Flanfire

Steelbeam's signature song, "Boilermaker Blues," is NOT about an alcoholic drink. It is instead a celebration of the (mostly) men who climb way up high and risk their lives to build the infrastructure that makes our system functional -- bridges, oil rigs, water towers, skyscrapers, and the like. Songwriter/poet P J Liles, who fronts this industrial music group (not the sound, but the image), is himself one of those guys who works outside - and it shows on every line of his smiling, joyful face. Bandmates Eric Leikam (currently the engineer for the Kevin and Kevin show on KGSR when not DJ'ing in his own right or writing and performing his own music), Steve Gavigan (whose other recent gig is backing the legendary Glenn Yarborough), and Kyle Judd (the guitar stud of the Shelley King Band and the Jessica Shepherd Band) are the group's core members. Saturday night at Maria's Taco X-Press (yes, we are waiting for Walgreen's to give the green light for startup of her new building) the band was joined by powerglider Kevin Hollingsworth on lead guitar (Kyle had to leave early to play with Shelley, Jessica, and Steelbeam itself at Poodie's) and Will Dunlap on baritone guitar.

As usual, the mood was upbeat, and the house was rockin' despite the continued intense heat of the late August afternoon. The band has a brand-new six-song CD, "Fit That Steel," which features two songs by South Austin stalwart Steve Ulrich (who's off in Oregon getting hitched on Labor Day), one by Leikam, a second Liles song, and "Redneck Ways," a longtime Steelbeam favorite penned by the late Stevie "Guitar" Sparks. Steelbeam began a few years ago as a side project for guys and gals who were also singing in the South Austin Gospel Choir. Much has happened in the lives of band members since that time - some joyful, some painful - but the band has gotten tighter and more focused on making blue collar music for the people. As Liles warbles, "Computer city needs some good old-fashioned blue collar sound."

Sunday afternoon it was still hot in Austin - and up in Wells Branch, where we trekked to catch a live set from the Jessica Shepherd Band (with Judd on guitar, Perry Drake on drums, and Greg Bumgardner on bass -- too many notes, Jessica kept saying of his playing). The travelingirl (six trips to Australia, where she is much better known and revered than in her native Texas) had a lot of fun with the audience, giving away CD's to two women in the audience who were brave enough to sing the chorus to her "Party Palace" ode to the beauty shop live and on stage while getting all the words right. Lots of songs from her (sadly) only CD to date and from what we hope will soon be her second CD -- plus some great covers both of Texas artists and of Sting and Van Morrison (Moondance!!!!!).

Sunday night it was back to Momo's Club for the Bonnie (without Blythe) show, and to no one's real surprise, the blonde bassist (playing her blue acoustic guitar this night) had recruited two wise gentlemen to accompany her right out of the musician-laden audience. Steven Pile has just completed his Austin debut CD, "Home for Right Now," which was produced by Stephen Doster and features such players as Brian Keane (keyboards), El Goins (drums), the absolutely fabulous Brad Hauser (bass, bass clarinet, and and upright bass), and Doster himself - plus Sara Shansky on backing vocals on many songs. There are also appearances by cellist Brian Standefer, trumpeter Paul Brainard, Guy Forsyth on harp, Bukka Allen on harmonium and accordian, and Eamon McLoughlin on fiddle/violin. Not a bad band. We are still listening to the CD, and will report more in depth closer to his CD release date, but "Faultlines" is a really really good song.

Also joining Bonnie was Gareth Broesche on mandolin -- (I think I spelled his name right!) -- the guys really filled Bonnie's songs out nicely. Bonnie and Blythe (Jamie) just got done opening at the Cactus Cafe for the Austin Lounge Lizards and will be opening for Patrice Pike at Momo's this Friday - with special guests on stage with them, to be sure. Hopefully, one of them could be Bonnie's sister Eleanor - Please, TCE, send her down for a meeting or something to get her here.

My bud Bryce Clifford joined the party in time for Warren Hood and the Hoodlums (minus a very busy Andrew Nafziger, who showed up in time to visit but not play). No prob -- Warren got to use his one-time replacement from the South Austin Jug Band instead -- the incomparable now 21-year-old Dennis Ludiker, who took Warren's place as fiddler and moved to mandolin both to make room for new fiddler Bryan Beken and to fill the void left by the departure of founding member Matt Slusher. The long-fingered Ludiker is absolutely ludicrous -- Nafziger playfully says, "I hate him" (for being so good so young) -- he lit up Hood's originals "Black Cat" and "Can't Be Mad/Sad WHen You Are Near" (or whatever the song is really named) just as much as Warren did on his fiddle/violin solos.

No one in the band grins as much as the gum-chewing Mike Keller - the blues man in the bunch who kept bringing out classics of Fifties R&B days like "You're So Fine" and "You Got Me Running" -- with bassist Nate Rowe thumping along and new drummer Damon Llanes (brother of Rudolph Llanes, of whom we wrote good things earlier this summer) bringing his crisp and flawless licks to the fore. Damon is playing with Mike Barfield - former Hollisters front man - at the Continental Club starting next month.

Yet it is no accident that the guy Warren places in the middle of the stage is the timeless Seth Walker, who blew us away from his first round song, Guy Clark's "Baton Rouge," to a soulful version of "You Don't Know Me," to his own "Meet Me in the Middle" to a gospel tune that got people clapping and swaying to the music. Why there are not a thousand people out every time this group gets together baffles the mind -- who cares if it is late on a Sunday night? The Dead Zone and The 4400 aren't THAT good!

BTW -- I can now reveal that the new name for the old Indian Cowboys is "The Gallows." That's Mike Cherry, Leo Rondeau, and whomever else they can rope in to play -- catch them every Saturday at five or six at the Carousel Lounge - where even the sober can see the pink elephant.