Flanfire

The Belle(s) of Belleville Outfit
Plus The Hudsons and Leonhardt






Okay, so I went to the Hudsons CD release party at the Cactus Cafe last Wednesday and of course they have their new fiddle player -- Leah Zeger -- and she is such a prodigy that a while back she was the youngest member ever of the Austin Symphony. Poor kid was living in her car, looking for a home in Austin (she was just moving up from Houston to live here full time), but you would have never known it from her zesty playing and excellent harmony vocals.

The boys -- Hudson Mueller and Brian Hudson, plus bassist Jason Vopni (who has also improved light years as a standup bassist since I first saw him years ago down at Alice's Restaurant) -- have a new CD (Before I Sleep), but their three-hour show featured material all the way back to their high school daze (and oddly enough they are back playing Thursdays at Waterloo Ice House on 6th and Lamar, where they began their illustrious rise to become Austin's No. 1 folk group, per the Comical).

The only downer (of sorts) for the evening was that the promised CD's were late in arriving (they did have a few for paying customers), and so we did not obtain one for review. Songs on the CD include "The Problem Song," "Gringoland," and "Before It Rains" (all can be heard for a while at their myspace page) -- and I wish I could find my notes from the show to tell you all of the other cool things that happened that evening other than that I was sitting with the lovely mom and sister (Bala Soto and Stephanie Hunt) and very good friend (Sasha Ortiz) of longtime Hudsons fiddle player and singer Phoebe Hunt.

Which leads to Monday at Gruene Hall and my firt time to catch the Belleville Outfit, whose members have finally all moved to Austin to join up with Marshall Hood and of course Miss Hunt. It is easy to see why Phoebe left the Hudsons to join up with these guys (who include members of the DesChamps Band plus a couple of add-ons they picked up while lead singer and guitarist Rob Teter and bassist Jeff Brown were spending two years at Loyola University in New Orleans). First, they're younger and (well, at least guitarist Marshall Hood is!)better looking than Hud and Brian -- and they respectfully call Phoebe "Grandma" because atnot yet 23 she is the band's oldest member.

Not that the newbies are slouches -- stride pianist Connor (Corndog?) Forsyth, who hails from Tulsa and whose style has been compared to that of Oscar Peterson, spent his time in the Crescent City learning hand to hand from the legendary Ellis Marsalis. And, this young tall skinny lad is the REAL DEAL -- his fingers seem never to touch the keyboard as they fly across the black and whites to make people dance. Drummer Jonathan Konya (the lone Connecticut Yankee in the band) was also busy in Nawlins learning from top drummer Johnny Vidacovich and learning well.

Their four-hour spree on this rain-soaked afternoon in Gruene also included special guest performances by none other than Phoebe's sister Stephanie (doing her own number "Through with You" and the classic "Summertime," during which she exploded into a powerhouse halfway through the tune) and Steph's new roomie, Sasha Ortiz, who wowed the crowd FIRST by celebrating her birthday (we will not tell which one) and then by singing "Blue Skies" and "Centerpiece" as the band played on. Cake was good, too -- supplied by Phoebe's and Stephanie's mom.

The Outfit, who will be playing Jovita's (sans Phoebe, who has a more important assignment this week) this Friday before going on tour until a November 11th date at Central Market) -- so take our good advice and pack the joint! The boys promise a surprise special guest for the show. They also will be up in Nashville soon, working on a forthcoming debut CD which may (read, MAY!) be out for Christmas. Those who know that Marshall is Champ Hood's nephew will find it no surprise that the band covers a bunch of Uncle Walt's Band tunes -- and much more -- or that having once dared to use the name "DesChamps" in their band name they are up to the calling that our late and revered musical heroes provided for them.

I also took time on Sunday night to hang out with Brennen Leigh, Leo Rondeau, and Marshall Jones (and his Frontier Phrenologists) at Beerland as they put on quite a show -- but I have written enough about all of these folks to whet your appetite. But I DO have to tell all of you out there to get over to Antone's RECORDS (that's the one on Guadalupe!!!!!) on Saturday afternoon at 3 pm for a CD release party for Jennifer Leonhardt.

I caught Jennifer at Club One 15 last week and had already fallen in love with some of her music -- her "Homeland" is currently featured on my site. She is from a notorious Fort Worth musical family (she says her grandmother, who is her own inspiration, was a honky tonk singer there years ago) but grew up on the East Coast, went to the West Coast, and only recently got enough sense to land back in Texas (thank you, 2006 Kerrville Folk Festival). She is living out in Comfort and just beginning to play in and around town -- and yes she is planning to tour with the new CD, "Gods and Nations."

My OTHER favorite song on the record is "U Wear It Well" (no relation to the Rod Stewart number of a similar name) -- but how can you not like "Here Comes Trouble" (which I think is autobiographical), or "Cradle" or the title cut or "Love Junkie." [which is not to diss the other songs -- all hers except Strange Fruit]. The CD was done in New York City and a little bit in Seattle, but at the club she was using Dylan Rieck (just moved down from Seattle to do graduate work in music at UT) on cello -- and the cello carried the musical lead the whole evening; Sir Jhon Bellizia on percussion and banjo (he is also the bass player in the metal band Estrum and plays in a reggae band on the West Coast -- and hails from Grove City, PA); and very close friend James Bullard (who has played for years with Gary Clark, Jr.) on bass.

Jennifer sings with what I could only describe as a "controlled howl" -- very free and spirited, and reflective of time spent with old jazzmen and young dreamers. I like what I have heard so far, and look forward to feedback from others who give her music a listen.

So much to look forward to this weekend and then it is ACL Fest for those who dare.




Flanfire -- Bringing LIFE to Austin music.