Flanfire

Lonesome Heroes on the Road Again



The real star of the Lonesome Heroes just might be Helga -- Rich Russell's VW microbus that is about to turn 400,000 miles, much of that carrying Rich and singing partner (and best pal) Landry McMeans across the country the past few summers (Landry says she WILL finish college but no summer school please!).



But this daring duo (who sometimes play with co-conspirators but not this night at Ego's) has taken flight (leaving Helga behind) for a one-month tour of New York City and environs (Rich's hometown stomping grounds) where they are debuting their brand-new CD (recorded live at Flipnotics by Daren Appelt), "Sunny Eyed Highway Songs." Soon the Heroes will be showing off their new songbook (with lots of Landry drawings along with good stuff from their travels) -- and, yes, they will be back in Austin before beginning the second leg of their summer 2007 marathon (in which Helga will be the star!).


Rich mostly plays guitar, with Landry on dobro, but sometimes they switch up, and of course both sing and write their songs. The new CD begins with "Sunny Eyed Highway," which celebrates the "highway queen" (Helga, we presume!). Folks, this is dancing music -- and, yes, as promised, psychedelic alt-country that lightens the heart and makes you laugh. [In addition to the new threads shown above, Landry says she also has a red hot red outfit, too!] Michael Bilger plays upright bass and Sarah Stollak fiddle on most of these tracks, adding to the joy.


Landry contributed three (or is it five?) songs to this collection, including the beautiful "Canary," the haunting "Stardust" (wait a million years and I'll be shining like the sun), and "Headlights on the Highway," which speaks about "the teenaged girls [who] look twice my age in New York City" and makes you feel like you are in the bus with the band. At the Ego's show, she honored her parents on their 33rd anniversary as wonderful role models for true love.


Rich wrote the rest [well, the jacket says so!], including "Don't Play to Lose," the title cut (and great sing-along) from their earlier EP, "Halos Above Our Heads," and crowd favorite "Oyster," which features a tantalizing dobro and fiddle interplay. Landry also sings "The Moon and the Sun" (I'm just a shadow in the light), while Rich takes the lead on "Scattered Thoughts" (another traveling song) and "Drunken Pirate Ship," which features a WICKED fiddle solo by the Austin Fiddlah! The CD closes with a 5-minute version of "Still [choosing?] Life" (the Seldom Scene would love this stuff!) -- "Sing for a land that we will one day call our own."

Maybe my other favorite here is "Visions of Yesterday" (is that not what this band is really ALL about?). Rich lets us know that "these visions of yesterday are leaving me with a bittersweet smile, and I don't know where to go." And yet, the road beckons, and the tender twosome treks on -- in search of the next adventure.


Every time I hang out with Rich and Landry, I remember "Fat City," that insanely joyful band put together by Billy Danoff and Taffy Nivert long before Billy co-wrote songs with John Denver (including "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and "I Guess He'd Rather Be in Colorado") and Emmy Lou Harris ("Boulder to Birmingham," the tribute to Gram Parsons), and he and Taffy formed the Starland Vocal Band ("Afternoon Delight").

I spent many an evening with Bill and Taffy at the 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue club (and elsewhere) and always recall the joy they had singing and sharing life together -- a joy that came to a crashing halt nearly three decades ago after their summer TV series (which introduced David Letterman to television) was not renewed and the band broke up.

Rich assures us that the alt-country Wednesdays at Headhunters will continue in their absence and mentioned that the "Down Here Band," which just arrived from Wisconsin, will be hosting while the Heroes are on the road. OUR hope is that these kids will still be as fresh as the new fallen snow after their NEXT 400,000 miles .....

TIDBITS -- Tallest Heathen (and Dartmouth grad) Gordy Quist will be debuting his solo CD (done in Nashville and reportedly magnificent) later this month in Austin and his hometown Houston area ... the slimmed-and-trimmed down (and, yes, barefoot) Heathen bassist Seth Whitney tied the knot a week ago (and, yes, he cried at his own wedding, we are told by a reliable source) ... This leaves Colin Brooks as the lone bachelor in the fab four, but girls remember this is the same fearless (and often barefoot) picker whose favorite food is "Cornbread" and favorite entertainment personality is Larry the Cable Guy (or maybe Jim Carrey as "The Cable Guy") -- AND his once-long locks have not grown back.

All kidding aside, Colin, Seth, Gordy and the amazing Ed Jurdi were joined on stage at Antone's (for the live DVD recording) by John Chipman on drums and Chip Dolan on keyboards and accordian for one of the finest hours I have ever spent at the storied club. And why not? Fat Caddy Records and the boys treated the entire crowd not only to a great evening of music but also to a free dinner of jambalaya, green beans, cornbread, and red beans and rice supplied by Gene's New Orleans PoBoys -- with Gene himself serving out some of the great food!

Flanfire -- Bringing LIFE to Austin music.