Galleywinter

As a native Texan, I’m uncomfortable with cold weather.  Pretty much anytime it gets below 40 I’m complaining.  Although I do refrain from posting photos of my truck’s thermometer with a cool IG filter. (I’m with you in spirit and  a fav/like people).  We just don’t handle it well down here.  We’re much more equipped to deal with 102 rather than 22.  It’s different when you’re up in Steamboat experiencing it because you’re prepared for it.  There’s also a secret ingredient that keeps you warm up there too.  Well, two actually.  Music and friends.  All the material goods in the world can offer you only x-amount of solace in the face of a blizzard.  Art and companionship will warm those bone-chillingly frozen bodies.

There’s something special about being part of a movement. A  moment.  A happening.

This takes place at festivals, concerts and gigs each year.  That precise point in time when everything aligns and connects. Where thousands (or hundreds or tens) become one unified spirit.  While of course this happens in all genres, we happen to be particularly fond of the manner with which it takes place under the OKOM umbrella.  Sociologists refer to this as a pack or herd mentality.  That’s a fancy way of saying we’re all having a good time together (at least in these instances).

Shared experiences bind us together and are the reason why I still watch sporting events live.  It’s the thing left that I refuse to DVR.  I must exalt and exhale … Keep Reading

The holiday season is always one of reflection, even if subconsciously.  At the store the other day, I saw a giant display of shiny, new bicycles waiting for their new homes.  This definitely took me back to some of my own favorite Christmas gifts growing up and certainly my own rad BMX, Evil Kneivel days.

When I was a little kid there was nothing better than hopping on my black and gold Huffy and hoofing it around the neighborhood or up to my family’s full service gas station (back when such things existed). Along the way my imagination would take over and I would envision myself as the pilot of a big jet plane, an astronaut, a race car driver, a monster truck car crusher and more all in one trip.

As I got older, I graduated from Huffy to Mongoose to Suzuki, Honda and Kawasaki. My friends, cousins and I became big time dirt bike enthusiasts and racers. And as I got further involved in these new, grand machines my imagination ran more rampant. I was Bob Hanna and Ricky Johnson and if I was dared I was the aforementioned Evil Kneivel. I can still vividly remember crisp fall afternoons spent inhaling the cold Texas air through my helmet as I flew through the air and took in the big blue skies. For those few brief seconds I would forget everything except the breathtaking awe of the skyline…trees, roofs, whatever got in the way. Around the end of this … Keep Reading

Adam Hood continues the onslaught of outstanding releases here in the last couple months of 2014 (Wade Bowen, Stoney LaRue).  His latest, Welcome to the Big World, continues his streak of releasing fully-realized songs and albums that mix elements of country, blues, soul and rock better than any other contemporary artist.  The proud native Alabaman has been an honorary Texan for well over a decade.  The reason being, that as the mainstream of Texas Music has veered closer to Nashville caricature each year, Hood has maintained a hard-earned and original artistic vision.  Hood’s songwriting is always rooted in his real life.  He does a better job than most of making the most personal become the most easily accessible.  Meaning that although these songs are straight from his soul in Opelika, AL they can hit your heart as true in Anywhere USA.

The songs on Welcome to the Big World evoke an artist trying his best to maintain a balance between home and the road.  This has been a common theme throughout Hood’s entire catalog.  As he ages, the songs take on a whiskey-soaked wisdom that lesser artists try to pull off without the same gravitas.  These songs grab your attention and don’t let go.  You picture yourself as the lonely troubadour in the dingy hotel room watching an old black and white movie in “Way Too Long”.   You’re the tired musician loading in and longing to be any other place in the world on “Whole Lot of Hard Work”.  … Keep Reading

Stoney LaRue’s latest release, Aviator, comes just a mere three years after his Velvet.  That’s a record breaking pace for an artist who made fans wait near Guns N’ Roses lengths between albums after his Red Dirt Album release way back in 2005.  Stoney has always been unique.  A teddy bear wrapped in biker gear. His early efforts were jam bandy at times and full of a well-deserved bravado.  Stoney’s always been one of the most talented cats around vocally, and in those early days nobody owned a listening room quite like him.  For reference, find the legendary Sidecar Pub Galleywinter bootleg show with Bleu Edmondson from 2004.  His own tunes and voice were there right alongside Jim Croce and Neil Young. Through each incarnation Stoney has undergone since he’s grown more comfortable in his own skin.  He’s transitioned from mostly covering other folk’s songs to developing his own songwriting voice.  Most often that writing voice is bolstered by the pen of the fantastically underrated Mando Saenz.  Saenz gentle, wry nature seems to have brought out the truest and best in Stoney LaRue’s artistic soul.  They began their collaboration on Velvet and it has truly found the sweet spot with Aviator.  Every track, save for a Freddy Powers cover (“Natural High”) is a Saenz co-write.

The venerable Frank Liddell is at the production helm of Aviator alongside Michael McCarthy and a host of A players.  The album was recorded to tape and eschewed digital techniques that afford the … Keep Reading

When I wrote this cover story feature piece for Lone Star Music magazine five years ago, Wade Bowen was in a period of self-induced creative transition. Switching his band up, expanding songwriting partners, bringing in new producers, booking agents and management.  That gamble certainly paid off.  Now as 2014 is coming to a close, Bowen is yet again pushing himself forward.  However, this time it’s by going backward somewhat.

What I mean by that is Bowen’s latest record is free of the pressure of having to make it.  He’s made it.  On his own, gambled terms.  With this new record, Bowen is free to gamble in a new way: by listening to his heart completely. Following the muse of your soul isn’t always easy when you have a band, crew and family of dozens relying on you.  Free from the confines of fitting into any preconceived boxes or external pressures, Bowen delivers his finest collection of songs.

Bowen’s always had a wide creative palatte fostered by a varied. personal music fandom.  Yet, the stuff he laid down in the studio always maintained a heavy, serious overtone that belied the more lighthearted facets of his personality.  This new incarnation features a healthier balance of “Walking Along the Fenceline” alongside “Drinka the vodka!”

All of these career adjustments and freedoms allowed Bowen to make a well-rounded record that accentuates all his best qualities, but with a newfound experimental side. The country aesthetic is woven into each song via Bowen’s voice, but the … Keep Reading