New CD TEXAS TOUR !!!

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JIM SUHLER SIDEMAN RELEASES SOLO CD!!!

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FROM THE LONELIES
DOUG BURR
FROM DEADMAN
STEVE COLLINS
FROM SPARROWS/SORTA/NEW BOHEMIANS
CARTER ALBRECT

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NAMED ONE OF AUSTINS MOST PROMISING NEW ACTS!!!

Sample MP3s
Lyin    You Shouldn't Have    The Oldest Story Ever Told   

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"Qualls, whether unearthing obscurities from Jimmy Reed or Lowell Fulson or Blind Willie Johnson or bearing down upon his own material, is a purist's dream-come-true, attacking his 36 year-old guitar with a demon-fire ferociousness first heard in the playing of Son House and other blues masters long gone to hell."--Dallas Observer

"With steady-rolling solos and Blind Willie Johnson-inspired slide, his sanctified, countrified Blues from Elmo, Texas" rivals recent releases by R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough"--Guitar Player Magazine

"If you're interested in the most uncompromised, pure-dee country blues Texan since Mance Lipscomb, you're interested in Henry Qualls. Accept no substitutes."--Blues Access

"The crudity and rough sound of his playing, along with the simplistic, bare-bones backing of his sidemen, add up to an authentic blues feel no candy-assed middle class college graduate could ever approach. 'The Elmo Stomp' is the nastiest thing I've heard in 35 years (since Link Wray's 'Rumble' of 1958). Blues connisseurs and guitar tone freaks alike are gonna lose it when they hear this disc."--The Absolute Sound

"Henry lays Maybelline flat on his lap and frets her with a Tabasco sauce bottle, creating deep country gospel as eerie and compelling as a backwoods graveyard."--Guitar Player Magazine

"Henry Qualls was the suprise hit [of Europe's 1994 Utrecht Blues Festival]. Although he takes some of his repertoire from Lil Son Jackson and Lightnin' Hopkins, and his playing clearly belongs to the Texas tradition, at the same time he's a completely individual guitarist with his own approach to music. The element of surprise, combined with the intensity of his singing and playing, made for thrilling listening. Placing [his guitar] flat on his lap and fretting it with a slide, Henry played two gospel instrumentals, filled with flurries of grace notes, that left the audience open-mouthed in delight and disbelief. You could have heard a pin drop."--Juke Blues

"This is the real thing. This ain't no slicked up, watered down, look at me, I'm playin' da blues, album."--Austin Blues Monthly

"This is, in fact, barrelhouse/juke joint blues at its roughest and most basic, interspersed with good old church meeting' music. Saturday night and Sunday morning in Elmo, Texas. I loved every raucous minute -- this is one CD you must hear at least twice -- you won't believe it the first time."--Blues & Rhythm Magazine

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Recently named a winner of the OSCA/Woody Guthrie Songwriter's Award and 2003 BW Stevenson Songwriting Award Semi-Finalist

Sample MP3s
Picture for My Picture Book    A Quarterlife Crisis    Across the Country Backroads    Where Bluebonnets Used to Grow    Save the Neighborhood    Sold Out in America    El Capitan de Galveston    The River Flows On    Pretty Good Year    Drive On    Clermont St.    Lonely Guy    Ode to the American Farmer    I'll be there    Here I Am    The Meaning of Life    On Down the Road    Goodbye to a River   

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JEFF BLACK

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DALLAS GUITAR WHIZ !!!

JIM SUHLER

I've always had a thing for gritty blues/rock, and Jim Suhler captures the essence like a couple of favorites of mine - Stevie Ray Vaughan and George Thorogood. I was instantly reminded of Thorogood, and just as quickly found it impossible to sit still. This is dancing/drinking/shooting pool music at its finest! Jim is not only exceptional as a guitarist, but as a songwriter. This Dallas native was not only "discovered" by George Thorogood, but together with his group Monkey Beat has toured extensively with the Delaware Madman! It seems like a real shame that his voice isn't more known in the world -- Jim definitely has a talent that puts him on a strong par with the other greats, and deserves just as much recognition. - Naomi DeBruyn, Linear Reflections

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AUSTIN MUSIC ICON!

Imagine the sound of Tom Waits fronting The Heartbreakers, after keeping them locked in the basement for a month and demanding that they play as loud as possible - but also soulfully - if they'd like a piece of cake and some sunlight." ---Tower-Pulse Magazine

Sample MP3s
ONE MOMENT    LAREDO (SMALL DARK SOMETHING)    BIG SWEET LIFE    $100 BILL   

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New CD on Blind Nello Records!!!

"There must be something in the water: Kevin Deal is yet another serious Texas-based singer/songwriter. He's in the Steve Earle/Joe Ely mold, both in terms of style and gambler's instinct." - Billboard Magazine

Sample MP3s
Quicker than the eye    Pick'em to win    Back Slidin' Man    Asleep at the wheel    Last Drop    Kiss on the Breeze    Smoke    One good ride Boomtown    Life's Railway to Heaven    Honky Tonks n Churches    You deserve better than Me

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KEVIN WELCH
Quicktime Video (3.4MB)

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LUCKY PIERRES

My Temptation, the second CD from Dallas' Lucky Pierres, finds them moving away from the "cocktail country" label they had previously used to describe themselves and closer to a brand of country that's straight out of Texas. They mix styles from pure honky-tonk to smooth country rock to edgy alt.country throughout this 13-song collection; that the quartet does so with effortless grace is surely a testament to the band's prodigious musicianship and songwriting talents. Led by Kim Herriage -- who contributes twang via guitar, steel guitar, and dobro -- and Michelle Pittenger, whose vocals alternate between soothing and torrid depending on the setting, the Lucky Pierres tackle age-old country topics like adultery, lost love, and despair, and they do so with tuneful melodies and without resorting to cliché. The real test, of course, is whether they can keep it all fresh, yet respectful of the country tradition. They're successful most of the time, and when they are, it's accomplished with a combination of grit and polish that fans of better-known but equally talented contemporaries like Dale Watson, the Derailers, and the Old 97's are sure to appreciate. Songs like "Jacksboro Highway," the dusty road song that opens the set, the deep torch 'n' twang of "Lay My Head Down," a Gram Parsons-inspired California country duet, "Never Turn Around," and the high-stepping honky-tonk of "Night Before I Wed," prove the Lucky Pierres to be one of the best country bands, with the emphasis on band, out of Texas in a very long time. --- Jim Caligiuri, The Austin Chronicle

As pure as branch water and as powerful as 107-proof bourbon, Ms. Pittenger's vocals channel the spirit of Patsy Cline without a trace of imitation or artifice. Whether spunky ("Mad Dog") or sad ("All Because of the Moon"), her voice holds attention through the pure pleasure of hearing it. - Matt Weitz, Dallas Morning News

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TOMMORROW’S JERRY JEFF WALKER, TODAY!!!

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Rooted in Bandera County, brothers Noel and Hollin McKay are revealing their most cohesive songwriting to date. The latest material focuses on the rural south with subjects ranging from migrant workers, life on the banks of Texas Rivers, to characters spending quality time in prison.

Noel was born in Corpus Christi at the edge of the gulf coast in south Texas, while Hollin came into the world in the flatlands of Lubbock. After moving from Lubbock their family ended up in the hills surrounding Bandera in the Texas hill country. Rural life created an upbringing for the two that shaped much of the writing, which is apparent today. Both brothers grew up hearing the best of country music while riding around with their grandfather as kids. In 1962 their grandfather built and ran the first radio station in Frio County, broadcasting the likes of Jimmy Rodgers, Ernest Tubb, Kitty Wells and many other pioneer country artists. This endeavor was sparked by his love for country music and the people it affected. That alone proved essential to both brothers perspective of the Texas landscape.

Reinforced by many years of playing under different names the brothers decided to start a project under their own last name as a duo. The interest that has followed is almost more than they can keep up with.

Influences include the likes of many Texas artists such as Guy Clark, Terry Allen, Robert Earl Keen, and Townes Van Zandt along with all of the country legends they grew up on.

Guy Clark has been quoted as saying "They are enchanting and amazing...".

The Austin Chronicle has called the brothers material "right on the mark".

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Moses Guest finally comes of age in its latest, self-titled two-disc album, offering a fusion of soaring melodic pop/rock songs with subtle roots influences and sparkling improvisations. Much of the best material ("Saint Mo," "Rag Doll," "U 'n' Mi") has a quality similar to classic material by the Band, Little Feat and American Beauty-era Grateful Dead, without being imitative. The same can be said of its Southern influences-there's a little Cowboy and some Marshall Tucker Band evident here and there. But what the band does best is assimilate these influences into its own sound. This is perhaps best exemplified in "I Do Not Love You," four minutes of musical magic and a radio hit if it ever gets airplay. These discs clock in at close to two hours so it's not surprising that Moses Guest takes the chance to stretch out a little, in "Rag Doll" and the eerie explorations of "A Phrygian Way" on disc one and the aptly titled "Da Jam-Stealin'" on disc two. The latter is a wonderfully meandering piece that boasts tasteful guitar work over delicate keyboards. At the end there's a spacey interlude that leads into the superb ten-minute "Waterville," one of the album's highlights. If you enjoy the Allmans, the Dead, Widespread Panic, Jupiter Coyote, the Band and similar acts, this album is a must. It's one of the best I've heard this year and certainly Moses Guest's best to date. - Mick Skidmore, Relix

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OWEN TEMPLE

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It went like this: Prior to this year's SXSW convention in Austin we stumbled over the name Pleasant Grove while researching the hundreds of bands that were scheduled to play and that we never heard off. Made a mental note to go and see their show, which conflicted with Hazeldine's gig, however.We bought their self-titled debut (which was released in early 2000 on indie Last Beat Records) at Waterloo Records, saw the gig, were impressed and ran through the rain to make it to the Hazeldine show (which was outdoors, much to our dismay).

The self-titled 5 track CD never left our office player in the following weeks and we soon struck a deal with the Dallas based band. They quickly entered the studio to record an additional 5 tracks to add to the european release, the first with their new steel player Joe Butcher (ex UFOFU, currently on tour with Polyphonic Spree). The result is an exceptional debut by a still very young band (22 to 23 years old), one that is both shimmering, majestic pop and lethargic country, that oozes the down-and-out ache of Texas country as well as the sonic outburts of an electric Neil Young, the Flaming Lips or an out of control Alex Chilton. - Glitterhouse Records

An exceptional band... Pleasant Grove delivers some of the most dense satisfying tunes round think Low era Bowie on tranquilizers. - Dallas Observer

Pleasant Grove's debut album evokes sounds as diverse as Bedhead, Pavement and Wilco, all the while showing they know how to rock too. - Audiogalaxy.com

Shimmering majestic pop or lethargic country music. Take your pick. Slow and tranquilizing but not hushed and quiet, Pleasant Grove's brokenhearted epics are full of emotional potency and eccentricity along with sonic depths and textures. - AllMusic.com

One of the most compelling records of the year, songs of broken hearts and broken voices, the sound of someone picking himself up off the floor, hoping he won't fall down again, and knowing he will. - Dallas Observer

Pleasant Grove's crop is a cruel harvest of guitar worship, gospel harmonies, and romantic Southern personal hells, which when combined crank out a unique music storm. - The Met

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SHIBBOLETH
with Guests: Trey Johnson & Jenn Nabb

For just a moment, you are stranded in an elevator with the least-popular members of T-Rex, The Carpenters and The Kinks, along with George Jones’ hairpiece. The elevator shudders somewhere between the mezzanine and rooftop grotto, and suddenly you are rocketed skyward by the excruciatingly serene tones of Shibboleth. Forty-five minutes later the bell dings and you’re on your way back to the lobby.

The debut album from Shibboleth is a fond voyage through the murky histories of American and British rock. No musical stone was left unturned, except for those that seemed to be rather heavy or slippery. In those rare instances, raucous guitar or organ solos were recorded to distract the listener and regain their trust. Lustful rocking numbers and winsome country laments debate with carnival lunacy as avant-noise dawdles in the kitchen.

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This is somebodys Birthday Party, or something, BUT if you’re a friend or fan of ‘Slimberley from Wimberly’... Then I’m sure you’re welcome!

from ABILENE !
"Anywhere is walking distance if you have enough time"

The first thought that comes to mind about Thrift Store Cowboys is that the band that claims tiny Fluvanna in West Texas as its home actually has its own sound; its brand of country is closer to the Doors than it is to the beer-and-Texas Yeehahs that seem so common these days. Although listed influences include Elvis Presley, Jimmie Rodgers, Bob Wills, and Ryan Adams, the young Thrift Store Cowboys are more avant-garde than old guard. The best songs border on the mournful, conjuring prairies and night skies and countless stars in clear skies. The sound has a vaguely Eastern spirituality to it that people who haven't contemplated that West Texas sky probably won't grasp...All but one of the six band members were under 21 when this CD was released during the summer. Tom Geddie, Buddy Magazine

The prettiest, and also most traditional, track is number ten, "Amanda". The rhythm track here is perfectly understated, and Shires' fiddle sings like a fallen angel crying for the grace that was lost. Fluitt's vocals stay calm and quiet here, rising and falling in counterbalance with the fiddle work; it's really a duet between the voice and the fiddle. Stunning piece of work, perfect for a sunrise or a sunset and meaning something entirely different for each... Dave Pilot, www.rockzilla.net

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One of the, ten top bands that make NYC sing. Dream Upon a Fallen Star" mixes roots-rock scribblings with jazz, rock, and pop stylings. 'Lose Myself' could even be a 60's pop standard." - NY Post

[Todd’s] yodeled parts suggest if Vince Gill joined the Replacements, which might make them the next Pure Prairie League.” - Village Voice (NYC)

Todd Deatherage Band from Dallas, TX brought its brand of Texas twang to New York City about eight months ago and has since played such venues as Mercury Lounge, Brownies, CBGB’s, Lincoln Center, Fez, and Maxwell's. The music has been compared to the honky-tonk of Hank Williams, Sr., the falsetto of Chris Isaak, and the punk rock attitude of the Violent Femmes. Todd Deatherage Band is constantly on tour and has opened for such acts as the Old 97s, Wilco, Sloberbone, Brendan Benson, Reverend Horton Heat. Their recent disc, Dream Upon a Fallen Star, released on Summerbreak Records. David Browning, MTV.com

Man of Me   She's Leaving Me   Too Late Now   Desperate   Scared of You   Out of Line   You Make Me Sing   Her Crush  

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TOMMY IRVIN

His music is a mix of Texas Americana, country, blues, rockabilly , swing, and folk. He'll keep your feet tapping and your body moving. He cut his teeth on the late Johnny Horton's brand of music, and it seems to have rubbed off on the boy. The first music Tommy Irvin probably ever heard was an old Jimmy Driftwood song sang by Johnny Horton. The song is called The Battle of New Orleans.

Tommy was born in Ft Worth, Texas June 4th 1969 was adopted and raised by his parents in Klondike, Texas near Cooper, in Delta County. He is a Texan with a Texas attitude and his own brand of Texas Music is becoming very popular with folks all over the globe. He wrote his first song by age eight, it was called " livin in the city". Tommy has recorded more than 200 songs, written over 400, and 100 have been published by various companies.

Nowadays he's had his first single released to radio, "that's what highways are for", which went as high as #37 on the Texas Music Chart. Tommy has performed in over 30 States in the Union, and has performed in France, Germany, and Mexico.

THURSDAY SONGWRITERS SERIES
THE RETURN OF AMERICA'S SONGWRITER LAUREATE!!!

Russell's work is among the most moving and literary of the past thirty years, an antidote to the recent trajectory of self-absorption in American singer-songwriting . . . his story-songs are unlike any others, including those by the acknowledged best: Paul Simon, Shane McGowan and Bob Dylan." --Andrew Marcus, East Bay Express

His best songs underscore the human condition and capture the soul of the common man with uncommon decency. --Mary Houlihan, Chicago Sun-Times

Tom Russell is the John Steinbeck of country song. --Patricia McCormick, author, Lady Bullfighter

Tom Russell is an original, a brilliant songwriter with a restless curiosity and an almost violent imagination. --Annie Prouxl, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Shipping News

Russell's Man From God summons the spirit of Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass" . . . Russell's reach is both wide and deep, balancing the grand sweep of history with the individual histories of his ancestors. --Charles M. Young, The Atlantic Monthlyt-size: 10pt"> Russell's Man From God is awesome in its musical and lyrical purview and worthier than Billboard's top 20 albums put together. --Parke Puterbaugh, Stereo Review

Tom Russell is perhaps the finest singer-songwriter active in roots music . . . his songs unfold like little movies. --Montreal Gazette

With convincing characters and historical imagery, Russell's songwriting opens the senses, and his performances deliver us to the heart of the scenes he evokes. An American master. --Scott Holter, Seattle Weekly

Tom's vocals receive the perfect accompaniment from the skillful guitar work of Andrew Hardin; they form a considerable and criminally underrated partnership. --Scottish Folk Gazette

The lanky New Yorker ran down country and flamenco on his acoustic with all the flair of 100 mariachis and 1,000 honky-tonkers. --Austin Chronicle

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MORE BLUEGRASS FROM BERKLEE VIA AUSTIN!!!

Because when Billy Bright (guitar, mandolin, vocals), Bryn Bright (upright bass), Brian Smith (guitar, vocals) and Geoff Union (guitar) line up on stage or come together in the studio, the results are magic. Whether they're tearing through a traditional bluegrass rave-up, one of their own hard-driving instrumental or vocal originals, or indulging in a little light hearted whimsy a la John Hartford' s "You Can't Run Away From Your Feet" (or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, nailing Bob Dylan's "Tangled Up in Blue"), the Two High String Band prove themselves to be up to the formidable task of bringing bluegrass into the 21st century without diluting its purist soul. And they aren't a bad bunch of pickers, either. The music itself proves that, but so does the company they keep: bluegrass legends Vassar Clements (fiddle) and David Grisman (mandolin) both contribute guest appearances on the Two High String Band's forthcoming Blue Corn Music debut, and Billy and Bryn Bright have toured for years with none other than Peter Rowan. "Since we began playing with Peter, we've played with almost everybody that we've ever wanted to play with," marvels Bryn. "He's introduced us to a lot of great people, and he's done a lot to bring us into the scene. " Not bad for a band that originally came together as no more than a tension-releasing good time just seven years ago in Boston, where Brights Billy and Bryn (then Davies) and Brian Smith first met while attending the prestigious Berklee College of Music. They came from different corners of the country - Billy from the bordertown of El Paso, Texas, Bryn from the Northern California town of Livermore and Smith from Mill Hall, Pennsylvania. - Richard Skanse

Sample MP3s from Harvest Moon Festival '02
Kricket in the Kitchen    The Girl at the Crossroads Bar    You Can't Run Away From Your Feet   Mandola Smokabola    Way Downtown    Paradise    There's a New Moon Over My Shoulder    Kentucky Mandolin    River's Risin'    Somewhere Between    Pig in a Pen    Dusty Miller    The Old Home Place    Mighty Dark To Travel    Dang, Howdy!    Crossin' the Bone    Sonny's Ride

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New CD TEXAS TOUR !!!- EARLY SHOW!!!
Doors @ 6:00PM Show @ 8:00PM

Sample MP3s
Zippy Morocco    In my way, Yes    2nd Floor    Sultan, So Mighty    Girls Say    Wren's Nest    Yo Mark Pitts    Skinny on Lenny    My Turn    Soothsayer    Flanker    Rascal    Society, Society    Tunnel    Push    Stretch em on Out    Hey Bulldog    What He Aint and Is   

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For those of you who remember and loved 'The GONG Show' on TV in the 70s, the AllGood Cafe proudly announces a new kind of OPEN MIKE NITE, with a twist! In the fashion of the Chuck Barris Classic each contestant will perform one song or "number" before the audience and a panel of 'celebrity' type judges - at the peril of being "COWBELLED" for a substandard performance. The 'Winner' will receive a future booking at the AllGood Cafe (plus we'll pick up the winners tab for the evening). Losers have to pay for their beers!

The Celebrity Judges for this weeks Show will include
James "Big Bucks" Burnett - Local Legend and English Rock Star - former owner of 14Records on Greenville Avenue - caretaker for Ronnie Lane of the Small Faces - personal friend of Tiny Tim - Arbiter of Hip...
Wade "Po-Boy" Mundinger - Barmeister, Mixologist, Musicolagist, Entrepenuer and Racontuer. Currently plying his trade at the Gulf Coast Restaurant (on Commerce) - Dallas' new home for a taste of the "Big Easy".
Missie "The MissMonster" Harbst - our very own Server Extraordinaire who is the Barometer of Cool and the Mistress of Music and Merriment - the Scenester's Scenester - the Girl in the Picture - (you get it???)

The COWBELL SHOW is open to any performing artists (at the discretion of the M.C. - me) and they are encouraged to bring their fans and friends, because audience reception will be measured along with the judges scoring to arrive at a "Winner". NON-MUSICAL ACTS WELCOME.

Take a LOOK at what we have coming to YOUR FAVORITE VENUES !!


Shows at The Sons of Hermann Hall


MORE ANNOUNCEMENTS EXPECTED VERY SOON.
KEEP ON RED ALERT!!!!

and, you know...