Acoustic Guitar 267.pdf

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MARCH 2015 | ACOUSTICGUITAR.COM

3SONG

S

FLEET FOXESSim Sala Bim

TOWNES VAN ZANDTPancho and Lefty

TRADITIONALGo Tell It on the Mountain

LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III /JULIAN LAGE & CHRIS ELDRIDGE

TEXAS

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AcousticGuitar.com 5

CONTENTS

33Lone StarUnplugged!

Just in time for SXSW:

AGs guide to the players,

the clubs, the makers & more

34For the Sake of the Song

20 essential Texassinger-songwriters

By Richard Skanse

41Young Guns

El Pasos Dirty River Boys

find their own path to glory

By Marc Greilsamer

425 Texas Troubadours

A handful of gifted newcomers

By Richard Skanse

44Praise the Lloyd

From pedal steel to production,

Maines is the Man

By Richard Skanse

46Live Music Capital

of the World

20 music hotspots

around the Lone Star state

By Peter Blackstock

52Hotbed

5 great Texas guitar builders

you should know

By Adam Perlmutter

Miscellany

10From the Home Office

14Opening Act

105Ad Index

106Final Note

March 2015

Volume 25, No. 8, Issue 267

On the Cover

Townes Van Zandt

Photographer

Brigitte Engl/Getty Images

Special FocusAcoustic Texas

WINKER WITHANEYE PHOTO

Kacy Crowley

performs at

Saxon Pub in

Austin, Texas

23Glory Days

An exclusive excerpt from a

new memoir, Rumours of Glory

By Bruce Cockburn

28Prodigal Sons

Guitarists Julian Lage andChris Eldridge traverse the

landscape of American music

By Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers

Features


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NEWS

15The Beat

Music is a never-ending dream

for the women of First Aid Kit;

Del McCoury does Woody Guthrie; & more

20News Spotlight

Earls of Leicester:

Jerry Douglas tribute to a Dobro pioneer

PLAY

56Songcraft

Loudon Wainwright III can be serious

or funny, but hes always compelling

60Take It Easy

Helpful hints for opening acts

62Heres How

Keep your guitar in tip-top shape

64Basics

Use jazz language to improvise in any style

66Weekly WorkoutTwo ways to get fluent on the fretboard

Songs to Play

72Sim Sala Bimby Fleet Foxes

78Pancho and Lefty

by Townes Van Zandt

80Go Tell It on the Mountain

arranged by Steve Baughman

AG TRAD E

83 Shop Talk

Luthier extraordinaire Bruce Sexauer

on pearwood and other exotic tonewoods

CONTENTS

86Makers & Shakers

Can Ren Ferguson revitalize

the Guild Guitars brand?

88Guitar Guru

Brazilian rosewood has never

been more in demandor rare

90Review:

Thompson OM Brazilian

An heirloom-quality instrument

thats a worthy investment

92Review:

Gretsch G9201 Honey Dipper

A modern resonator guitar

with that authentic Delta sound

94Review:

Recording King RP1-16C

The old-style 0-size wonder packs a punch

96Pickin

Webers Two-Point Bitterroot octave

mandolin sounds like a tiny string orchestra

98Great Acoustics

Collings collectible

cowboy stencil guitars

MIXED MEDIA

100Playlist

Laura Marlings tough and tender fifth

album, Short Movie; plus Classic African

American Songwritersand new releases

by Eric Bibb, Jim White vs. the Packway

Handle Band, and Rob Ickes &

Trey Hensley

83California

Dreamin:

Bruce Sexauer


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8 March 2015

READ MORE ACOUSTIC TEXAS

ONLINECHECK OUT AGS SELECT

GUIDE TO TEXAS MUSIC FESTIVALS

Blues, bluegrass, conjunto, folk, gospel, rock

the great state of Texas has embraced a seem-ingly unlimited range of roots music fests.

South by Southwest is the big one, but the

Old Settlers Music Festival and other events

draw fans from around the globe. Read about

AGs faves at AcousticGuitar.com/News.

SAVE BIG ON VIDEO LESSONS,

SONGBOOKS & MORE

Every FridayAGoffers a special deal: $2 back

issues, 50% off an acoustic blues course, or a

buy one, get one free offer on our Guitar

Anatomy guide. Look for these special offers!

AcousticGuitar.com/Deals

If you loveAGs print stories, dont miss our online interview and performance

seriesAcoustic Guitar Sessions. Go to AcousticGuitar.com/Sessions and watch

Bruce Cockburns solo performances of Waiting for a Miracle and If I Had a

Rocket Launcher, both played on his vintage Dobro. While youre at the AG

Sessions page, check out appearances from other artists including Seth Avett,

Ani DiFranco, Peter Rowan, Richard Thompson, Valerie June, and others.

Watch Acoustic Guitar

Sessions Online

AG ONLINE

Bruce Cockburn

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PHOTO

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EARLY INNOVATORSIn the 1930s, working with legendary guitar maker John

DAngelico, John DAddario Sr. was determined that the

future of the modern guitar was in steel strings. John

spent his days working alongside his father Carmen

out of their humble shop in Queens. His evenings were

devoted to experimenting with wire material samples, a

practice that was his passion for fifty years.

Eventually, John would sample a hexagonal-shaped

mandolin wire for his core, theorizing that a geometric

core would hold the string wrap tighter and better,

creating a more consistent sound. He was right.

The masterpiece was complete when the Hudson Wire

Company of New York sent him 80/20 brass wire. John

had been experimenting with different wire for years,

but here was the breakthrough hed been hoping for.

THE SOUNDFor the better part of a century, DAddario has been creating the finest acoustic guitar strings

in the world. Innovated to extremes, crafted with conviction, and perfected to sound true,

these are the strings that set the standard.

THE STORY BEHIND

This alloy, and the hex-shaped core, gave acoustic

guitars more volume, sustain, punch, and brightness.

Guitar makers began stringing all their instruments with

DAddarios 80/20 bronze. The bar was set. For four

decades, the crisp, deep, bright-sounding tone was the

standard for any musician with an acoustic guitar.

FORGING NEW POSSIBILITIESIn 1974, 80/20 strings were used in the worlds most

influential acoustic guitar music. But Johns son, Jim,

wasnt satisfied.

Reading a Mechanical Engineers Handbook, a single

passage caught Jims attention, Phosphor bronze,

the passage informed, is used for situations where

1930s 1970s

Working with John DAngelico,

John DAddario perfects the

formula for the first iconic acoustic

string set: a hexagonally shaped

core coupled with an 80% copper

and 20% tin wrap wire.

Johns son Jim invents a string

prototype using a Phosphor

Bronze wrap material. The set is

immediately warmer sounding,

but the true revelation is that the

strings last longersounding

fresh weeks later.

DAngelico is a registered trademark of

DAngelico Guitars of America, New York, NY.


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INTRODUCING NY STEELFrom 2010 to 2013, the company focused on re-

engineering high-carbon steel wire for music strings.

The result is a material with unprecedented pitch stability

and strength. This proprietary wire is called NY Steel.

NY Steel was first introduced in early 2014 in NYXLelectric guitar strings. The feedback from players was

extraordinary. The five-star reviews continue to roll in.

People all over the world are raving about the sound,

strength, and ability to stay in tuneno matter how long

the set, song, or solo.

And now, this same technology is available in DAddarios

EXP acoustic guitar sets. Given the long-lasting

protection that EXP provides for wound strings, the

addition of NY Steel in the cores and plain steel strings

ensures artists can string up and worry about one thing,

and one thing only: their music.

With a consistent quality of tone and a now-unrivaled

ability to last longer and stay in tune better, these strings,

the sound, and ultimately the songs they help create, will

surely endure.

ALWAYS TRUE

resistance to fatigue, wear, and chemical corrosion

are required. Jim thought that a material with these

properties might be the perfect alloy for acoustic

guitar strings.

He immediately crafted a prototype and strung up his

prized D35 and D12-35 Martins. Within a few chords, he

was blown away.

What he heard was a whole new tone that was more

even, warm, and bright. A week later, the strings still

sounded fresh. And a week after that. Phosphor Bronze

didnt just sound great, they held their tone better than

their 80/20 counterparts. This would set a precedent for

all future extended life innovations.

NEVER SATISFIED

Over the next three decades, DAddario not onlyredefined instrument strings, but also perfected the

process and materials used to create them. In time,

Jackson Browne, Crosby, Stills and Nash, George

Harrison, and hundreds of the worlds most critical

luthiers all preferred the 80/20 and Phosphor Bronze

iconic acoustic sound.

In 2001, DAddario introduced EXP coating to

their acoustic sets. This coating was engineered to

create a longer-lasting string without sacrificing the

quintessential sound and feel. While this innovation

was game changing, DAddario was determined to do

more than improve the lifespan of their strings, but also

improve their stability.

daddario.com/alwaystrue

1990s 2000s TODAY

NY Steel, a proprietary high-

carbon steel wire, is introduced

to EXP acoustic sets. The material

is not only stronger, but exhibits

unprecedented pitch stability.

DAddario perfects EXP coating,

which quadruples string life

without compromising the

comfortable feel and legendary

sound of DAddario strings.


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Neil Young &Florence WelchSHORELINE AMPHITHEATREMOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIAOCTOBER 2014

OPENING ACT

JAY BLAKESBERG PHOTO14 March 2015


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INTRODUCING EXP-COATED SETS WITH NY STEELDAddario created EXP-coated acoustic strings so that the quintessential tone

of our 80/20 or Phosphor Bronze sets could last longer, yet still maintain the

sound musicians love. Today, were introducing NY Steel to our EXP sets, aproprietary material engineered for unprecedented strength and pitch stability.

Coated to last longer. Engineered strong to stay in tune better.

ALWAYS TRUE

THE HARMONY OF

LONGEVITY AND STABILITY

daddario.com/alwaystrue


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20 March 2015

Followingin JoshsFingerstepsJerry Douglas latest project

pays tribute to Dobro pioneerBY MARC GREILSAMER

he played mine, and we played a couple of

tunes, and he said, Im gonna see you again,

kid. And when I got to Nashville, the next time

I saw him, he remembered me.

The key to playing like Uncle Josh was in

mastering that three-finger roll. It gave him a

propulsive sound that no other Dobro player

could match.Nobody could keep that drive, says

Douglas. They could get up a roll for a few

seconds, but they couldnt keep it going. Josh

could just power right through the whole thing

and connect the dots, never stop the roll. Hed

go from one chord to another and had a way of

finding his way, weaving his way through the

chord changes without stopping or sliding into

the next chord. No one else did that.

When I figured that out, how to get from

one chord to another without stoppingwhat

the grace notes are that can lead you from one

chord to anotherthat was so huge to me.

NEWS SPOTLIGHT

On the Tennessee headstone of one Burkett

Howard Uncle Josh Graves, the inscrip-

tion refers to a legendary Dobro player who

was a viable part of bluegrass and American

music history. The way he lived his life should be

a roadmap for all who follow in his fingersteps.Questionable diction aside, the inscription

celebrates a musician whose influence still, er,

resonates throughout the bluegrass community.

And perhaps no one has followed in those fin-

gersteps quite as admirably as Jerry Douglas,

the worlds first-chair Dobro player. In tribute to

his first musical hero, Douglas has assembled a

bluegrass supergroup dubbed the Earls of

Leicester, and while the bands name nods

toward Earl (Scruggs) and Lester (Flatt), theres

no doubt about the true inspiration behind the

project.

As a member of Flatt & Scruggs Foggy

Mountain Boys, Uncle Josh brought the blues-soaked resonator guitar to prominence as a

bluegrass instrumentcapable of fiery runs as

well as tender, soulful inflections. Once Scruggs

helped him learn his patented three-finger

banjo roll and modify it for the resonator, the

result was a thrilling, hard-driving sound that

captivated audiences and distinguished the

band from other bluegrass acts of the time.

It was the whole attitude that he played

with, Douglas says of Graves. It was a blues atti-

tude. Bluegrass wouldnt be the first thing youd

think of if you heard his solos out of context.

HOMESPUN HERO

Douglas Dobro epiphany happened in 1963,

when he was just seven years old; he saw the

Foggy Mountain Boys for the first time, at

Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown, Ohio,

part of an Opry package show featuring, among

others, Roy Acuff and Ray Price.

I had heard the records before then,

Douglas says , but seeing it played right there

in front of me, seeing the instrument I didnt

put the visual part with the musical part until I

saw them play that night. And then it was like,

wow, thats the coolest-looking thing Ive ever

seen. What [Graves] did with it just solidified

in my mind that I needed to get a little closer to

this and learn how to play it.

At the time, Douglas didnt have a Dobro, but

that didnt stop him.I talked my father into

raising the strings up on my Silvertone guitar. It

couldnt take the pressure, and it folded up in a

matter of months. And I think we cut up a tooth-brush to make the nut, to raise the strings up,

and I used a piece of copper tubing for my bar.

When Douglas was 13, he had a chance to

meet his hero at a festival campground.

Douglas had already figured out a lot of Graves

solos and was able to spit them back at him.

Graves loved it, offering the youngster nothing

but praise and encouragement.

I came out from behind a treeI was really

bashfuland then played a tune for him,

Douglas remembers. Then, he got his Dobro

out and handed me his Dobro, which to me was

like giving me the Holy Grail. I played that and

ANTHONYSCA

RLATIPHOTO

Earls of Leicester

Douglas, far right, leads the band

Flatt & Scruggs

The Foggy Mountain Boys with Uncle Josh Graves, far right


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BORED WITH PSYCHEDELIA AND THE TORONTO ROCK SCENE,

A CANADIAN FOLKI E FINDS HIS VOICE IN FINGERSTYLE GUITAR PLAYING

ruce Cockburn rose to prominence in

the turbulent 1980s with such politi-

cally charged folk-rock songs as If IHad a Rocket Launcher, his heated response to

the CIA-backed campaign against the leftist rebels

of El Salvador. Cockburn is also known for songs

informed by his Christian beliefs, his other social

and political activism, and his unflagging pro-

environmental stance. But underlying his music is

a powerful command of a variety of guitar tech-

niques, including fingerstyle.

In the following excerpt from his new autobiog-

raphy, Rumours of Glory: A Memoir, Cockburn

recounts his transition from frustrated band playerto solo artist. At 23, hed grown bored with playing

psychedlia. So, he grabbed his Martin 00-18 and

went in pursuit of his dreams. My ears were tired,

he writes. It was time to move on. There was

beauty to be coaxed from the guitar that is unique

to the instrument. A new nine-CD companion box

set, packed with studio songs and previously unre-

leased material, chronicles his solo work.

AMEMOIRBYBRUCEC

OCKBURN

B

JOEY LUSTERMAN PHOTO

BYBRUCECOCKBURN


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24 March 2015

hrough it all, Toronto remained cold

and unwelcoming, musicians ever

more aggressively hustling for gigs

and desperate. There was some authenticity,

some exceptional music, and some promisingartists, but as these things often go, the shysters

and wannabes, phonies, and petty criminals

seemed to take over the scene and make it

oppressive. I had a few friends, but mostly I felt

detached from humanity in the crazy city. I

hovered in my own thoughts and songwriting,

and isolation, and stepped further toward a

solo career.

My flight from the band scene was delayed by

another offer to join an ensemble, one that was

difficult to refuse. The invitation was from 3s a

Crowd, a Toronto folk-rock band that had relo-

cated from out west. They blazed bright for a few

minutes and then collapsed. The original outfit

was an entertaining folk trio consisting of Donna

Warner, Trevor Veitch, and Brent Titcomb. Those

three had performed together for a few years

before getting a record deal and expanding into asix-piece that included my former bandmates

Richard Patterson and David Wiffen. I knew them

from their regular visits to Le Hibous stage.

Brents house in Yorkville provided a kind of

refuge during my lonely sojourn in Toronto. He

and his then-wife Maureen had a mysterious tol-

erance for my silent presence. Sometimes Id be

handed a guitar and invited to play something.

The band had recorded a couple of my

songs (as well as some by Bill Hawkins) on an

album called Christophers Movie Matinee, pro-

duced by Cass Elliot of the Mamas and Papas,

whose music I did not care for. My 3s a Crowd

The best thing I got

out of that tour was

meeting Fox Watson.

Fox was an accomplishedguitar player, a lovely

fingerpicker who

introduced me to the

magic of open tunings.

T

DOUG GR IFFIN/TORONTO STAR PHOTO


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KINDRED SPIRITS

On the afternoon before the show in Oswego,

Lage and Eldridge meet at an airy caf to talk

about how they came together. On the face of

it, the two guitarists are not an obvious pair.

Eldridge is steeped in bluegrass. Both his

parents are banjo pickers and his dad, Ben

Eldridge, is an original member of the Seldom

Scene; the younger Eldridge first played

onstage with his fathers band at age 15 and,

after college, founded the Infamous Stringdust-

ers before joining forces with mandolinist Chris

Thile to form Punch Brothers.Lage, by contrast, was a jazz prodigy. He

picked up the guitar at five, and his passion and

prowess quickly led to extraordinary opportuni-

ties: At eight, he jammed onstage with Carlos

Santana (and was profiled in the documentary

Jules at Eight); at nine, he started meeting up

with David Grisman and Martin Taylor to play

standards; at 12, following a performance on the

Grammy telecast, he played the first of many

gigs alongside vibes legend Gary Burton, with

Herbie Hancock sitting in. Lages father, Mario,

recalls that, especially in his sons early years,

We spent more time trying to keep him out ofthe limelight than letting him go in.

Despite the stylistic differences in their

backgrounds, Lage and Eldridge, now 27 and

32, respectively, see a lot of commonalities.

At the core, Critter and I both got into

guitar music in a similar way, and thats by

being fascinated by it and asking a lot of ques-

tions, Lage says. My questions led me first

into the blues world and then to David Gris-

mans scene a little bit, and then very quickly

into jazz. All my questions seemed to lead to

jazz. It was like, Oh, you want to get better at

interacting and improvising? Study jazz.

PRODIGAL SONSJULIAN LAGE &CHRIS ELDRIDGE

t a fall concert in an elegant ballroom

in Oswego, New York, the stage is

nearly empty. There are no amps, no

pedals, no monitors, no forest of mic stands or

tangle of cables. At center stage is just a single

large-diaphragm microphone, around which

two lean young men in suits play old Martin

guitars, listening intently to each other as they

blend their voices and steel strings.

While the stage setup is austere, this duos

music is anything but. Chris Critter Eldridge

picks a 1937 D-18 and, with an affectingly

unvarnished vocal style, dips into the reper-toires of everyone from Norman Blake

(Ginseng Sullivan) to Sam Cooke (Ill Come

Running Back to You) to George and Ira Gersh-

win (Someone to Watch Over Me). On the

other side of the mic, Julian Lage adds soft

vocal harmonies and coaxes gorgeous, liquid

tones from a 1939 000-18, recalling at times

the melodicism of Pat Metheny or the quicksil-

ver lines of Django Reinhardt.

Lage and Eldridge are celebrating the

release of their first full-length album,Avalon, a

snapshot of what they do onstage: traverse the

landscape of American music, from bluegrassand traditional country to blues, gospel, Tin

Pan Alley, jazz, David Grismanstyle dawg

music, and eclectic original instrumentals

Eldridge refers to during the show as art songs.

Whatever the genre, the duets are a guitar

lovers dream, as two of todays best young

players strip away all other musical adornments

to explore the expressive possibilities of their

instruments.

In the words of Kenneth Pattengale of the

Milk Carton Kids, who produced Avalon, the

record is a sonic love letter to the acoustic

guitar.

A

COME FROM WILDLY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES

TO CREATE A WHOLLY UNIFIED SOUND

BY JEFFREY PEPPER RODGERS

JUSTIN CAMERER PHOTO


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30 March 2015

Avalonis a sonic

love letter to the

acoustic guitar.

KENNETH PATTENGALEOF THE MILK CARTON KIDS

Eldridges guitar journey started with elec-

tric playersStevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson,

Robben Fordand a solid-body guitar. But

eventually he got hooked on the bluegrass that

filled his childhood home, and in particular the

flatpicking of Tony Rice, who became Eldridges

mentor when he was studying at Oberlin

College in Ohio. Ben Eldridge recalls how Chris,

as a teenager, started picking the brains of the

players in the Seldom Scene, listening intently,

and jamming along. He always had the drive toget better, the elder Eldridge says. He told me

once that he wanted to get so good that when

the two of us got out of the car at a bluegrass

festival, people would say, See that old guy

over there? Thats Chris Eldridges dad. That is

now my proud claim to fame.

Chris Eldridge reflects on his and Lages

shared obsession with exploring the instrument.

You dont meet a lot of people who have com-

mitted their life to that. So I think we saw each

other as kindred spirits when we met, he says.

That first meeting happened at a 2008 Punch

Brothers show in Boston, where Lage andEldridge jammed offstage; neither recalls

exactly what they played, but probably a fiddle

tune like Big Sciota or Whiskey Before

Breakfast.

I definitely remember that we immediately

took it someplace fun, and it got deconstructed

pretty quickly, Eldridge says. It was more of a

conversation than, like, rhythm guitar, take a

solo. There was a musical dialogue happening.

In performance, the two guitarists roles are

so fluid that its often hard to discern their indi-

vidual parts. And in some tunes they solo at the

same time, creating counterpoint on the fly

all skate is Eldridges term for those thrillingimprovisational passages. At the end of

Whiskey Before Breakfast, on Avalon , the

bouncy fiddle tune takes on the layered com-

plexity of a Bach harpsichord piece.

In their acoustic duo, Julian

Lage and Chris Eldridge use

minimal gear.

Lage plays a 1939 Martin

000-18 with DAddario phos-

phor-bronze light-gauge

strings. He uses a BlueChip

TP50 pick and various capos,

including a Planet Waves NS

and a Dunlop Gold model.

Eldridge plays a 1937 Martin

D-18, using various medium-

gauge phosphor-bronze strings

(including DR and the Tony Rice

signature Martin Monels).

He uses a BlueChip pick

and a McKinney-Elliott capo.

Amplification: one Audio-

Technica 4033 condenser mic,

with no monitors.

WHATJULIAN LAGE &

CHRIS ELDRIDGEPLAY

MODELS AND HEROES

When Lage and Eldridge began to scheme

about performing as an acoustic duo, they dis-

covered another point of connection: Both

loved River Suite for Two Guitars, the 1995

album by Tony Rice and John Carlini, which

spanned songs by Miles Davis and Stephen

Sondheim, as well as originals.

That was always in the back of our heads:

Hey, we have a model for what this could look

like, the bridging of the two worlds, Lage says.The two found inspiration in other great

guitar duos as well, including the early jazz pio-

neers Carl Kress and Dick McDonough and the

ragtime fingerpickers Eric Schoenberg and

David Laibman. As a kid, Lage made weekly

visits with his dad to Schoenbergs guitar shop

in Tiburon, California, where hed check out

instruments, ask Schoenberg questions about

fingerstyle technique, and jam. In the folk/

Americana realm, Lage and Eldridge consider

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings to be, in

Lages words, superheroes for how they

manage the nature of two guitars and theirvoices and songs, and having this robust kind of

aesthetic, sonically and otherwise.

Another musical hero for both players is the

late jazz master Jim Hall, who Lage describes as

the overarching figure in our world. After

hearing Halls music through his longtime guitar

teacher Randy Vincent, Lage became such an

obsessed fan that he wanted a pair of gray New

Balance sneakers like Halls. At 11, Lage met his

hero at a concert at the Bay Area jazz venue

Yoshis. Hall stunned the young guitarist by strid-

ing into the audience and introducing himself.

Lage wound up performing with Hall numerous

times until Halls death in 2013.Eldridge didnt know Hall personally but

first heard him in college, on the Sonny Rollins

record The Bridge. The first track, Without a

Song, really blew my mind, Eldridge recalls.

The playing was so spare, elegant, and beauti-

ful. Id never heard jazz guitar like that. For

Eldridge, the spirit of Halls music made as

deep an impression as the notes themselves.

He played with such musicality and lack of

pretention, and pure commitment to beauty

and honesty. I think those are attributes that we

all as musicians should strive towards. So Ive

always had Jim as a beacon, as a guitar player,but even more as a musician.

THE VINTAGE SOUN D

Eldridge and Lage both play mahogany Martins

built just two years apart in the 1930s. In a

stripped-down setting, the instruments simi-

larities give a special quality to their combined

sound. That matching of guitars was pure ser-

endipity. Eldridge has played D-28s for years

and only recently got his D-18; around the

same time, Lage happened to get the 000-18.

Were lucky that we have these two really

complementary instruments, Lage says. Evenif they are stomping all over each other, it

sounds coherent in a weird way, which is hon-

estly just, thank you, universe, for giving us

these two guitars. Thank you, Mr. Martin.

Avalonbeautifully captures the nuances of

the two guitars, thanks to Kenneth Pattengales

keen ear as producer and engineer. After

hearing Lage and Eldridge perform four sets at

the 2014 Wintergrass festival in Washington,

Pattengale suggested the duo make a record

that would document what they do onstage.

Last spring, when the Milk Carton Kids tour

itinerary crossed briefly with Lage andEldridges on the East Coast, Pattengale rented

the Avalon, a historic art-deco theater in

Easton, Maryland, for a couple days of record-

ing. He set up microphones onstage and in the

balcony (see RecordingAvalon on page 30)

and let the two musicians play.


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32 March 2015

Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge

Avalon

Modern Lore

Right

Ear Trumpet Labs Edwina

But how do you start a song that has a

defined destination yet no map showing the way

there? All it takes is one note, Eldridge says.

As long as somebody plays one note, then

youre in it. And then eventually, theres just the

knowledge that, OK, were going to F at some

point, whenever it feels like its time to go. But

its really nice having something like that. That

song feels like a blank canvas to me. It feels like

a laboratory to interact and try and discover

things. I mean, ideally, as a musician, you always

want to be trying to discover something, but I

really cherish getting to play that one, because I

feel like every time, the MO is discovery. Lets

discover something together. AG

RECORDINGAVALON

For theAvalonsessions, pro-

ducer Kenneth Pattengale set

up a cluster of mics between

the two musicians: Ear

Trumpet Labs Edwinas for the

vocals and Oktava MK-012s for

the guitars. Up in the theaters

balcony, Earthworks QTC30s

captured the room sound.

The most important factor in

the sound, Pattengale says,

was keeping the mics at least

three feet away from the

players. While most engineers

favor close miking of the guitar

to help it cut in a mix,

Pattengale believes that

approach sacrifices the instru-

ments sonic subtleties.

Taking a step back from

the microphone allows for a

tonally diverse instrument like

the guitar to first establish its

identity in the air, physically,

he says. The resulting sound

on the album, a blend of all the

vocal/guitar/room mics, does

justice to the rich tones of the

vintage Martins, the extraordi-

nary attention to detail by the

players, and the atmosphere

of the old theater.

Both Lage and Eldridge have

separate new albums out, too.

Eldridges most recent release

with the Punch Brothers, The

Phosphorescent Blues, came

out in late January, and Lages

solo guitar album, Worlds

Fair, arrived in early February.


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In honor of the annual South

by Southwest Music Conference

held in Austin, Texas, in March,

Acoustic Guitartakes a look at

all the musical riches the Lone

Star State has to offer.

Austin, of course, is the live music

capital of the world, but Texas

is a massive state with lots of

diverse musical offerings beyond

the capital cityparticularly

for acoustic guitarists.

In this section, Texas writers Peter

Blackstock and Richard Skanse

spotlight the essential Lone Star

singers, songwriters, guitarists,

musical newcomers, and live-

music venues. Contributing

editor Adam Perlmutter takes

a look a few Texans who create

the hardware for musicians,

including the famous CollingsGuitars and Kyser Capos.

(Go to acousticguitar.com for

a list of Texas music festivals.)

Enjoy this special focus on the

music of Texas, where everything

is biggerespecially the yarns

that singer-guitarists like Robert

Earl Keen and the late Townes

Van Zant spin.

BIGGER IS BETTERTEXAS MUSIC, FROM A TO VAN ZANDT

34For the Sake

of the Song

20 essential Texas

singer-songwriters

41Young Guns

El Pasos Dirty River Boys

find their own path to glory

425 Texas Troubadours

A handful of gifted newcomers

44Praise the Lloyd

From pedal steel to production,

Maines is the Man

46Live Music Capital

of the World

20 music hotspots

around the Lone Star state

52Hotbed

5 great Texas guitar builders

you should know


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34 March 2015

From blues and rock n roll to country and

hip-hop, the Lone Star State has produced a

size-appropriate share of bona-fide legends

over the decades, but its the acoustic guitar-

wielding singer-songwriter that perhaps best

exemplifies Texas musics independent spirit

and outlaw mythos. By and large, the best

Texas troubadours pay little heed to genre

fences and the conventional rules of

Songwriting 101. They set their own rules,

break them at will, and dedicate their lives

pursuing not so much the bridge between art

and commerce as the golden mean between

impeccable craftsmanship and true poetry.

1. TOWNES VAN ZANDT

Songwriters songwriter is a title

that gets tossed around a lot, but

when its bestowed by no less a

giant than Kris Kristofferson upon

a recipient as deserving as

Townes Van Zandt, take it as

gospel. The scion of a Fort Worthoil family who battled manic

depression throughout his life

and died at 52 on New Years Day

1997, Van Zandt wrote songs that

could be both dazzlingly abstract

and devastatingly direct, often in

the same verse, and his melodies

could be as beautiful as his blues

were brutal (weigh the achingly

lovely To Lives to Fly against

the harrowing Waitin Round

to Die.) He was also a fleet flat-

picker in the tradition of his hero,Lightnin Hopkins, as evidenced

on Van ZandtsLive at the Old

Quarter. Recorded in Houston

in 1973, the double album is as

essential as records in this genre

get: 93 minutes of nothing but

the poet, his guitar, and a sack

of songs so bulletproof, he opens

with Pancho and Lefty (see

music on page 76).

FOR THE SAKEOF THE SONGTHESE 20 ESSENTIALTEXAS SINGER-GUITARISTSHELPED WRITE AMERICAS STORY

BY RICHARD SKANSE

2. GUY CLARK

A veritable Rock of Gibraltar to

his mercurial compadre Townes

Van Zandts rolling stone, the

Monahans-born Guy Clark has

called Nashville home for his

entire recording career. Genera-

tions of younger writers, fromRodney Crowell to Hayes Carll,

study his craft and strive for

inclusion on his Deans List. By

the time Clark released his flaw-

less 1975 debut, Old No. 1,a

fistful of his most enduring songs

(including Desperados Waiting

for a Train and L.A. Freeway)

had already been canonized in

Texas via covers by Jerry Jeff

Walker. Decades later, a host

of other esteemed troubadours

(many on this list) did right bythe master on the terrific This

Ones For Him: A Tribute to Guy

Clark. But as proven with every

record hes made up to 2013s

Grammy-winningMy Favorite

Picture of You, nobodysings a

Clark song as definitively as Guy

himself, his cigarette-toasted,

West Texas drawl fitting every

precision-tuned line like a coat

from the cold.

PHILWEEDONPHOTO


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3. WILLIE NELSON

Has any artist in country music

ever had a more distinctive guitar

sound than Willie? The Abbott-

born songwriter had already

penned most of his greatest Nash-

ville-era hits (Crazy, Night

Life, Hello Walls, etc.) by thetime he finally acquired Trigger

in 1969, but American musics

most iconic living artist and his

beloved Martin N-20 classical

have been inseparable ever since.

Every record hes made over the

last four-and-a-half decades (and

Willie makes a lotof records) has

prominently featured his trade-

mark tumbling leads and

gypsy-jazz chording, plucked out

of an instrument with a voice and

battle-scarred face as singular ashis own behind-the-beat phrasing.

Willie, who turns 82 this April, is

still as active as ever, and though

he doesnt write near as much

as he records or tours anymore,

2013sBand of Brothershis first

album in many years comprised

mostly of originalsproves he

can still knock out a stone-cold

classic when he fancies. Just

listen to The Wall.

4. KRIS KRISTOFFERSON

Even if there were other Texas

songwriters who could pad their

resumes with Rhodes Scholar,

Army captain, chopper pilot, and

silver-screen idol, Brownsvilles

Kris Kristofferson would still

stand out from the crowd bymerit of being the only one

who alsowrote Me and Bobby

McGee, Sunday Mornin

Coming Down, Help Me Make It

Through the Night and For the

Good Times. Although his songs

are best known through other

voices (most notably Janis Joplin

and Johnny Cash), Kristoffersons

writing alone was a game

changer, serving notice to main-

stream critics and rock snobs that

country music could be every bitas sophisticated and scary smart

as Dylan at his best. And damn,

was Kristoffersonsuave! I aint

saying I beat the devil, he

growled on his 1970 debut,

sounding like the most interesting

man in the world, but I drank all

his beer for nothin . . . Then I

stole his song.

5. BILLY JOE SHAVER

Armed with an eighth-grade educa-

tion and a right hand shorted two

fingers in a saw accident, Billy Joe

Shaver has written some of the

finest hardscrabble country songs

this side of Hank Williams. The

Corsicana scrapper was an Out-laws outlaw from the git-go, with

Waylon Jennings recording almost

an entire album of his songs

(1973sHonky Tonk Heroes) the

same year Kris Kristofferson pro-

duced Shavers seminal debut, Old

Five and Dimers Like Me. Shavers

70s songbook is chock full of pro-

gressive country classics (Black

Rose, Georgia on a Fast Train),

but he recorded many of his best

albums in the 90s with MVP

support from his guitar-hero son,Eddy: 1993s Tramp on Your Street,

featuring arguably his best song,

Live Forever, is a masterpiece.

Eddys death in 2000 and myriad

other obstacles have knocked

Shaver sideways numerous times

over the last decade-plus, but

2014sLong in the Tooth finds the

Old Chunk of Coal still fit as the

proverbial fiddleand still plenty

randy for a born-again Christian

soldier.

Above

Willie Nelsons

face itself

says Texas.

Right

Billie Joe Shaver

has paid his Texas

songwriter dues.

JIMH

ERRINGTON

PHOTO

JIMM

CGUIRE

PHOTO


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ACOUSTIC TEXAS

36 March 2015

6. THE FLATLANDERS:

BUTCH HANCOCK, JOE ELY,

& JIMMIE DALE GILMORE

Were cheating here, given that

the three main members deserve

their own spot on this list (alongwith fellow Lubbock luminary

Terry Allen, if only his weapon

of choice were guitar rather than

keyboards). But even though

whip-smart raconteur Hancock

(If You Were a Bluebird), roots-

rocker Ely (Letter to Laredo)

and cosmic honky-tonker Gilmore

(Dallas) have all established

storied solo careers, any time

their stars and schedules align is

cause for celebration. Fortunately

that happens a lot more nowa-days than it used to: After waiting

30 years to follow up their 1972

debut with 2002sNow Again,

the three amigos have taken to

touring and recording together

fairly regularly over the last

decade.

7. RODNEY CROWELL

From his salad days as a disciple

of Guy Clark and Townes VanZandt in the early 70s through

his stint playing rhythm guitar in

Emmylou Harris formidable Hot

Band, Rodney Crowell wrote a

handful of songs that remain

some of his most enduring crowd

favorites, including Till I Gain

Control Again, Aint Living Long

Like This, and Leaving Louisi-

ana in the Broad Daylight. But

his best work was yet to come,

most notably 1988s edgy country

blockbusterDiamonds & Dirt(which launched a record-setting

five No. 1 chart hits) and his

2001 Americana masterpiece, The

Houston Kid. Crowells continued

in strong, prolific form ever since,

constantly raising his own bar

both as a solo artist (see2003s

splendidFates Right Hand and

2014s widely acclaimed Tarpaper

Sky) and as a collaborator (as on

his Grammy-winning 2013 duo

record with Harris, Old Yellow

Moon).

8. NANCI GRIFFITH

Austin-reared folkie Nanci Griffith

has long been a champion ofother writers, from up-and-com-

ers such as Lyle Lovett and Robert

Earl Keen to heroes including the

host of folk icons (Dylan, Prine,

Van Zandt, etc.) she paid tribute

to on her Grammy-winning 1993

set, Other Voices, Other Rooms.

But her own compositions are just

as strong, with poetic jewels like

Love at the Five and Dime,

Gulf Coast Highway, and Its a

Hard Life Wherever You Go cut

with bittersweet nostalgia, palpa-ble heartbreak, and astute social

awareness that rings as pure

as her sweet Texas twang and

strong, gorgeous melodies.

9. STEVE EARLE

Like Rodney Crowell, Texas

ex-pat Steve Earle honed his craftat marathon song-pulls with Guy

Clark and Townes Van Zandt in

Nashville before finding a quick

taste of mainstream country fame

with his rollicking 1986 debut,

Guitar Town, and even a flash

of rock-radio love via the hard-

hitting title track of 1988s

Copperhead Road. But from the

acoustic renewal of 95s Train a

Comin to the rousing post-addic-

tion surge of 96sI Feel Alright

and onwards, hes evolved intoone of the most stridently politi-

cal and adventurous artists in

modern Americana musica self-

styled Hardcore Troubadour

as comfortable playing bluegrass

with Del McCoury as he is raging

against the death penalty, fascism,

and other social ills with swagger

(and maybe a borrowed riff or

two) reminiscent of the Stones at

their Street Fighting Man best.

10. ROBERT EARL KEEN

Although best known for The

Road Goes On Forever, Houston-born, Kerrville-based Robert Earl

Keen hasnt maintained his stand-

ing as one of the biggest live

draws in Texas since the 70s

heyday of Jerry Jeff Walker

on the strength of one rousing

anthem alone. His catalog is

stacked with three decades worth

of modern classics every discern-

ing Americana music fan should

know by heart, ranging from sing-

along favorites including Gringo

Honeymoon to such songs asCorpus Christi Bay, Dreadful

Selfish Crime and Wild Wind

that feel as cinematic in scope

and narrative detail as Texas nov-

elist Larry McMurtrys The Last

Picture Show. Keen is also a

peerless bandleader and savvy,

inventive interpreter, qualities

brought to the fore on his first

covers collection, 2015sHappy

Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions.


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17. TISH HINOJOSA

The youngest of 13 children born

to Mexican immigrants, Tish Hino-

josa captures the multi-cultural

splendor of her native San Antonio

with such deft grace that you

almost dont even notice when her

crystal-clear voice switches from

English to Spanish. Her 1992breakthrough, the aptly titled

Culture Swing, seamlessly blended

folk influences from both sides of

the border, with the stirring, bilin-

gual Mex-Tex anthem Bandera

del Sol ringing as true as Some-

thing in the Rain, a portrait of the

migrant experience as poignant as

Woody Guthries Pastures of

Plenty. Even better is 96s unre-

lentingly gorgeousDreaming from

the Labyrinth.

18. BRUCE ROBISONThe Dixie Chicks, George Strait,

and Tim McGraw may have been

the mainstream-friendly voices

that carried his Travelin Soldier,

Wrapped, and Angry All the

Time to the top of the country

charts, but Bruce Robison is no

slouch of an entertainer himself.

The Bandera-reared songwriter is

one of the smoothest country

crooners this side of fellow Texan

Don Williams. His best solo

album, 2001s Country Sunshine,plays like a lost classic from the

golden age of AM country radio,

while 2013s Cheaters Game and

2014s Our Year, a pair of duo

albums with wife Kelly Willis are

packed with fun, feisty covers of

songs by artists ranging from

Dave Alvin to the Zombies.

19. RUTHIE FOSTER

Even when she was playing

acoustic duo music best suited for

coffee houses and campfires,

Ruthie Fosters voice always

sounded like a powerhouse

instrument worthy of bigger

stages and national attention. She

found both with 2007s The Phe-nomenal Ruthie Foster,which

traded stripped-down folk for

thick slabs of Memphis soul and

swaggering blues (including

strong originals like Heal Your-

self and Mama Said holding

their own alongside assertive

covers of Son House, Sister

Rosetta Tharpe, and Lucinda Wil-

liams). Subsequent releases such

as 2012s Grammy-nominatedLet

It Burn and 2014sPromise of a

New Dayhave been steeped in theequally potent gospel influences

Foster grew up with from singing

in churches in the tiny East Texas

town of Gause.

20. HAYES CARLLThe drollest songwriting voice to

roll out of Houston suburbia since

Lyle Lovett, Hayes Carll leapt

from pretty good (2002sFlowers

& Liquor and 2005sLittle Rock)

to legitimately great on 2008s

Trouble in Mind and 2011s even

betterKMAG YOYO (& other

American stories). The guy can do

earnest, tears-in-beer honky-tonk

(Chances Are) and crunchy

roots rock with the best of them

(Bad Liver and a Broken Heartcoulda been a monster of a Tom

Petty hit), but its his sense of

humor that really sets Carlls

work apart: She Left Me for

Jesus goes for easy laughs, but

the Dylan-on-acid trip of KMAG

YOYO and neo-con/hippie

hook-up anthem Another Like

You only get funnier with

repeated listens.

Louisiana-born Lucinda Williams spent

much of her 20s singing folk songs and

blues covers there, and South Dakota

native Shawn Colvin has been a resident

since before she won her Grammys for

Sunny Came Home in 98.

Patty Griffin, originally from New England,

has also been an Austin fixture for most

of her recording careerlong enough that

some Austinites are still in denial that her

ex-boyfriend, Texas-claimed Robert Plant,

has since moved back across the pond.

Austin also had another famed Brit rocker,

Ian McLagan, the former Small Faces/Faces

keyboardist who died on December 3rd.

McLagan was the secondmember of that

seminal British rock band to move there,

after the late Ronnie Lanes tenure through

most of the 1980s.

The list of honorary Texas troubadours

goes on: Eliza Gilkyson, the Hollywood-

born daughter of 50s songwriter Terry

Gilkyson (The Bare Necessities) and an

acclaimed folk artist in her own right, has

lived in Austin for years, as has Buffalo

native Gurf Morlix, who in addition to

writing and performing his own music is

one of Americanas most sought-after pro-

ducers and guitar players, in large part due

to his work with fellow Texas transplants

like McLagan. And then theres Maines

Slaid Cleaves, Canadas Bonneville, andLos Angeles Tom Russell, whos based

in El Paso.

Regardless of their point of origin, all

of the above merit consideration for any

playlist of great Texas singer-songwriters.

Or perhaps a companion playlist of their

own, kicking off with Lyle Lovetts Thats

Right (Youre Not from Texas)the

Texas loves you anyway song he co-

wrote with fellow Texas songwriting icon

Willis Alan Ramsey . . . of Birmingham,

Alabama. R.S.

Richard Skanse, a former editor at Rolling Stone, is currently the

editor of Lone Star Music Magazinebased in San Marcos, Texas.

Continued from page 37

LucindaWilliams

Hinojosa


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The 600-mile drive from El Paso to Austin

takes about eight or nine hours on the

long, straight, and flat Interstate 10.

Yet, when it comes to musical identity,

the two cities might as well be a million

miles apart.

YOUNG GUNSEL PASOS DIRTY RIVER BOYSFIND THEIR OWN PATH TO GLORY

BY MARC GREILSAMER

Growing up in El Paso, says the

Dirty River Boys Nino Cooper,

we were a bit secluded from the

Texas music scene. We were in

our own little bubbleunaware

of itand I think that helped usdevelop a unique sound.

El Pasos pretty far removed

from everything else thats hap-

pening in Texas, adds bandmate

Marco Gutierrez.

It wasnt until the Dirty River

Boys started touring around

central Texas, opening for artists

such as Houston-born country

singer Cory Morrow, that they

internalized the Lone Star States

signature brand of country-folk

songwriting.

The truth is, says Gutierrez,

we had no idea what the Texas

country scene was about.

Things have changed for the

high-energy, mostly acoustic West

Texas foursome. Cooper, Gutier-rez, Colton James, and Travis

Stearns are now well-acquainted

with the Texas country scene;

they are, indeed, a crucial part of

it. Yet, with an exhilarating blend

of rock, bluegrass, honky-tonk,

folk, punk, and pop, the Dirty

River Boys stand apart from the

central Texas singer-songwriter

crowd, their El Paso roots still

shining brightly.

Being from the desert, its

really inspiring, says Gutierrez.

A few of the songs that I wrote,

I wanted to re-create the feel of a

desert landscapereaching for a

spaghetti-western kind of feeling.

Notes Cooper, There are defi-

nitely sounds that evoke WestTexas imagery, some of that desert

feel, some of that border feel.

Youll hear a little bit of a western

sound, a little bit of a Latin flair.

El Paso is a vital source of

lyrical themes as well. For example,

Down by the River, the opening

track on the Boys recently released

self-titled album, references the

drug violence of neighboring

Juarez, Mexicoa town that was,

before the cartels, a popular desti-

nation for El Pasos denizens. The

band even enlisted fabled Texas

songwriter Ray Wylie Hubbard

to help finish it off.

Undertaker looks like crows,

red-eyed and dressed in black

that Ray Wylie vibe rounded out

the tune, says Cooper.

The hometown influence also

shows itself in more elusive ways.

For one, the lack of a bona fide

country scene meant the bandmembers were exposed to a wider

variety of musicemo, hardcore,

and indie rock in particular. For

another, El Pasos relative dearth

of music venues indirectly led

them to the acoustic-based instru-

mentation they boast today

guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin,

harmonica, upright bass, cajon

box drumafter theyd started

out as a full-blown electric band.

We started breaking it down

into all-acoustic instruments outof necessity, says Cooper. A lot

of the places we were playing

didnt want a loud drum set or

amplifiers. We were just trying to

play everywhere that would allow

us: hotel lobbies, three-hour bar

gigs, restaurants playing in the

corner, Sunday brunches, birth-

day parties. It naturally evolved

from there, and we just sort

of fell into [an acoustic sound].

Both Gutierrez and Cooper

already owned acoustic guitars

they loved. For Gutierrez, its aGibson Songwriter he got from

his dad at 17fresh off the

Guitar Center wall in El Paso.

Cooper is partial to his Taylor

814ce limited edition with

cocobolo back and sides, which

boasts an A/B switch that toggles

between a Baggs Venue DI

preamp system and an 18-watt

Lee Jackson Master Series amp

(for a dirty electric sound).

Prudently, his 1968 Brazilian

rosewood Martin D-28, a hand-me-down from his father, stays

at home.

By combining thoughtful,

reflective lyrics with an infectious,

full-throttle approach, the Dirty

River Boys seem to have settled

on a winning formula that is dis-

tinctly Texaswith a twist. Says

Gutierrez, We wanted the best

of everythingsomething of sub-

stance, something with meaning,

with catchy poppy hooks and the

raw, gritty, dirty guitars. AG

TODDWHITEPHOTO

El Paso

Austin


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42 March 2015

DAVID

MCCL

ISTERSMP

HOTO

While many of the living

legends of Texas music

continue to tour and

produce noteworthy

material, theres no

shortage of gifted

newcomers who are

well on their way toward

renown. Along with

El Pasos explosively

energetic Dirty River

Boys, here are five more

rising stars from the

Lone Star State doing

their part to keep the

proud Texas songwriting

tradition alive for

generations to come.

1. RYAN BINGHAM

Calling Bingham an up-and-

comer is admittedly a stretch, as

the 33-year-old troubadour has

already won a Grammy, Golden

Globe, andOscar for The WearyKind, his theme song for Crazy

Heart. Calling the native of

Hobbs, New Mexico, a Texan

is a little iffy, too, though he did

spend a good chunk of his forma-

tive years in Texas and started

songwriting in between riding

bulls on the rodeo circuit. Most

important, though, hes got the

goods, as he proved right out

of the gate with his startlingly

strong 2007 national debut,

Mescalito, and the handful of

fine records hes released since(including the brand-newFear

and Saturday Night). Having Joe

Ely and Terry Allen among his

biggest fans hasnt hurt his Texas

cred, either.

2. ROBERT ELLIS

Houston kid Ellis cut his teeth

playing classic country on his

hometowns honky-tonk bar

scene, but since following his

wanderlust to Brooklyn, NewYork, and Nashville, Tennessee,

hes evolved into a true original

as fully revealed on his 2014

album, The Lights from the Chemi-

cal Plant, an eerily beautiful mix

of twilit Americana awash in

pedal steel and spacey flourishes

that sound like Gram Parsons

cosmic American music updated

with cunning imagination for the

late 21st century.

3. BETTYSOO

Born in the Houston suburb of

Spring but long based in Austin,

BettySoo may well have the most

gorgeous voice in Texas at the

moment, if not in all contempo-rary folk: Its purity and strength

can be downright devastating

when shined through the prism

of songs like 100 Different Ways

of Being Alone, one of the many

standouts from her deeply

moving 2014 set, When Were

Gone. The rest of her catalog is

just as richand varied, too, with

2007sLittle Tiny Secretsflashing

a sense of humor as wicked as the

true grit that characterized her

Gurf Morlix-produced 2009

release,Heat Sin Water Skin.

TEXASTROUBADOURS5 MORE SINGER-SONGWRITERSWHO ARE BLAZING NEW TRAILS

BY RICHARD SKANSE

JARRED

GASTRIECHPHOTO

VALER

IEFREMIN

PHOTO

ANN

AA

XSTERPHOTO


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4. SHAKEY GRAVES

Although hes now trying to shake

off the one-man-band tag,

Shakey Graves is still for all

intents and purposes the stage

name of Alejandro Rose-Garcia,

the Austin actor-turned-song-

writer who snuck onto the indie

radar with his download-only

2011 debut,Roll the Bones, and is

now making a serious impressionon the national Americana scene

with 2014sAnd the War Came.

His sound is a compelling mix of

raw, stomping blues and haunt-

ing-but-hummable acoustic folk,

reminiscent at times of both the

Black Keys and his Dualtone label

mates the Lumineers, but also

unique unto itself.

5. JAMIE LIN WILSON

As one of the four lovely voices

that made the all-female act the

Trishas among the decades more

refreshing new acts in Texas

Americana music, Jamie Wilson

stood out as a solo talent in

waiting. That promise, first hinted

at during her early days co-front-

ing the Gougers and later on her

2010 solo EP,Dirty Blonde Hair,takes its long-overdue turn in the

spotlight on her new full-length

debut,Holidays & Wedding Rings.

Wilsons songs are equal parts

folksy and country, with breezily

catchy melodies, but her lyrics

convey the maturity and emo-

tional fortitude of a seasoned

Texas road warrior who also

happens to be a happily married

mother of three.

Far Left

Shakey Graves

introduces the talents

of Alejandro Rose-Garcia

Right

Jamie Lin Wilson

goes solo

centrum.org

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Faculty includes Paul Asbell, Michael Jerome Browne,

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46 March 2015

From a city that proclaims itself

The Live Music Capital of

the World (Austin) to a town

that doesnt really exist except

for a legendary dancehall

(Luckenbach), Texas has long

celebrated places where musical

magic happens. Many of the

best regularly present artists who

adapt acoustic instrumentation to

a variety of genres, from country

and folk to blues and jazz to

Cajun and conjunto. AGsurveyed

the state for this panoramic

sampler of 20 essential Texas

music venues.

LIVE MUSICCAPITAL OF

THE WORLDVISIT THE 20 ESSENTIALTEXAS VENUES

BY PETER BLACKSTOCK

AUSTIN AREA

CACTUS CAFE

No lesser authority than Townes

Van Zandt signed a gig poster

declaring the Cactus to be my

home club. A former lunchroom

in the student union building on

the University of Texas campus

might seem an unlikely locale for

a songwriters mecca, but long-time proprietor Griff Luneburg

spent decades getting the sound,

feel, and bookings in the room

just right. Now run by UT radio

station KUTX, the Cactus has

broadened its stylistic horizons

a bit, but at its core it remains

a classic listening room.

2247 Guadalupe St.

(512) 475-6515

cactuscafe.org

CONTINENTAL GALLERY

Steve Wertheimers revered Conti-

nental Club has been the musical

anchor of the citys centrally

located South Congress district

for nearly 30 years (and it existed

in other forms before that), but

the more recent addition of the

Continental Gallery upstairs hasbeen a major plus for acoustic

fare. A small space with a living-

room feel, the Gallery is home to

some of the citys top weekly resi-

dencies, including first-rate jazz

with the Church on Monday

gang and songwriter sessions

by Jon Dee Graham and James

McMurtry.

1315 S. Congress Ave.

(512) 441-2444

continentalclub.com

BROKEN SPOKE

The iconic honky-tonk recently

celebrated its 50th anniversary,

and though its now surrounded

by giant apartment complexes as

Austin has grown up around it,

everything still feels the same

once you walk through the front

door. Couples twirl and two-stepin an oval across the long con-

crete dance floor as top regional

bands play traditional country

spiked liberally with fiddle and

pedal steel. If you get tired of

Austinites bemoaning that you

should have been here back

when, head to the Spoke

and youll be back there again.

3201 S. Lamar Blvd.

(512) 442-6189

brokenspokeaustintx.com

ONE WORLD THEATRE

Rising from the hills on the west

side of Austin is a castle-like

building that looks like it belongs

in the European countryside.

A rambling property that includes

patios and banquet rooms leads

into an immaculate theater space

with a few hundred seats plus asmall balcony. Bookings, which

tend toward known names in

jazz, folk, Latin, blues, rock, and

pop, may not be as progressive

as the citys central venues, but

One World serves an important

constituency with a consistent

emphasis on quality performances

in a unique setting.

7701 Bee Caves Road

(512) 330-9500

oneworldtheatre.org

BILLELL

ISON

PHOTO


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52 March 2015

Its impossible to overstate

the importance of Texas in

the development of popular

music. The Lone Star State

has been the breeding

ground of so many different

idioms and offshoots, from

Western swing to Tex-Mex

to Texas blues. Texas is

likewise a hotbed of

musical-instrument manu-

facturing, including both

production and boutique

acoustic guitars. While the

offerings surveyed here

might be all over the map,

they share in common a

certain flair and rugged-

ness of design that is

unquestionably Texan.

MUSICAL HOTBEDFIVE LONE STAR GUITAR BUILDERSYOU SHOULD KNOW

BY ADAM PERLMUTTER

1. BILL COLLINGS

When you think of acoustic

guitars and Texas, Bill Collings is

likely the first name that comes to

mind. In the mid-1970s, Collings

dropped out of medical school to

pursue a career in lutherie, and

today he presides over one of the

premier instrument companies

in the country. Headquartered in

Austin, Collings and his roughly100 employees produce about

3,500 instruments a year, and just

as the music of Texas is richly

varied, so is Collings line of

fretted instruments. Collings

models include flattops, archtops,

and electrics, as well as mando-

lin-family instruments and

ukulelesall in Texas style.

There is a certain pride that

most Texans feel about living

here, says Collings sales director

Alex Rueb. Everyone in our shopfeels the same pride for the guitars

we produce. When people care

about something and take owner-

ship of it, they will put their heart

and soul into it. Thats quintes-

sentially Texan in my book.

Synthesizing the designs of

many golden-era instruments,

Collings guitars share many fea-

tures with their prewar counter-

parts, but are more rugged with

their hybrid mortise-and-tenon

bolt-on neck joints and steel-

reinforcement neck strips. Many

great musicians have responded

to these creations, including

singer-songwriter Lyle Lovett, who

has played Collings instruments

since he bought the companys

29th guitar back in the mid-1970s.

Singer-songwriter Sarah

Jarosz, who grew up in Wimberly,

Texasjust a stones throw away

from the Collings factory, shesayshas played Collings instru-

ments since she was a teenager.

Now 23, Jarosz still relies on her

MF5 mandolin and D1A guitar,

one of two guitars Collings built

for David Bromberg to celebrate

his 60th birthday (he chose the

other one).

Jarosz had met Collings

general manager Steve McCreary,

a wood expert, shortly after she

began playing the mandolin at

ten. From the very beginning,Steve was incredibly supportive

of my music, Jarosz says, and

with his help, I bought my MF5

mandolin around the age of 13.

The guitar came along a couple

of years later.

Theres a rawness and beauty

about the Texas Hill Country

where I grew up, Jarosz adds,

and I think that Collings instru-

ments embody those qualities of

the landscape in which theyre

built.

Collings D1A


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Theres a rawness andbeauty about the Texas

Hill Country where Igrew up, and I think thatCollings instruments

embody those qualitiesof the landscape.SARAH JAROSZ

2. VINCE PAWLESS

In recent decades, theres been an

impressive boom in the number

of independent luthiers building

guitars, and Texas has seen its

share. After first building a guitar

from a Martin kit in the mid-

1990s, Vince Pawless went on to

create his own line of steel-string

acoustics. Using vintage designs

as a point of departure, he pro-duces a dozen instruments a year,

starting at $3,000, in his Gaines-

ville shop.

My instruments are very

similar to what was produced

in the 1930s, Pawless says, but

I keep an open mind and instill

new methods that I feel wont

compromise the timeless design.

Pawless, a native Texan,

uses the woods of his home state

whenever possible. He reserves a

stash for decorative elements likeinlays, headstock veneers, and

heel caps, specifically to give the

instruments a Texas feel. Hes

often used mesquitenicknamed

Texas rosewood because of its

resemblance to theDalbergia

genusfor backs, sides, fret-

boards, and even soundboards,

and lately hes gotten favorable

results from native black walnut.

I personally cut it down, sliced

up sets, stickered, and dried itmyself, he says.

High-profile Texas musicians

including Jack Ingram ply their

trade on Pawless guitars, and the

battle scars they leave on the

instruments inform the luthiers

work. I encourage my artists to

get me those instruments into the

shop when needed, as it teaches

me to build a better guitar. Ive

definitely learned a lot from what

the road can do to a guitar that

lives in a trailer.

3. JASON SIMPSON

In Minden, about 200 miles

southeast of Pawless Gainesville

shop, Jason Simpson builds ten

high-performance acoustics, start-

ing at $7,500, each year. I like to

think of a guitar as a fine sports

car, like a Ferrari, Simpson says.

An instrument made with preci-

sion, with alluring beauty and

modern lines, to meet thedemands of a modern player.

His guitars incorporate optimized

bracing systems, graphite rein-

forced necks, and armrest bevels.

Like most contemporary

luthiers, Simpson relishes collabo-

rating with clients in designing

instruments that best suit their

needs, though he does sell some

standard models through high-

end dealers like Hearts Home

Acoustics, in Boerne, Texas. A

couple of years ago, the King ofCountry wandered into Hearts

Home and left with one of Simp-

sons guitars.

Im told that George Strait

spent a whole day there, playing

just about every guitar in the

store, Simpson says. Of all of

the hundreds of guitars there, he

walked out with my grand audito-

rium model. Thats such an

incredible honor.

Like a Fine Sports Car

Jason Simpson

creates amazing

headstock and

soundhole designs

such as the ones above

on his Lady Eire model.

PHOTO

COURTESY

OFAMERICANCRAFTSMANPROJECT.COM


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56 March 2015

Clown PrinceThe songs of Loudon Wainwright III are sometimes

serious, sometimes funny, but always compellingBY JEFFREY PEPPER RODGERS

SONGCRAFT

ROSS HALFIN PHOTO

The cover of Loudon Wainwright IIIs new

album,Havent Got the Blues (Yet),sports

a vintage photo of Ringling Bros. sad clown

Emmett Kelly, sitting in a bubble bath with a

forlorn expression. Its an apt image for Wain-

wright , who for more than 40 years has

managed in his music to crack up and enter-

tain audiences while also chronicling the trou-

bles and disappointments of lifesometimes

all in the same song.Only in the songwriting world of Loudon

Wainwright do you find the kinds of scenarios

hes come up with on the new album. In The

Morgue (originally written for Judd Apatows

Undeclared, but not used in the sitcom), the nar-

rator gleefully identifies the body of a cheating

ex who died with a guilty conscience and a

broken heart. The jug-band-style Man and

Dog details the daily routines of a plastic-bag-

carrying dog owner in the city, while in Ill Be

Killing You This Christmas, Wainwright sings

about guns and the NRA over a jazzy, swinging

holiday tune.

Alongside these characteristically witty, sar-donic tracks are a few deeply moving serious

songs, such as In a Hurry, in which a home-

less panhandler addresses a harried commuter

at the train station.

Wainwright, 68, continues to set a high bar

with his songwriting, but in the last couple of

years hes introduced a poignant new element to

his concerts: He recites passages from the first-

person writings of his late father (Loudon Wain-

wright Jr.), a columnist forLifemagazine, and

connects their themes with his own songs. In

2014, the singer and actor also debuted a

one-man theater show, Surviving Twin,around

this unique mix of music and spoken word. Asthis conversation from his home in New York

City reveals, the posthumous collaboration with

his father is one of Wainwrights favorite current

projectsalong with his career-long quest to

write songs that catch his audience off guard.

I write about the

important stuff,

whether its a

family situation

or trying to find

a parking space.

Loudon Wainwright III

Havent Got the Blues (Yet)

Proper


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When you were starting out, were there

particular songwriters who modeled the

blend of humor and seriousness that

comes through in your own songs?

As to the humor aspect of it , some of my

favorite songwriters were so-called novelty

songwriters. Id include Tom Lehrer on that list,

Ray Stevens, Allan Sherman. And then even

Frank Loesser, who wrote Guys and Dollshe

could write a heartbreaking ballad and then a

really funny song. He might be my biggestsongwriting influence, although I dont know

that were particularly similar.

So, yeah, I was exposed to novelty songwrit-

ers, and I loved hearing them and laughing and

then loved figuring out a way to make an audi-

ence laugh.

Do you feel the term novelty songwriter

is a bit belittling?

Yeah, it is. Comedy movies dont win the Oscars

either. I dont know what that is about, but

great songs are great songs. In a club, if you

can get 300 or 3,000 people to laugh at thesame time, thats quite an accomplishment.

WHATLOUDON

WAINWRIGHT IIIPLAYS

GUITAR

Wainwright is primarily a

Martin man. At home and

in the studio, he plays a D-21

he got used in the 1970s,

and in concert he plays a

2010 HD-28 with a Martin/

Fishman Gold+Plus Natural 1

active pickup system.

ACCESSORIES

Martin medium-gauge strings,

Kyser and Shubb capos,

medium-gauge flatpicks

Was it instinctual for you to combine

comedy with singing about often

painful topics?

I think it was. Ive been writing songs for

almost 46 years now, and everybody develops

a style as they go along. They write what they

write about.

Along the way, I appreciated both aspects of

the serious and the not-so-serious, and I found

a way in the shows, and to a degree on the

records, to do both, and in some cases to doboth in one song. Its a way to unsettle the

audience a little bit, which brings them in

closer, makes them pay more attention. Theyre

not so relaxed and thinking, oh, this is a sad,

mopey little song. If theres a laugh in the

middle of it, they wake right up.

Your songs address such specific topics

for instance, on the new album, parking

the car [Spaced]. The lyrics are not

ambiguous. Do you consciously zero in

on a topic when you write?

I think so, because youre right, none of mysongs is particularly cryptic or mysterious. The

listener generally knows exactly what Im

talking about, and I am very specific. I intend

to be specific.

You know, my dad was quite a well-known

journalist, and I think I might have gotten some

of that from him. I can also write to deadline,

and if somebody asks me to write a song about

somethingand Ive done this over the years

for National Public Radio or for a movieI can

do that.

What got you started on writing a song

about parking?

In that case, it was a line: A space is a place,

its a beautiful thing. I just liked the balance

and the feel of that. But underlying that, of

course, [parking] is a big issue in New York. Its

in my everyday life, just like walking the dog is

in my everyday life. Its seemingly mundane,

but that stuff has importance for people, so

why not wri te about it? I write about the

important stuff, whether its a family situation

or trying to find a parking space. These are the

things that matter to me.

What has your experience been likefeaturing your fathers writing in your

concerts and in the showSurviving Twin?

Im very into it now. Its the thing Im the most

interested in, and were hoping to have a more

extended run in New York [this] year. Im a fan of

my dads writing, particularly the personal stuff.

Hes been dead since 1988, and its a way for us

to collaborate posthumously.

On certain nights, it feels like Im playing cre-

ative catch with him. And I love the fact that the

audience will come up afterwards and say, I

loved that piece your dad wrote about the dog or

whatever.

Has his writing ever made you look

at one of your songs in a new light?

I dont know if thats the case. What its made

me feeland feel is the right word, because it is

a feeling as opposed to a thoughtis something

that Ive suspected for a long time: that were

the same person in a sense, despite the conflicts

that we had when I was young, and he was the

dominating male of the family dynamic. He

talks about his struggles with his own father in

his writing, and Ive incorporated that into theshows; and, of course, I have a son, too [musi-

cian Rufus Wainwright], and have had my

issues with him. So incorporating my fathers

work into the show leads me to think that all of

us are the same in a certain sense, with obvious

differences. We are very connected.

Tell me about the song In a Hurry. Did that

come about from picturing the character

of the homeless man?

Yeah. You know, I grew up in a commuter town

in Westchester, New York. I didnt have a

commuting job, but I rode the train in a lot.The aspect of the song that I find interesting is

that its a portrait of a compassionate homeless

person and not someone whos just needy. The

homeless g

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