Flanfire

With Friends Like These ... You Never Die!























Max, Sasha, and Patrick of Blues Mafia; Dustin Welch and Drew Smith at Threadgills.



Confessions of an ACL Festival dropout. Here's No. 1. There is so much good music in Austin that it is hardly worth the price, the dust, the hassle, or even the downgrade in music quality to lose six days (three at Zilker, three more in recovery) and six hundred dollars (after you pay for all of the food and drink, the stuff, the tickets, and of course the lost wages and more) just to be able to stand four hundred yards from Beck.

Therefore, on ACL Friday, I stopped by Momo's for great sets from the Sideshow Tragedy and Drew Smith and his Lonely Choir. Next evening it was Blues Mafia in their Momo's debut -- and by the way, they are already mixing their just-recorded debut CD (produced by Dave Sebree at Austin School of Music, where the band was born). More on Drew Smith later, but Nathan Singleton, Jeremy Harrell, and Justin Wade Thompson showed off a few new songs and the high energy that is their trademark. The Mafia -- opening for Patrice Pike -- started off like a band that had not played a gig in a month, but about five songs into their 90-minute set, the pilot light morphed into a five-alarm fire. The kids play at the Mohawk on October 16th and at Luna in San Antonio two days later -- warming up for the CD release and their Ireland trip in December.


Next, it was off to Creekside for my first take of Slowtrain without Brett Staggs on skins. The good news -- guitarist Andy Keating has taken over the harmony vocals, and the boy's all right! More news -- Jason from A Few Nice Things was on drums, and then that band (with Adoniram Lipton and Matt Roth plus Jason, Justin and Jesse (see photo) offered up some glam rock that reminded one of early Poison and Ratt (both of whom once shared practice space with my old friend Tahni Handal). Gotta see these guys on a higher stage (lots of energy and glitz).


Then it was two (more) days at the Cactus -- first off, for my favorite red-headed fiddle player Eleanor Whitmore and her Burnet County stallion Chris Masterson. Eleanor has a brand-new CD, "Airplanes," produced by Chris and featuring 12 of her songs (one each cowritten by Chris and Michael O'Connor), all of which I love. [More on this record next time.] Afterward I jumped over to the Hole in the Wall to catch part of Leo Rondeau's set (with Mario Matteoli on lead guitar) -- and found Tres Hombres [Rich Russell, Landry McMeans, and Brennen Leigh] and lots more folks enjoying the music and madness that is the Hole.





I went back for a wonderful set from the WOW girl, Molly Venter (with Joe and Joe). Full house again -- a real love fest.

After Molly had totally revved me up, I trekked down to the Mohawk for a KILLER set from T-Bird and the Breaks and stuck around for maybe an even BETTER set from Moonlight Towers. James Stevens is so well known as a music producer that we sometimes forget just what a powerful singer he is as well.

While there, I got to share some of T-Bird best bud Sam Patlove's birthday pie (!), eat some jumbalaya and in the process help the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and hang out with Kat Edmonson and the amazing Kevin Lovejoy. But I ALSO got to check out the Mohawk's wonderful Green Room (the upstairs bar often set aside for visiting touring bands as their private hangout), and one day hope to hear Mister Lovejoy tickle the ivories on their baby grand. Nice view of Red River Street -- and a great place just to relax.

Somewhere during the week I stopped by the Parlor for pizza and the bonus round too -- Lubbock's The Diamond Center and Austin's Sad Accordians. On Sunday, it was over to Antone's for a smokin' set from Ricky Stein (aka Willis Allan Ramsey-Stein) -- who promises his long-awaited debut CD will be out in February. Better be, or his massive fan club (three members pictured here) will likely shave his head.

OKAY -- so by now you are wondering why I have a photo of Drew and Dustin at Threadgill's. The answer -- Marcus Grogan's 28th Birthday Bash, where the daring duo opened for Jeremy Nail and the Incidents and Goldcure. Drew and Dustin -- two GREAT songwriters who are just amazing together (even when harmonizing with Nail and later with Goldcure). Here's Marcus getting a hug from Goldcure's Adam Buhrman; earlier, Justin Wade Thompson and Gavin Inverso swap poems (or something) and revel in the glory of the evening. Marcus, my man, with "friends like these," you will never die -- even if you say "Goodbye."

One SPECIAL thing about this evening was the wonderful sound from James Duvall (and his sidekick Eli Smith). I had never heard Jeremy and his band (featuring Chris Ware on guitar!) sound better -- and Goldcure's set was way past amazing, thanks also to new bassist Marcos, who in his second show with the band, showed great energy and "length" -- good chops, too! Now I gotta also note that our birthday lad is the guy who keeps Goldcure's Craig Haskell from starving with buckets of Threadgills' food. So I owe the guy big time!

Drew Smith -- Dude Grows on Me!

First few times I heard Drew Smith I thought, Vegas act! Next few times I heard Drew Smith I thought, maybe I need to listen because these songs are pretty good. New few times I heard Drew Smith (singing duets with Dustin Welch) I really began to get into the big guy. Then there was the Drew Smith CD release at the Continental Club -- what a great show, so many friends, so much great music. I mean, I love Dan Dyer -- but Drew Smith makes me laugh and cry and stand up and applaud all at the same time. Gotta LOVE his CD jacket -- what a band! I mean, really! Matt Russell on keys, Ryan Bowman on bass, Daniel Doyle's screaming guitar, Dustin when he can, the horn section (sometimes Rick White on trumpet, Dave Renter on sax, Jeff Freeman on trombone, and Joey Colarusso on baritone sax) -- and always lots of friends singing harmonies now and then. Guests on the record include Warren Hood, Ed Jurdi, and (yes that's his shy wife Shelley on doo doo doo's on "Travel My Dark Road"). But enough blah.

I like Drew Smith's voice (sometimes Van Morrisonesque), but I love his songs -- from "Nilsson Sings Newman" to "Silver Pictures" to "Diamonds" to the wonderful "NYC Song." But let's get real. "Follow Me Down" and "Are You Lonely" enlist every LIVING soul in the audience as part of the "lonely choir" -- because you are just so very comfortable hanging out with Drew and his entourage, sharing a brew and maybe more and singing together into the wee hours. Drew would say (correctly, to be sure) that his pal Matt and his musical arrangements are what make the record, even the live performances, so memorable -- but that humility is what makes Drew (and for that matter, Dustin Welch himself) so unforgettable. Drew's songs reflect the person he is -- take, "So I sat stunned from the beauty of an evening glowing brilliant" from "NYC Song," or the opening line from "Home" -- "Home feels just ike an old friend that I hold through slumber all the day.."

POSTSCRIPT!!!!! I met Will Callery the other day -- guy whose hit songs include "Hands on the Wheel" and whose old comrades include Jerry Jeff Walker. Will, whose musical success was wrecked by powder, chose God and gave up music for a long-time career as a lumberjack, is back playing guitar and writing songs .. including "The Great Divide," which will appear on the album series, "Voices of a Grateful Nation" and as part of "Welcome Home," a project begun by Eric Clapton's longtime drummer Jamie Oldaker and Craig Hillis to honor our troops. Players on his new record include my good friend Greg Lowry, Joe Forlini, T, Gosney Thornton, Ted Sweeney and Eddie Cantu and Pat Menske.

POSTSCRIPT II!!!!! At the Marcus birthday party, I also ran into Nick Drozdowicz from the band Twilight Broadcast, which moved to Austin a while back from Madison, Wisconsin (note to all cheeseheads -- get to know these guys!). He gave me a demo copy of their soon to be released CD, "The Variety Show," and I listened to it twice through late into the night -- and then again the next day. More on this band soon. Hmmm -- like Goldcure, this band started with two singer-songwriters hanging out together playing their songs.

Flanfire -- Bringing LIFE to Austin music.