December 2009 Archives

It's Monday after Christmas and I am once again to be found at Austin's Saxon Pub. The wife and babe are still making rounds touching family around Texas, but this leg of our Yule tour I have been left at home as there is no room for boys at my wife's grandmother's house. To explain, in true Texas settler fashion, all the girls sleep in the bed. So here I am.

     On stage is Matt the Electrician, Scrappy Jud, Sela and John Green and a bass player who has yet to be named. Bob Schneider, who normally holds court here on Monday is absent, but his band is still on the bill so it's "anything can happen night". Sela comes by with the tip jar and smiles hello as the band drops deep into a reggae favored groove with Scrappy's fingers dancing over all. All four of the players I named I have known for over ten years, first saw Scrappy in 90, my first year in Austin. On January 10 I will have lived here for 20 years. Even with all that time this has been a year of firsts.

     The Christmas shows we did with Carolyn Wonderland were the first time she and I worked together that wasn't either her or me sitting in with each others band. But not, Goddess willing, the last, as it was great. Christmas music is something that we all share and we all get sick of it at some point. Luckily, we had our shows early in the season while few but the hardest hearts were armored to the old songs. Between Carolyn and me we found some songs that pushed the boundaries of the usual and the band (a mix of both hers and mine) sounded holy. Check out our version of Happy Xmas (War Is Over) on iTunes. All the money goes to help the families at Ft. Hood.

      I hope you got what you wanted for Christmas, and I can say that without secretly hoping you didn't because we did! We got to play at Levon Helm's Midnight Ramble in Woodstock New York! Our trip to NYC turned into walk in the woods where the big bears play.

My buddy, Cary Wallum, brought Kris Kristofferson and while we were all on stage singing 'The Weight', he turned to me and complemented one of the songs we sang in our set. I could have wet my pants! Levon (not singing but never playing better) held up Rob Hooper's hand after the last song and I have never seen Rob look younger. The Ramble's music director and guitar player is Larry Campbell and he is my master now. I have seen a lot of guitar in my time but I have never seen anyone better and it was the same, tune after tune, electric, acoustic, fiddle all musical and perfect. Like a week of steak dinners. And all the people were as open and full of music as they should be. Amen.