Flanfire

“Scars can fill us up with pride .. Scars can also make us hide those wounds we got when a part of us died….  How many scars do you have?  Will you ever show your scars to anyone?” 

At the memorial service two Januarys ago for my darling wife Nancy, I found myself speaking words about scars — how sometimes people’s scars are invisible to the eye but painfully obvious to the touch, especially a touch that is just not gentle enough to bring healing and comfort.  I was talking about how we need to be aware of who we are conversing with, how not to put foot in mouth or down their throat — how to spread life and not the crush of death.

That’s why I don’t listen to Lucinda Williams any more — except of course at the annual Hank and Lucinda Williams Hoot at the Cactus Cafe, the brainchild of fellow Red Sox fan Jenny Reynolds.  You see, it’s not that she left Austin, not that the last time I saw her at ACL Festival she was (well) not all there on stage.  It’s just that song.  You know, the one BettySoo [shown here with Charlie Faye at the Saxon last Saturday] sang Tuesday night …. the one that breaks my heart every time I hear it — the one that every time I hear any song of Lucinda’s it breaks my heart because I cannot forget that song.  The one that tells me my Susan is never going to call me on the phone — or ask me to iron her shirt for work — or give me a long lecture about how I need to love people better — again.  [Well, on another plane, she does come to me over and over through the people I meet out on the streets of Austin.]

“See what you lost when you left this world, this sweet old world….”   You see, I can hear those words once a year (or any other Lucinda song) because July 27th is Susan’s birthday — and I have to celebrate her life every day but especially at this special time.  When it matters most.  And somehow (though a day after this year) the Williams Hoot always helps me (though this is just the third year) celebrate Susan’s wonderful life — the life she chose to sacrifice thinking it would be better for the rest of us.

The nights SHE would wander the streets of her beloved Houston to seek out her lost girlfriends and try to bring them home to safety.  The weekends she spent with her disabled friend, even going to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and still getting back for her American Humanics meeting.  The day she died, she went to her job interview and then to the graduation ceremonies at the elementary school she had volunteered at, teaching reading to immigrant first and second graders.  And then the love our family was shown by Austin’s music community (in which we were still fledglings at the time) that has driven the Flanfire ship for nearly six years now.  For me, of course, the song sounds like, “See what I lost when you left this world,” except that out of that loss we have had great gain.  As you all know, life is made better through celebration … and knowing that we are all dying and so should live life to the fullest every living breathing moment.  [I can never think of Susan and not see Snoopy dancing.]

Susan would have turned thirty on Monday.  And Monday night, where was I?  Out at House Wine with some of my dearest friends — B. Sterling Archer (whose B. Sterling Band will soon be releasing its debut CD) and Melanie Martinez of Tiny Tin Hearts (which likewise has a CD about ready for prime time) — and Abbi Sims, whose spirit reminds me so much of my daughter’s — adventurous, honest, forthright, caring, and sharing … and in Abbi’s case, a downrightr good singer and budding songwriter and outstanding Open Mike hostess at House Wine.  Also in the house (well, outside in the front lawn) were Craig Marshall and Jon Notarthomas and Will T. Massey and the lovely Valerie Fremin (more very dear friendds) — Drew de France and Kurt McMahan from the band Ouachita, which plays Friday at the Belmont — and one Donnie Jones (shown here surrounded by Kurt along with Abbi and her songwriter friend Anna who hails from just south of Brenham, Texas).  And, oh yeah, Donnie Jones (who is better known these days as a wine merchant and vineyard owner) is a songwriter — a man who counted among his friends Townes Van Zandt and Blaze Foley and John Prine too (and of course Guy Clark), and whose songs are of that same caliber.  Will T is working with Donnie to record a bunch of his songs — some brand new, others buried for maybe decades.  Monday, it turns out, was Jay Sims’ birthday too, but we were mostly there to celebrate Abbi’s birthday on July 29th (which SHE was celebrating at the Cathedral of Junk).

But back to Tuesday night at the Cactus — which opened with Eric Hisaw and Chrissy Flatt and then Kerry Polk and friends and then The Flyin’ A’s (Stuart and Hilary Adamson) before emcee Tom Pittman made his actual debut singing and playing guitar all by his lonesome on a public stage.  After 40 years!  An historic occasion!  And, despite his own protestations, he was good lookin’ – sang well too!

After the break, it was Jenny herself and then Seth Walker, BettySoo and finally Guy Forsyth.  So after the show I found the two world-renowned lads standing side by side and popped out the camera for this photo — and Guy says this may be the first photo ever of the two of them together.  Whatever – Guy had closed his set with a brand-new song he wrote in remembrance of fallen hero Stephen Bruton.  Later he was showing off dozens of photos of his pride and joy, his 2-year-old daughter who is just gorgeous!  I know a little something about being a proud papa — Guy admits it has changed his life.

A few more notes before I go — and I promise I WILL get to those CD reviews sometime soon.  First off, we have Margo Valiante flanked by Etan Sekons and three-string bassist Kyle Clayton at the Whip In, where I was eating some of the best Indian food ever to grace my lips AND enjoying one of that venue’s many nights of fine Austin music.  [Hats off for their support of Groundworks!]  That was on Saturday, and I left at intermission to run to the Saxon to catch a great set from porterdavis (sadly, no decent photos for you).  Just stunning!  Mike Meadows on vocals and his patented drum-percussion rig, birthday boy Simon Wallace on harmonica and vocals, and Daniel Barrett on slide guitar and vocals.  The band was taking orders for their own new CD, which will be available at their August 28th Saxon Pub show — if they make it back home from Nova Scotia.  Then, as noted, it was Bettysoo, who opened with “Do Right Woman,” a Dan Penn song made famous by the Flying Burrito Brothers (okay, theirs was by no means the first, or even the biggest hit version, but Earl Poole Ball played on that record — as did (duh!) Gram Parsons).  No wonder she’s opening for Joan Baez!

The little lady in the yellow dress is Akina Adderley (yes, Nat Adderley, Jr.’s baby girl) — and SHE was the opening act at Sunday’s very well attended Austin2Africa event that was raising money for an orphanage for South African children whose parents had died of AIDS.  [The $20,000 they need for the project is but a drop in the bucket of Oprah's budget for her posh girls' school.]

This was Akina’s fourth show with her Village Playboys in four days (Victory Grill, Antone’s, Marcus Cardwell’s backyard!) and she had to run out the door to sing the national anthem at a RollerGirls throwdown.  Also on the bill were Kalu James, Tandoorifinger, Paul Banks (who will be back at Momo’s soon), and the amazing John Pointer (who broke a string on his very first song and never slowed down).

Susan would have loved this extended weekend — from Thursday through Tuesday, great music one night after another.  Her favorite, of course, was long-time Austinite Steve Ulrich, whom she used to see regularly at the Hole in the Wall during its glory days singnig in between Quatropaw sets.  I like to think she is hearing the music I hear in Austin from her special place in the clouds. 

BETTYSOO – HEAT SIN WATER SKIN

Sometimes we import ‘em — the Jess Kleins and Charlie Fayes and Jenny Reynolds’ of the world.  Other times we grow ‘em right here in Austin (Suzanna Choffel, for example), or at least here in Texas (that would be BettySoo).  Or you could throw in Kat Edmonson or Carolyn Wonderland (both, like BettySoo, from Houston), or Eve Monsees (Austin’s own) — or a bunch of others.  Bottom line — there is NO PLACE LIKE AUSTIN for live music.  Not when you are at Momo’s Club (for example) and Jess Klein brings up BettySoo and Suzanna Choffel (with Charlie Faye looking on joyfully) or last Saturday at the Cactus when BettySoo at her own CD release party brought up Jess and Aimee Bobruk and Jenny Reynolds and Ben Mallott and Graham Weber and of course Gurf Morlix himself sang a song for us all. 

WHO IS THIS BETTYSOO?  That was a question I was asking myself after totally missing her contirbution to last year’s Hank and Lucinda Hoot Night at the Cactus (hosted by Jenny Reynolds).  Then one night at the Saxon Pub when I was there to see Charlie Faye and Will Sexton and friends there was BettySoo jumping on stage to sing harmonies.  And there were parties and such — and still it took months for me to get to hear this woman sing — and all I could say was WOWOWOWOWOW!  Plus she’s just a great friend and a real wit.  And she haws a great husband (Mail Man Dave) who plays in her band sometimes.

Okay, you can read all about BettySoo in this week’s Austin Chronicle (she’s the COVER GIRL — not bad for a woman who wrote that amazing song, “Never the Pretty Girl”).  Did I mention that she is scheduled to open for Joan Baez (yeah, that’s JOAN BAEZ!!!) in Wisconsin in August?  Right in the middle of her California tour.  Well, if YOU were BettySoo, you’d drop it all to open for the woman with that pure soprano who was the voice of the Sixties.  Then again, if you are Joan Baez and heard BettySoo on stage before your set, you just might want to get out and share that spotlight — with a woman who not only has a voice to compare with your own but whose real life story (which is really that of her family ofwhich she is a living, breathing part) is more than captivating.

BettySoo did not even tell her parents about her CD release party — she’s had two of those before, and thought, “My folks would drive all the way back to Houston after the show so they could work (as medical doctors to Houston’s poor) the next morning.  But they showed up anyway — and this modest couple had a hard time getting a seat until someone let out who they were).  The CD release party (sorry, folks, no photos) was hands down the BEST SHOW that Flanfire has EVER seen atthis venue.  Standing room only, with people turned away (including Jim Patton and Sherry Brokus, who hosted BettySoo at the Amsterdam along with Karen Mal and Will Taylor the next Thursday [that was tonight]). 

I guess I have to mention her songs — starting with that Little Secrets song from an older album that sends chills up the spine of any cheating husband.  But this is all about “Heat Sin Water Skin,” produced by Gurf Morlix with Fred Remmert doing various things and Gene Elders on violin (and, yes, folks, the incomparable John Conquest has compared the quality of BettySoo’s voice to that of Gene’s lovely wife Betty  – and he is DEAD ON).  Gurf even stuck around hot, sticky Austin just to play at the CD release party — and his guitar solos (someone once said he can play a 3-note solo and it is better than anything most other guitarists can do with much more fanfare) on the two songs JEnny Reynolds did were phenomenal (drawing huge applause).

Okay, already — my favorites are cuts 1-11 (there are 11 cuts).  But how can you not be moved by “Never the Pretty Girl” and “Whisper My Name” (actually, the Chronicle reviewer — not Margaret Moser — called the “Pretty Girl” a little “naked” and “Whisper” “a little schmaltzy” and complained that she does not belt it out enough — is she just jealous?) 

But BettySoo DOES belt out the opening cut — “Never Knew No Love” — and for that matter “Still Small Voice,” a song that bespeaks her upbringing.  “Just Another Lover” opens with Gene Elders on fiddle — and then BettySoo hits us in the breadbasket, asking whether this relationship is real or just a fill-in for self-gratification, without any real contact with the person in the skin he is touching.  Women — and men, too, these days — ought to ask that question if they are looking for real love.  Saves a lot of heartache — and disappointment.  That’s what she is saying to all of us.

Gurf’s guitar is dark and murky on “Who Knows,” and Todd Wilson’s organ adds to the aura of this powerful song that sounds a little like one Stefanie Fix would write.  “Forever” fits right in with Deadman’s music — rich and warm and yet quite sad.  “Get Clean” also rocks — especially when she does it live.  But let’s get real — “What We’ve Got” is a love song that is just gorgeous and rich in its imagery (as are many of this woman’s songs).

I will mention the rendition of “Lonesome Whistle,” a collaboration between Gov. Himmie Davis and Hank Williams, for its pure simplicity and BettySoo’s awesome quiet delivery — but ther emay not be a better song on the record than “Next Big Thing,” which opens with a wailing steel and tells th story of the woman who left home in Iowa to become a star on “that music highway.”  Now I guess it was just the right thing that BettySoo made me wait for weeks (well, she cannot find her keys sometime either, I hear) to get my review copy — and I had a self-imposed deadline of getting this done BEFORE the JOINT BETTYSOO-CHARLIE FAYE show at Momo’s on June Teenth [ a show I may not even make, given that Jess Klein and Noelle Hampton are on at the same time in two other venues -- NOT FAIR!].

CHARLIE FAYE – WILSON ST.

So back when a friend of mine was raving about Charlie Faye, I was thinking, who is this Nashville country singer who has come to Austin?  And then I met Charlie Faye — the New York woman with the heels as tall as she is who single-handedly (later on, of course) saved at least some of the famed Wilson Street cottages [hence this album title] from the wrecking ball and kept herself and fantastic neighbors like Jess Klein from being homeless.  Then I got Charlie Faye’s first record and played it 15 times while I was moving back into my old house on Hermitage Drive — alternating with Steve Carter’s great record that Courtney Audain produced.

So the new – AUSTIN – record opens with one of my favorites off that old record, “Bottletops,” a song I must by now have played 300 or more times (it is on my late-night personal playlist), and there is “Lady of the Leading Man” again as well.  But this is not just a redo of the New York record — what we have here is Mark Hallman’s genius and Andre Moran’s engineering (he who is Noelle Hampton’s hubby and guitarist) and featuring that man about town Will Sexton on bass, guitar, and vocals, David Holt on guitar and Rick Richards on drums — with appearances from half the town on various songs.

“Runaround” (co-written with Will) is brassy (reminiscent of Runaround Sue in its chorus, oddly enough), while “She’s Gonna Go” (written with Philip Gibbs) also has a little Dion in it.  Then there is “Simple Seduction,” one of Charlie’s signature songs — about a woman (or a man?) needing a little attention from her man — for example, “you alone without the children and the triple evening blues.”  This cut features Katy Rose Cox on fiddle, Gabe Rhodes on guitar, George Reiff on bass, and JJ Johnson on drums. 

Charlie and Will also co-wrote “Waitin’ (on Something)”, a ballad that has that lazy bayou feel, a song to listen to with a glass of wine and a cigarette (and you know I don’t smoke) in the reverie of the very late evening — a song that provokes us to think about our own failures to follow through with those with whom we are entwined but perhaps not inspired.  This is a KILLER song!

But it is not “Jersey Pride” (and did I mention that Charlie, Jess Klein, and Jenifer Jackson are ALL New Jersey refugees, as are some other of my “New York” friends).  The land of Bruce and Bon Jovi and the Amboy Dukes and the FREAKIN’ RAMONES!!!! — THIS is a song that just shouts out at you — you can leave New Jersey (and “the smell of the backyard pines”) and yet you never forget that it was something good you left behind.  My favorite line — “Now you’re left with all of those damn memories and stories too sweet to tell of secret and unstolen nights in the cradle of America …..”  And, oh yeah, Gurf Morlix plays lead guitar and Joe Humel is on drums and Cornbread on bass here. 

Maybe even better is “Coward’s Lament,” a song that may soon catch up with “Bottletops” on my personal playlist — “Baby, I’m so afraid that the truth will set you free, I’ll become a coward and a liar just to keep you right here with me….”  “Summer Legs,” like Bottletops, features Abra Moore on harmony vocals and Will Sexton singing some key lines as well.  And John X Reed plays guitar on “Lady of the Leading Man,” which features Will and Philip Gibbs on harmonies.  No claws here!

“Ready to Fall” is the final cut here — a love song of sorts.  What we know is that Will Sexton has recorded his own brand-new song collection, and that he even has a new MySpace page.  Meanwhile, Charlie Faye may be gearing up for a run for city council (or to run off the city council that has been shutting down music venues on technicalities that could have easily been worked out peacefully) — and that she is bringing down her friends from New York to live and vote in Austin – and make great music (well, it was Charlie Faye who introduced me to Jess Klein).

FINALLY Flanfire gets out to the Old Settlers’ shindig — and what a lovely day (despite rain all day Friday and ominous skies early Saturday morning)!  Got there just in time to hear the 1 am set from the Fireants (while wearing one of their T-shirts) and a wee bit of Green Mountain Grass (that’s mando player Dave Wilmoth and fiddler Adam “Pickles” Moss shown below) at the Hill Country Stage before heading over to the Bluebonnet Stage for a great set from Lone Star Swing (featuring Gemma Donal on fiddle and my pal Stretch MacFayden (Dawrson) on snare. 

Lest anyone not know, Lone Star Swing is fronted by vocalist/rhythm guitarist Gary Hartman, who is director of the Center for Texas Music History at Texas State and a heluva guy.  Bassist Terry Hale and guitar virtuoso Rick McRae long ago found a young singer named George Strait and are still members of his Ace in the Hole Band, mandolin player Paul Glasse may be found with Willie or Lyle on a given day, and youngster Billy Curtis (well, he has a 2-year-old!) on fiddle, saxophone, and great vocals has done duets with Johnny Gimble.  Billy’s vocal on “Faded Love” was one of the highlights of the entire week of music.  Plus, these guys are maybe MORE fun than the Austin Lounge Lizards.

It was also a day when my pals from Stonehoney (happy birthday, Dave Phenicie) backed up legenday songwriter Dan Navarro and then did their own set on the Discovery stage.  All of these guys had told me to be sure to listen to the Lovell Sisters — and was I blown away by these three north Georgia bluegrass darlings who were debuting their brand-new (second) CD, “Time to Grow.”  Jessica (age 23, fiddle), Megan (age 19, dobro), and Rebecca (age 18, mandolin, guitar) are on their way back to MerleFest and a major world tour — well, of course, their sisterly harmonies are perfect, their musicianship is excellent, and they will hopefully remain unfazed by the publicity that may focus all too much on their good looks than on their talent (think Dolly Parton, one of the finest pure bluegrass singers I have ever heard).  Here they are on stage, and here is Rebecca with Dan Navarro, who got to know their whole family over chicken tacos he made at a festival campsite far away and long ago.

As day turned toward evening (and after listening to the McCoury brothers for a while), I had to stroll back to the Hill Country stage to catch Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women (mostly Austinites of course) — Lisa Pankratz on drums, Cindy Cashdollar on steel guitars, one-time Austinite Amy Farris (and her lovely red hair) on fiddle, the legendary Sarah Brown on bass, and Seattle’s Christy McWilson on vocals.  Earlier, I had caught only a small part of Sarah Jarosz’s wonderful set (with Alex Hargreaves on fiddle and Sam Grisman on bass)  — that’s the downside of too many stages to see everything!  I also caught just a tad of the Colorado-based Spring Creek but enough to be blown away by their banjo player.   Down there somewhere is a photo of Gemma with Billy Curtis warming up before their smokin’ set.

So here are photos of Stonehoney’s Phil Hurley and Shawn Davis with Dan Navarro, Ms. Farris, the Belleville Outfit, and Lone Star Swing.  Yeah, we COULD have stuck around to see more of the McCourys, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Robert Earl Keen (all good!), but the big “miss” was the campground jam with the “Grass” and The Blue Hit (which features Pickles’ brother David on cello), just back from their West Coast tour and with their brand-new CD ready for a May 9th party at Club DeVille.    But, heck, we were tired enough, and Stretch and Gemma had a long drive out to Turkey, Texas, for a Monday night gig with the house band at the Church of Western Swing just days before the annual Bob Wills Festival there.  But before I move on I have to mention the harmonica workshop with Jimi Lee, Dave Spalding, and Cara Cooke and the songwriter showcase featuring Jenny Reynolds and a heart-wrenching duet by Ben Mallott and Betty Soo on Gram Parsons’ “Grievous Angel.”

To catch up with missed days and nights, there was that Sunday night at Shut Up and Sing when I caught up with Alyse Black and Aly Tadros, who are about to go on tour together.  And here is the handsome (just ask Wendy!) Chad Pope on the indoor stage at the brand-new Red Shed Tavern and a photo of the tavern’s backyard that shows the SHADOW of the beautiful stage that Chad bdesigned and built for the venue, which hopes to get through the tangled web that is the city of Austin to get an outdoor venue permit.  [I also caught a set from Paul Finley, but will write about that when reviewing his new CD, Butterfly, which features both this acoustic virtuoso and artwork by Gregory Gruett Smith.]

But I cannot depart without a short diatribe condemning the city of Austin for its very trange poplicy that has already shut down live music at Freddie’s, Botticelli’s (at least amplified music), and apparently Guero’s and is having a stifling impact on the ability of the Austin  music community to earn a living — not to mention on the entire live music scene for those who want music with their meals.  It is as though the city is telling folks, you can have music or you can have dinner — but not both!  Elections for city council are coming up in just a very few days, and it is time for these candidates to go on record so that we will know for sure who are enemies are and not let them ruin Austin.

 Have to mention the set  I caught at Flipnotics by the Celestialites (Jonny Konya from Belleville, the wonderful Carley Wolf, and Najeeb Sabour), the new trio that I really like, and a very enjoyable Sunday brunch at Threadgills featuring Hank Alrich and his lovely daughter Shairdri, shown here with Threadgills’ own Melanie in what we hope will be a regular feature … their harmonies wowed us!