Giovedì 11 Mag 2006, 10:30
Kevin Deal is a home-grown Texas songwriter, an artist and craftsman as comfortable telling a tale and building a table, constructing a song structure as a stone cathedral.
I first ran across Deal's music on KGLT-FM, Montana State University's public radio station in Bozeman. If anybody questions the value of those free radio promos, this is a case I hope it's paid off for the artist. With my annual membership KGLT DJ Rik James thru in some promos. One was worthless, one was OK…
Also in the bag was Kevin Deal's Honky Tonks -n- Churches. Wow, where did this guy come from? This is straight ahead Texas honky tonk with just enough Austin-ish singer-songwriter to make the lyrics worth listening to.
Kevin Deal's The Lawless came out in 2003. I was doing the radio DJ thing and corresponded with his Mrs Deal, an active Texas Music partisan. Well, she's just the nicest lady and helped our new radio station get the library filled, gave some reccs on other Texas bands, and just generally made the world a better place. Great music, nice people, can't beat that, and Mr. Deal still gets spins on KRFC Saturday mornings.
Honky Tonks -n- Churches was actually Kevin's sophomore release but the first ready for prime time, with Lloyd Maines producing. You may have heard of Lloyd, or might not have. Besides being a top notch musician of his own accord, Lloyd is the daddy of one Nat Maines. The one who went off on El Presidente off over seas. She's the one in that little band The Dixie Chicks. yeah, that Maines. Thing is, people in Texas got a bit miffed over that whole deal, and Kevin Deal got somewhat blackballed when his '03 album came out, guilt by association. Bad deal all around. Anyway….
I love Honky Tonks -n- Churches, as well as The Lawless. Both open with strong tracks, "Boomtown" and "Quicker than the Eye", and have strong title tracks as well. The Lawless is something of a concept album on the Outlaw Life. I like it. Take "Freedom for Mary". I was slow to warm up to this ballad of an outlaw, a last letter to his lost love as he is about to go to the noose. Yet when I pay attention this song is in the best of the folk tradition, humanizing the abstract story of good and evil, villain and hero, without the self-important liberal sermonizing so typical of that genre. These are good old songs in a great new alt.country tradition.
Kevin has his full-time builders gig, so he doesn't tour outside Dallas-Fort Worth, much, but I'd love to see his live show sometime. More info on Kevin, including some pictures of homes he's built: http://www.kevindeal.com
Best of the Rest:
Graham Lindsey is playing shows in Milwaukee & Madison, Wisconsin, 19-20 May. If you're in Chicago or the Twin Cities or anywhere near, it's a road trip fer sure. Currently out in Europe, Hell Under The Skullbones will be released 15 August 2006, in the U.S. on Spacebar Recordings.
My sister saw Jennifer Daniels play the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. Come to find out, the Tennessee/Georgia songbird had spent some time in Colorado, so she knows what real mountains are about, as well as what real songwriting is about. A regular on the college/houseconcert circuit, Jennifer Daniels sings smart songs for people smart enough not to get too full of themselves. Reminds me of recent Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Dar Williams.
Hmmmm…. who else hit my charts this week?
* Becky Schlegel: missed her show when she came out from the Twin Cities. Maybe catch her if I get off my duff to a festival or two this summer.
* Chris Daniels & The Kings: a bluesy band out of Denver, good solid roots rock I never managed to catch live.
* Billy Dean: I've never much liked Western anti-hero Billy the Kid, but I love the legend of the Lincoln County War. And I still love the first cut off Billy Dean, schmaltzy country that it be.
* Tom Russell, David Rodriguez, Bill Monroe in regular rotation.
* As last week was Cinco de Mayo, I tried some of the last.fm tag streams. Lit up the charts with a greater diversity of artists than usual. Heard some neat stuff, saw alot of bad tags.
And last but not least, new albums due from the Johnny Cash archives: American V double album in July, another from the 70s before that. Save your pennies, boys and girls, these will be keepers.
-jc