[Editor’s note: The following review was originally submitted to the Austin Chronicle in August 1999 but was not published; it arrived after the paper had already run a roundup of reminiscences about Liberty Lunch by various writers. Given this issue’s […]
I remember nights like these when we were out in L.A., back before Grant moved to Nashville — waiting until the wee hours to write the “Hello Stranger” column, downing a coupla beers to hopefully help unloose a few words, […]
It’s a recurring theme in our conversation, though not by design — which is perfect, because that pretty much is the theme. Grand plans just seem to fall into Neko Case’s hands, like a destiny she had nothing to do […]
As with many of the latter-day Townes Van Zandt releases, In Pain primarily gathers live solo versions of some of his better-known songs recorded during the final years of his life. Most of the 16 tracks here were recorded in […]
Watching Don Walser perform with his Pure Texas Band on Christmas night at the Broken Spoke a couple months ago, Spoke owner James White and I got to talking a little bit about the history of South Austin’s grand old […]
Doctors’ Mob were already a half-assed new-sincerity band gigging around Austin when MTV’s “Cutting Edge” crew came to town in the mid-1980s. Grown into an intoxicated stupor, driven by Glen Benavides’ fondness for creeds such as, “If it ain’t warm […]
One might not be too surprised to learn that Danny Barnes of the Bad Livers has given guitar lessons to someone who once gave lessons to Lucinda Williams’ ace guitarist Kenny Vaughan — but few would fathom that the “someone” […]
Over the course of a half-decade and three albums, Richmond Fontaine has established itself as one of the better bands in the Northwest. When they expanded from a Buffalo Tom-esque trio by incorporating the considerable pedal steel and mandolin talents […]
Short, but sweet — yet not too sweet. The debut disc from Shannon Stephens clocks in at just over 15 minutes, its five songs sketching minimalist vignettes of a love dangling by a thread. “The Way Relationships End Up” finds […]
It all began when I was browsing through the atlas one day a few years back, looking for places that seemed interesting and far-removed from the beaten path. Or maybe I was listening to Joe Henry’s song “Sault Ste. Marie” […]
