Flanfire

Jane Bond has been a fixture in Austin ever since she blew in from Boston what seems like an aeon ago. There was a time she was viewed as the heir apparent to blueswoman Toni Price -- and Toni called her little sister. My own first Jane Bond experience featured Matt Hubbard on trombone (and other instruments as well); then it was the Keller Brothers and more old and new blues. Lots of players have worked with Jane through high and very low times -- including a very sad trip on Kevin Fowler's bus out to west Texas.

Lately, though, Jane has changed her tune -- thanks in very large part to her new singing partner, the very tall and handsome Chad Tracy, who hails from Wisconsin but writes songs and sings them, too, like he's from Fort Worth. Their brand-new disc, "Hell or High Water," showcases tunes that Chad and Jane have worked on together and individually. Current Spanker Josh Hoag plugs in the bass lines, and Eddie Flores and Jamie Oldacker switch out on drums. Half the songs were recorded by Tommy Spurlock, who lends his pedal steel and other talents to the project; half by guitarist Jason Frankhouser. There are notable appearances by Bradley Williams (accordian), Erik Hokkanen (violin), and Jamie Hilboldt (organ) -- but the star of this collection is the songs themselves.

The title cut tells a sad tale of two lovers who flee the law and get all the way to the Mexican border only to be confronted by lawmen who haul off our hero while our heroine hides in the mesquite and gets away. Later, our boy, who is suffering primarily for her sins, finds out he has a daughter. Great slap bass and fiddle energize this number. "The Border," which features Williams' accordian, is a tall tale about a woman who "says she's going cross town taking care of her mama" but is really "getting drunk in Tijuana" -- but when her man's friend who works for the Border Patrol rats her out, the solution is that he goes to Tijuana with his woman.

"When the Tables Turn," one of my favorites, showcases Jane's voice (Chad's, too - but his harmonica is the star here) -- "Some say love's a gambler," goes the song. This song and "Colorado" both sound a little Gram Parsonsesque -- that lonesomeness that is inescapable. The latter features Hokkanen's fiddle and talks about "getting out of Texas," but the song reminds me of "California Cottonfields" (made famous by Merle Haggard but perhaps sung best by Hazel Dickens, except perhaps for that rare but wonderful version by Gram and Emmy Lou).

"Walked Around the World" is just flat beautiful -- a great country ballad, great for slow dancing with the lady of your dreams. Of course, I just crave the twang that is just not there in Chad's smooth larynx ... now Ray Price would have added strings and maybe even horns to this one -- and made Chad a million dollars. Who knows? Maybe he will.

"My Favorite One" speaks of "pastures of plenty and pastures of green" that have been foregone because of the bottle -- this is one of the songs here that should be really hot done live with a full, hot band ... and maybe Jane in a cowgirl outfit. But what would a fiddle have done here? We need MORE HONKY TONK!

And speaking of honky tonk, "Right Time of the Night" is some of the purest I have heard in quite a while -- done a little faster, this number would fill up the dance floor at the Spoke or Midnight Rodeo or Gruene Hall with the PRIMO steppers .... this song has ATTITUDE!

"Doesn't Bother Me at All" (whether Chad realizes it or not) is not really how the writer feels here -- he just hopes he's over her. Which is why this can be a great number -- because if he was REALLY over her, it would be bragging to tell her about it ... What he really wants is just one more try ....

"Rose Marie" is a lovely shuffle that is reminiscent of an old Eagles song ... guess which one. The disc ends with Jane's plaintiff "In the Stars," which may be the best thing she's ever done. This song signals the change in her life and her music, and the reverie that is the pedal steel solo gives us all time to reflect on how much we have loved this woman's music and spirit and how glad we are to see her smiling and excited about every sunrise, every trip wading into the Rio Grande to take the photos for the cover, and all of the people she is today singing for.

But wait -- there's more! I took my (96-year-young) mother out to Patsy's to see Brennen Leigh (and the handsome Leo Rondeau too!) the other night, and Brennen was missing her wayward brother (something about a real job?) but that was just fine as she introduced me to one of country music's finest players (singers, too, I learned two days later).

Greg Garing was playing honkytonk piano for money in his pre-teen years, then went to Nashville at age 16 and was blown away by the music of Bill Monroe. Later he would jam with the founder of bluegrass music (so it is said) and play in the band with the King of Bluegrass, the recently and very dearly departed Jimmy Martin. [He also made 36 records with Vassar Clements.] Garing has also found the time to become expert in blues, jazz, and "electronica" (whatever that is!) and, yes, to play a little honkytonk with members of Roy Acuff's band.

So why is this legendary player, last domiciled in Noo Yawk City, here in Austin? To play great music, of course. With Brennen he brought out his fiddle, mandolin, and guitar and my mother said he was "pretty good" -- and she is a woman not easily impressed. [Just in the past few years she has seen Willie Nelson and Brenda Lee at her hometown venue, and now she has gone from the short to the tall of it with Brennen Leigh!] But I digress!

Garing then played an unpublicized gig at Flipnotics on Monday, following a sparkling set (mostly missed by me!) by Shotgun Party -- a band featuring Katy Cox on fiddle, Christopher Crepps on bass, and the amazing Jenny Parrott on guitar and in which everyone sings (including on this night guest trumpeter and raconteur Oliver Steck). I, for example, had missed the tossing of flowers into the audience -- but I will surely NOT miss their CD release party at the Continental Club on July 30th.

Katy stuck around to play fiddle with Garing (along with a bassist whose name escapes me -- sorry!), who this night played only his guitar -- and reminded us that Bill Monroe had told him that the guitar was not a solo instrument in a bluegrass band. But who cared? Katy's fiddle solos were sparkling, and Greg's vocals were beyond beyond -- Orbison level stuff!

Lots of Garing originals and dotted with covers of songs by legends with whose bands he has performed -- and a rousing rendition of "Deep Ellum Blues." Maybe the highlight of the evening was Greg's version of the Hank Williams gospel tune, "When God Comes To Gather His Jewels."

Flanfire -- Bringing LIFE to Austin music.