That's a Wrap

Ricky Stein managed to land a spot opening for Alejandro Escovedo at Antones. The nine o'clock slot left me time to slip into Momo's on the way and catch the Hudsons for a half hour or so. If you haven't seen the Hudsons lately, Phoebe is back to having the longest hair in the band. And that's been a while.

It was fun hearing Hudson belt out a cover of Fred Neil's classic, Yonder Come the Blues, and take a turn on the vocal for Brian Hudson's song, Shield. And I could easily have settled in for the duration. After all, the Hudsons are my first Thursday choice. From Waterloo to Momo's and all points in between, the Hudsons are as comfy as a Pendleton wool blanket; so it was hard to pull away to go watch Ricky.

Outside, I was greeted with a steady mist, verging on light rain. I walked the few blocks over to Antones as fast as possible and arrived only moderately drenched. But I just keep learning that there is rich reward in the extra mile.

Ricky brought the full band, and they flat out rocked the house. Left the crowd chanting for more, which has to be good. The hour set went by too fast but rather than stay and listen to Alejandro, I opted for one more stop before turning in for the evening.

What a way to wrap up the last Thursday in 2006 – playing ping pong and soaking in pre-war jazz in the Continental Club Gallery. No kidding. This club definitely has the laid back part down. With the lack of stage or stage lighting, the listening room is more like hanging out with great musicians at a house party.

Let's hope Thursdays in 2007 live up to the standard...

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Tuesday Night Special

I spent the weekend at home enjoying the Christmas spirit. Had planned to stay home again, but an email from a friend lured me out to see Erik and the Hip Replacements at Flipnotics. Worn out from four days of last minute shopping and non-stop eating, I dragged myself to the car and headed into town.

Since I was out anyway, I decided to take in Lisa Richards at Momo's. This gig had actually been on my list of things to do, but I came perilously close to opting for a lazy TV night. As soon as Lisa started singing, I knew I had made the right choice. When she sang "Open" I was blown away. Power and grace and feeling... Lisa is the real deal.

Check out what she is up to on her website

After Lisa's show, I skipped over to Flipnotics for Erik's experimental swing laboratory. It has become pretty standard fair for full chaos to break out. Last night was no exception. Participants in the mania included Kerri Javorta, Phoebe Hunt, Warren hood, and Seth Walker. Hats off to the coolest cats in town. They play every Tuesday at Flips.

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Merry Christmas and Stuff

Merry Christmas and other stuff, folks - whatever your tradition, nothing like the end of a year to make you reflect on where are, and where you are going. Hope you are headed someplace good!

I have a few images up at the Diaz Gallery through the end of January. Go over and take a gander. Here's an incentive: if you buy a photograph from the gallery, I'll give you one of my landscape prints for $20. Just show me your receipt.

I have been extra busy playing Santa but have managed to get out a few times.

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I went down to the Trail of Lights tonight and had some fun with long exposures (Click here for photos). Finished the evening with funnel cake for all.

Happy Holidays

This just in: photos for sale by desperate artist. I hope to have four framed prints installed at the Diaz Gallery at South 1st and Alpine (just north of Ben White) by Sunday. I also have an inventory of 6 or so landscapes and somewhere around a dozen music prints in case you can't wait for me to get my gallery act together. All images are giclee prints on fine art paper from AgavePrint in South Austin. Most prints are 9X13.5 on 11X17 paper, but I have a couple landscapes at 13X20 on 17X22 paper.

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The Phoebe Jeebies

Comprised of members from the South Austin Jugband, the Hudsons, the Marshall Ford Swing Band, and some torch named Gimble, this sexy jazztet – I mean jazzy sextet – belts out blues, viper tunes, swing and old standards slick as a oil on wet asphalt. The Phoebe Jeebies are: Willy Pipken and Marshall Hood on guitars; Phoebe Hunt on fiddle; Emily Gimble on piano; Jason Vopni on bass and James Gwyn on drums. Definitley a good warm up for the Hoodlums.

Check them out every Sunday eveing 8-9 PM at Momo's.

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Upcoming Gallery Show

Plan to have at least 4 or 5 prints up in a gallery for the Christmas season. Will post details including images for sale soon.