Spotlight: Scott H. Biram

A little more than a year ago Scott H. Biram was involved in a near fatal car wreck. On the way home from a gig, his vehicle was involved in a head-on collision with an 18-wheeler, which resulted in multiple fractures and massive internal injuries. Miraculously, the local bluesman survived, and was back on stage a week after his release from the hospital.

Today Biram says his legs are still "screwy" and reports there's still an operation to fix some of the damage on his schedule, but that hasn't stopped him from putting on his one man show of hellfire blues.

"I grew up on Doc Watson, Leadbelly and Lightnin' Hopkins," the 29-year-old reveals, "and in college, I discovered more obscure people like Lil' Son Jackson and Mance Lipscomb."

While playing in a punk band from San Marcos, the Thangs, he picked up an acoustic guitar and discovered he could make just as much noise on his own with songs that were more than 50 years old. For a time, he was a member of an acoustic outfit called Bluegrass Drive-by, but when they broke up, Biram decided to go it alone. That's evolved into a yelping good time of talking blues, foot stomping, the occasional yodel and harmonica, and between-song rants about prison, the devil, wild women, and whatever else pops into his head. Biram's CD debut last year, Lo-Fi Mojo, was just that.

Most recently, Biram opened a monthlong Hank III tour, which served as testing ground for some original songs. He claims to have a repertoire of 400 old-time tunes, yet has worked in 15 of his own into the set.

"Before the tour, they were all works in progress," explains Biram. "Now I'm almost done recording them. I've got the Weary Boys as a backing band on a couple and some of Hank III's band on a couple more. I hope to have a new record out this spring."