My wife and I ran in to Jon Dee Graham at the grocery store. Every time I see Jon I bug him about how much I like this Calvin Russell record he played on from 1994. It was probably a tiny snapshot in his musical life but I have a big old framed poster size appreciation for that record. It’s bare bones Texas Rock’n’Roll that is easy to fantasize about but has rarely surfaced. It’s Townes meets ZZ Top meets Waylon at the Opry House in 74. There is a cult of believers behind those wandering Austin gypsy cowboys who surfed the couches and played their songs for tips on battered acoustic guitars at the Austex and the Outhouse in the late 70’s and 80’s. I like to fit in a few of my licks with that crowd every so often even if I missed the glory days by a few years. Continue reading “Standing in the Storm”
New Orleans in 89
It was the summer of 1989 in New Orleans. I was 17 years old and on the roam with no direction. I knew I wanted to play music but I didn’t know how to go about it. I’d left behind a pretty good punk rock band in Las Cruces, NM, who’d just recorded a cassette tape of 5 or 6 original songs. I was struggling to reconcile my rootsier musical vision with the joy of bashing out loud music with my buddies. I enjoyed my place in the punk band but I never felt like it was really me. Continue reading “New Orleans in 89”
Drifting
In the fall of 2012 I took a twelve day trip to NYC, barely beating Hurricane Sandy by switching flights and getting out a day early. A wild late night cab ride from Brooklyn took me to Newark to catch a super early flight while the city prepared itself for disaster. I’d gone to NYC to play a bunch of very low key funky solo gigs and try to connect with some people I’d crossed paths with. Austin is a great town but undoubtedly it will put you in a box. This place has it’s A-teams and first stringers and those much deserved and highly talented people collect all of the spoils while a whole lot of deserved and highly talented people toil in obscurity. Continue reading “Drifting”