Flanfire

This is a hodge-podge — starting at the end, working back a bit … Tonight a bunch of us gathered at Flipnotics to visit in their “living room” with Raina Rose, Drew Pressman and their handsome offspring — with the bonus of hearing Johann (or J) Wagner and special guest Wilson Marks. This was Raina’s first public performance since she was great with child, and she admitted her callouses had disappeared but she and Johann (and also Wilson) tossed out songs that in many cases were full-house sing-alongs and in some cases were heard in rapt silence. I met Jen Hitt, another Austin newcomer, songwriter and host of WAMU 88.5′s (Washington, DC) Capital Americana radio show (yeah, it streams!). She has a show upcoming at the Irie Bean! [Sidebar -- Marks, it seems, once gave a guitar lesson to a very young Matt McCloskey, which apparently worked!]

Earlier today, I got to hear the Jackie Myers Band (Jackie, Mike Brinley, Mark Williams, and Stewart Lane) for the first time since before they went into the studio to cut a new record (release date in early spring 2012). People at the Cedar Park Farmers’ Market loved what they were hearing. I did too!

Friday night Brett Randell had a welcome home to Austin show at One 2 One Bar — soon to be relocating to an as yet undisclosed location, but not before a knock-down New Year’s Eve show hosted by the venerable Donny Jones! Then it was over to Skinny’s Ballsoom (thanks Brad and Maggie for keeping this great room alive!), and I got there in time for some of Kyle Offidani’s amazing guitar work. I was there mainly to hear Digital Antique, one of my favorites (two violins, a viola, a cello, plus electric guitar and electric bass and drums) … and soon, apparently, a vocalist as well! Stay tuned! I stuck around for the second Austin show of The Bellmen (featuring Travis Sutherland of Utopia Fest fame) plus Dustin Halsell (lead guitar), Reid Faist (drums), Jeremiah Silsby (bass), and Benjamin Taylor (keys). Lots of energy there — and they rocked on in spite of equipment issues.

Thursday night was pretty special — the night before I had run into James Hyland while watching Amanda Cevallos at the Broken Spoke (happy hour, with Glen Rexach on guitar!), and he told me about a benefit he was playing the next day – at Spicewood Elementary. So I get there and it is the Stonecastle Family Band, which I had not seen since Lauryn Gould was a teenager (or so) singing with her dad (Rick Steinburg), his wife Deby, and her sisters at the Triumph Cafe (long before I actually MET Lauryn, my favorite flutist/keyboardist). The benefit was for a beloved teacher who has tongue cancer … and it was well attended! Hyland played a set with Will Dupuy on bass and Bobby Socia on guitar; Datri Bean put on an amazing show on piano and accordian; Ryan Gould and two of his fellow Jazz Pharaohs (notably the amazing Stanley Smith); and this gal playing bagpipes! It is always fun to watch Ryan sing and Lauryn dance! And, yeah, they play bass and flute (respectively) pretty well!  Later, I stopped by Baker St. to see the best set yet from JUSTIF and the Missing Pieces (Jenna G and Samantha Burge) — ran into Hector Ward and half of his band who had been dining there, and stuck around for Charlie Mason.  Good times!

[Meanwhile, I am listening to Doug Burr as I write this stuff -- and also Steve Carter!]

Wednesday was, admittedly, ridiculous! Started out at The Crow Bar for Kem Watts (her trio sounded quite good, and HalleyAnna showed up!), then to the Spoke for Amanda (where I also ran into Waldo Wittenmyer, who is now doing some booking at the Hole in the Wall), then all the way up to the NeWorld Deli to catch half a set from Jim Patton and Sherry Brokus (such dear friends!), then over to the Hole in the Wall to hear Ashley Monical (with Brian Paugh on fiddle!), then down to Trophy’s to catch a set from Austin newcomer Jason Ludwig (that boy can wail!), and finally to the Mohawk (thanks for the reminder, amazing woman Sarah Gonzales) for a super set from Danny Malone – with strings and horns (notably Steve Bernal on cello, Andrew Pressman on bass, Jenni Wieland on French horn and more, and Andrew Noble on viola — the others – violin, sax, and trumpet - were from Little Lo and Mother Falcon).

Now Monday was COLD and thus the outdoor open mike at House Wine was short but very sweet … and I was at Momo’s early and later … first for William Kelley, later as Dustin Welch sang the songs of his father Kevin.  But it is Tuesday that made this week special (not counting the amazing show out in Luckenbach by Phil Hurley, Phil Bass, Lonnie Trevino, and Josh Zee with help from Teal Collins Zee — the Moonlighters!)!!!!  SONGWRITER NIGHT at Momo’s, starting with Jenny Reynolds (who brought some really good songs new to my ears) and the awe-inspiring Nathan Hamilton (the Abilene native whose songs ought to be listened to with the reverence others hold for TVZ, Guy C, etc.).  Nathan has a brand-new CD, “Beauty, Wit and Speed,” that like all of his others is just phenomenal!    [Watch for my review!]  Nathan Hamilton is one of my role models (did I mention?) — a man who lives by his code, who speaks the truth, and who has fought through anger to find a quiet peace.

Next up was the Drew Smith-Jon Beckham-Graham Wilkinson song circle, with special guests Nathan Singleton and Will Webster.  I had encouraged new-to-Austin songwriters Jason Ludwig and Josh Buckley to come, and Shilah Morrow and a bunch of other music people were in the house for what turned out to be an amazing circle of songs by friends who supported each other with hot licks, harmonies, and sometimes witty banter.  Highlights (a few among many!) — Jon Beckham’s “Snowy River, Mountain High” (a song covered by James Hyland but sung even better with Jon’s twangy voice), Graham’s “Personality Disorder,” and Will’s song about his parents and his other song about the War Between the States.  Words cannot describe the energy in the room (the garage doors were shut on this cold, damp night, and that perhaps added to the energy!) — and the exhilaration from the love being poured out by every man on stage!  Also in the house were the Los Angeles based trio, The Fallen Stars, who played afterward …

My evening was far from over, as i hustled over to the 29th Street Ballroom at Spider House to hear Meggan Carney with her trio (Johnny Vogelsang and Drew D’Entremont) — with Meggan on electric guitar.  Meggan has a major show at Momo’s on December 23rd, where she will be releasing another new EP .. a teaser is already up on her Facebook page … words and music for “Empathy,” which includes the line, “Understand that I will never be
unwary of your heart….”

One more note — Chicago songbird Laura Jean Thompson flies into Austin on December 20th to play shows at Romeo’s (12-21), Momo’s (12-26), and the Ham Jam House Concert (12-28) — plus the Cedar Park Farmers’ Market and maybe a few surprises!  I am thrilled to be sponsoring this tour … and just as thrilled that well-known author and public speaker Jenni Schaefer will be making her singing (only) debut at the Ham Jam show.  For details just let me know via Facebook, email or slapping me upside my head!

Sunday I knew wsa going to be busy — but there was more than even I knew, starting with a quiet party at Quin Ulrich’s to honor his dad Steve and the lovely Elizabeth (on their way to Guatemala again!). Mark Ambrose was there, as was Tony Velasco and even Matt Silaski got there bfore I headed out to Threadgill’s for the big GRAM PARSONS TRIBUTE, organized once again by Patterson Barrett.

Now if you konw me, you know I always say that Gram Parsons changed my life with his songs. Sunday night, there were over three hours of Gram songs, songs Gram sang and even a couple of songs ABOUT Gram … most of my favorites except “The New Soft Shoe,” which was on the bill but the performer was unable to make the show at the last minute. Now it being Gram’s music, and it also being a lot of my friends on the stage, I liked everything I heard, especially liked the spirit of the evening (and the weather!). But a few performances stand out, perhaps because of the song itself as well as the performance. Earl Poole Ball (WHO PLAYED WITH GRAM) was his always delightful self, and the handsome Steve Carter has not lost a step. Karen Abrahams, who opened the show, reminded me once again why she is just royalty in central Texas, and Leeann Atherton and Julieann Banks showed that Girls STILL just wanna have fun.
Bu when Brian Pounds broke into “A Song for You,” the tears just started streaming down my cheeks. Same story when Phil Hurley (sans guitar) interpreted a song so good not even Townes could have written it — Thousand Dollar Wedding. And Bill Carter with Will Sexton did Hickory Wind, and Noelle Hampton backed by a quartet of lovely ladies sand “She.” I got to hear Sahara Smith for the first time as she sang (in a voice almost too high for the song) “Sin City” — and there was Dallas Wayne (whose powerful voice just survived the fires that took his home) and so many others … Gram Parsons would have turned 65 on November 5th, and he would be very proud of his daughter Polly, who now lives here in Austin and does amazing work through the Gram Parsons Foundation. The Threadgills audience sang together with an expanded band on “In My Time of Darkness,” one of those songs that once again (and I am surely a heretic as a native Texan for saying this!) NOBODY has reached deeper into our hearts with. My only hope is that next year, someone will sign up to sing “Hippie Boy.”

The night at Threadgill’s was over — but not the night itself — heck, it had hardly begun! Next up was the Saxon Pub, where Amanda Cevallos had gathered another group of fine musicians — some of whom were doing double duty (herself, Steve Carter, and the incredible Mike Stinson among them) — to celebrate the music of Texas music legend Doug Sahm on what would have been his 70th birthday. Performers included Leo Rondeau, Mike Harmeier, George DeVore, the beatiful Beth Lee (and of course the equally beautiful Amanda Cevallos), and David Jimenez. The show stopper, though, had to be the finale, with Tameca Jones belting out “She’s About a Mover” as two of the Southern Sirens shook short-skirrted, fishnet-stockinged booty so impressively that more than one of the players admitted being at least a little bit distracted (not enough to affect their playing, to be sure). The house band for the evening included members of Amanda’s own band, most notably the same Neil Flanz who was a member of Gram Parsons’ band the Fallen Angels. This show was a lot of fun and featured a lot of that San Antonio flavor.
And, yeah, after THAT show was done, I trekked over to Momo’s to catch part of the King Biscuit set featuring Will Webster jamming with David Jimenez and Jonah Kane-West of keyboards, with Wil Landin sitting in on sousaphone. Kurt McMahan keeps finding formulas that work for bringing great players together to have a good time and entertain anyone smart enough to come.

I cannot leave talk of this great first weekend in November without mentioning yet another music legend — the man whom T-Bone Burnett has called “the soul of Texas music.” — Turner Stephen Bruton. Here is a little vignette:

“He was one of the bright spots in the lives of anyone who was close to him,” said Kris Kristofferson, who hired a 22-year-old Bruton to be his guitar player in 1971. The gig lasted 17 years and made the pair as close as brothers. Bruton also played in the bands of Bonnie Raitt and Delbert McClinton, plus he produced career-defining albums by Alejandro Escovedo, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Marcia Ball..
“I feel fortunate that I was able to get back to L.A. last night and say farewell,” Kristofferson said. “He finally knew he was going, after fighting it so hard for so long. I said I would see him again down the road, probably sooner than later.” The two talked for awhile, then, late Friday night, Bruton said he had to go to sleep. He never woke up. He was 60.
“Stephen Bruton was the soul of Texas music,” T-Bone Burnett said in a statement Saturday. “This is an incalculable loss. He was my oldest friend and I loved him like a brother. I learned more from him than I can say.”

TAG — Monday night madness — began at the Whip In, as Stonehoney’s Nick Randolph played his first solo set in maybe a decade before a packed house that included almost the entire California expatriate musician community in Austin (Josh and Teal, Andre and Noelle, Clint and Q, the list goes on). I had invited my friend Lily out to hear some songwriters, and promised her the second half of the evening would be at House Wine. And what an excellent choice! From Marc Palaoro to Will Wallace to Tammy Kantor (with Drew Howard) to Katy Priestley (of KP and the Boom Boom) to Scott Andrews to Luke Benson (just back from Moab, Utah) to Kole Hansen (just back from a four-month tour) to Craig Marshall, there was no letdown at all — and we missed some very good performers who had gone on earlier in the evening. Kole has a major show at Momo’s on November 17th (a Thursday night), and Will Wallace will be sitting in with her band.

OK, on Amanda Cevallos’ new CD, “Country Music Turns Me On,” she ONLY does “Luxury Liner” that Gram actually wrote, but who else has NEIL FLANZ — who toured with Gram and Emmylou in the Fallen Angels Band (you know the live recording from New Jersey at least!) — as her pedal steel player? PLUS Gram and the Burrito Brothers did maybe the best version ever of “Dim Lights, Thick Smoke, and Loud, Loud Music,” and she has Neil Flanz.
Amanda, who has been performing as Loretta Lynn of late (and looking and sounding quite lovely, and whipping out those Conway and Loretta duets with guitarist Will Dabbs), contributed four of her own songs to this fine collection, including the title cut, a paean to playing at the Broken Spoke on Tuesdays for Happy Hour. She also covers Tanya Tucker (“When I Die”), George Jones (“Why Baby Why”), Leon Russell (“Truck Drivin’ Man”), and the Oakridge Boys (“Elvira,” and I gotta luvit!).
Did I mention that the whole band — and yes this is a live recording done by my very close friend Jason Richard of Clockright Studios “at a church in South Austin” — sounds crisp and tight? Dabbs has a fine touch; Chris Trafton is on drums, Ben Eisenberg is on bass, and Grammy nominee Jorge Herada plays acoustic guitar. At her live shows, it’s Robert Maas on drums.

Maybe my favorite song on the record (starting with Dabbs’ opening guitar licks interspersed with the pedal steel) is “Think I’m Goin’ Crazy,” as Amanda sings, she used to think he was “the one,” but now, she tells him “…I’m thinkin’ maybe, you’re just a son of a gun.”

But the truth is that I am a pedal steel junkie — and Neil Flanz played with Gram and made his music sing! He makes Amanda’s music better, too, by also being her musical director — writing the charts, even giving fashion advice (again, he DID play with GP!), and being “very computer savvy” too. But I think the biggest thing Neil Flanz has done for Amanda Cevallos is to give his total affirmation — by, for example, writing out charts to ALL of her songs before they even had their first practice!.
Amanda and her band have been playing Tuesdays at the Spoke for several months, thanks to the wisdom of the legendary James White — and this Sunday (November 6) the band has the 10 pm slot at the Saxon Pub as part of a tribute to Doug Sahm.

[NOTE to self -- Beg, cajole, plead, do ANYTHING to make sure that Neil Flanz gets added to the GRAM PARSONS TRIBUTE SHOW at Threadgill's World Headquarters on Sunday night -- YUP -- that show precedes the Doug Sahm tribute at the Saxon, so you can get to BOTH if you can get in the door!]

Which brings me to a quick point about what an AMAZING TOWN AUSTIN IS! Just take the past couple of daze — great open mikes at Baker St. on Sunday and House Wine on Monday (and Lisa Kettyle is doing a great job at Romeo’s on Mondays as well); over at Momo’s on Monday, it was Meggan Carney and her hot band (in full Halloween regalia!), followed by the Huey Lewis endorsed Chewy Sprewis and the Screws (George DeVore and friends), then by the Velvet Underground as interpreted by Jack Edward Martin and Cause for Applause (with special guests). On Tuesday, I caught Amanda’s Loretta Lynn show at the Spoke, rolled down the street to the Saxon for a smokin’ hot set by The Moonlighters, featuring Lonnie (soon to be married and off to Spain for a honeymoon!) Trevino on bass and front and center vocals, slash and burn guitar gods Josh Zee (Mother Truckers) and Phil Hurley (Stonehoney), and drummer Phil Bass. You might say, “It doesn’t get any better than this!” OR you could go from electric to acoustic (as I did) and head back to Momo’s for the Drew Smith songwriter circle featuring (on this night) Graham Wilkinson, Jon Beckham, Kurt McMahan, and Ethan Kennedy. My idea here is that these guys should turn this into a college credit course in songwriting … and pack the house every week! Graham BTW has a release of his five-song EP “The Spiritual Accessories” on Friday (Drew’s band The Lonely Choir will also be on that bill at Momo’s); Ethan’s new band Kinky Machine (named after a Jimi Hendrix line) has a hot show at Frank on Thursday; Kurt’s band King Biscuit will be playing every Sunday in November at Momo’s; and the Beckham Brothers will open for the Band of Heathens on Thanksgiving Friday (again at Momo’s).

Meanwile, I am promoting TWO SHOWS with great lineups NEXT WEEK –

Tuesday, November 8th at Beauty Bar — Holiday, Sorne (fresh from their Southeast tour), and Brooklyn-based RUBBLEBUCKET whom I saw in Chicago three weeks ago and immediately jumped on board to help fill out this bill … This eight-piece band — with Hammond B3 and a great horn section — marched into the crowd at Chicago’s Double Door and they have asked local horn players to show up at the Beauty Bar for what they hope will be a Nawlins style parade as part of the show. My report is that I danced for 90 minutes straight to this band and plan to do so again!

Then on Wednesday, November 9th, it is Meggan Carney and her band opening for Nashville-based Madi Diaz and Kyle Andrews.
Like Gillian Welch and her inseparable, unbilled cohort David Rawlings, Madi Diaz is actually a duo. One half is Diaz herself, and the other is her performing and songwriting partner Kyle Ryan, whom she met while studying at Berklee College of Music in Boston. The two had begun playing music in their teens, and Diaz even had an odd, early brush with the spotlight: At 16, while attending Philadelphia’s now-infamous Paul Green School of Rock Music, she appeared in the documentary Rock School, which inspired the 2003 Jack Black flick. [OR SO THE STORY GOES -- Dave Sebree recalls that the movie's creators actually spent time at the Austin School of Music and Rock Camp in their research for the film.]

Kyle Andrews may be best known for his song “You Always Make Me Smile,” which was featured in a worldwide Holiday Inn ad that included a massive water balloon fight. He travels with a hot band and will be playing songs from his brand-new release, “Robot Learn Love.”
BOTH these shows will be absolutely awesome — and at Frank you can get waffle fries with your Chicago dog!

Before I go, I have to mention that, among the new to Austin artists whom I have caught at recent open mikes, these few stand out (though others are also pretty good!) –

Ima Nsien with Ashton Sullivan — Ima, whose family came to the U.S. from Nigeria, sings R&B, and Ashton, who hails from Virginia, is a fine jazz guitarist — they had a band together in L.A. and separately decided to move to Austin just a couple of months ago.

Thick Red Wine (aka Mike Wojciechowski) – This New Jersey native found his voice while at college in Chicago and then moved to Austin, where he regales a growing fan base regularly with his witty, self-revealing songs that transmit his zest for everyday life into the hearts of those blinded by boredom.

Erica Nobel — this Phoenix transplant just writes great songs and is attracting top players to back her.

Heidi Nadine — This Canadian songbird just flew in (by way of Denmark) bringing tracks she had recorded in Switzerland and around and borrowing a keyboard from the lovely Kristin Astourian (out on her own after leaving Children of the Feather). She totally STUNNED me at Baker St. the other night.

And let’s not forget nationally known author-public speaker Jenni Schaefer — whose book “Living with ED” has helped untold fellow sufferers of eating disorders — but who is also a singer-songwriter with a lovely voice and powerful lyrics. Jenni, by the way, is speaking (and hopefully also singing) at the National Eating Disorders Austin Walk at Mueller Lake Park in Austin on November 19rth.

AND BEST OF ALL — my new friend Laura Jean Thompson, who debuted her new CD “River of Doubt” at Chicago’s Uncommon Ground last Friday, will be bringing her songs to Austin in late December – shows are already set at Romeo’s (12-21) and the Ham Jam Concert Series (12-28), and others are lining up fast.