andgotourselvesahouseoffcampusfor$50amonth,ifyoucanbelievethat.Butreallymy first introduction to songwritingwashis brother, Walter Martin Cowart, whowas 10 years older than us and wouldoccasionallypassthroughtown.Hewasatruckdriver,buthe’dbeenahistorymajorin college and listened to Dylan, and hekeptanotebookthathewrotepoetryandsongsin.Andtheywereprettygoodsongs,too. So Donivan and I started emulatinghimandwritingourownsongs.Buttheywerereallyshittysongs.Ididn’twriteanygood songs until I got to Nashville, andthattookacoupleofyears.

The record you and Donivan madetogethernevercameout,butdidanyofthoseearlysongsfromiteverresurfaceanywhere,eveninrevisedform? No! They’re all on an 8-tracktape at my house, but if they got outthey wouldn’t stand. It would be anembarrassmenttoanybodyinvolved.

ButyoustillkeepintouchwithDonivan? Oh yeah. He’s my front-of-housesound guy. He was our front-of-housesound guy with Emmylou for a wholeyear,andalsoarecordingengineeronOld Yellow Moon.Andhe’srecordedalotwithmeovertheyears.He’sasolidguy,andhewasareallygoodsongwriter,too.Ithinkinthebeginninghewasabettersongwriterthanme.Buthedriftedawayfromit.

Afterthefalsestartwiththatrecordyoumade youDonivan, you eventually gotyourfirstpublishingdeal through JerryReed.Howdidthatcomeabout? Well the best part of that is, beforethathappened, Iwas ready topack it inandmove back to Texas. At the time I’dbeenplayingthishappy-hourgigataplacecalledtheJollyOx,andmybosstherehadsaid,“Ifyoueverplayanoriginalsong,I’mgoingtofireyou.”Ineededthatjobbadly,butIfinallybrokeafteraboutthefifthday.Iwas just pissed off, you know, becauseTownes had been screwingmy girlfriendbehind my back. Susanna Clark (Guy’s

wife) cluedme in on that. So Iwas like,“Fuckallthis,I’mgoingbacktoTexas,”andatmygigthatnightIplayedthisbrandnewsongI’dwrittencalled“YouCan’tKeepMeHere in Tennessee.” And right down theaislecomesmybosssaying,“Itoldyounooriginals!Afteryourset,you’refired!”Andtheguyrightbehindhimsays,“Oh,good,because we want to record that songtomorrow.” Itwas Jerry Reed’smanager.So the next day I went down to RCAStudio,whereChetAtkinswasproducing,andtaughtJerrymysong.AfterthatIhadagigwritingsongsfor$100aweek.

SoIguessthatkeptyouinNashvilleforalittlewhilelonger.ButyoustillendedupbackinTexas. EventuallyIdid,likeattheendof’74.

WhatledyoutoAustin? Hippie girls! And there was KOKEradio,andjust…Austinwasparadise,youknow?AndImean,IwasactuallyhappyinNashville;thistimeIwasn’trunningawaylike Ialmosthadbefore, itwasanactualchoice. Emmylou had already recordeda couple of my songs for a record thathadn’tcomeoutyet,andIknewthatIhadajobwritingsongs,andIthought,“IcoulddothisfromTexas,andit’llbealright.”

Wereyoualreadymarriedatthetime?Toyourfirstwifeandthemotherofyouroldestdaughter? No. I was living here with Hannah’smother,butthatwasalreadyover,really.Hannahwasn’tbornyet.Whathappenedwas I left for L.A. with Emmy in early’75 andwe started the Hot Band a fewmonthslaterandthenwentontheroadforawhile.Andwhenwe tookabreak,insteadofgoingbacktoL.A.IstoppedoffinAustinandkindofrekindledthingswithHannah’smother.Butweknewitwasn’tgoingtoworkoutsoIwentbacktoL.A.,and then a fewmonths later she calledmeandsaid,“I’mpregnantandI’mgoingtohavethisbaby.”AndIsaid,“Well,comeout here and I’ll be its father and helpyou through it.” Sowe gotmarried, butitdidn’tlasttoolong,andintheendshewentoffandIgotcustodyofHannahandthatwasthat.IwasasingleparentinL.A. Thatmust have been right around thetime you started recording your first“solo” record, 1978’s Ain’t Living Long Like This. Do youhave goodmemoriesofthosesessions? Oh, I’ve got great memories ofmakingmyfirstrecord.Ihavememoriesofme andDr. John and Ry Cooder andEmmylou and EmoryGordy andMickey

RaphaelandJimKeltnerdoingasecondtake of “Elvira,” and the rough mix ofthat far-exceeded the final, carefullymixedversion.Therewassomereal,rawmusic there, and I was delighted withthat experience. But I just didn’t knowenoughabout recordingyetat thetimetounderstandwhat happenedbetweenthenightwerecordedthatsongandthefinalmix.HadIknownthenwhatIknowabouttheprocessnow…

I’lltakeyourwordforitasfarasallthatgoes,but I still think it’s agreatalbum.It’s one ofmy favorite records of yoursandfromthatwholeprogressivecountryera.But itsoundslikeyouwerealreadygoinginacompletelydifferentdirectionbythetimeyoursecondrecordcameout.When you weremakingBut What Will the Neighbors Think,didyoueventhinkofyourselfasacountryartist? No, I wasn’t. Not at all. I was just asongwriter trying to find a voice. Youknow,IthinkwithWhat Will the Neighbors Think,Iwascertainlyunderthisinfluenceof…IhadbeentoLondonandIhadheard“PumpItUp”byElvisCostelloatDingwalls,justblasting,andHankDeVito(songwriterand pedal-steel player) and I just lookedat each other in stunned silence going,“Whatthefuckwasthat?”Imean,itwasjust an unbelievable sounding attack. Soofcoursewewantedtofigureouthowtodo that.And so thatwasmyNewWaveperiod. So I’d say … that’s a youngmansearching,youknow.

Didyoudoa lotof touringbehind thatrecordandyourothertwofromthefirsthalfofthe’80s,Rodney Crowell and Street Language?Wasthelabelsupportive? Oh yeah. That was back in the dayswhenWarner Bros would write a checkformetogooutontheroadwith(fellowHotBandalumni)LarryLondinandEmoryGordy and Richard Bennett and HankDeVito and Tony Brown; they’d spendbookoosofmoneytoputmeoutontheroad, saying, “You’ve got a good record,let’s put you out there … We’re notworriedaboutsingles; let’s justgofigureoutwhoyouraudienceis,andthenmaybewe’ll figure outwhich songwewant ontheradio.”Theyhadadepartmentattherecord company back then called “artistdevelopment,” and man … anytime I’mmeeting my colleagues coming up nowwhoaretryingtofindtheirway,Ijustgo,“ThankGodforartistdevelopmentwhenI came along.” Because I was an artistdeveloping, and it gotmeout thereandputmeinplacetolearnsomestuff.

“My first impression of Emmylou was ... there’s this willowy girl onstage singing, and of course it was love at first sight. I was like, ‘I’ve got to make a play for this girl!’ And she very kindly dodged my advances.”



Diamonds & Dirtwouldprobablyqualifyas“Americana”ifreleasedtoday,but it’sstillthemost“country”albumyou’veevermade.Didyour labelfinallypointyou inthatdirection? Well,notreally.I’lltellyou,Irememberclearly… Steve (Earle) hadmade his firstalbum,Guitar Town,andthatspoketome;Iwaslike,“Steveisbeinghimself.”Andalso,therewasoneotherthingthathappenedatthattime,wherethenotionstruckmethat,“Ah,I’mgoingtodothatstuffthatIgrewupon;that’sapartofmyselfthatI’mgoingtogetintouchwith.”Youknow,Diamonds & Dirtis…Icovered“AboveandBeyond”onthere,whichwasthefirstsongIeversanginpublic,backinmydad’sband;itwasoneofthosethingswherethelittle11-year-oldgetsoutfrombehindthedrumsandsingsasong,thatkindofcute,cornballcountrystuff.But thatwasthefirstsong Isang inpublic.Sothecoretoneofthatalbumwascountrymusic,whichisreallywhereIcamefrom.AndIdidn’tseeitascommercial.ButafterIfinishedit,thepromotionguyfromColumbiacameoverandwelistenedtotherecord together, justheand I,andseeinghis (very positive) response to it, I said,“Shit …” Then I started thinking, “Hmm,maybeIhavesomethinghere.”Andthat’swhenItoldRosanne,“I’mgoingtosteponthegashereandfollowthis.I’mgoingtobeontheroadandI’mnotgoingtobearoundasmuch.”BecauseupuntilthenI’dbeenaprettyresponsibleparent,youknow?AndRosanne said, “Hmm. I don’t knowwhatthisisgoingtodotoourmarriage,”whichwasprettyprophetic,becauseIgotoutontheroadandIranafterthatthingforaboutthreeyears. But as it turns out, I didn’t like thatcountry scene. At that particular time, Iwasn’treadyforit.ButIstillfoundmyselffalling into that pose, where I had mysilver-tipped boots and all that stuff. It’slike,youknowwhenyouwalkintoaroomandpeople lookat youand theyprojectsomethingonyou, like“That’sthatguy,”and then you start carrying yourself likethat guy, rather thanwho you are. I callit the Elvis Syndrome.And some kindofintuitive knowledge or something mademerealize,“IfIcontinuetodothisandItrytocreatefromthisplace,I’mgoingtoloseit.AndwhatI’mgoingtobeabletocreateyearsfromnowisgoingtobediminishedbecause the choice I’m making here ispersonality and stardom over artistry.”Thatmaynothavebeen true, but that’scertainlyhowIfeltaboutitatthetime. TheotherdayonRayWylie’sshow,youplayed thetitle track from1995’s Jewel

of the South,introducingitasasongyouwere really happywith, even though itwasneverahit.Ithoughtitwasnicetohear a song from that period, becausethe five albums you released betweenDiamonds & Dirt and The Houston Kid tendtogetbrushedasideinoverviewsofyourcareer.Thenarrativearcofyourbioimpliesthatyousortoflostyourartisticcompassduringthe’90s. Yeah. I did. But I also had someresponsibilitiesthatIeventuallyaccepted.TonyBrownsignedme toMCAand theygavemealotofmoneyupfront,andtheidea was that they were going to takeit back to that Diamonds & Dirt thing.But my heart wasn’t in it, even thoughI certainly went for the money, and sofor threeor fouryears, that reallywasalowpoint inmycareer forme.AndthenI justshut itdownanddrovethekids toschool, single parenting again. But thenImetClaudia, andmymothermoved toTennessee and she and I got close, andonce I got quiet and still, that’s whenthe songs that eventually became The Houston Kid startedtocome.Andallthatmemory that was coming up was alsowhat prompted me to start working onChinaberry Sidewalks. And I rememberarealconsciousmomentwhere Isortofrealized that, “OK, this sort quiet periodthatI’vebeeninhascomefullcircle.” Right beforeThe Houston Kid, I wentandmadeadifferentrecord,andforsomereasonItookitovertoRichardDodd,theproducer and engineer, and played it forhim.Andhesaid,“Youknow,that’sreallygood,Rodney—nowputitontheshelfandgoandmakesomethingthat’sreallyyou.”AndI’dspentalotofmoneyonmakingthatrecord,soIwaspissedoff, like,“Whothefuckdoeshethinkheis?”ButbythetimeIgothome,Igotit,andsaid,“Fromhereonout, I’monlygoingtodoworkthat, ifmykidswanttoclaimtheirfather’slegacyasarecordingartist,thisisgoingtobeit.”Andthat’swhenIstartedmakingThe Houston Kid,andfromthereIfeellikeI’vebeenalotmoreconsistentthanIwasfrom’78to’98.

Right.But just like “Jewelof the South,”alotofthesongsrecordedonthose’90salbumsstillholdtheirown.Let the Picture Paint Itself, which isn’t even in printanymore,had“StuffThatWorks,”agreatsongyouco-wrotewithGuyClark.OnThe Outsider yourevisited“SayYouLoveMe,”another Jewel of the Southsong,and“StillLearning How to Fly,” the opening trackon Fate’s Right Hand, was actually firstrecordedon1997’sThe Cicadas,theside-projectrecordyoudidwithyourroadband

atthetime.Sowithhindsight,don’tyouthinkmaybeyou’vebeenalittlerougheronthoserecordsthantheydeserve? Well, I’ve been very open about myfeelingsabouthowIdidn’treallydiscovermyvoice andfigureouthow touse it ina way that made me appreciate it untilabout when I was turning 50, with The Houston Kid. So anytime people wouldmaybeargueabouthowthey really likedsomethingIdidbeforethat,I’dalwaysgo,“No, it wasn’t my performance that youliked—itwasthesongsthatI’dwritten.”And maybe I was able to deliver thosesongs the best that I could at the time,butI’dbelike,“IknewRayCharles,Iknowwhat he did, and I need to get as closeto that inmy ownway as I can.” Somyargumentwas always, “Imay have beenafullyformedsongwriteralongtimeago,butthefullyformedrecordingartistdidn’tgethereformeuntilabouttheyear2000.”

Although you started them aroundthe same time and they both explorememories from your childhood, youdidn’tfinishyourbookuntil10yearsafterThe Houston Kid. So it was interestinggoing back to the record while readingChinaberry Sidewalks and hearing those songs as almost like a soundtrack. Butunlikethememoir,The Houston Kid isn’treally completely autobiographical. Likeup to a certain point, every line in “TheRockofMySoul”ringstruetoyourownstoryandyourmemoriesof your father,but then you get to the partwhere yousing “I got out of prison ’bout a yearago,” and it veers away from you. Whythatdetouroutofyourself?Wasthereareticencetogettoopersonalatthetime,orwasitjustforthesakeofthesong? That was for the sake of the song.Because it went out of my first-personnarrativereallyintothecultureofwhereIgrewup.A lotofguysfromwhereIgrewup went to Huntsville. So the narrator’s,youknow…thelenspulledback,andthatnarration becomes the narration of EastHouston,really.Thatwasoneofthesongsthatmymotheractuallyheardbeforeshedied.Iplayeditforher,andshesaidtome,“Youknowson,Idon’tcareaboutpeopleknowingaboutmeandyourdadandwhathappened between us, but I don’t wantpeoplethinkingthatyouwenttoprison!”AndIsaid,“Well,Mom,ifthat’swherethesongneedstogo,that’show…thestakeshave tokeep rising into something togetto the resolve.”Andhereyes justkindofglazedoverandshegoes,“Wellwhydon’tyou just stop back there without thatverse? You already told the story!” And I

went,“Well,Ican’targuewiththat,Mom.” GoingbacktoChinaberry Sidewalks,myfavorite passage in the whole book isnear the very end,where you’re in thehospitalbesideyourdadonhisdeathbed,andyouflashbackonallthesebeautifulmemoriesthatweren’tmentionedatallbefore. It’s just one paragraph, almostlikeacoda,butformeitwaslikealightilluminatingthewholerestofthebook. And you know,when Iwas sitting inthehospitalwithmydadduringthoselastfivedays,thatflashbackreallyhappened.A lot of that stuff was coming up, likehowJacintoCityhada semi-pro footballteamforacoupleofyears—Godknowswherethatcamefrom—andDadwas29years old andplayeddefensive back.Hewasn’t in shape to play football, hewasa construction worker, but he was outthere and he was so proud of himself.Andpartofwhy Iput that in therewithallthatotherstuffcamefrommewantingtoframethatquestionofhowyoucouldreally idolize somebody like that and atthesametimejustbesomadatthem.

Asareader,youdowonderthatalotoftimes,becausetheportraityoupaintofyour father isn’t always very flattering.Andyouonlyreallygetlittleglimpsesofanansweruntiltheveryend. Yeah.AndIthoughtreallyhardaboutallofthatlessflatteringstuff,becauseIknewthe ending, and I said, “God, am I reallygoing to go into this?” But I had alreadygone into it in the song “TheRockofMySoul,”soIsaid,“Yeah,I’mgoingtogointoallthesereallydespicablethingsmydaddid,andmymother, too.”But Idid itbecauseI knew they both redeem themselves. Ofcourse youhave to get to theendof thebooktogettowhatIwasdrivingat.ButI’mglad youmentioned that. You’re the onlypersonwho’severmentionedthatpassagewiththosewarmmemoriesofmydad.ButIwasproudofthat.

YoualsowriteabouthowyoulatergottointroduceyourmomtoRoyAcuffat theGrandOleOpryandhowmeaningfulthatwastoyouboth,sincesheandyourdadfirstmetatanAcuffdance.Itakeityourdadgottowitnesssomeofyoursuccess,too,didn’the?Whatdidhemakeofit? Oh, he enjoyed it. He didn’t get tomeet Roy Acuff, but the doors wereswingingopenmoreandmoreandmore.AndIknowhewasreallyproudofme.Butyou know, he didn’t come from … withhis upbringing, it wasn’t anything thatyoucouldsay;itcouldn’tbelike“Son,I’m

proud of you.” It’d bemore like …well,he’dtalkaboutsongs.

YourdaughterChelseahasnowtakenafterbothyouandhermotherbypursuingherown career as a performing songwriter.She’s already put out a couple of reallygoodAmericanarecordsofherown.DidyouorRosanneevertrytotalkheroutofgettinginvolvedwiththemusicbusiness? Oh no, I’m very supportive. WhenChelsea first started doing it and shebroughtmeherfirstbatchofsongs,Imadethemistakeof trying tosay,“OK, that’sareallygoodstart.Nowletmetellyouwhatyououghttodotoreallymakearecordoutofthis…”Andshekindofflatlysaid,“Stayout ofmy business!” So shewent off onherown.Butnowthatshe’sfoundherself,now she’ll come to me and we’ve beencollaboratingtogether.IwouldsayChelseareminds me of me a lot; she actuallyreminds me more of myself than sheremindsmeofhermother.She’scertainlyas smart as hermother, but … Chelsea’sdevelopmentisgoingtoplayoutinitsowntime.And I feel good for her about that,becauseknowinghowitwasforme,Ithinkherbestworkisreallyoutinfrontofher.

You said at the start that you’ve gotenoughsongs ready foranotheralbum,and that you’ll probably do anotherrecordwithEmmylousoon,too.Butyoualso said something about wanting tofigureouthow to reallyplay theblues.Didyoureallymeanthat? Oh yeah! That’s been my musicalstudy over the last couple of years. I’mnotmuch intowhat you’d call sports-barblues,butI’mreallydrawntotheacoustickind of country blues. I always lovedLightnin’Hopkins,butalso,youknow,SonHouse,BlindBlake,ManceLipscomb,R.L.Burnside’s acoustic stuff … and Howlin’Wolf really comes down that way, too .I’ve really thrown myself into observingall thoseguys.But the thing is, I’vebeeninspired by a lot of different artists overthe years: Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan,HankWilliams,theBeatles,certainlyElvisCostelloin1977.Andwheneversomeoneinspireslikethat,thejobofthatinspirationisnottotryanddowhattheydo,buttrytofind in yourself the thing that inspiredyouandcreateyourownversionof it.SoI’vebeenlearninghowtofocus inonthebluesas Iunderstandthem,coming frominsideofme,andI’vegottosay,I’vereallybeenenjoying it.Andmyintentionis, I’mgoing to trymybest tocreatesomethingthatwill standasmyversionofwhatwemight call country blues. You’ve always

gottobecarefulabouttalkingaboutwhatyou’re going to do in the future, but I’mcommittedtothis. DidyouevergettoseeLightnin’HopkinsinHouston,backintheday? Ohyeah,yeah.IsawLightnin’Hopkinsfour or five times back in Houston. Hecame to Lee College one time when Iwas going there, he and Alan Lomax.Alanstoodupandclappedhishandsandsang old songs that he’d collected, andLightnin’wouldsitinachairandplaytheblues.AndIrememberthinking,“Idon’tknowaboutthatotherguy,butIliketheguysittinginthechairplayingthatshit!” Last thing here: Do you have anotherbookinyou? Yeah.IstartedoutthinkingthatIhadtoknowtheend,whichistheluxuryIhadwithChinaberry— I knew the end, so Iknewhowtomakethearc.Butthistimearound, itsureseemslikewhatIhaveinmindaboutwriting,Idon’thavetheendtoityet.SoImaylearnsomething,orIwill learnsomething,abouthowtocreatethearcofthenarrativewithoutknowingwhatthatendisaheadoftime.

Chinaberry Sidewalkswasasmuchaboutyour parents as it was about you, andreallyonlycoveredyourchildhoodyearsindetail.Wouldthisonedelvemoreintoyourlifeinmusic? Itwouldbefrommemoryagain,soitwould bememoir. But although I’ve hadall these years in the music business, Ireallydon’twanttowriteaboutmycareer.WhatIcanwriteabout,though,aresomereally interesting people and my inter-relationshipwiththem.IthinkIcanmakethatthestory,ratherthan,youknow,“AndthenIwrote...”I’llneverdothat.


PhotocourtesyofRadneyFoster

Radney Foster speaks about

Everything

A songwriter’s songwriter tangos

with his muse

By Lynne Margolis

RadneyFoster’snewalbum,Everything I Should Have Said, openswith a sinistertune about a fickle lover,an alluring tease whopossesses him, like ademon, only when she

pleases.Ofcourse,he’spowerlesstoresisthersiren-likecall. Henamedthesong“WhoseHeartYouWreck” — followed, in parentheses, by“OdetotheMuse.” Turns out this wicked-temptress taleis really a confession about strugglingto maintain the most important — andfrustrating — relationship in everysongwriter’s life. Even guys like Foster,who’swrittenorco-authoredseveraltop-10countryhits,findthemselvesinsometimestorturousbattleswiththeircreativespirit. “To me, she’s a recalcitrant, drunkmistresswhoshowsupatyourhouseat2in themorning,” he says. But in the threeorsodecadessinceheandhismusebegantrysting in earnest, Foster has won many,many rounds, writing dozens of songswith knockout combinations of hit-worthymelodiesandheartfeltwords. Long respected as a John Hiatt-leveltunesmith, a songwriter’s songwriter, henotchedhisfirsttop10inthemid-80swithSweetheartsof theRodeo’s“Since IFoundYou.”That song, co-writtenwithBill Lloyd,earnedthepairtheirownrecorddeal;theirself-titleddebutproducedseveralmorehits.Foster’sfirstsoloalbum,1992’sDel Rio, TX 1959, sent “NobodyWins”toNo.2and“JustCallMeLonesome”toNo.10onBillboard’scountrysingleschart.Hisnameshowsuponatleast22top-10countryalbums—sevenof them No. 1’s (by Keith Urban, DariusRucker,LukeBryan,KennyChesney,Brooks&Dunn,andtheDixieChicks—twice).HeeventoppedthejazzchartwithatrackonaGeorgeBensonalbum.Ashesings in“TheMan YouWant,” Foster has even been “arockstaronceortwice.” Sunny Sweeney, Pat Green and JackIngramareacolytes.TheRandyRogersBandincludesaFostersongoneveryalbum,twoofwhich he produced. “He’s respected byprobably every singer-songwriter up there[inNashville]asbeingoneofthebest,”saysRogers.“WhateverRadney’swritingisprettymuchregardedassomethingspecial.” Rucker, a fan since the Foster & Lloyddays,namedanalbumCharleston, SC 1966 inhomagetoFoster,whoselastalbumwas2012’sDel Rio, Texas Revisited: Unplugged & Lonesome,his20th-anniversaryreinventionoftheoriginal. “[When]RadneycameupwithDel Rio, TX, that was where everything changedfor me,” says Rucker. “That record was a

benchmark for me. And I still love him.NowIgettocallhimfriendandworkwithhim.Buthe’sstillmyidol.” And yet, while several of thoseartists have multiple Grammy Awards,Foster, likeHiatt, remains inbridesmaidmode.Notthat itseemstobotherhim.He’s thrilled by the success of artistssuch as Kacey Musgraves, who tookhome this year’s Best Country AlbumGrammy and the Academy of CountryMusic’s Album of the Year award forSame Trailer, Different Park.Musgraves,whocontributesvocalsto“California”onEverything,usedtobe inFoster’sband.He’s the one who encouraged her toleaveTexasforMusicCity. “IhelpedhermovetoNashville,”hesays.“Imean,Iliterallyhelpedloadstuffforher togethere. I’msoproudofher.She’s somebody who I feel like— well,morelikeanunclethananolderbrother.I’mher parents’ age. I love her dearly, Ireallydo;Ithinktheworldofher.Itwasajoytohaveherinmyband;itwasajoytohelphermovetoNashville;it’salwaysbeenajoytowritesongswithher.” Still youthful-looking at 54, witha full head of wavy silver hair, a quicksmile, and laughing eyes behind rimlessglasses,FosterlandedinNashvillehimselfat20afterabandoninghisstudiesattheUniversityoftheSouthinSewanee,Tenn.That’swhenhegottheadvicethatwouldset him solidly on track as a songwriter,thoughitwouldtakeafewmoreyears—andadejected,parent-appeasing returnto college after his bid for overnight-sensationstatusfailed. That advice came from none otherthan Willie Nelson, by then a bona-fidesuperstar.Fosterhadgottenhiredbyafilmproductioncompanyasadriver,shuttlingcast and crew between the set and thehotel.Nelsonhadacameointhefilm. “TheytoldmetheywouldfiremeifItalkedtothetalent,”Fosterrecalls.“[But]whenWillie got into the van, Iwas like,screw it, what are they gonna do? So Isaid,‘Youknow,Willie,wehaveacoupleofmutualfriends.’AndItalkedtohimjusta little bit. He said, ‘Well, what are youdoin’ up here? Are you at Vanderbilt orsomething?’AndIsaid,‘Nosir,I’mtryingtobeasongwriter.’Andhesaid,‘Oh,god.Anotheroneofthose.’ “Isaid,‘Well,doyouhaveanyadvicefor a young songwriter who’s tryin’ tofigure out how to make it work?’ Andhe goes, ‘Yeah, I do. The first hundreddon’tcount.’Bythattime,Idon’tthinkI’dwrittenbut30or40songsaltogether.AndIthought,‘Oh,OK,you’vegottagetreallyseriousaboutit.’Itturnedacornerforme

inalotofways.” Forthenextfiveyears,Fosterwenttotheschoolofhardknocks.Afterfinishingcollege, he returned to Nashville andstruggled,grabbingoddjobsandwaitingtableswhile getting as cozy as he couldwiththemuse. “AndthenIgotsignedtoapublishingdealandImetBillLloyd,”herelates.“Andwewrote a song for a brand new bandcalledSweetheartsoftheRodeo.Itendedupbeingtheirfirstbighit.”

Evolutionarytheory

AccordingtoRandyRogers,“Ifthere’sadefinitionofanartist, it isRadneyandhis career, and what he’s been able toaccomplish.” Morespecifically,Rogerssays,Fosterhas managed to survive, and ultimatelythrive, by switching directions like achameleonchangescolors. “He was in a band and got wildlypopularandfamous.Andthenhehadasolocareerandhewasknownforawhileas not being able to get played on theradio,andthenallofthesudden,he’soneof the hottest songwriters in Nashville;everybodyfromtheDixieChickstoKeithUrban are cuttin’ his songs. And thenhe starts producing records formeandotherartists,soheturnedthatthingon,and now he gets to do what he loves,whichisplayasmanyshowsashewantsandmake records, and produce peopleandwrite.” As for how Foster got to this point,Rogers observes, “He has a knack forbeingcommercialbutat thesametime,stillbeingabletohavesongsthataredeepenoughtoresonatewithpeopleonalevelthat isn’tdumb,butdoesn’tflyovertheheadofthelistener.Hehasaveryhumanapproach,withgreatmelodies. “Itrymybesttohavemelodyattheforefront of all the songs that I write,”Rogers says, “and I learned that fromRadney. Hismelodies are just gorgeous,and it’s very seldomyoufind somebodythathasthatability,aswellastheabilitytohitahomerunwiththelyrics.” Jack Ingram concurs, adding, “Heobviously has such a great handle onmelody. I write some good melodies inmyownsongswhenIwritebymyself,butthey’renotreal…tight. He’smuchmoreof a disciplined pop songwriter. A lot ofpeopleusepopasabadterm.Idonot.Agreatpopsongisasmovingasitcanbe.” AndFoster’snewalbumisfilledwithexamplestobackthatup:“HardLightofDay,”“LieAboutLovingMe,”“TalkMyself

Out of Falling,” “TheMan YouWant”…whethertheytwangorrockorsway,theyallcarrythatabilitytoadhere likeSuperGlueinsidethebrain. “It’sgottabesingablefortheaveragehumanbeing,andtheyhavetobeabletowanttosingalongtoit,”Fosterexplains.“Sometimes you’ll hear a song on theradio and go, that’s just the dumbestthing in the world. And then you’ll findyourself hummin’ it an hour later.Well,that’sbecauseit’sareallycatchymelody.That’sabigpartofwhatmakessomebodywanttolisten.” But there’s a trait that goes beyondmelodyand lyrics—the trait thatearnsFoster so much respect even amongthosewhobearno love forsomeof theartistswhorecordhissongs. “It’s pretty simple,” says Rogers.“You never sell out. You never put yournameonsomepieceofshitjusttomakea paycheck. He’s had some high spotsand some really lowones,where thingslooked like theymight not turn around.But when those low spots come, thoseare thetimeswhere itusuallydragsoutthebestinyou.Andinsteadofconformingandwritingdirectlytowardwhateverwaspopular,or changinganythingabout thewayheapproachesthecraftofasong,hestucktohisguns,andthat’sstoodthetestoftime.” Ingram agrees, noting some artiststry so hard for popularity, theywind upwritingwordstheywouldn’twanttosingfortherestoftheirlives.ButforFoster,“Ifit’snottruthful,it’snotgoingintoasong.”

Thedrunkmistress

“Allsongs,orgoodones,almostalwayshavetohaveapointofconflict,”saysFoster.Hepointsto“MineUntiltheMorning”asanexample.“It’saverysexysong,butit’ssad.It’sabouttwopeoplewhohavebeenbroken, and it’s very obvious to themboth,andthey’rebothjustlookingforthatmomentofhumancomfort.” He’s joined on the song by anotherGrammy-winning female—PattyGriffin.They’vehadamutualadmirationsocietygoing for quite a while, he says. “She’llshowupatmygigseverynowandthenwhen I’m inTexas, just todance, just tohavefun.Andwehaveattimessharedaguywho’sstillherday-to-dayguy;whenshe’s not working, he works for me. SoI just called her and said, ‘Hey, I’ve gotthis duet and I think it would be reallyawesomeifyouwouldsingonit.’” She heard the mid-tempo ballad,whichturnsapragmaticpropositioninto

cont. on page 77

amomentof hope amidheartache, andagreed. Their contrasting voices lendmorepoignancytothesong,acompanionpieceofsortsto“California.” “‘Mine Until the Morning’ is whathesays inthatmomentwhenthosetwobrokenpeoplemeetontheroad,”Fosterexplains.“And‘California’iswhathesingsayearlater.” Though “California” is fictionalized,theinspirationcamefromaconversationheandhiswife,CyndiHoelzle,hadabouther parents, both Pennsylvania nativeswhomet in the Bay Area.While FosterandHoelzlewerevacationingwhereshewas raised, she told him her parents’story. “She said, ‘Everybody moves toCalifornia to start over in some way,’because that’s kind of how it was withher folks. It just struck me, and I said,‘Baby, I need about 10 minutes. I’ll berightback.’AndIwrotedownthissketchof an idea for that song. I just thought,‘Whatifyouhavetwopeoplewhoneedto start over? And they fall in love ontheirwaytoCalifornia?’” Foster says several of the album’ssongs are companion pieces, thoughhe didn’t realize it until the sequencingphase. “Whose Heart You Wreck” andthe closing title tune make appropriatebookends, he says, because the latter

addresses one of the most devastatingexperiences of his life: his split from hisfirstwife,whosubsequentlymovedwiththeir son to France after hewaged, andlost,afiercecustodybattle. “Therewasapointatwhichwelovedeachotherverydearlyandwecreatedamess,andthat’swhat‘EverythingIShouldHave Said’ is about:my responsibility inthatdeal.Butinonesense,Ithinkshehadtroublewiththemuse.” It’s easy to believe a wife could bejealous of such a demanding mistress.Which lends a hint of irony to the factthat Hoelzle plays the femme fatale inthevideotheycreatedfor“WhoseHeartYou Wreck.” It was filmed at DocksideStudios outside of Lafayette, La., theremote, “very vibey” hideaway — andformerbordello—whereherecordedthealbumwithproducerJustinTocket.(Their14-year-old son served as director SteveBoyle’sgaffer.) ItcouldbesaidthatCyndiembodiesFoster’smuseinreallifeaswell. “Talk Myself Out of Falling,” thekindofsongUrbancouldlikelyturnintoanotherhit,isaboutthenightthecouplefellinlove.“Noise,”Fostersays,isabouttheir relationship 20 years later. “LieAbout Loving Me” and “Holding Back”also share a connection. As for “Unh,

Unh, Unh” … well, that’s just a moredirect reference to a subject broachedrepeatedly in these songs. “Sometimeslove should be monosyllabic,” Fostersings, his voice a mix of humor andsuggestiveness.“Withthatooh,ooh,oohand that oh, oh, oh/That yes, yes, yes,notthatno,no,no.” MirandaandBlakecould likely sendthat sexy thing right to the top of thecharts.Itpairsnicelywith“TheManYouWant,” another of those catchy-melodylovesongsFosterdoessowell.Thatonealso comeswith adoseof irony; Fosterhad given up writing odes to his wifeafter several attempts failed to earnpositivereactions. “ThenIwrotethissong,andIwalkedin the house and said ‘Hey baby, youwannahearthisnewsong?’Andshesaid,‘Sure.’Anditjustknockedthebreathoutof her,” Foster relates. “She said, ‘Oh,baby, I love that.’ And I went, ‘What isthedifferencebetweenthatandallthoseotheronesIwroteforyou?’Andshekindofcockedherheadandthoughtaboutitforaminuteandsaid,‘Well,onthatone,youtoldthetruth.’” ScoreanotheroneforFosterandhismuse.Ormuses. ButFostersaysthealbum’semotionalresonancealsohasmuchdowithTocket,

“Iwrotethissong,andIwalkedinthehouseandsaid,‘Heybaby,youwan-

nahearthisnewsong?’Andshesaid,‘Sure.’Anditjustknockedthebreath

outofher,” saysFoster, recalling thefirsttimeheplayed“TheManYou

Want”forhiswife.“Shesaid‘Oh,baby,Ilovethat.’AndIwent,‘Whatisthe

differencebetweenthatandallthoseotheronesIwroteforyou?’Andshe

kindofcockedherheadandthoughtaboutitforaminuteandsaid,‘Well,

onthatone,youtoldthetruth.’”

whochallengedhimtodigdeep. “He really came from the point ofviewthatifitwasn’tsomethingthatwasintenselypersonaltome,thatweweren’tgonnadealwithit,”Fosterexplains. For better or worse, one song that

fits that category also could become ananti-hate anthem. Like “Angel Flight,”the moving tribute Foster and DardenSmith wrote for the soldiers chargedwithbringinghome their fallenbrethren,“Not inMyHouse,”co-writtenwithAllenShamblin,addressesabigger-pictureissuewithafirst-personapproach. But it’s not just personal, it’s alsobasedonpersonalexperience.Acoupleof

daysbeforetheirwritingsession,Foster’s11-year-old daughter came home fromschoolandasked,“Daddy,whatdoestheword‘slut’mean?” “I had quite a pause,” Foster recalls,“andIsaid,‘Thatisawordthat,nomatter

how it’sused, it’snevereverused inanyway other than to make someone feelsmall.Andtohurt.’” When Shamblin heard the story, hesaid,“We’vegottawritethat.” The song builds in intensity, withFoster and Joe Stark slicing off ever-sharper guitar licks, until it reaches adramaticpeakwith apowerful,Guthrie-andSeeger-invokingstanza:

“Tonight I own this stageAnd me and this six string machineare gonna kill some hate’Cause you don’t talk to my friends that wayYou don’t talk to my brother that wayAnd you damn sure don’t talk to my

daughter that way.”

“It’s sad that it wasn’t that hard towrite,”Fostersays,adding,“Idon’tstartouttobesomebody’smouthpieceforanything.I justsetouttowritewhat I’mpassionateabout.”


Itwasaclassicmusicbusinesstale:TheWagoneersblazedoutofAustinin1987toquicklywinamajor-labelrecorddealandheadtoNashvilletorecordtheirdebutalbum.BoldlytitledandbrandedtrueTexanasStout & High — a coinagetakenfromaletterbyanAlamodefenderdescrib-ing itswalls—thesmokingdiscwonravereviewsfrom

themainstreammediaandcountrymusiccriticsforthewaythefoursome delivered authentic twang, shuffles, and old-schoolC&W rocked up to datewith four-man band brio. They tooktheir hard-charging live show on the road, playing anywhereandeverywhereandopeningshowsforcountrystarsandleg-endsaswellasrockbandsliketheRamones. Asecondalbum,Good Fortune,wasapalefollow-up.Radioneverembracedtheband,andaftertwoyearsofnear-constantroadwork, guitarist Brent Wilson and bassist Craig Pettigrewquitthegroup.SingerandprimarysongwriterMonteWardenanddrummerTomLewiscarriedoninto1990withhiredguns,buttheirrunwasover,kaput,done...orsoitseemed.In2011,theWagoneersstagedalong-overduereturntoactionwithtwowell-receivedreunionshowsduringSouthBySouthwest. Aftertwodecadesapart,itwasasmuchofasurprisetothebanditselfasitwastofans,buttheWagoneersreunionwentoversowellthattheycontinuedplayingshowstogether,whet-

tingappetites foranewrecordingwitha freshcropofbrandnewsongs.Andtheydidindeedcutanewalbum—andareallygoodone, too. Itwasallplayingout likeaperfectBehind the Musiccomebackstory.Exceptforthefactthatthatlong-await-edthirdWagoneersrecordisnowevenlongerawaited. “It’s in limbo,” says Lewis of the still unreleased album,which for now they’re callingThe Wagoneers. “It’s been onefrustrationafteranotherforonereasonoranother.” Warden, on the other hand,maintains amore optimisticoutlook. “I’mnot frustrated,” says thesinger, “becausehere’swhatIknow:We’rejusttryingtofindtherighthomeforit.Wewaited23yearstomakeourthirdalbum.I’mnotgoingtorushputtingitout.” Their contrastingviewpoints “areboth true forwhereweare,”saysWarden.Butdon’tmisconstrueitasasignofdiscord,asthesolidarityamongsttheWagoneershasneverbeengreat-er—especiallyregardingwhattheyachievedonthealbum.“Icouldn’tbemoreproudoftherecord,”Wardenenthuses.“AndtherearerecordsthatImadeinthepastwhereIcouldnothavesaidthat.” The Wagoneershasquitea legacyto liveupto—despiteLewis’humbleattempttodownplaytheband’simportanceandimpact.“Thoughit’saninterestingstory,wewerejustablipon

themapbefore,”hesaysoftheirinitialrun.Hehasapoint,buttruthbetold,theWags(astheyareknownbyfansinshorthand)wowedanyonewhoeversawthemplay,andwerepivotalinTex-asandrootsmusichistoryintheirtimingandinfluence.Inthelate’80s,Nashvillemusicwasmiredincountry-popdreck,theAustinCosmicCowboymovementhadplayedoutitshand,andcountryhadhitalowpointinpopularitywithnewgenerationsofmusicfansnotjustinAustinandTexasbutnationwide.Themusicneededanewburstofenergyandvitality,andtheWag-oneershad that in spades.Delivering countrywithanenergyandhipnessthatbothgrabbedyoungerearsandsatisfiedolderoneswiththeirreverenceforthestyle’sverities,theWagoneerswerethenucleartriggerforayoungAustincountryscenethatsooncameto includeKellyWillisandChaparral (outofwhichcameBruceandCharlieRobison)andmanyotherstofollowina1990slocalfloweringifnotexplosionofrootscountrytalent.TheynotonlypresagedtheriseofAmericana/alt-country,butgave itaheartyshove,paving theway inMusicCity for rock-stylebandsplayingcountryliketheMavericks.TheymustalsobecreditedasoneoftheactsthathelpedplanttheseedsoftheTexascountry/RedDirtmovementthat’sflourishednowforwelloveradecade. Intheyearsfollowingtheband’sbreakup,WardenlaunchedasolocareerandlaterstruckpaydirtasawriterofsongsfortopNashville acts,mostnotably the2004No. 6George Strait hit“Desperately”(co-writtenwithBruceRobison).LewisandWil-sonbothdidtimeashiredgunsinAustinandNashvillebeforereturninghome,where the formeralsodrumswith theband

Haybale!BassistCraigPettigrewplayedwithDaleWatsoninhisearlyAustinyearsbeforelargelysettingmusicasidetoworkasabusdriverforAustin’sCapitalMetrotosupporthisfamily,whichintimecametoincludefivekids. TheonlytimetheWagoneersgottogetheragainwastocutaratherhottrackin1995foranow-out-of-printAustincountrycompilation.Thenin2011,theywereaskedbytheAustinMu-sicAwardstoplaytheshowaspartoftheirinductionintotheAustinMusicHallofFame.WhentheyreunitedtorehearseinWarden’s SouthAustin living room, they discovered from thefirstnotesthatthemutualmagicwasstill there.AfterplayingtheawardsshowandthenaSXSWshowcaseattheContinentalClublaterthatnighttoawarmandrobustreception,theWag-oneerswerebackinfullgearforphasetwooftheircareer. Thenewalbum, recorded two years ago, is theworkof agenuineband lockingtogethertonotjustservebuthonorandexalt12stunninglygoodsongsWardenwrotewiththehelpofco-writers likehiswifeBrandi, Pettigrew,BruceRobison, ColinBoyd,andDardenSmith.TheycutitinNashvillewithproducerMarkBright—aWagoneersfanfromtheirfirstrunwhosechart-toppingcredits includeCarrieUnderwoodandRascalFlatts—but tracked itold-schoolandAustinstyle. “The recordingsarebasicallyusliveinthisbigroomatStarstruckStudios,”Lewissays.“MarkdidsortofaGeorgeMartinapproach: justsetupsomemicsandletusgo.Twoorthreeofthesongsarefirsttakes.” InlessthantwoweekstheyhadadefinitivecontemporaryWagoneersalbum.“Ithinkitshowsourmaturity,”Lewiscontin-ues.“It’salittlebitofeverythinglikewedidbeforebutmoreof

W a i t i n g o n t h e

wagon trainTrailblazingAustincountrybandtheWagoneersjustmightbesittingonthebestcomebackalbumyou’veneverheard…yet.

ByRobPatterson

PhotocourtesyoftheWagoneers


it.Butit’saverycurrentsoundingalbum;itdoesn’tseemlikethefollow-uptoStout & High or Good Fortune—itstandsonitsown.We’reallproudofit.” And rightly so, as it’s oneof thoseall-too-rarealbums thatstrikesaperfectbalancebetweencommercialappealandartisticcredibility.Butalthoughthey’veshoppedthenewalbumtore-cordlabels,sofar,nodice.“Everyonesays,‘Welovetherecord,’andthat’sit,”saysLewis.AbandthatwasoncecourtedbythebizandthenbackedtothehiltbyA&Mhasrunupagainstthesadre-alitiesoftoday’sfarsmallerandmuchmoreparsimoniousindus-try.“Nooneiswillingtosignanythingunlesstheyknowthey’regoingtobreakeven.” TheWagoneersaremorethanreadytohelpanylabelwillingtomeetthemhalfway;they’repracticallychompingatthebittohittheroadandwinovertheworld.Butthecatch22isthattour-ing just isn’t anoptionpresentlywithout certain adult realitiesbeingmet.“We’vegotaguywhohasafull-timegigthathecan-notleaveuntilwecanmakethejumptobeingafull-timeband,”explainsWarden.“Alabelhearsthatandthinks,that’stoursup-port—andtoursupportdoesn’texistanymore.WhatitmeansnowissellingCDsatyourgig.” Analternateroute,ofcourse,wouldbefortheWagoneerstoself-releasethealbum,perhapswithhelpfromacrowd-fundingcampaign.ButWardenisstandinghisground. “Iknowthatarecordthisgoodissomethingtobesoproudof, that it’snotsomethingto just throwout thereorput itout

ourselvesjustforthesakeofhavingsomethingtosellatourgigs,”Wardensays.“Thisrecorddeservesbetterthanthat.AndthesesongsI’vewrittendeservebetterthanthat.Itcanonlycomeoutonce.Andwe’llgetthere.IdonotshareonepercentofTommy’sfrustration,but Idoshare100percentof thedesire toget thisrecordoutatitsrighthome.AnyonewhoknowsmeknowsthatpatienceisnotsomethingIsnuggleupagainst.ButI’vebeenabletohavesuchpatiencewiththisprojectbecauseIknowthatitde-servesthat. “Allwecandoismakethemusic,”hecontinues.“Ijusthavefaiththatanythingthisgoodwillfinditswayhome.Iknowwhenthisthingfinallycomesoutit’llbeabigol’breathoffreshairforeverybody.” Untilthen,theonlyplacetohearthosenewsongsandtoseethebandliveistocatchtheWagoneers’weeklySundayresidencyatAustin’sContinentalClub.ButtakeitfromWardenhimselforfromanyoneelsewhohasalreadycaught them in theact:TheWagoneers at their best,which is verymuchwhere they’re atrightnow,isnotashowyouwanttomiss. “I’llputtheWagoneersliveshowupagainstanyfour20-year-olds,”assertsWarden.“It’sashoveltotheface.”

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Thego-toclichéwhenitcomestopraisingatrulyexceptionalvocalist istosayheorshecould“singthephonebookanditwouldsoundgreat.”JohnFullbrightdoesn’treallymeritthatlevelofblindpraise forhis singing (thoughhe’sno slouch),butgive the26-year-oldOklahomawunderkind thismuch:Hecanprettymuchwriteasongaboutseeminglynothingandreallymakeitmeansomething.Forproof,checkoutthesongonhisnewalbum,Songs,called,well,“WriteaSong”:“Writeasong,writeasongabouttheverysongyousing/Penalineaboutalinewithinaline/Writeasongaboutasong.”Thewordssoundlikescratchlyrics,placeholdershemighthavesungtohimselfwhilefeelinghiswayaroundamelody,a laPaulMcCartneysinging“scrambledeggs”tothetuneofhisnascent“Yesterday.”Butratherthanscrapthem,heturnsthemoverandoveragain(“Thinkathoughtabouttheverythoughtyouthink”)untilcatchingahintofsomethingpossiblybigger(“Livealifethatisthelifeyouwanttolive”),onlytoletitgoandreturntowherehestarted:“Whenyourrhymesdonotapplytoanything/Writeasongaboutasong.”Beitbyhappyaccidentorcleversleightofhand,hissimplelinesabouthavingnothingtosaysayprettymucheverythingabouttheartofsurrenderingtothemuseforthesakeofthesong—literally. “WriteaSong”isboththecenterpieceandtheanomalyonSongs, surroundedby11othersongsonwhichFullbrightmostdefinitelyisnotatalossforwords.Thealbum’smatter-of-facttitlebeliestheconfidenceofaseasonedtroubadourwho’sbeenflooringwritersonthelevelofButchHancocksincebeforehewasoldenoughtolegallydrink.UnlikehisGrammy-nominated2012nationaldebut,From the Ground Up,whichopenedwith the jaw-dropping thunderclapof “GawdAbove,”Songs makesclearfromthestartthatit’sinnohurrytodemandyourattentionbyforce;apartfromtheinfectiouswhistling that gooses the opening “Happy,” Fullbright takes his sweet time before finally gettingaroundtoatune(thecatchy“NeverCryAgain”)thatshiftshigherthanthirdgear.Asfortherest,youeithersityourbuttdownandlistentothelyricswhilewaitingpatientlyfortheunderstatedmelodiescloaked inspare,somberarrangementstoeventually reveal themselves in full (as theyusuallydo,mostspectacularlyin“TheOneThatLivesTooFar”),oryoumovealong.Butifyouchoosethelater,don’tbetoosurprisedifoneofthoselinesofFullbright’sthatsoeloquentlyexpressesthethoughtshe’sthoughttripsyouuponyourwayoutthedoor.Itcouldbetheonein“Happy”aboutnotwantingtohavetowonderhowyou’vebeen,ormaybetheonein“HighRoad”aboutchoosingbetweenthe“highroadtofreedom”andthe“lowroadtoyou.”Butrestassuredoneofthoselineswillgetyou,andafterthatitwon’tbeanysortofwrathful“Gawd”onhighpullingyoubackinsideforacloserlisten:justanunassumingyoungmanquietlyspinningwordsintosonglikeapoetsavantspeakingintongues. —RICHARDSKANSE

Aftertakingforeverandadaybeforefinallygettingaroundtomakingafullalbumtogether,BruceRobisonandKellyWillsnowseemcommittedtonotonlyembracingthatparticularelephantintheroom,butmakingupforlosttimeinbuildingtheirlegacyasAmericanamusic’sanswertoGeorgeandTammy.Hotontheheelsofwinning“BestCountryAct”attheAustinMusicAwardsinMarchanda“BestCountryAlbum”attheLoneStarMusicAwardsinAprilfor2013’sCheater’s Game,thehusbandandwifeduo returnwitha secondhelpingofmodernclassic countryat itsfinest thatgoesdownsmoothasaDonWilliamsandEmmylouHarriscocktailwithaspunkyFireballchaser.Therearefeweroriginalsthistimearound(andfewersongs,too,withamere10tracksclockinginataminuteoverhalfanhour),buttheydothecoversproud.BookendedbyRobisonsinginghissisterRobynLudwick’s“DepartingLouisiana”andWillissingingtheZombies-pennedtitletrack,thesetfindsthemalternatingleadvocalssongbysongandsupportingeachotherviaharmoniesratherthanswappingverses,buttheirvoicesblendsowelltogetherthatit’sneverlessthanafullycollaborativeeffort.Still,theyeachhave theirmoments stealing the spotlight.Robison,best known forhis songwriting chops,proveshimselftoalsobeoneofthemostunderratedmalevocalistsincountrymusicwithhisachingreadingofthevintageVernGosdinhit“(JustEnoughtoKeepMe)Hangin’On.”Andyouprobablydon’tevenhavetohearWillis’takeonTomT.Hall’s“HarperValleyP.T.A.”toknowshenailsit.JeannieC.Riley’ssmash1968versionwillalwaysbedefinitive,butmother-of-fourWillisbringsherownsaltysassandvervetothelyricandtherootsy,front-porch-pickin’-partyarrangementgivesthewholesongafresh,playfulspin.DoubtlessWillisandRobisonwilleventuallygobacktoproducingtheirownsoloalbums(botharelongoverdue),butaslongastheirhoneymoonperiodasaduokeepsyieldingoffspringascharmingasOur Year andCheater’s Game,what’stherushinbreakingupagoodthing?—RICHARDSKANSE

JOHNFULLBRIGHTSongsBlueDirtRecords

BRUCEROBISON&KELLYWILLISOur YearThirtyTigers

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RodneyCrowellarrivedonthemid-80scountrysceneaveteranofEmmylouHarris’HotBand,aproducerofRosanneCash,andawriterofhitsforWaylonJennings,theOakRidgeBoysandBobSeger;ifhewasnotaveritableBobDylan,hewasatleastaKrisKristofferson.Araw-voicedpoetwhoturnedmetaphorinoriginalwaysthatscrapedthemarrowfromlifeandofferedthemupviadeadlyaccurateimages—ala“Themomentsofpleasure/Neverdolast/Gonelikeasuitcase/Fullofyourpast/Longgone,andinahurry,”from“AshesByNow”—hewasthenewbreedofwhatcountrymusicwas. Writing with that much brio and exactitude, it’s easy to turn your records into temples ofprecision.WhiletheGrammy-winningCrowellhascraftedahandfulofwondrousalbums,rangingfromacclaimedAmericanareleaseslikeThe Houston KidandSex & Gasolinetohis1988mainstreamsmash,Diamonds & Dirt, whichshotfivesongstothetopofthecountrychart,they’veoftenfeltperfectedmorethansurrenderedtothemoment.Andintheirgloriousflawlessness,apieceoftheplayers’jubilantcombustiongetslost.Untilnow. His new Tarpaper Sky opens with loose-wristed acoustic strumming, the brightness risingfromthefirstbarsof“TheLongJourneyHome,”ameditationonfamily,moments,andmortalitythat’s as savory and sweet as anything everwritten.No lament, just the incredible euphoria ofbeing—andknowingwhat is limited ismoreprecious foreverymeasuredsecond.Fromthere,Crowellslipsseamlessly intotheCreolesaunterof“FeverontheBayou,”atempletodesireandmergingthatembodiestheswampyhumidityoflifeontheLouisiana/Texascoast.Justasrecklessand randy is the freewheeling thrust ’n’ stomprockabillyof “FrankiePlease,”apiano-slamming,bass-bumping juke-jointmeltdownat the apexof build and release.Ditto thebawdy tortureofwant“Somebody’sShadow,”allhip-cockedsex-on-displayasthesaxhonks,thedrumsburlesquerollandtheelectricguitaralley-catyowls.EventheLeonardCohen/RandyNewman-esque“FamousLastWordsofaFool,”withitscompassionarybridgefromShannonMcNally,suggeststhatinlustthereishope—andinhope,love;allthereis,really,sotumblingisinevitableintherushofdays. ButTarpaper’snotallmusk’n’romp.Palpabletendernessmarksthehushed“GodI’mMissingYou,”falteringtograpplewiththeendofarelationship.Exhaledinplaces,thisishowembracingtheghostsofnotknowingandonce-upon-a-timedriftingthroughmidnightcanbe.“GrandmaLovedthatOldMan” celebrates love in the cracks and broken places over a slow shuffle, holding theoldman’sfailingsandflawscloseasawateryHawaiianguitarpoolsunderneath.Thenthere’sthevintagecountryfidelitypledge“IWouldn’tBeMeWithoutYou,”aswellasthesweepingsend-off“TheFlyboy&theKid,”whichevokesGuyClark’scoziest. A wheezing harmonica and loping campfire benediction settles Tarpaper Sky. “Oh,What aBeautifulWorld”cataloguesthesimplefactsoflifetocreateanarcofwhatcanbe,andwhatitisif we’llseeit.Havingtastedgreatloves,definingmusicwithcollaboratorsfromEmmylouandWaylontoMaryKarrandTBoneBurnett,Crowell’sbeenthereanddonethat;nowhejustwantstoenjoytheride.Itsoundsglorious,indeed.—HOLLYGLEASON

It almost goes without saying that at 72 years old Leon Russell has grown into his oncepreternaturallyweatheredandraspyvoice.InthewakeofThe Unionin2014withEltonJohn,he’snowbackonamajorlabelwithabigstudioandtopplayerbudgetandveteranmiddle-of-the-roadpop/jazzproducerTommyLiPumaatthehelm.Butastastyasthissetmadeupofpopstandardslike“GeorgiaOnMyMind”and“ThatLuckyOldSun”alongsidebluesroots(RobertJohnson’s“ComeOninMyKitchen”)andsomewhatcontemporarygems(“NewYorkStateofMind,”likelythebestsongBillyJoeleverwrote)maybe,intheendit’sjustapleasantyawnfromaoncevisionaryandprogressiveartistsomefourandwhatfeelsherelikedistantdecadesago.Tounderscorethepleasantirrelevance,histwooriginals,“BigLips”and“DowninDixieland,”arefuntriflesthatfollowform,buthealreadycutthemonhisownlabeleightyearsago.Admittedly,hisrefashioningof“Fever”hereissomewhatnifty,andthere’snodenyingthatinthebigpicture,Russell’slifejourneyhasindeedbeeninteresting.Butforanyoneotherthandevotedfans,hisLife Journey albumatbestwarrantsaresponseof“yeah,nice,butsowhat?”—ROBPATTERSON

RODNEYCROWELLTarpaper SkyNewWest

LEONRUSSELLLife JourneyUniversal


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Thisdouble-CDandDVDsetfromtheRandyRogersBandisafantasticdocumentofwhatmightwellbethebest liveactfromtheTexascountryscenecurrentlyhittingthehighwaysoftheentirenation.Homemade TamaleswasrecordedovertwonightsatthelegendaryFloore’sCountryStoreinHelotes,Texas,withonlythebestcutsselectedforinclusion.Apuristcouldarguethatitmighthavebeencooltohavea“wartsandall,”less-than-perfectrecordingofasingleRRBshow,butthefactisthatRogersandcrewreallydon’tofferupthatmanyimperfectionsinconcertonanighttonightbasis,anyway.Havingplayedthousandsofshowsnowasacore,cohesiveoutfitwithoutreplacementsorlengthyhiatusesfor15years,thebandistheproverbialwell-oiledmachine.Butthatdoesn’tmeanthey’rejustgoingthroughthemotionshere:thenewermaterialonHomemade Tamales,specifically“Fuzzy”and“TroubleKnowsMyName”fromlastyear’sresurgentTrouble,hastheverveexpectedofagroupshowingoffitsnewsounds,butagednumberssuchas“LikeItUsedtoBe”areperformedwithjustasmuchenthusiasm.Inadditiontothecomprehensiveliveset,theseconddisccloseswithapairofpreviouslyunreleasedstudiotracks,“Satellite”and“She’sGonnaRun.”Bothareclassic-feelingRogersnuggetsthatcould’vefitsnugglyontoTroubleoranyotherRRBalbum.TheDVDoffersacrystalclearpresentation,but the intimatebehind-the-scenesextras— like theclipofRogers taking theviewerintoatattoostudiowithhimtogetfreshink—aretherealgems.—KELLYDEARMORE

SayDaveandPhilAlvintogetheragainandtheknee-jerkthoughtisrockabilly,alatheirlandmarkearly’80soutfittheBlasters.Butthisalbumannounces,think again—andgettoknowthedeepestbluesrootsthatmadetheBlasterssopowerfulinthefirstplaceandthathavelonginformedDave’sbroadandestimablecatalogasasoloartist.Cutliveinanold-schoolstudio,Common Ground: Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin Play and Sing the Songs of Big Bill Broonzy islikeajoyouslymesmericnightinGod’sowndown’n’dirtybluesbaronthedeliciouslybadsideofthetracks,redolentwithauthenticsmokyandboozyatmosphere,yetatthesametimeitsoundsbracinglyfreshfortoday.Witness“KeytotheHighway,”whichbynowhasbecomesuchatiredoldnagofabluesstandardthatoneneverever wantstohear itagain.ButtheAlvinsgiveitabriskbrush-upthatpayshomagetoBroonzy’searly’40srecordingthatinspiredthebrothersasSouthernCaliforniateensinthe’60swhilealsoinvestingitwithafreshspiritalltheirown.ThebreadthofBroonzy’smusicalrangeandsplendidsongsgivethemarichpalettetoworkfrom:double-finger-snappingswingon“IFeelSoGood”and“Tomorrow”;countrybluesthatkickslikeamuleon“HowYouWantItDone”;andcracklingacoustic/electricbluesthatsummonsupBealeStreetintheearlyjazzera(“BigBillBlues”),adeltasquall(“SouthernFloodBlues”),andChicago’sSouthSideinitsprime(“JustADream”).TheAlvinsalsobringtheirpropulsiveBlastersbestto“TruckingLittleWoman,”anditsoundslikethey’rehaving,well,atotalblast.Davedeliverssix-stringlightningthatshowshe’sasmasterfulasanyguitar-slingerontheplanet,andbothsingnotjustbetterbutcoolerthanever,tradingleadonsomesongsandversesonothers.Andwhentheydosotogetheronthegreasystrutter“StuffTheyCallMoney,”whoa! I’mthesortofcriticwhoeschewsplayingtheyear-endbestgame,muchmoresopredictingsuchpicksthisearly intheyear.Butthistotallybadass long-player isalreadyoneof2014’smagnificentmusicalmoments.Common Ground findstheAlvinsmatchingthemasterstheywereweanedoningrit,groove,soul,andrazor-wieldingingenuitytoascendtothelandofgiants.I’malreadysalivatingforwhat’snext.—ROBPATTERSON

RANDYROGERSBANDHomemade Tamales — Live at Floore’sRoom8Records

DAVEALVIN&PHILALVINCommon Ground: Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin Play and Sing the Songs of Big Bill BroonzyYepRoc

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PhotobyBethHerzhaft62 | LoneStarMusic LoneStarMusic | 63

Who Cares is the thirdcompilationofGaryFloatersongsas interpretedthroughthevoicesofB.W.AkinsandPuffyDanWalters,thetwo-manFloaterPreservationSocietythatmayormaynotactuallybeanelaborateexcuseforTexastroubadoursOwenTempleandAdamCarrolltogetawayfromthemselves.Fortheuninitiated(orasyetunencumbered),Floateristhesemi-mythicalMiami, Mo., singer-songwriter best known for somehow always being a no-show at his owngigs (leaving thedirtywork toB.W.andPuffyDan)and forhis lyrical life storyofpunching JeffGordon,asrecountedinhissong“TheDirtySouth.”Forthiscollection,B.W.andPuffyDantapalotdeeperintothebowelsofFloater,exploringamorepersonalsideoftheirhero’ssongwritingthanhintedatoneitheroftheprevioustwoSongs of Gary Floater tributes,A Hero Never Learns andFloater Rising. Through songs like “I’manAlcoholic,” “HelloDiabetes,” and “Selfish Lover,”listenersgetarealsenseofwhatit’sliketobeMr.Floateronaday-to-holidaybasis,while“NatureSong”takesJerryJeffWalker’s“HillCountryRain”tothenextlevel(remindingusallthatifyou’renakedinnature,don’tjustdance.)Butit’sthealbum-openingtitletrackthatjustmightbethenewdefinitiveanthemofMr.Floater’sWorld:It’sdamnnearimpossiblenottosing(anddrink)alongwithB.W.andPuffywhentheyhitthatepicchorusof“Whocares?Mecares!”VivaLaFloater! —CODYOXLEY

SusanGibsonmaynotbe themostprolific recordingartiston theTexas singer-songwriterscene,havingreleasedjustfouralbumsinthelast12years(andoneofthose,2008’sNew Dog, Old Tricks,madeupofnewrecordingsofhersongs fromheryearsco-frontingtheGroobees.)But counting thoseGroobees years, she’s amassed a none-too-shabby catalog of durable andcrowd-pleasingsongs—nottheleastofwhichbeingalittlenumbercalled“WideOpenSpaces”thathelpedtheDixieChicksbecomeoneofthebiggestcountryactsofthelast20years(ifnotlonger). Cull that catalog down to a tidy 16-song setlistmade up of equal parts longtime fanfavoritesandwhatGibsoncalls“remember these?”albumtracks,andyou’vegot themakingsofasolidlivealbum—herfirst—thatalsoservesasanequallyeffectivecareerretrospective.The Second Handisn’twithoutitslulls(theratheraptlytitledcrawler“StoptheBleeding”begsforabarorbathroombreak);butgemslike“Cactus,”“BabyTeeth,”“TrophyGirl,”“Evergreen,”andthestubbornlyoptimistic“BestofYou”offerproofthatthe“bestof”Gibsondoesnotbeginand endwith that one song everybody knows.Well, actually this set does begin with “WideOpenSpaces,”butthat’sjustatestamenttoherownconfidencethatsmartlyallowstheterrific,previouslyunrecorded“TheSecondHand”achancetoshine inthespotlightastheset’smainclosingnumber(notcountingthenewstudioversionofher2002song“ChinUp”tackedonattheendandtheunlistedbonustrackofanothernewlivesong,“JustOneMoreThing,Mom.”)Gibson’sfour-manbackingbandprovidestasteful,unflashysupportthroughout,butherchosenvenue—theBugleBoy—deservesitsstarbillingonthealbumcoverforitsimpeccableacoustics.Every one ofGibson’s peers should seriously consider booking the LaGrange, Texas, listeningroomfortheirownlivealbums,STAT.—RICHARDSKANSE

DexterRomweber’s imageasanoutsider/eccentric is less significant thanhis statureasanincomparableiconoclastandsingularstylistwhodrawsfromadeepwellofearlyrock’n’roll,blues,jazz,country,surf,andvintageTVandmoviesoundtrackstocreatehauntinglypersonalmusic—initiallyashalfoftheFlatDuoJets,andmorerecentlywiththeDexRomweberDuoalongsidesisterandex-Let’sActivedrummerSaraRomweber.Dex’sobsessiveromanticism,andthesiblings’sparerhythmic simpaticoplaying, areas strongaseveron Images 13.Dex’sboomingbaritonegrowldriveshomethebroodingSouthern-gothicvibeof“LongBattleComing”and“BabyIKnowWhatIt’sLiketoBeAlone,”thespooky/sweetregretof“We’llBeTogetherAgain”(writtenbyvintageSharonSheeleyinthewakeofboyfriendEddieCochran’sdeath),andanuncharacteristicallypoppyreadingof theWho’s“SoSadAboutUs.”Andhis twangy,rumblingguitarandSara’spropulsivepulsemergegloriouslyontheinstrumentalbruisers“PreludeinGMinor,”“Blackout!”and“BlueSurf.”Withaneffectiveinstrumentalalbum-closerintheformof“Weird(AuroraBorealis)”byOuter Limits soundtrackcomposerHarryLubin,Images 13compellinglyevokesatantalizingalternativerealitywherepopularmusicisstilldangerous,unpredictable,andcrazy.—SCOTTSCHINDER

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SUSANGIBSONThe Second Hand: Live at the Bugle Boywww.susangibson.com

DEXROMWEBERDUOImages 13Bloodshot

GARYFLOATERWho Cares: The Songs of Gary Floaterwww.garyfloater.com

RADNEYFOSTEREverything I Should Have SaidDevil’sRiverRecords

JOSHGRIDERLuck & DesireAMP

Withlastyear’sDel Rio, Texas Revisited: Unplugged & Lonesome,RadneyFosterreturnedtohissoloroots,celebratingthealbumthat—likehishitswithFosterandLloydbeforeit—cementedhisreputationasarguablyoneofthemostinfluential(andcertainlyrespected)artistsontheTexascountrysceneofthe last25years.Butonhisfirstalbumofnewsongs infiveyears,heeschewscountryandfolksoundsforsoulandrock—toamostlystellareffect.Everything I Should Have Said wasrecordedinaformerbrothelinasecludedsectionofLouisiana,andindeed,there’saswampyheart apparent in some of the album’s best songs. A soulful organ hovers around raw,metallicpercussionin“WhoseHeartYouWreck,”whileR&Btextureslendlifeto“HardLightofDay,”whichseemstobepulledfromaMuscleShoalsstudiosession.Andalthoughnoteverythingheredeliversquitethesamethrill(“UnhUnhUnh”meanswellbutcomesoffasatadtoocuteforitsowngood),hestillhitshismarkfarmorethanhemissesit.Heck,thetitletrackisintriguingenoughforitstitlealone:Foster,afterall,isasongwriterwhosaysthingsbetterthanmostinhisfield—bothhispeersandthemanyyoungerartistswhohavetakencuesandmusicallessonsfromhim(fromPatGreentoRandyRogersandbeyond).Andasshowninthatspecific,elegantlyconveyedsongofregretandthroughouttherestofEverything,he’sstillgotplentylefttosay.—KELLYDEARMORE

JoshGrider’slatestfull-lengtheffort,theTrentWilmon-producedLuck & Desire,canbeheardasataleoftwostyles.It’simminentlylistenable,andthereisn’tanoteoutofplace.Andinsomecases,primarilywiththealbum’sslowersongs,thatlackofloosenessfitsbeautifully;yetinothers,itcomesacrossassomewhatgenericcalculationthatpulseswithatoothlesslimp.Thealbum’sfirsttwosongsofferacompellingstudyofthecontrastingsides.Thetitletrackisatotalstunnerwithpedal-steel-kissedsimplicity;abetter instrumentalvehicleforGrider’srichbaritone istoughto imagine,andthelyrics,drapedwiththoughtfulimagery,aregrippinganddemandstrictattention.Butthetrackthatfollows,thepseudo-rocking“AnythingCanHappen,”isatbestcringe-inducing,withlineslike“countrygirlsdancetoahip-hopsong”suggestingthatGrider’sbeenchugginghisownshareofthatBro-CountryKool-Aidthat’ssopopularinmainstreamcountrymusicthesedays.Similarly,withtheirblandnodstoneonsignsandallegedcountry-life,it’stoughtotellifsongssuchas“Haymaker”andthelaughablelaundrylistthatis“Can’tStop”areparodiesorinfactsincerestabsatradiostardom.OfcourseonewantstogiveGriderthebenefitofthedoubtandassumetheformer,andtohiscredit,thetitle track isn’t theonlykeeperonhere.“SkinandBone,”with its raw-bonedelectricstrumsandstirringvocalassistancebyGrider’swifeKristi, isaspowerfuladuetheardaroundtheTexasmusicscenesince,well,thelasttimeWaltandTinaWilkinssangtogether.Intheend,thegoodstuffhereultimatelyoutweighsthelame,butthoseaforementionedquestionablemomentsmakeLuck & Desire moreofamixedbagthanacompletesuccess.—KELLYDEARMORE

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NIKKILANEAll or Nothin’NewWest

GRAHAMWEBERFaded Photoswww.grahamweber.com

GRANTPEEPLESPunishing the MythGatorBoneRecords105

NikkiLane istoutedasbothamodern-dayWandaJacksonanda(ratherfetching)countryoutlaw,andnotwithoutanumberofbuthardlyall-fittingreasons.ThisassertiveandemotiveNorthCarolina-rearedsingerandsongwriterwholandedinNashvillebywayofNewYorkCityisgroundedbarefeetandanklesinthetradsoundsandspiritofsmart,strongSouthernwomenwho knowheartache but don’t take no crap that came before her. But on her third release,producedbyDanAuerbachoftheBlackKeys,shemapsarouteforfellowold-schoolerstoalsobeprogressiveandshakeoffthestasisthatinfectsfartoomuchundertheAmericanarubric.Yeah,thehigh-stepping“ManUp”(thinkLoretta’s“FistCity”)andswirling“IWantMyHeartBack”havetear-drenchedsteelandcracklingsix-stringtwangechoingwithinavintage ’50s/’60sBradley’sBarnbigroomsound.Butatthesametime,there’sajoltofrock’n’soulvoltagein“SleepwithaStranger,” splashesofNewWavegaragepopandpsychobillyguitar in “IDon’sCare,”andadipintoMuscleShoalswatersonthetitletunetoshowhowLanerefiguresthetried-and-trueforms into freshandtasty treats for today.Theonlyquibblehere is thatAuerbachburiesherDixie-drawling,burnished-bellofavoiceinthemix.Butthatshouldn’tpreventLanefromevokingswoonsfromlistenersofbothgendersandintimationsofalastingfuturerunofLucindaWilliams-levelstature.All or Nothin’ isanidealSaturday-night-into-Sunday-morningdateofadiscwithoneway-coolcountrychick.—ROBPATTERSON

IfyouwantevidencethatGrahamWebercanrock,proceeddirectlytoAshes in the Rearview,thenewalbumbySoLong,Problems,theStones/Replacements-happysideprojectbandheco-frontswithMikeSchoenfeld.ButalthoughWebercertainlydoesthathair-of-the-dogstuffwell,fansoftheOhio-reared,Austin-basedsinger-songwriter’shandfulofexcellentsoloalbumssincehis2005debut,Naïve Melodies,knowthatwhathereallyexcelsatarethekindofgorgeouslymelancholymusingsthatarebestimbibedafterlastcall.TheshortbutsweetFaded Photosisparforthatcourse,offeringeighthauntinglymelodicruminationsonmemory,love,loss,andregret—ormoreoftenthannot,alloftheabove(“Balladofthe04Lounge”).Unlikehis lastalbum,2011’sfemaleguest-ladenWomen,Webersingseverysonghereallbyhislonesome,buthisvoiceisstillabeautyinitsownright:asexpressiveandplaintiveasJeffTweedy’satitsmostvulnerable(“Boston,”“NoOne”),butdistinguishedbyakeeningshimmerthatflickersaroundtheedgeshereandthereandcomestotheforewithchillingeffectivenesson“Talia.”ThatvoiceandWeber’ssongs—asstronglyricallyastheyaremelodically—wouldhavebeenmorethanenoughtomakeFaded Photosaprizedkeepsake;theunfailinglyelegantarrangements,rifewithevocativecelloandadditionalstrings,arejusttheicingonthecake.—RICHARDSKANSE

WoodyGuthrieremindedusthatittakesaworriedmantosingaworriedsong.OnPunishing the Myth,GrantPeeples’fifthreleaseandthirdalbumproducedbyGurfMorlix,therestlesssageofSopchoppy,Fla.,showshe’sbeenworryingaboutalotofthingslately.Onthepiercingspokenwordpiece“HighOctaneGeneration,”whichthrowsbonesofhomagetoDylanandthepoetJohnAshberry,Peeplesworriesaboutanationthathas“learnedtolivewithoutbeauty,”optinginsteadtositonsandybanksand“watchtheriverflowblackandbackwards.”Peeplescastslobbyistsandrealestatedeveloperstotypeasmoneygrubbin’villainsin“TheNewAmericanDream,”butalsoindictsthetoo-easily-distracted99-percenters.There’skvetchingoverthegoodtimesa-changingwiththeplaintive“It’sTooLatetoLiveinAustin.”Butit’sthecripplingfearofcomingupshortin the truth-seekingquest that is at theheartof thealbum’s standout track, “Training in theChartelGround.”Likethesong’sprotagonist,Peeplesclearlyunderstandsthatthepoet’sjobistocontinueto“wraphisfistaroundthatpencil”andsimplykeepatit.AslongasPeepleskeepshispencilsassharpashisinsights,we’llkeeplistening.—D.C.BLOOM

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Houston’s LeslieKrafka isproof that it’snever too late tofindyour truecalling.A fewshort years ago, she attended a songwriting workshop taught by Terri Hendrix and LloydMaines—nottofurtherhonehercraftorlearnnewtricks,butrather,byherownadmission,becauseshethoughtitwouldbefun(she’dlongbeenafanoftheduo.)Butshecameawayfromthatworkshopwithherveryfirstsongand,apparently,anaddictiontobothwritingandperformingthatby2010foundhernabbingbothSongwriteroftheYearandSongoftheYearhonorsfromtheHoustonSongwriter’sAssociation.Notbadatall forastart(especially forsuchalateone);butOnward,hersecondalbum,iswhereKrafkareallyarrives.ProducedbyMainesandHendrixattheZoneinDrippingSprings,thewholerecordsoundsfantastic,crispandfull(butnevercluttered)andimpeccablyplayedbysuchA-listprosasRichardBowden,RileyOsbourne,BukkaAllen,DavidSpencer,RickRichards,andPatManske(nottomentionMaines on his generous pedal steel andHendrix on harmonica and harmony vocals). ButKrafka,despitebeingarookieseparatedbythatformidablebunchbydecadesofcollectiveexperience,holdsherownallthewaythroughwithconvictiontospare.Hervoicealoneisarealfind:sweetbutassertiveandribbonedwithcolor,itglistensthrough“Beauty,”swaggerssassilythrough“WhiskeyHigh,”andsettles likeagolden-redsunsetovertheriverofpedalsteelon“SouthTexasFall.”Hersongsarerealwinners,too,fullofbuoyantmelodiesthatneversagor drag and lyrics that conveybothmaturity and a young-at-heart spirit that’s playfulbutneverfluffy.Bestofall,though,isthewayshehandlesherselfonthealbum’sonecover,“DrunkenPoet’sDream.”MemotoRayWylieHubbardandHayesCarll:hatetotellyouthis,boys,butwhileyouweresleeping,thatwomandonestoleyoursong.—RICHARDSKANSE

Despitethetitle,thisisadouble-disctwoferofHaggard’slate-60slivealbumsOkie from Muskogee andThe Fightin’ Side of Me,neither including thehit studioversionof thetitletrack.Cut in theeponymousOklahomatownwhile itsnamesakesinglewasstill riding thecharts,Okie from Muskogee is a fine representation of the youngHaggard’s authoritativeperformingchopsandthesoulfulexpertiseofhislongstandingcombotheStrangers.It’salsoanice showcase forhis rapportwithhisworking-class fanbase,whichpeakedwith “OkiefromMuskogee.”Theanthemichit’sembraceofsilent-majorityvaluesstruckachordintheculturally-polarizedlate’60s,butseemslessastatementof itsauthor’spreferencesthanamanifestationofhisinstinctiveaffinityfortheunderdog.Theclassics-packedsetlist—“SilverWings,” “Swinging Doors,” “Sing Me Back Home,” “Branded Man” — demonstrates theremarkabledepth thathis songbookhadalreadyattained,yetpauses longenough for theartisttobepresentedwiththekeytothecity.The Fightin’ Side of Mefollowsthesamemodel,buildingasterlinglivesetaroundanotherrabble-rousinghit.Incontrastto“Okie”’srelativelygentle,resignedtone,though,“Fightin’”flirtswithkneejerkjingoism.Butthematerialthatsurroundsit—includingseveralclassiccovers,plusagoofyvocal-impersonationsmedleyandarepriseof“Okie”—showswhereHaggard’sheartreallylies.—SCOTTSCHINDER

MERLEHAGGARDOkie from Muskogee: Anniversary EditionCapitol/UME

DAVIDGRISSOMHow It Feels To FlyWideLoad

LESLIEKRAFKAOnwardSmallzRecords

Frustrating indeed is this latest soloalbum fromAustinguitar starDavidGrissom,bestknown for his tenureswith (among others) Joe Ely, JohnMellencamp, and Storyville. Themusicontheeightstudiotrackshereglistenswithappealingcreativesplashes,hissignaturebristlingguitarsoundandincisivephrasingaswellasrich,smartarrangements—reallyfirst-ratestuff—plussomeauthoritativesinging.Butthelyricsareanothermatter,fulloflargelyundercookedsophomorepoetryandflaccidstringsoftattered,overdoneandsometimesevenpainful rock-songclichés like “feelin’ righteousain’tno sin,” “I’venever felt thishigh,”and“comeon,whydon’tyagivemealittlekiss?”thatseriouslyhamperthelisteningexperience.Fortunately,thealbum’sfourthtrack,“WayJose,”isasimmering,jazz-inflectedwinnerofaninstrumental.The four livenumbers that roundoutHow It Feels to Fly includeagoodbutneedlessnote-by-noterereadingoftheAllmanBrothers’“Jessica”andtoomuchofthekindofall-too-commonbloozyAustinbarmusicbestleftway inthepast.Ofcoursethere’sstillthesplendorofGrissom’splaying,andlyricalsimplicitydoeslargelyworkonhisbittersweetduetandco-writewithKacyCrowley,“Overnight.”Butthat’snotnearenoughtowarrantmuchofarecommendation.Asgiftedaguitaristashemaybe,untilheupshiswordgameorfindsanequallygiftedBernieTaupinwordsmithtohelphimfly,Grissom’ssolocareerwillnevertrulygetofftheground.—ROBPATTERSON

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reviews

UncleTupelo’s1990debutNo Depressioninadvertentlykick-startedcontemporaryalt-country,andwassoinfluentialinshapingthenewsubgenre’sstyleandsensibilitythatitstitlewasborrowedbythelong-runningmagazinethatdocumentedthescene.Thealbumalsomarked the jumping-off point for the band’s dual singer-writers, Jay Farrar and JeffTweedy,whowouldsubsequentlydevelopdifferentaspectsofUncleTupelo’spersonalitywithSonVoltandWilco,respectively. With a quarter-century’s worth of hindsight, it’s not hard to understand why No Depressionhasexercisedsuchapowerful influence.Thealbum’sastringent jangle-thrashfilters centuries of rural country, folk, and gospel influences through a scruffy garage-punkspirit,withsuchseething,grimlyresoluteoriginalsas“GraveyardShift,”“ThatYear,”“WhiskeyBottle,”“Train”and“LifeWorthLivin’”embodyingthesametimelessmelancholyastheband’sreadingsofthetradstandard“JohnHardy”andtheCarterFamily’stitlesong.AlthoughUncleTupelowouldsuccessfullyexploreamoreexpansiveapproachontheirnextthreealbums,No Depression’sone-offcollisionofpastandpresenthasneverbeenbested. Legacy’stwo-CD,35-trackexpandededition(nottobeconfusedwiththelabel’s200319-track singledisc reissue)augments theoriginalalbumwitha selectionof stray tracksfromthesameperiod,includingthegreatstand-alonesingle“IGotDrunk.”The1987-1989demosthatcompriseDiscTwoofferacompellingassortmentofworks-in-progress,near-misses,andeurekamomentsthatmakesitanilluminatingaddition.—SCOTTSCHINDER

Brooklyn’s intrepid Norton label maps the lesser-traveled backloads of rock ’n’ rollhistory,unearthingawidearrayofraw,primitive,andobscuresounds.AnexcellentexampleofNorton’sdiligentdocumentingof forgotten regional scenes is theEl Paso Rock series,whichanthologizesthewildmusicalmeltingpotofthatbordertown’smusicsceneinthelate’50sand’60s.WhileearliervolumesfocusedoncharismaticrockerBobbyFullerandbluesguitardynamoLongJohnHunter,recentinstallmentsspotlightacolorfulassortmentoflesser-knownhometownheroes. Volumes 4 and5 (Thunder andThe Troubled Streets)emphasize ’50s-vintagegreaserrock’n’rollfromthelikesofBobTaylorandtheCounts,JohnnyGarmonandtheShadows,andinstrumentalcomboNightPeople,whichchecksinwithtwoofhistory’smostblatant(andthereforegreatest)LinkWrayripoffs.Volume 6: Black Out moves intothe ’60swithasolidsetofteentunesthatdemonstratethelingeringinfluenceofBuddyHollyandthepervasiveappealofsurf-and-draginstrumentals.ThesurfmotifgetsmoreintenseonVolume 8: El Vampiro, which collects infectious instro nuggets from theMonarcs, the TorquettsandLosVampiranos;andonVolume 9: Sand Surfin’,whichaugmentssurfsoundsfromtheScavengersandtheBeachNutswithgarageattitudefromtheThingsandtheOuterLimits. Theseries’nicestsurprise,however,isVolume 7: Terry Manning and the Wild Ones,acasuallyinspiredsessionbytheteencombocutasManning’sfamilywaspreparingtomovetoMemphis(wherehewouldcarveoutacelebratedproductioncareer).Aswiththeentireseries,themusic’sunpretentiousexuberancetrumpstechnicalconcerns.—SCOTTSCHINDER

UNCLETUPELONo Depression: Legacy EditionSonyLegacy

VARIOUSARTISTSEl Paso Rock, Volume 4: ThunderEl Paso Rock, Volume 5: The Troubled StreetsEl Paso Rock, Volume 6: Black OutEl Paso Rock, Volume 7: Terry Manning and the Wild OnesEl Paso Rock, Volume 8: El VampiroEl Paso Rock, Volume 9: Sand Surfin’Norton

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reviews

The year 2014 marks the 20thanniversary of the Old 97’s, and here’sthe first thing you need to know aboutthat littlebitof trivia:Leftat facevalue,itdoesn’tmeanshit.Because inaworldwhereRollingStonesstilltourtheearth,Gene Simmons still dons the clownmakeuptohawkKISScrapandPearlJamgets played on classic rock radio, a rock’n’ roll band turning 20 years old reallydoesn’tmeritmuchfanfare.Apatontheback,perhaps,ifsaidbandhassomehowmanaged to stick it out that long withits original lineup (drummer included)intact the whole time, but congenialityandperfectattendancearen’tthekindofthingsonenormallygoesaroundbraggingaboutintheschoolofrock. That said, though, here’s the

thing about the Old 97’s turning 20that is noteworthy: In lieu of a self-congratulatory anniversary tour builtaround a deluxe reissue of their debutalbum and/or some silly fans-vote-on-the-setlist publicity stunt, they markedtheoccasionbyslammingdownthemostunrepentantly reckless and delightfullyunhingedalbumoftheircareer.Itbeginswith singer Rhett Miller saunteringstraight up to the proverbial third wall,directly addressing the listener with anopeninglinethatmightwarrantabrokennose for its cocksure, talking-to-a-childdismissive air — if only he weren’t sodisarminglycasualaboutit:“We’vebeendoingthislongerthanyou’vebeenalive.”By the time the rest of the band sidlesup beside him and kicks the nearly six-

minute“LongerThanYou’veBeenAlive”into high gear, Miller’s already in fullswagger,spinningoffawarts-and-alltaleof“20goodyearsofabout25”thatreelsfromboasttoconfessionandbackagainwitheveryverse.Fromthere,therestoftheridiculouslyaptlytitledMost Messed Upneverletsup,makingtoday’sOld97’ssound not so much 20 years older andwiser than they did on their debut 10albumsback,but20timesmorefit,feistyandfulloffight. That’s not to say that the young97’s ever lacked for energy. But it’s notswagger and rakish charm that carriedtheir 1994 debut, Hitchhike to Rhome (Big Iron Records), so much as it waspurepluckandheart—andsomeprettygreat songs. In spite of their youth, the

mr. record man | Richard Skanseold 97’s

four group members weren’t quite asfresh-scrubbed andwet behind the earsas they lookedonthebackcover;Millerand bassist Murry Hammond (six yearshis senior) had already played togetherforanumberofyearsontheDallasclubscene,havingfirstcollaboratedonasoloalbum called Mythologies that Millerrecordedwhile still inhigh school,whileguitarist/accordion player Ken Betheaand drummer Phillip Peeples had bothplayed in a noisy Butthole Surfers-styleDentonbandcalledtheSmegWentfields.Prior to forming theOld97’s,MillerandHammondhadconsciouslyretreatedfromplayinggrunge-era rock in favorofmorecoffeehouse-friendly, acoustic singer-songwriter fare, and with Betha andPeeples they pooled influences rangingfromJohnnyCashtoJoeElytorockabilly-inflected Los Angeles punk band X. Still,the alt-country sound they hit upon asOld97’swasrathernewterritoryforallofthem,whichprobablyaccountsforsomeof the winsome naiveté that pervadesHitchhike. Hammond’sWest Texas drawldoes right by Merle Haggard’s “MamaTried,” and the cover of Cindy Walker’s“Miss Molly” proved they’d done theirhomework,butoveralltheOld97’s’debutouttingdidn’tquiteconveytheinsurgentenergyofgenreforebearslikeJason&theScorchers, letalone the real-dealhonky-tonk conviction of Texas contemporariesthe Derailers. What set the Old 97’sapart from the crowd, though, was theprecocious wit of Miller’s songwriting,with“St.Ignatius”and“504”establishingfrom the get-go his trademark knackfor folding twitchy hormonal angst andbookish wordplay into spry, clever, andcatchy little short stories and charactersnapshots.Thebrooding“WishtheWorst”proved he could deliver a convincinglybitterbarstoollament,too. While the Old 97’s nascent countrystylings came off a tad stiff and studiedon their first record, they loosed upimmeasurably onstage,where their rockandpunktendenciescametotheforetoputmorebangintheirtwangandhustleto their shuffles. That was the countryshow they tookon the road, andwithina year they were signed to BloodshotRecords — the Chicago-based indielabel launched in 1993 thatwould growup to be the Sub Pop of y’allternativeroots punk and the scruffier, scrappierhemisphere of the Americana musicworld. Most of Bloodshot’s fame wouldcomeaftertheOld97’sshortstintonthelabel, but bragging rights for releasingthe band’s second album and the onethat sparked an honest-to-goodness

major-labelbiddingwarwentalongwaystoward putting the upstart label on themap.Towit:Bloodshot’swebsitestillcallsthe97’sWreck Your Life(1996)“ourfirsthit record (sort of).” Plenty of hardline,old-school alt-country fanatics (the kindwho likely keep a library of every issueof No Depression ever printed, or whostubbornly maintain that Son Volt willalways be the better band than Wilco)might even insist that it’s the best Old97’s album, if only because it was theirlast before “selling out” andmoving upto themajors.They’rewrong,ofcourse,butitisthebetteroftheband’sfirsttwoefforts. Although Miller’s lyrics are stilltheband’s strongest asset here (“This isthe story of Victoria Lee/She started offonPercodanandendedupwithme/ShelivedinBerkeley‘tilltheearthquakeshookher loose/She lives in Texas now wherenothin’ evermoves”), the performancesthroughout find the 97’s walking thejagged line betweencountry and rock farmore assertively thanthey did on Hitchhike.Witness their secondcrack at “Doreen,” anenduring fan favoritefirst cutasa spry littlebluegrass numberon their debut; onWreck Your Life, theyditch the banjos andmandolin but notthe frantic tempo,barreling through theparanoidlovesonglikea runaway train — orlike a now-seasonedroadbanddonewithplayingdressup.(Asif todrive thatpoint furtherhome, theyalsoforgobanjosontheHammond-sungcover of bluegrass legend Bill Monroe’s“MySweetBlue-EyedDarlin’.”) As good as Wreck Your Life was,though(alongwithmostofthematerialthatdidn’tmakethealbum,laterreleasedbyBloodshotontheterrificeight-songEPEarly Tracks in2000),itwasontheirnextthree records — all on Elektra — thattheOld97’sreallyhittheirstride.Byanysensiblemeasure,1997’sToo Far to Care was the high-water mark of the band’searly years; itwas also their last albumonwhichtheyembracedthealt-countrygenre from start to finish, and theyclosed off that chapter of their careerwithawhollysatisfyingbang.Inbetweenthe opening blitz of “Timebomb” andthe closing “Four Leaf Clover” (anotherHitchhike do-over, this time with bandhero Exene Cervenka of X added to the

combustible mix), Too Far plays like abest-ofinallbutname,withatleasthalfofthesongs(including“BigBrownEyes”and Hammond’s “W. TX Teardrops”)remaining staples in theband’s live setstothepresentday.Butevenonanalbumstuffed full of time-tested fan favorites,“Barrier Reef” stands out as the Old97’s own “Satisfaction.” From its cockybut drunkenly just-off-kilter swingingversestoitssoaring,shout-along-worthychorus,it’saperfectstormofeverythingthebanddoesbesthonedtoperfection.It also serves as pretty boy Miller’stextbook guide to scoring: It doesn’tmatter if your opening pick-up line’s agroaner (“My name’s Stewart RansomMiller,I’maserialladykiller”),solongasyoualsocomepackingahooktodiefor. AlloftheabovemadeToo Far to Care a very tough act to follow, but 1999’sFight Songs coulda been a contender ifonly ithada littlemoreeyeof thetiger

in its tank. It’s got top-notch songs tospare, most notably “Jagged,” “BustedAfternoon,” “Valentine” (Hammond’sfinest contribution to date at the time),and especially “Murder (Or a HeartAttack),”inwhichapanickedMillerloseshis shit (but not his melodic cool) overlosinghisgirlfriend’scat.Butascatchyandcleverasthesongsare,there’sa lackofcharacteristicOld97’sspunkandenergytotherecordasawholethatpullsFight Songs’ punch. It’s a transitional record,too,markedbymorejanglethantwangassomeofthe97’s(perhapsmosttellinglyMiller) were beginning to growwary ofbeingpigeonholedbythesoundoftheirfirstthreealbums.Expandingtheirsonicplaying field would serve them well inthelongrun,butthesomewhathesitantbabystepsonFight Songsbeliedacertainlack of focus and all-in commitment tochangingdirection.Correctingthatwouldmake all the difference in theworld on

While the Old 97’s nascent country stylings came off a tad stiff and studied on their first record, they loosened up immeasurably onstage, where their rock and punk tendancies came to the fore to put more bang in their twang and hustle to their shuffles.


theirnextalbum. Satellite Rides (2001)was the gamechanger. Maybe not quite on the samelevelasDylangoingelectric, theBeatlesfindingtheirRubber SoulorU2choppingdown their Joshua tree and shouting“achtung, baby,” but still a decisiveturning point for the Old 97’s. For fansalong for the ride (ornot), this iswhereyou either get off the train for good toseek solace in your copy ofWreck Your Lifeandwonderwhereitallwentwrong,or strap in, let go of the past, crank itup and sing along with “King of All theWorld” like it’s one of the greatest popsongsever—because itprettymuch is.Well, at least until its 2minutes and 52seconds is up and “Rollerskate Skinny”grabs hold, only to be knocked awayitselfby“BuickCityComplex,”“Bird inaCage,”and,well,onandon it goes, justblastafterblastofmercilesslycatchyandbreathless exuberance. Halfway throughthe band does ease off the pedal longenough for the short-but-sweet sigh of“Question,” thengivesa littlenodandawink tocountrywith“Am ITooLate”asiftosay,“Yeah,wecanstilldothat,ifwewanna …” But overall Satellite Rides ispure,unadulteratedpowerpop,andtheOld97’spullitoffsowellthatnomatterhowfarremoveditmaybefromToo Far to Care,it’severybitasessential. Ofcourse,youwouldn’tknowanyofthat based on the album’s commercialsuccess;Satellite RidespeakedatNo.121on theBillboard Top 200 and ended upbeingtheOld97’slastalbumonElektra.Itwasn’tMiller’s,though;in2002thelabelreleasedthesinger’sfirstsoloalbumThe Instigator (his “first” as in the first thathe still claims, having long-sincewrittenofftheout-of-printMythologies, withits

affected faux Bowie/Morrissey Britishaccent,asahigh-schoolfling).AccordingtoMiller,The Instigatorwascomprisedofsongspassedonbytherestoftheband,which is bafflingbecausemost if not allofthem(inparticularstandoutslike“OurLove” and “Hover”)would havefit right

in on Satellite Rides.Attheveryleast,it’salotclosertothespiritofRidesthanthenext Old 97’s album, 2004’sDrag It Up (theirfirst forNewWestRecords,whichwouldbetheirhomethroughtherestofthedecade.)Asfreshstartsgo,itsoundslikeabandwakinguponthewrongsideofthebedandburyingitsheadbackunderthe covers. For better or worse, MarkNeill’smurkyproductioncertainlyfitsthemood, drowning songs like “BorrowedBride” (“life comes apart at the seams,it seems”) in echoand cloaking “ValiumWaltz” in a Velvet Underground-y haze.Sometimes the narcotic pace yieldsreal beauty, as in the languidbutpretty“Satellite Rides a Star,” but the album’smost redeeming moments come whenthe band snaps awake and lashes outlike a poked bear. The opening “Won’tBeHomeNoMore”and theHammond-sung “Smokers” throw off some much-welcomekineticsparks,andtheexcellent“TheNewKid”—notefornoteoneofthemostthrillingsongsintheentireOld97’sarsenal— bristleswith snarling, frayed-edgedramaticintensity.Moreoftenthannot,though,Drag It Upisabitofadrag. Fortunately, the double-discAlive & Wired (2005, NewWest) lives up to itsname in spades. The Old 97’s first livealbumisa30-tracktourdeforcethatnotonly captureseveryounceof sweatandenergyoftheband(andasuitablyhyper-enthusedcrowd)goingforbrokeovertwonights at Texas’ legendary Gruene Hall,butalsofits thebill asahighlyeffectivegreatest hits survey. A better one forcertain than the single-disc 2006Rhino/Elektra compilation Hit By a Train: The Best of Old 97’s, though the latterdoesfeaturetheband’sspiritedcoverofMartyRobbins’ classic “El Paso.” Completeists

anddiehardswillwanttodownloadthatone track and skip over the rest of Hit By a Train in favorof2012’sThey Made a Monster: The Too Far to Care Demos (Omnivore),asurprisinglylistenablebare-bones/no-drums peek into the album’sfetal period, and the 2013 Old 97’s &

Waylon Jennings EP (Omnivore), whichfinallybringstolightapairofpreviouslyunreleased songs the band cut backingthe legendaryoutlaw—anavowed97’sfan—in1997,alongwithfourmore97’sdemosfrom1996. Career-spanning live albums,retrospectives, and vault releases aside,though, the Old 97’s weren’t doneproducing new music by a long shot.In fact, the last decade has yielded abountiful haul of new material fromthe band, both solo and together. SinceThe Instigator, Miller has knocked outa handful of other quality solo albums:2006’s The Believer (Vanguard), 2009’sRhett Miller (Shout! Factory), 2011’sall-covers The Interpreter: Live at Largo (Maximum Sunshine), 2012’s The Dreamer (Maximum Sunshine), and2013’s The Dreamer: Acoustic Version (Maximum Sunshine). Hammond alsoreleasedaquietlybeautifulsolosetofhisown,I Don’t Know Where I’m Going But I’m On My Way (2008,Humminbird).Allofthoseareworthseekingout,butnonesomuchastheOld97’s2008albumBlame It On Gravity(NewWest).AssatisfyingasDrag It Upwasmostlyfrustrating,Gravity reclaimed the buoyant rush of Satellite Rides but with a pinch more rootsycharacterreminiscentofToo Far to Care,findingtheperfectbalancebetweenthetwostylesthatFight Songsswungatbutnever quite hit. Every song’s a keeper,especially Hammond’s two sterlingcontributions(“ThisBeautifulThing”and“Color of a Lonely Heart is Blue”) andthe closing “The One,” in which Millernarratesafantasyaboutthebandpullingoff a bank heist. Whether it’s all just atongue-in-cheek daydream or actuallya clever metaphor waxing nostalgic

about their days beingwined-and-dinedby major-label A&R scouts (an earlyversionofthesongcanbeheardontheaforementioned They Made a Monster collection of Too Far to Care demos) isopentointerpretation,buteitherway,it’salaugh-out-loudhoot.

Satellite Rides is where you either get off the train for good to seek solace in your copy of Wreck Your Life and wonder where it all went wrong, or strap in, let go of the past, crank it up and sing along with “King of All the World” like it’s one of the greatest pop songs ever — because it pretty much is.



Preceded by the fun but throwawayMimeograph (2010, NewWest), a four-song EP of covers bookended by theRolling Stones’ “Rocks Off” and DavidBowie’s “Five Years,” the Old 97’s nextunveiledtheirmostambitious—atleastintheory—endeavortodate:asprawling,25-songdoublealbumprojectcalledThe Grand Theatre.Unfortunately,whatcouldhave been an epic (if gluttonous) feastwas lessened somewhat by the band’sandNewWest’sadmittedlymoresensiblebut lessspecial-feelingdecision tospit itin half and release the two parts a yearapart, with The Grand Theatre Volume One issuedin2010andThe Grand Theatre Volume Two followingin2011.Tobefair,there’s still a wealth of good materialspread out across the two volumes,and it’seasyenough tomakeone’sown“complete” Grand Theatre playlist oniTunes.Butontheirown,neitherhalffeelsquitelikeawhollysatisfyingandcohesivealbum, a la Too Far to Care, Satellite Rides, andBlame It On Gravity, somuchas a random collection of mostly prettygood songs thrown together by chance.Quibbles aside, though, as potlucks go

it’s a decent spread, with Volume One’s“The Grand Theatre,” “Every Night IsFriday Night (Without You),” “A State ofTexas” and “You Smoke Too Much” allworth going back to for seconds, alongwithVolume Two’s“Perfume,”“NoSimpleMachine,” and the sublime “How LovelyAllItWas”(yetanotherstunnerfromtheever-dependableHammond.) While The Grand Theatre, whethertakenall-togetherorinhalves,ultimatelydidn’tquitemeasureuptothegrandeurpromised in its name, the new Most Messed Up (2014, ATO) delivers exactlyas advertised. Song for song, it’s theOld 97’s’ most rock ’n’ roll record todate: as rollicking as Too Far to Care and tuneful as Satellite Rides, but reallycloser in spirit, attitude, and executionto the Faces or Stones at their sloppybest or the Replacements at their mostendearingly, well, fucked up (’Mats vetTommyStinsoneventurnsuponacoupleof tracks, most notably the gloriouslyornery “Intervention.”) Elsewhere,Millergleefully dropsenough f-bombs that therest of the band (all of them, likeMillerhimself,dadsofyoungchildren)reportedly

flinched before collectively saying “fuckit”themselves.TheolderStewartRansomMillerisalotmoredirectthanhisyoungerself in other ways, too, dispensing withthe“I’maserialladykiller”smalltalkandcutting right to the chase via “Let’s GetDrunk&GetItOn.”AndthoughnoteverysongonMost Messed Uphitsashardandfastas“Intervention,”“Nashville,”andthetitletrack,therearenoballadshere:Thesong actually called “This Is the Ballad”reallyisn’t,andevenHammond—who’susuallyalwaysgood foronereallypretty songper97’salbum—rockslikeabastardonhisonenumberhere, “TheExofAllYouSee.” No, subtle the Old 97’s’ latestalbum most definitely is not. Instead,Most Messed Up is the sound of four40-somethings taking their younger20-something selves to task by callingtheirownbluffandraisingthestakes: “Wreckyourlife,yousay?We’vebeendoingthis longerthanyou’vebeenalive,kids—andthisishowit’sdone.”

1.Too Far to Care(Elektra,1997)YoucouldstartwithHitchhike to RhomeandWreck Your Life,whichcharttherapiddevelop-mentoftheOld97’sintooneofthebestalt-countrybandsofthegenre’s’90sheyday,buttheirthirdalbumiswheretheyreallygottheiracttogether.Thesongsareassmartastheyarefun,asmuchrock’n’rollastheyarecountry,andtheystillsoundasfreshandexcitingtodayastheydidwaybackinthedayswhenascrappybandofX-loving,insurgentTexashonky-tonkerscouldgetmajorlabelsallhotandbothered.Tracks:“BarrierReef,”“TimeBomb,”“Broadway,”“FourLeafClover”

2.Satellite Rides(Elektra,2001)ThealbumonwhichtheOld97’slearnedtostopworryingaboutstickingtoalt-countryformandjustlovethejoyofplayingpurepowerpop.Asinvigoratingasashotofadrenalinetoheartbutahelluva lotmore fun.Deliriously catchy fromstart tofinish, andmoreoften thannotprettyrocking,too.KeyTracks:“KingofAlltheWorld,”“RollerskateSkinny,”“BuickCityComplex,”“BirdInaCage,”“DesignsonYou”and,well,thewholerestofthealbum.

3. Alive & Wired(NewWest,2005)TheOld97’sattheirbest—liveinTexas—blastingthroughabulletproof30-songsetlistspan-ningtheirfirst10years,coveringallthe“hits”(“BarrierReef,”“TimeBomb,”“Jagged,”“Murder(OraHeartAttack),”“RollerskateSkinny,”etc.)alongwithfan-favoritegemspluckedfromtheirnot-quite-there-yetdebutandevenacoupleofprettyfreakinggreatsongs(mostnotablythefierce“TheNewKid”)from2004’sotherwisesortadullDrag It Up.KeyTracks:“TheNewKid,”“Won’tBeHome,”“Murder(OraHeartAttack),”“WishtheWorst”

4.Blame It On Gravity(NewWest,2008)WhileAlive & Wiredshowedthatthe97’scoulddeliverthegoodsonstage,Blame It On Gravity provedtheycouldstillcomethroughinthestudio,too.Thesongsmightnotallbeasimmedi-ateastheoneson Satellite Rideswere,buttherearehooksaplentyherealongwithapleasingundercurrentoftheirold-schoolalt-countrysound.Every97isinpeakformonthisone,butbassistMurryHammondtakesMVPhonorsforwritingandsingingthetwobestsongs,theup-lifting“ThisBeautifulThing”andtheachinglylovely“ColorofaLonelyHeartIsBlue.”KeyTracks:“ThisBeautifulThing,”“TheOne,”“ColorofaLonelyHeartIsBlue,”“TheFool”

5.Most Messed Up (ATO,2014)Thetitleofthisonesaysitall.Tenstudioalbumsand20yearsintotheircareer,theOld97’sstaredowntheirmid-lifecrisis likewillfulSOBswhorefusetosoberup,flystraight,sittheirassesdownandplayboringfolktuneswhentheycanstillgetdrunkand“getiton”betterthanever.Afterall,theymaybeallgrown-upnowwithfamiliesandkids,butallgrown-upmengottawork;andastheysayfromtheget-goon“LongerThanYou’veBeenAlive,”shakingtheirassesandrockingouteverynight isn’t justwhattheseguysdotomakealiving, it’sreallyalltheywanttodo.KeyTracks:“LongerThanYou’veBeenAlive,”“Nashville,”“MostMessedUp,”“Intervention,”“Let’sGetDrunk&GetItOn”

Mr.RecordMan’sTopFiveOld97’sAlbums



frontman chose to record her tune “AlltheTime”foracompilationBloodshotputtogetherofartistsdoingsongswrittenbytheirpeers. And for all the talk of Loveless’enviable vocal abilities, it is as asongwriter that she wants to be mostidentified. So it’s people like Nick Loweand fellow Bloodshot artist Scott Biram,twoofherfavoritesongwriters,whoshemost strives to emulate these days. SherespectsLowe’sabilitytosurpriseinsong(“Younever really knowwhat’s going tohappen,”shesays),andofthe lattershe

simplyeffuses, “He’s just suchabadass!Andareallygreatguy.” Loveless serves up plenty of newsurprises and badass moments of herown on the aptly titled Somewhere Else, which came about only after shefirst scrapped an entire album’s worthof songs because she originally felt shewas trying too hard to hue to the alt-country firebrand persona thrust uponher after Indestructible Machine. Butfrom“Wine Lips” and its boozybarstoolplea(“Igotabadidea…Iwannakissyourwine lips”) and the steelish confessional

“Everything’s Gone” to the hard-edged“Head” (inspired by the desire to getsame) and the let-me-back-in-your-life-dammit rocker “ReallyWanna See You,”thenewrecord findsLovelessstrikingtheperfect balance of forceful honky-tonkandball-bustingStratstrumming. “I’m just sort of relaxing into mysongwritingpersonality,”saysLoveless.“Ifeelcomfortablenow,whereasitusedtobemoreofastruggle…And,ah,IguessIjustreallyliketorock.”

Lydia Loveless Cont.from page 21

Hecooks,too

That song highlights another Fostertrait:He’sagoodguy.Alikable,friendly,caringperson,notthekindofNashvillian(orNashvillain)who’sconstantlylookingover shoulders at parties for someonemoreimportanttotalkto.Hedoesalotof charitable work, too; in addition tohostinganannualfundraiseratSt.Luke’sEpiscopal School in San Antonio for ascholarship his family established in hisfather’smemory,healsohelpedDardenSmith launch SongwritingWith:Soldiers,which works with veterans to channeldamaging military experiences intohealing song. He often performs atfriends’ fundraisers, and he and Ingramhave even auctioned off gigs for eachother’scharities. Fosteralsohappenstobeagourmetchef andwine connoisseur. A few yearsago, he began booking private dinner-and-concert experiences forwell-heeledfans,includingalltheshoppingandfoodprep. And wine selection; for an eight-person dinner party, he’ll spend morethanagrandonwinealone. “It’samealofalifetime,”hepromises. Rogerssaysfabulousdinnersarejustone of the reasons he loves heading toFoster’shouseforwritingsessions. “It’s a big deal to get towrite withRadney. He’s one of the greatestwe’veever had, not only from Texas but incountry music,” Rogers says. “It’s a fundayandit’salsosomethingthatmeansawholelottome.” (“He’s like a littlebrother tome.Hereally is,” Foster respondswhenhearingaboutRogers’praise.) Ingram says songwriters in generaldon’t tend to be “cheerful, cheerleadingtypes.” “They’re not real nurturers,” henotes, adding, “That’s totally cool, butwhenImetRadney,IwassoexcitedthatI foundafriendwhowasanexceptional

songwriter,thatIcouldalwaysgototheirsongs to be inspired, but then also tomeethimandbelike,man,he’sobviouslygonnabeagreat friend. Icantellhe’saguyIcancounton. “Ofallmysongwritingbuddies,he’sprobably the most reliable. I know ifheand Ihave somethingon thebooks,when I show up, he’s gonna be there. Which I can’t say about everybody —andwouldn’twantto.That’spartofthefunandmysteryofitall.” Likeninghisfellowsongwriterstothesuperstition-andritual-obsessedbaseballplayers in Bull Durham, Ingram says,“RadneyremindsmeoftheKevinCostnercharacter. He’s like, ‘Yeah, man, it’s allpreciousandallthatshit,butjustfuckin’pitchtheball.’He’ssuchasteadyingforce.That’swhyIlovehim.” Butoneofhis favorite storiesabouthis friend has to dowith Foster’s softerside,and theirmutual respect formusicandoneother. Songwriterstendtobe insecure; forIngram, that meant it was sometimeshard to tell when he hit the proverbialmark with a song. One night, he andfellow singer-songwriter Jon RandallwerehangingoutwithFoster,discussingapotentialproject. “SoIplayedthemasong.AnditwasasongthatIhadwrittenandrewrittenatmypiano, late at night, over the courseofafewmonths.Ireallyputsomeeffortinto this song, to justbeashonestas itneededtobe,ashonestasIcouldbe;toreallydigoutthetruth,”Ingramrecalls. “We were drinking whiskey, andRadney gets pretty funny. He’s a gooddrunk;anemotionaldrunk.Andhedoesconsiderhimselfamentorofmine,asIdohim.Butit’snotsomethingwetalkaboutin conversation all the time. Anyway, Iplayed him this song; it’s called ‘AllOverAgain.’ And I looked up and Radneywasbawling—full-on,snot-coming-out-of-his-

nosecrying.AndIwas like, ‘Allright!Youfuckin’didit.Youmadeoneofyourheroeslistentoasongallthewaythrough—it’safucking6-minutesong—andyounailedhim.’ … It really was a moment where Iwaslike,yes,Idothinkofyouasamentor,andthefactthatIreallydidhonestlynailyouwiththissongissomethingthateverysongwriter, when you’re around othersongwriters, is trying to do. I’ve neverlooked back, as far as second-guessingmyself.I’llneverdoitagain.” Ingram is just about done recordinganewalbum,butwhenhespoke for thisstory,hewassearchingforonemoretune. “IwantaSongoftheYear,”headmits.“I want something that’s, like, a game-changer for me. If I’m gonna go in andcut one more song, I’m just lookin’ forsomethingthat’sthebestthatIcanfind. “That’s why I’m looking throughRadney’sstuff.I’mlookingforthosekindsofsongs.”


Radney foster Cont.from page 51

Also in Llano, Fort Worth Stockyards, and coming soon to Austin

Zach Jennings: Old97’s, Most Messed Up

Richard Skanse: RodneyCrowell,Tarpaper Sky

KrisFranks:JenniferJackson, Texas Sunrise

KristenTownsend:JohnFullbright,Songs

MelissaWebb:LakeStreetDive, Bad Self Portraits

KallieTownsend:MidnightRiverChoir,Fresh Air

KelsiLaningham:SeanMcConnell,B Side Sessions

TravisRussom:MidnightRiverChoir,Fresh Air

Promise Udo: NikkiLane,All or Nothin’

EricaBrown:RandyRogersBand,Homemade Tamales: Live at Floore’s

LoneStarMusic Staff Picks

2.MidnightRiverChoir,Fresh Air3.ChrisGougler,Chris GouglerEP4.JoshGrider,Luck & Desire5.AaronEinhouse,Blue Collar Troubadour6.TheBigsbys,Good Will Suitcase7.KevinFowler,How Country Are Ya?8.CodyJohnsonBand,Cowboy Like Me9.Drive-ByTruckers,English Oceans10.EliYoungBand,10,000 Towns11.JacksonTaylor&theSinners,Live at Billy Bob’s(CD/DVDCombo)12.JasonEady,Daylight & Dark13.BrianKeane, Coming Home14.WhiskeyMyers,Early Morning Shakes15.ParkerMillsap,Parker Millsap16.RodneyCrowell, Tarpaper Sky17.JasonIsbell,Southeastern18.WilliamClarkGreen,Rose Queen19.RecklessKelly,Long Night Moon20.ZaneWilliams,Overnight Success21.CodyCanada, Some Old, Some New, Maybe a Cover or Two22.HardWorkingAmericans,Hard Working Americans23.TurnpikeTroubadours,Diamonds & Gasoline24.TurnpikeTroubadours,Goodbye Normal Street25.BrandonSteadmanBand,Recovery26.RobertEllis,Lights From the Chemical Plant 27.BrettHauser,A Little More Time28.GaryFloater,Who Cares: The Songs of Gary Floater29.CurtisGrimes,Our Side of the Fence30.Old97’s, Most Messed Up31.JasonEady,AM Country Heaven32.JasonBoland&theStragglers,Dark & Dirty Mile33.JeffWhithead,Bloodhound Heart34.MandoSaenz,Studebaker35.WaltWilkins&theMystiqueros,Wildcat Pie & the Great Walapateya36.SamRiggs&theNightPeople,Outrun the Sun37.LincolnDurham,Exodus of the Deemed Unrighteous38.DollyShine,Room to Breathe39.ThievingBirds,Gold Coast40.UncleLucius,And You Are Me

M a y , 2 0 1 4

This chart is sponsored by

1.RandyRogersBand,Homemade Tamales: Live at Floore’s

Lonestarmusic top 40


River Road Ice House — New Braunfels, Texas By Dale Martin

NOTNEW,BUTBETTERTHANEVER:(fromleft)TheRiverRoadIceHouseinNewBraunfels,perfectlylocatedonthe“Y”forthosewholiketochasetheirdaysontheriverwithnightsfullofliveTexasmusic;theCourtNanceBandperformingonthe“day”stageofthenewBierGardenatRiverRoad’sgrandre-openinginApril;co-ownersNickSisoianandhissister,AllieSisoian,whoboughttheIceHouselastyearandspentmonthsgivingitatop-to-bottomrenovation.(FirstphotocourtesyofRiverRoadIceHouse;othertwobyDaleMartin)

AsmusicvenuesintheTexasHillCoun-try region go, the River Road Ice Housedoesn’t need much of an introduction.Situated less thanaquartermile fromtheGuadalupeRiver,atthe“Y”onRiverRoad,theIceHousehaslongbeentheidealdes-tination for those looking to enjoy tubingand livemusic inthesameafternoon.Theoriginalstructuredatesbacktothe1930s,andovertheyearshasbeenknownastheRiverRoadGeneralStore,AmigoMel’sandMolly’s Oasis. It was renamed River RoadIceHousein2001,whenitsownersatthetimeshiftedtheirfocusfromtubeandcabinrentalstobookinglivemusic.Sincethen,theplacehashostedawho’swhoofactsfromtheTexascountry,RedDirt,andAmericanascene—includingmanyanartistplayedinregularrotationonNewBraunfels’KNBT-FM,located less thanabeeraway fromthe IceHouse’sfrontdoor.PatGreenandCoryMor-rowbothplayedtobigcrowdstherebackintheday,andtheEliYoungBandgotatasteof things to come when they headlined asold-out show at River Road shortly afterreleasing theirdebutalbum.Sowhen localbusinessman Nick Sisoian purchased thepropertylastyear,hewaskeenlyawarethathewasbuyingapieceofTexasmusichistory. HealreadyownedBilly’sIce,acozynight-club inside the city limits that features livemusicnightly,butwithRiverRoadIceHouse,hesawabiggerpicture.“IknewIwantedtogetmoreinvolvedinthemusicbusiness,soIwaslookingforsomethingwhentheoppor-

tunitycamealongtopurchaseRiverRoadIceHouse,”hesays.“Butgettingittowhereitisnowhasbeenan18monthprocess.” It’s that “getting it towhere it isnow”partthat’skeyhere.Becausefromthemo-menthetookover,Sisoian’sgoalhasbeennotjusttobuyintoRiverRoad’spast,buttoinvestinthevenue’sfuturebytakingagreatvenueandfindingwaystomakeitevenbet-ter.Hestartedwiththemainoutdoorstage,whichwasbigenoughforsomeofthemostpopularactsonthescenebutawkwardlysit-uated,facingawayfromanexistinghillside. “That was one of the first things weknewweneeded tochange,” saysSisoian.“Wemoved thebigoutdoor stage so thatitfacedthehill,whichmadefulluseofthenatural amphitheater. We also added VIPseating on the roof of the original build-ing, but I kept the general admission areainfrontofthestage.Thiswasimportanttome,becauseIwantedfansthatcouldn’taf-fordahigherticketpricetobeabletocomeand see a good show without having tospendalotofmoney.” HealsoaddedaBierGardenareaandacousticstage.“Thenicestpartoftheprop-ertywasusedtohousearowofportapot-ties,”herecallswithalaugh.“Sowemovedthoseoutandputinanicesittingareaandacousticstage.Nowpeoplewillhaveaplacetogetawayfromthecrowds,hangoutandenjoyadrink.” Sisoianlooksforwardtoutilizingthere-modeled venue for charity events, like the

oneshe’shostedathisothervenue.“We’veheldmanyeventsatBilly’sIce,like‘LocksForLove’ and various artist benefit shows,” hesays.“Sofarwe’veraisedover$300,000forcharity.WithRiverRoad IceHouse,wecantakethattothenextlevel.” Andthoughall theupgradesentailedalotoftimeandhardwork,theendresult—asrevealedatagrandre-openingcelebrationinApril—isindeedimpressive.Thisisanight-and-daytotalmakeoverfromthegroundup.Andit’snotjustthefactthatRiverRoadnowboasts four different stages, each designedforadifferenttypeofshow; it’stheoverallvibeoftheplacethat’schanged,too—andfor the better.Whereas the venue used tohaveaverytouristyairabout it,simplybe-causeof its location, it nowhasmoreof ahometownfeel—thekindofhangoutthatthecommunitycantrulycallitsown. Of course, visitors are still very muchwelcome.AndwiththeRiverRoadIceHousenowhostinglivemusicsevendaysaweek—withbigplansunderwayforasummercon-certseriesplusmajorshowsintheworksforallcomingholidayweekendsand theannualGreenfest comingupon July26— itprob-ablywon’tbelongbeforemusicfansfromallovertheTexasHillCountryandbeyondstartfeelingrightathomehere,too. River Road Ice House, 1791 Hueco Springs Loop Road, New Braunfels, Texas 78132; (830) 626-1335; www.riverroadicehouse.com.

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