Flanfire

And in Austin, “characters” means — well, you know.  [This is catching up with weeks of writing in one fell swoop – and splitting things up so each post will be manageable structurally. 

But every picture tells a story.  Pic 1 here features two of my favorite young singers in town — each from a music-driven family.  Corrina Rachel and Miranda Dawn both sing jazz — both have dads who are well-known Austin players, and both were having a lot of fun at the Belleville Outfit concert at Momo’s on July 17th.  Miranda is also singing with T-Bird and the Breaks these days (for example, this Friday at the Mohawk), while Corrina and her Dream Band are playing here and there and she is also doing some solo shows.

Pic 2 is Christian Ward, banjo player and singer-songwriter (along with Talia Sekons and Marc Lionetti) in the Lost Pines — who will play again on August 2 at the Bluegrass Brunch at Threadgills Old No. 1.  I will never forget that night at Momo’s a while back when Christian was first telling me about his great band — and another night (well, many) when he was pinching himself over the affections of a certain young lady bootmaker.  I love this band!

Pic 3 shows Dan Dyer and Suzanna Choffel, who will be sharing the stage with Joanna Barbera at Momo’s Club on Friday.  Dan used to be a very good-looking, and good, singer — but he returned from a trip to Marfa a few weeks ago with a passel of brand-new songs that come from a place deep inside this man that we fans have not seen that much of — and the result is a new power in his voice, a new spring in his step, and a new grace on and off the stage that hopefully will open many doors. 

Pic 4 is 14-year-old Ruby Jane Smith (at Threadgill’s on Riverside on July 30th) at a recent show at the Saxon Pub that was in large part a taping for some television pilot or series in which she has a major role.   This youngster with an old soul and great command of her stage is a national treasure — I strongly advise getting to one of her shows before people realize she has been touring with Willie Nelson and Ray Benson and appeared on the Grand Old Opry with the likes of Marty Stuart and Big and Rich.  Meanwhile, she is still playing free shows here in town — and jamming and learning from a whole host of Austin’s finest (or at least best) old music hands, just as she did as a young child in Mississippi before moving down here.

Pic 5 is my pal PJ Harrington, who moved to Austin to play reggae with Kris Brown and is the lead guitarist in Graham Wilkinson’s Underground Nation but has the soul of a folksinger — and a lot of chops learned from folks like John Hartford.  Not bad for a kid from Cincinnati.  Pic 6 is THE DAILY DOUBLE TRIPLE!  Justin Wade Thompson on bass (background) and Hunter Thompson Singleton (Nathan’s little brother) on vocals and guitar — at Momo’s Club a while back.  The Sideshow Tragedy served as Hunter’s backing band as he writhed and glistened to hynotize his audience with tales of the macabre and the mundane — beautifully orchestrated to hold one’s attention.