A stampede of both music legends and one hit wonders have risen from Austin’s music clubs and corner bars to reach national fame and stardom. This long list of pickers, singers and others includes Janis Joplin, the 13th Floor Elevators, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Fred and His Playboy Band, as well as Texas blues brothers Edgar and Johnny Winter, just to name a few.
Laura Lee is on her own inimitable journey, that demands financial assets in hand to get to the first big milestone, their debut album. Laura Lee is now working on her third album. Enter crowd sourcing platforms where friends, family and fans support songwriters’ dreams by donating bucks to help those talented folks realize their dreams.
Rocker, singer-songwriter, award winning author, music workshop leader and more, Debra Devi, hits all cylinders with her hi-test drive that’s made her talents highly sought after for on-stage performances and presentations. And her ASCAP award winning book, The Language of the Blues: From Alcorub to Zuzu (foreword by Dr. John) is an ASCAP Deems Taylor Award winner, that has grabbed the attention and accolades of some of the best blues masters of our day.
Today, Steve Earle has earned his own icon status, not only by writing his own songs and performing to thousands, but by deep digging into the entangled roots of more contemporary music, studying the wherefore and why of musical traditions of songs and styles beyond American shores. Like the generation before him, his own journey is part of both a land mass of musical traditions, and a migration of his own songs for future generations.
You’ve got to hand it to Ben Brookes Belcher, the man works hard rolling out some of the coolest country songs we’ve heard in a long time. Belcher nails down some fancy guitar licks while singing a mix of gritty hard tack down home spins to some of the sweetest heart wrenching ballads.
As a follow-up to our Tal Nacarrato interview, here’s PART 2! We found Tal’s insights into performing, practicing, lessons learned to keep focused very helpful and one of our interviews that’s helpful to return to periodically to remind us of how to raise our games as musicians and on-stage performers.
Classically trained, Naccarato clearly knows his way around the fretboard as illustrated on his new album, Ten and Two Blues, to be released on April 27th 2022, as well as on his last three albums, Hot House Flowers, Piedmont Black & Blue, and Dreamflower Sessions…
Not only is Teddy Richards a seasoned session musician, he is also a well-accomplished singer-songwriter and performer, and as a result has opened with his original compositions for artists such as Lenny Kravitz, Seal and The Verve Pipe. He’s also co-written some great songs with the likes of Andrew Farriss (INXS), Carlos Alomar (David Bowie), and Marcy Levi (Natalie Cole, Joe Cocker) and the legendary, Al Green.
Dick Wagner’s songs and lead guitar have been featured on more than 200 renowned albums, garnering more than 35 Platinum and Gold records, BMI songwriter awards, Emmys, and numerous prestigious international awards.
Tal Naccarato is game to roll along the landscape and streetscapes of America to make musical and spiritual connections with others in all walks of life who appreciate and share his love of well-crafted original music, music that comes from life’s hard won experiences and from the souls of artists.
We caught up with Tom Guerra recently to talk about Sentimental Junk, the work involved and the creative juice needed to not only craft great songs, but to properly dress them with the right instrumentation, vocals that suit them and a collaboration between musicians, who are also friends, who help supercharge his songs into fun romps that hit on all cylinders, that offer up thoughtful meaningful lyrics, impressing them with his own personal stamp.
