TCB
By Christopher Gray, Fri., May 16, 2003
Grading on a Kerrve
Known the rest of the year for its slice-of-heaven scenery and having the only Texas high school mascot named after an animal body part (Tivy HS fightin' Antlers), every May and June since 1972 Kerrville (pop. 20,425) becomes a mecca for singer-songwriters near and far, famous and not-yet-famous. This year's Kerrville Folk Festival gets under way next Thursday, and is noteworthy for visits from the lady who took "Amazing Grace" from the church to the charts, Judy Collins, plus Shawn Colvin, Peter Yarrow, Ruthie Foster, the Resentments, Terri Hendrix, and dozens more. It's also special because it's the first gathering since the October retirement of festival founder Rod Kennedy. Kennedy, who happens to own and reside on the Quiet Valley Ranch, where the festival takes place, is now a consultant. "Before, when someone had a question about anything, I could always say, 'You have to talk to Rod,'" says Dalis Allen, a longtime staffer who assumed the producer's mantle upon Kennedy's retirement. "Now, I have to give them an answer one way or another." Nevertheless, she says, "Not a whole lot has changed," although one new thing Allen's looking forward to is a professional development camp for music teachers to show their students "how [music] can affect their lives." She's also looking forward to this year's New Folk competition -- good luck to Austinite finalists Lauren Fine, Colin Brooks, Lisa Rogers, and Foscoe Jones.
Kerrville Dos and Don'ts
The Kerrville Folk Festival can be intimidating for first-time attendees, so to help ease the transition, "TCB" enlisted the help of Austin pop musician and Kerrville native Shane Bartell.
DO get used to unshaven legs and armpits -- quickly.
DON'T freak out when some big, old hippie with a name like Captain Rainbow wants to give you a hug. Chances are he'll give you a beer, too.
DO marvel at the fact that there are folks on this planet who still get excited by an appearance by Judy Collins.
DON'T marvel too much. It will quickly drag you under.
DO be prepared to meet the nicest, most accommodating group of people you ever will.
DON'T try to remember anyone's name -- you won't, and they won't remember yours anyway.
DO become accustomed to existing on three hours of sleep, coffee, beer, watermelon, and as much water as you can fit into that body of yours. You think I'm exaggerating. ...
DON'T complain about loud music at 5:45am. It's a music festival.
DO become very tolerant of "emerging" songwriters.
DON'T bring any hand drums. They won't let you bring them in, and besides, it's a damn music festival, not a "bang on shit loudly" festival.
DO get a foothold on the lingo fairly quickly -- otherwise everything is going to sound like Chinese.
DON'T think you can have any idea what it's all about. If you've never been, you don't.
DO feel free to bring your hot little hippie friends.
DON'T bring your girlfriend/ boyfriend. Trust me on this one.
DON'T throw your cigarette butts on the ground, please.
And finally ...
DON'T camp in my camp. For your sake, not mine. We've had families pull up stakes in the middle of the night. And please, don't say I didn't warn you.
Schedule of Performances
Note: these are only the evening, main-stage performances for each day; a complete schedule is at the festival's Web site. The New Folk concerts are noon-3pm May 24-25 in the Threadgill Theater. Evening performances begin at 6pm May 22-26 and 7pm May 27-29.
Thursday, May 22: Brian Joseph, Bill Oliver, Duluth, Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion, the Mammals
Friday, May 23: John Flynn, the Scoldees, Albert & Gage, Gary Nicholson, Jay Boy Adams (with Seth James), Lee Roy Parnell, Rob Roy Parnell
Saturday, May 24: Aengus Finnan, Rachel Bissex, Eric Schwartz, DaVinci's Notebook, Susan Werner, Shawn Colvin, Shake Russell
Sunday, May 25: Jim Photoglo, David Roth, Tracy Grammer, Karen Abrahams, Ray Bonneville, the Resentments
Monday, May 26: Danzig & Woolley, Allen Shamblin, Tony Furtado, Terri Hendrix, Django Walker
Tuesday, May 27: Mike Williams, Stephanie Urbina Jones, Michael McNevin
Wednesday, May 28: Johnsmith, Diane Zeigler, Jack Williams
Thursday, May 29: Sam Skeist, Chris Chandler & Anne Feeney, Road Dog Divas
Kerrville Information
The 32nd annual Kerrville Folk Festival takes place May 22-June 8, on the Quiet Valley Ranch, nine miles south of Kerrville on Texas Hwy. 16. Ticket prices range from $12-27 for a single day to $264 for a festival-long pass. Camping sites are available for both tents and RVs. To get to Kerrville from Austin, take U.S. 290 west to Fredericksburg, and head south on Texas Hwy. 16. For further information, call (830) 257-3600 or visit www.kerrvillefolkfestival.com.
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
Banjo-pickin', Bush-baitin' firebrands the Dixie Chicks bring their Top of the World Tour to a sold-out Frank Erwin Center May 21. Here's what some people on the cmt.com message boards are saying about the adopted Austinites:
AnnaFarr: Shut up. Chicks are great!
Biscuit9: The Ditsy Chumps are arrogant, self-serving women. They couldn't possibly do something for anyone but themselves.
Acoustick1: Biscuit is just mad because he used to listen to Dixie Chick records while he, well, "enjoyed" himself. Now, with his boycott and all, his routine has to be changed to include Anne Murray and lots (and I do mean lots) of Toby Keith!!
Biscuit 9: Even a healthy man that saw those nude traitors on a magazine couldn't get excited. They are disgusting.
Slipped Disc
DASH KIZER EXPERIENCE, Rise of the White-Trash Superhero
DASH WHO? Sixpiece country-rock outfit that enjoys a good Bob Wills tune, and as you'll learn in the first two minutes or so, are damn proud to be from Texas.
HOWDY, PILGRIM: "King of Texas" begins with this John Wayne sound bite: "'Texas is a woman,' ma used to say. Get a boy raised up to where he's got some size, and there's Texas a-whisperin' in his ear: 'Come on out with me and have some fun.'"
WHO ARE THE 'GHOSTS OF AUSTIN' IN THE SONG OF THE SAME NAME? Dan Del Santo, "Mambo" John Treanor, and Clifford Antone.
WHAT DO THEY HAVE IN COMMON? All got in big trouble with the authorities for selling copious quantities of the sweet leaf.
CAN A BAND THAT QUOTES 'THE EYES OF TEXAS' ALSO SOUND LIKE THE BEE GEES? According to "Cash Flow," yes they can.
Release parties: Friday, May 16, at the Chaparral Lounge and Wednesday, May 21, at Momos.
Scene Stealers: Eliza Wren
Austin singer-songwriter Eliza Wren, now 22, was all of 8 when she went to her sister's piano recital and decided on her own career path shortly thereafter.
"They announced the next song the person was going to play was written by Mozart when he was 9," says Wren. "I was thinking, 'Man, I'm 8. I can beat that record.' So I started writing songs from then on."
How did that first one sound?
"I can still remember it," the Austin native swears. "I mean, it's not great, but it's all right. Better than some of the next ones I wrote."
These days, the songs Wren writes are considerably more accomplished. The McCallum High School grad's 2003 debut, Peradventure, is an airy, charming affair reminiscent of Throwing Muse Kristin Hersh or Belly's Tanya Donelly. If she sounds seasoned beyond her years, it's because her musical signposts consist of "older stuff" like Tom Waits, Serge Gainsbourg, the Kinks, and the 13th Floor Elevators.
"The Beatles are what got me started on it," says Wren, "but I've kind of washed them out of my system."
Wren's voice also graces Pony, the new disc by local group Hallicrafters, but here, it's mysterious and ethereal, like the Cocteau Twins stranded deep in an Appalachian holler. She joined the group after an especially serendipitous appearance on local station KOOP.
"Somebody who was on the same show was talking about how their uncle was looking for a singer," she says. "They had this vision of a little girl with a butcher knife walking down a dark hallway or something like that."
Was that a compliment?
"When I was a little kid, I always liked ghosts and stuff like that," reveals Wren. "Everything I liked -- movies, music -- was really dark, and I never knew why. But I was always really happy; it wasn't like I was disturbed or anything. So I felt pretty at home with that."
Eliza Wren plays Friday, May 16, at Flipnotics.
