Flanfire

\"Time to Forgive,\" Latin at Heart (Billy Wilson, vocals)

My good friend Billy Wilson is taking his band Latin at Heart in a new direction. The band has evolved dramatically over the past year; half the set of unique melodic rock is now in English. New music has been co-written by Billy and Austin songstress Libby Belle Bryer, who brings elements of fun, passion, and pizz-zazz… with an edge!

The music of Latin at Heart is reminiscent of original album rock, kind of like the late 70s and early 80s, with flamenco-ish hooks in the melodies. Billy, who was raised in Central America and is fluent in Spanish and English, leads the band with his strong vocals — but just about everybody (except Steve Zirkel on bass and sometimes trumpet) sings. Lead guitarist Ulrich Ellison came to Austin on a Fulbright Scholarship and proceeded to win three straight Downbeat awards for student blues rock composition while also serving as a soloist with the Austin Pops; drummer Jeff Botta (whose other band The Coveters is also quite the hit about town) is an opera-trained vocalist and multi-instrumentalist; and Dr. Marianna Tanguy is one heluva keyboard player who doubles as a psychology professor when not also performing on stage with Uncle Bruno or Les and the Funk Mob. As for Mr. Zirkel, you might say the crown of his distinguished career was touring with Leonard Cohen and performing with Cohen on Austin City Limits. Yeah — this is a SUPER GROUP of a BAND … get out to the show!!!

These posts are going to be short and sweet!  Just a few photos and everything out of timeline order.  It is hot — and we have been busy.  OK so here is the lovely Kiwi Jackie Bristow, who lived in Australiia for many years and is back in Sydney as we write to finish up work on the new recordings she just finished here in Austin (at Church House and Cedar Creek) with JJ Johnson on drums, Chris Maresh on bass, and her old Aussie guitarist Mark Punch.  That handsome fellow with Jackie (and no wonder he is smiling) is Australian guitar maker Allan Tomkins, whose mentoring of Mr. Punch goes back nearly 40 years.  Tomkins was at the Continental Club to showcase some of his latest work — and out to see Heybale because Redd Voelkart is playing one of his creations. 

Moving over, we find Mark Ambrose and Bob Livingston egging the crowd at Kathy and Bill’s House Concert on as the whole place erupted in “London Homesick Blues.”  Now THIS was an OLD AUSTIN event, held at a century old house at 910 E. Cesar Chavez, where the amazing Eric Taylor will hold forth on Sunday, July 26th — with David Olney and Vince Bell coming the following two months.  For details go to www.myspace.com/housebooker or call (512) 743-8424.  Mark’s last CD was made with David Rawlings and Gillian Welch, who are his old friends from Nashville, and Bob of course is an original Lost Gonzo who has more stories than the tallest tower in Austin.

Then there is Austria’s contribution to Austin music, Ulrich Ellison (fresh from finishing his graduate work at the University of Texas, where he was on a Fulbright Scholarship and only won Downbeat’s jazz student composer of the year two years in a row) teaching two young guitarists prior to playing a set at It’s A Grind Coffeehouse in (nosebleeders catch your breath!) CEDAR PARK.  Now I gotta say, the folks who run this place have a great idea that is working well — they are moving the music outside (as weather permits) to a shaded area that faces the sidewalk so that more people can stop by for the fun.

Finally, here is Leaving, TX, songwriter Chris Patterson at Flipnotics as a guest of Troy Campbell (who has since turned the Thursdays over To Ben Mallott so he could play a few shows in Europe).  Chris was in town for a few weeks prior to relocating from the Washington, DC, area to Dallas (North Texas).  Now I just picked up the brand-new July issue of 3rd Coast Music  (thanks, John Conquest, and Leaving, TX is tied for 16th place on the Freeform American Roots music chart.  No. 1 with a bullet is Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women (nearly all of whom he borrowed from right here in Austin) — but sneaking up to No. 5 on that chart (ahead of Steve Earle and Slaid Cleaves) is my old buddy (and North Dakota native) Leo Rondeau.  Also making the chart is Waco native Steve Martiin (yeah, the guy from “The Jerk”) who will be playing his banjo out at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park in early October — the same event that will feature Austin’s own Fireants and many other NAMES YOU WILL KNOW (including other Texas bands).

[Photographs by Flanfire, collage by Gene Chavez -- that's Gina's dad!]