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Axes to Grind:
The Guitar Army was in
full march on Thanksgiving Night at Billy Bob's in Fort Worth. The annual
spectacle brings together an extended family of guitarists to take over a club
and jam the night away. This year, seasoned professionals Buddy Winnington (John
Mayall and the Bluesbreakers) and James Pennybaker (Lee Roy Parnell)
participated, as well as guitar-slinging rancher Tom Reynolds, and
17-year-old Drew Webber. These touring pros may only have a few days to spend in
town during the holidays but the siren call of a whiny blues solo inevitably
calls them to the stage. The Army's been getting together for over ten years now
and the event comes together rather haphazardly -- any organizing that's done is
handled by brothers Steven and Sumpter Bruten, who run the 41-year-old Record
Town in Fort Worth, and Dave Milsap, who has a guitar school in town. The Guitar
Army got its start playing at Fort Worth's famous club The Hop, but has since
moved through J & J's Blues Club and Horny's before finally settling at Billy
Bob's. Although a rhythm section is usually assembled for the show -- often
including a sax, piano, and harmonica -- for the most part it's all about the
guitar. Some years there's another performance at Christmas, but after doing
Turkey Day this year, Sumpter isn't sure if there'll be one in December or not.
Just so you don't miss it, keep tabs on the entertainment section of the Fort
Worth Star-Telegram; they'll sound the trumpet announcing the Army's advance.
 Crowded Townes: After almost a full year of informal Townes Van Zandt tributes in Texas and elsewhere, Austin City Limits officially got into the act on Sunday, December 7, by gathering a star-studded group of musicians for a "Songwriter's Special Tribute" to the late folk singer. Sitting in a semi-circle were Cowboy Jack Clement (Van Zandt's first producer), Lyle Lovett, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Guy Clark, John T. Van Zandt (Townes' son), Nanci Griffith, Steve Earle, and Peter Rowan. If it sounds like a lot of people, it was. While Official MC Guy Clark conducted the evening as smoothly as possible, passing the spotlight down the line as each musician performed his or her favorite Van Zandt song and related an amusing anecdote from the past, some audience members felt the event was marred by too many participants. For instance, Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris got to sing only one song and it was forty minutes before they got to do it. Still, there were many, many stirring moments: Lovett and Earle singing a duet on "Lungs," Jack Clement's version of "The Sake of the Song," and the whole group finishing up with an energized version of the classic "White Freight Liner." One critic explained to me that Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris weren't ever all that close to Townes and the reason they did only one song (the famous "Pancho & Lefty," which both of them had separately recorded) was because it was the only one they knew. He opined that the people who really knew Townes (and should have been there) were the likes of Butch Hancock and Jimmie Dale Gilmore. But at the same time it was touching to see Steve Earle, who was a Van Zandt protégé, mouthing the words to even the songs he wasn't performing, and to hear Lovett tell the story of buying his first Van Zandt record when he was a teenager. The program will air on public television on March 21, 1998. Lone Star in England: Palestine's Dale Watson won the British Country Music Association's award for Best International Artist on an Independent Label. He was the only award-winning American artist who actually attended the ceremony which, he said, was much more fun than many U.S. shows because of its "innocence and enthusiasm." He was also nominated for "Rising Star" (which fellow Texan LeeAnn Rimes won), Best Album, and International Male Vocalist alongside Alan Jackson, George Strait, and Garth Brooks ("So I didn't have much of a shot"). Watson says they made Budweiser and Lone Star available to him over there so he could celebrate like a true Texan instead of having to drink swill like Bass or Newcastle. Texas music news, comments, suggestions or recommendations? Email to jmackay@texasmonthly.com. (12/15/97) |
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