By Jason Cohen
Texas Music News--Late July
Kelly Willis
A couple of months ago we told you about a promo-only EP Willis recorded with members ofSon Volt, the Jayhawks and16 Horsepower. Well, it's not promo-only anymore. The disc has been made available in stores thanks to Willis's first tour in several years, which begins July 24 in Northampton, MA (7 Texas dates are scheduled for mid-August). Willis, who will make a full-length album for A&M this fall, has assembled a crack band comprised of former dBs drummer Will Rigby, guitarists Mark Spencer (of Blood Oranges) and Jon Dee Graham (a former True Believer) plus Tony Maimone (ex-Pere Ubu) on bass.Rob Thomas
Thomas was the bass player in Hey Zeus, a San Marcos/Austin band that was also known as Public Bulletin (early on) and Black Irish (towards the end). Now he's a novelist, and though he specializes in the "young adult" market, his first effort, "Rats Saw God," is an entertaining and sophisticated read, with enough sex, drugs and rock'n'roll to captivate the older crowd (and keep it off of high school curriculums, too). The book, a low-priced paperback fromSimon & Schuster, is also available in hardcover from S&S imprint Scribners.John Cougar McConaughey
Texas Monthly coverboyMatthew McConaugheyhas long looked up toJohn Mellencamp as his favorite rock'n'roller; the young actor even used a trio of Mellencamp tunes as the soundtrack for a short film he directed. Mellencamp has returned the favor by casting McConaughey in "Key West," the first video from Mellencamp's new "Mr. Happy Go Lucky" album. McConaughey's taxing thespic task was to cavort in the front seat of a '56 DeSoto convertible with supermodel Karen Alexander. The video and the album will both pop up at the end of July.Poetry, The Next Big Thing
After years of local slams and Lollapalooza appearances, the Austin poet, musician and performance artist Wammo has signed a record deal withMercury's spoken-word subsidiary Mouth Almighty. The album, "The Fat Headed Stranger," is due in September. It was co-produced by Timbuk-3's Barbara K and features guest appearances from Wammo's labelmateEd Hamell as well as his bandmates in theAsylum Street Spankers."Tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan"
That's the imaginative title of the Stevie Ray Vaughan tribute albumEpic Records will release on August 6. It was recorded last March at the KLRU soundstage in Austin, and features tracks by Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, Robert Cray, Dr. John and Jimmie Vaughan, plus a jam session with all of the above. A 60-minute home video of the show will also be available.Shawn Colvin
Colvin, a former New York folkie and Richard Thompson compadre, has made Austin her home for a few years now. This September, she'll be back in record stores for the first time in two years with "A Few Small Repairs." And since Colvin's last album, "Cover Girl," was exactly what its title implies, this is actually the singer-songwriter's first album of original material in four years. Colvin recently appeared onLyle Lovett's "The Road to Ensenada," and he has returned the favor by dueting on the song "The Facts About Jimmy."Jerry Jeff Walker
One of Cosmic Cowboy's grandaddies celebrates his recent live album, "Night After Night," with a two-evening homecoming at Gruene Hall July 26 and 27. Walker has also put together a big Labor Day weekend show featuringJunior Brown, Jack Ingram,Robert Earl Keen, Charlie Robison, Todd Snider and Kerry Awn. That show will be in Luckenbach on September 1, and tickets are on sale now.Spoon
The Austin trio is getting some press over in Europe, but it hasn't always come easy. Here's an exact quote from a recent issue of the British music weekly Melody Maker: "Over in Amsterdam on theMATADOR/GUIDED BY VOICES tour, BRITT, singer with SPOON (no, us neither) completely disappeared, causing much lo-fi concern. He was eventually found perched precariously on the fifth floor ledge of his hotel, trying to "be closer to the sky." (I dunno, a couple of hash cakes and some people...)"The Smokin' Grooves Tour
Also known as "Black Lollapalooza," this hip-hop/soul/reggae package tour comes to Dallas July 27 and Houston July 28. Presented by the folks behind theHouse of Blues, the show's line-up includesThe Fugees,Cypress Hill,Spearhead,Ziggy Marley, Busta Rhymes andTribe Called Quest.Other News
Steve Earle, who plays Austin's The Backyard July 24 andLollapalooza in Dallas on July 25, has done a great job staying off drugs and alcohol. So staying married may be too much to ask from him -- rumor has it the country-rocker is separated from his 6th wife, who was also his fourth wife. In the wake of backup musician Jonathan Melvoin's death from a heroin overdose, TheSmashing Pumpkins have postponed the rest of their July performances, including stops in Dallas and Austin. Of course, the word "postponed" suggests that they'll get here eventually, after they've worked out their grief and/or held auditions for a new keyboardist.Butthole Surfers! Just had to say it, it wouldn't seem like a column without mentioning them.Apparently Kurt Cobain was a wimp
Phil Anselmo, vocalist in the Dallas ubermetal bandPantera, made a drug-induced visit to the dark side of the moon last Saturday after a hometown concert. Then he came back. Anselmo passed out from a heroin overdose, was taken to Baylor Medical Center, and managed to rejoin the band's tour without missing a beat. Anselmo did issue a statement about his "petit mort," and it's so much fun we're reprinting it here in its entirety:"I, Philip H. Anselmo, immediately after a very successful show in Dallas injected a lethal dose of Heroin into my arm, and died for 4 to 5 minutes. There was no lights, no beautiful music, just nothing. And then after 20 minutes (from what I heard later) my friends slapped me and poured water over my head all basically trying to revive me. The paramedics finally arrived and all I remember is waking up in the back of an ambulance. From that point on I knew all I wanted was to be back on the tour bus, going to the next gig. Instead I was going to the hospital where I was released very shortly. You see, I'm not a Heroin Addict. But I am (was) an intravenous drug abuser. The lesson learned here is that every nightmare ever heard about O.D.ing, and or, Heroin is terribly true. And for my friends and family as well as myself and our fans (Pantera, Down Etc.), I since then have recovered completely, the Pantera Tour uninterrupted. I intend to keep it that way! Special Thanks to my Family and Friends who supported me, and the fans who pump me up to the hilt. One message to everyone in this fucking world. I am not a weakling groping for sympathy. I WILL NOT DIE SO EASILY! I'm here to piss off the music press for a long time to come.
Very Sincerely,
Philip Anselmo"Phil, if it makes you happy, consider us "pissed off." Though in all seriousness this is a refreshing change from the usual evasions, denials and death that usually accompany this sort of thing.
