Growin' a Beard
(Aspyr)The Gourds
Growin' a Beard: The Soundtrack (Aspyr) Like many a slice-of-small-town-life documentaries,
Growin' a Beard depends on its cast of eccentric townspeople and a quirky event to carry it. Unlike Michael Moore's
Roger & Me,
Beard doesn't have a sniggering undertone, and unlike
Hands on a Hardbody, it avoids the human train-wreck syndrome. What
Growin' a Beard is, is a good-natured 30-minute documentary about the annual Shamrock, Texas, beard-growing contest and what happens when an Austin upstart decides to enter. Director Mike Woolf captures both the contest's tongue-in-cheek competitiveness and the town's sense of community born out of tradition. We meet some of the regular contestants, including the man who enforces the beard law -- "Chief of the Fuzzers" -- and are then introduced to the challenger, Austin's suitably hirsute Scotty McAfee. Since the film is about beards and the growing thereof, Woolf documents the men shaving and discussing the art of beard-growing, Donegal style. You know, the full ruff from sideburn to sideburn sans mustache -- like the Lucky Charms leprechaun. Woolf's jerky camera style suits the oddball subjects well ("Looks like third place is Roy Wardlow -- again") and leaves the Shamrock citizens with their dignity and beards intact. Extras include shorts ("The 72 oz. Steak"), footage from the Austin and Shamrock film premieres, outtakes, and oh yes, various animals and pets living in Shamrock. The
Beard soundtrack is nearly as brief as the documentary, but think of it as the best new Gourds album this year, a dozen tracks but only seven songs -- five of them redone with full or instrumental versions. That's where the offering becomes spectacular. The Gourds tap the traditional "Irish Washerwoman" for "Lion's Mane" and otherwise take to Irish-inflected music as if they were Emerald-Isle born. The keening of Max Johnston's fiddle is as moving as Kevin Russell's "Chief of the Fuzzers" is wry and filled with no-frills soul. And although it's not likely to replace "Gin and Juice," their version of Bobby Troup's "Route 66" is truly inspired and just as inventive. Woolf could've nicked by with a pastiche of hair-themed songs, but marrying the Gourds to this soundtrack was the idea of a lifetime, the perfect project for these masters of eccentric roots-rock.
