Acoustic Alchemy 6/4/15 $140 7PM

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Acoustic Alchemy have spent over a quarter century making music and in that time they have not only received critical acclaim for their albums (including three Grammy nominations), but also have built a reputation for being one of the most exciting live bands in the business. For the last decade the band lineup has been made up of Greg Carmichael on nylon guitar, Miles Gilderdale on steel string acoustic and electric guitars, Fred White on keyboards and the powerhouse rhythm section of Greg Grainger on drums and his brother, Gary Grainger on bass.

In the two and a half decades since their earliest recordings – despite a tragic setback in the late 1990s and the inherent challenges of the 21st century music industry – the group has assembled and sustained a vast and loyal following that stretches well beyond their U.K. origins.

The band’s story begins with two guitarists, Nick Webb and Simon James, who recorded a self-financed, self-produced album in the mid 1980s entitled Acoustic Alchemy. Shortly after the release, James left the partnership to study flamenco guitar in Spain, leaving Webb to promote the record on his own.

Webb turned to a rock guitarist named Greg Carmichael, whose background complemented his own – Webb had studied jazz at Leeds College of Music, while Carmichael had studied classical at London College of Music – and the two assumed the name of Acoustic Alchemy.

The duo initially worked for Virgin Airlines, recording in-flight music for trans-Atlantic flights, then signed to MCA, where they released their 1987 debut album, Red Dust & Spanish Lace. The album included assistance from percussionist Mario Aragandoña and drummer Bart Smaak, and was the first of many to be produced by German sound engineer Klaus Genuit at Hansa Haus Studios in Bonn.

After two more records on MCA (Natural Elements in 1988 and Blue Chip in 1989), Acoustic Alchemy moved to GRP, which would be their home for the better part of the 1990s. Reference Point, released in 1990, was nominated for a GRAMMY® Award, and marked the beginning of a successful run on GRP that included Back on the Case (1991), The New Edge (1993), Against The Grain (1994) and Arcanum (1996).

Positive Thinking (1998) was to be Acoustic Alchemy’s last recording with Webb, who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the outset of the project. His condition worsened to the point where he was unable to put in the studio time and appear on any of the tracks. He died in February 1998, and the album was released later that year.

Webb’s death left the future of the band in question. At the time, the group consisted of the two acoustic guitarists backed by electric guitar, bass and drums. Gilderdale, who was playing in the electric guitar slot at the time, expanded his technical skills and repertoire on acoustic guitar and stepped forward to take Webb’s place alongside Carmichael at the front of the band.

The band moved to EMI’s Higher Octave label, where they released a short string of successful albums, beginning with The Beautiful Game (2000), an album that didn’t shy away from experimenting with new genres. The Beautiful Game also introduced keyboardist Anthony “Fred” White to the band lineup. The GRAMMY®-nominated Aart (2001) is their biggest selling album to date, and includes assistance by saxophonist Jeff Kashiwa. Radio Contact (2003), the band’s final release on Higher Octave, is the first in their discography to include a vocal track – “Little Laughter,” performed by Jo Harrop.

This Way, released on Narada Jazz in 2007, includes collaborations with jazz/funk/soul band Down to the Bone and a guest appearance by trumpeter Rick Braun.

Four years in the making, Roseland is Acoustic Alchemy’s newest recording. The album was self-produced in Gilderdale’s home studio in York, England (with some post-production in London and Germany), and released on the band’s newly formed label, Onside Records. Roseland was licensed to U.S.-based Heads Up International, a division of Concord Music Group, and released on September 27, 2011.

In 2014, Live in London, a two CD live recording was released. Live In London is Acoustic Alchemy’s first ever double album, featuring songs from their most recent studio release Roseland, along with classic tracks from the band’s 16 album catalog.

Through it all, the overriding mission of Acoustic Alchemy has been to reach the broadest possible audience by pushing the potential of instrumental music to embrace a broad spectrum of styles without being limited to any specific genre.

“For a lot of people, instrumental music is just a sound that plays in the background,” says Carmichael. “But we put a lot into it – not just with this record but with every record we’ve ever made. I’d like to think that after all these years, we’ve learned how to take people on a journey. A lot of our fans have said that we do that for them. As long as they keep coming back, and as long as they want to stay on that journey, we’ll keep doing what we’re doing.

 

Band of Heathens 6/5/15 $100 7PM

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The three original principal songwriters - Colin Brooks, Ed Jurdi and Gordy Quist - shared the bill at Momo's, an Austin club. Originally, each singer/songwriter performed his own set. However, they eventually started sharing the stage, and collaborating with bassist Seth Whitney. The Wednesday night series was billed as "The Good Time Supper Club". A misprint in a local paper billed the act as "The Heathens." Drummer John Chipman joined the band in 2007, and Keyboardist Trevor Nealon, who played in the studio during the recording of both "One Foot in the Ether" and "Top Hat Crown & the Clapmaster's Son", joined the touring unit in 2011.
Their first recording, "Live from Momo's", recorded at the now closed club on West 6th Street in Austin brought the band national attention and they were voted "Best New Band" at the 2007 Austin Music Awards. Following the Momo's release, the band released a second live recording, the CD/DVD "Live at Antone's" which was recorded at the venerable Austin club.
May 20, 2008 the band released their first, self-titled, studio album. Produced by Ray Wylie Hubbard, and featuring notable guests Patty Griffin, Stephen Bruton, and Gurf Morlix, the record went to #1 on the Americana Music Association's radio charts. In November 2008 the album was ranked 8th place on the Americana Music Association's Top 100 Albums of the Americana Charts for 2008.^[1]
In July 2009 BOH taped an Austin City Limits show that aired in the Fall of 2009. The year was especially significant for ACL in that Austin City Limits was celebrating its 35th anniversary year. The band's unique genesis and creativity were highlighted during the Austin City Limits interview conducted after their performance.^[2] The TV performance showcased a set by both the Band Of Heathens and Elvis Costello. ^[3]
Following the Austin City Limits PBS show, the band also played on the German television live concert series Rockpalast on October 9, 2009, performing 14 songs, many from the albums "Band Of Heathens" and "One Foot In The Ether.".^[4] "One Foot In The Ether", BOH's second studio release once again charted to the #1 slot on the Americana Radio Charts.
In 2009, the band was nominated for a "New Emerging Artist" award at the Americana Music Honors & Awards. In 2010, the band was again honored by the Americana Music Association as nominees for the "Best Duo/Group of the Year".^[5]
In 2011, the band released their fifth album overall (third studio album) "Top Hat Crown & the Clapmaster's Son". The album was listed in the top 10 most played Americana Albums of 2011, marking the third album in a row to make the year end top 10 list. This album is also the last studio project featuring founding member Colin Brooks, who announced in November of that year that he was leaving the band to pursue other interests after six years.
2013 provided the critically acclaimed album titled "Sunday Morning Record". The "Bakersfield Californian Review" aptly stated "Sunday Morning Record is a love letter to the past and, at the same time, a postcard to the future." ^[6] The album charted to the number 2 spot on the Americana Charts Americana Music Association and was selected as the Number one album in 2013 by "The Alternative Root". In addition, "The Alternative Root" in referring to its "Top Fifty" Americana Bands stated the following: "The number one spot was the easiest to place. Band of Heathens epitomize Indie, building their band business from the ground up and keeping everything in-house". - See more at: http://www.thealternateroot.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1511:alternate-root-top-50-americana-roots-bands&catid=231:making-the-list-on-the-alternate-root#sthash.MyaTYbMz.dpuf^[7]

Malford Milligan 5/8/15 $110 7PM

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In 1994, he helped form the Texas supergroup, Storyville, with David Holt, David Grissom, and the rhythm section from Stevie Ray Vaughan's Double Trouble, which included bassist Tommy Shannon, and drummer Chris Layton. As a session singer, Milligan was in great demand. He toured and worked on albums together with other outstanding musicians, including Hal Ketchum, Marcia Ball, Alejandro Escovedo, Sue Foley, Eric Johnson and Chris Smither. During this period he also expanded his horizons from strictly secular music, privately releasing the two benefit albums, The Gospel According to Austin and The Gospel According to Austin, Vol. 2.
In 2002 Milligan recorded and released the critically acclaimed Sweet Cherry Soul album, backed by a band from The Netherlands that was put together by Milligan's friend and Dutch musician/producer Jack Hustinx. The album contains original material written by Milligan & Hustinx as well as a blend of known and obscure Soul, Rhythm & Blues and Gospel classics. Also two songs written by Milligan's close friend Stephen Bruton were included. This band, The Malford Milligan Band, played three very successful tours in The Netherlands in 2002-2003, as well as a tour in and around Milligan's hometown Austin, Texas in 2003.
After these tours Jack Hustinx and three other core-members of this backing-band started their own career as the Shiner Twins, becoming a highly respected Americana-outfit in their native country, releasing three successful and critically acclaimed CDs: All In Store (2006), Southern Belles (2008) and Four Souls - One Heart (2011). On this last album Milligan and his former band-members joined forces again, on two tracks in which Milligan was featured as guest-vocalist.
Milligan also fronted Randy Jacobs' band the Boneshakers in 2001-2003. He left the Boneshakers to form his own group in Austin, also called the Malford Milligan Band, which released Rides Again... on the Varese Sarabande label in 2006.^[2]
In 2008/2009, he was touring with Greg Koch, a multifaceted electric guitarist capable of fluently playing a gamut of musical styles. Together they formed a band called Nation Sack — drawing their name from the lyrics of a Robert Johnson song entitled "Come On in My Kitchen" — who released an album under the same name in 2009 which includes a blending of electric blues and rock styles. When performing live, Nation Sack is known to cover songs from Jeff Beck and Led Zeppelin, such as "Hi-Ho Silver Lining," "Rock and Roll," and excerpts from such classic tracks as "Dazed and Confused" and "Heartbreaker."
Currently, Malford has moved back to Austin and started getting back into the music scene there. An early highlight of his return to Austin was his appearance (along with David Grissom) at Antone's for Blue Tuesday on 20 October 2009. The last two songs performed at this were "Change is Gonna Come" which appeared on Storyville's first album and "What Passes for Love" from Storyville's second album.
He can be heard on the Eric Johnson album Up Close released in 2010 singing "Brilliant Room" He appeared on "The Voice" NBC TV series 9-30-13. He sang Al Green's "Let's Stay Together". He wasn't picked by any of the judges.

Brock Zeman 5/6/15 $85 7pm

 

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Over the course of 11 albums, Ottawa area singer songwriter Brock Zeman has built a reputation as a writer of great depth and passion, through his thoughtful, often personal songs. But he’s got a rough, rockin’ side as well. Joined on relentless tours across Western Canada and down to Texas and back by his ever present collaborator, Blair Hogan, and often drummer Dylan Roberts, Zeman and crew can put on a powerful show that has attendees rocking as much as feeling the stories that he tells in song. He could easily be the bastard son of Lucinda Williams and Steve Earle, with a gravelly Tom Waits voice.
On his last couple of albums, Zeman had been experimenting with dense sound scapes that told as much of the story as his words. On the newest, “Pulling Your Sword out of the Devil’s Back,” the words and melody are at the forefront, and with a batch of songs as strong as these, they certainly should be. The melodies on the record are his strongest yet. Many are instantly memorable, and could find a home on commercial country or rock radio. If those tired formats played powerful songs like these, “Dead Man’s Shoes” could be a strong country hit, and “Little Details” or “Some Things Always Stay” would be blaring out of car windows all summer long.

Although the songs and the album sound fun, there is some deep emotion spilled out. Zeman tells some sad stories of heartbreak and love gone wrong on this one. One of the most sad and powerful songs is “10 Year Fight,” where he recounts seeing the father of a former lover, who has been struggling after “Daddy’s little girl, she’s gone wrong.” After the meeting Zeman says, “I finally lost the battle of a 10 year fight. I broke a promise to myself that you would never get a song. Don’t it look like I was wrong.”
In the powerful title track Zeman speaks more than sings, “I live in a house full of ghosts that just won’t let me be. I let ‘em in myself, but now I can’t get ‘em to leave. I’m haunted by love…” and now he’s exorcising those ghosts inside of these songs. For him, writing songs is “Juggling words and chiseling lines to tell a story, to tell the truth… It’s just heart to tongue, tongue to hand, blah, blah, blah, and struggle.” Later in the song, Zeman says, “And when you really knock it out, and all the planets align, it’s like pulling your sword out of the devil’s back and saying ‘No! Not this time!’” before building to a powerful crescendo finish.
With this record, the sword has obviously come loose, and there’s no doubt that Zeman will use it to battle other ghosts, demons and devils in song. The prolific writer has already written the bulk of another album, and has a wealth of other material still awaiting recording or release. This is a mature, powerful album from a writer who truly needs to be heard. Here’s hoping that many new ears will be tuned to this one.

Chuck Hawthorne & Ray Bonneville 5/3/2015 $110 7PM

 

 

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Chuck Hawthorne

Chuck Hawthorne was sitting in a Chicago airport next to his guitar case. He had been visiting friends for the weekend and was waiting on a flight back to Austin, where he had recently relocated following his retirement from the US Marine Corps. Another gentleman toting a guitar took the seat next to him and struck up a conversation. That man was Juno Award winning artist Ray Bonneville.

As the flight boarded, the two exchanged contact information, and Ray asked Chuck to send him some songs. Chuck had heard that line before and figured that airport conversation would be the last he heard from Ray Bonneville. But the next day, he emailed Ray a few songs anyway. Ray sent a reply that would change Chuck’s life and career. It read, “Let’s meet for coffee and discuss your record.”

Ray Bonneville

Every now and then, you run across someone with a library’s worth of stories to tell. But unlike the raconteurs who regale friends with well-embellished versions of their exploits, these storytellers have lived so much, they reveal chapters of their hard-won wisdom slowly, carefully, like layers peeled from an onion.

Ray Bonneville didn’t even open his storybook until his early 40s, some 20 years after he started performing. But with a style that sometimes draws comparisons to JJ Cale and Daniel Lanois, this blues-influenced, New Orleans-inspired “song and groove man,” as he’s been so aptly described, luckily found his rightful calling.

Jeremiah Johnson Band $140 5/2/15

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Every ticket includes the show and also a full 4 star dinner, parking and all gratuities in an incredible VIP venue.
You will be spoiled by the waitstaff and the intimacy of the event! 
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The nationally touring Jeremiah Johnson Band, original rockin’ blues band with Jeremiah Johnson, lead guitar, vocals; Jeff Girardier, bass; and Benet Schaeffer, drums.  Jeremiah has been writing original music for decades and continues to polish his art through consistent rehearsals and tireless touring. Though born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, he seasoned his songwriting by spending a decade on the Gulf Coast of Texas, working hard at making a name for himself as an original Blues Artist.  Johnson returned to St. Louis to continue his mission to share his music with the world. Now five albums into his career, he has a sound that is both fresh and original, blending St. Louis Blues, Southern Rock and Traditional Country in to a style that has something for every discriminating music fan. 

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David Allan Coe 4/25/15 $150

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Born September 6th 1939 in Akron, Ohio, USA. From the age of nine, Coe was in and out of reform schools, correction centers and prisons. According to his publicity handout, he spent time on Death Row after killing a fellow inmate who demanded oral sex. When Rolling Stone magazine questioned this, Coe responded with a song, ‘I’d Like To Kick The Shit Out Of You’. Whatever the truth of the matter, Coe was paroled in 1967 and took his songs about prison life to Shelby Singleton who released two albums on his SSS label. Coe wrote Tanya Tucker’s 1974 US country number 1, ‘Would You Lay With Me (In A Field Of Stone)?’. He took to calling himself Davey Coe – the Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy, performing in a mask, and driving a hearse. He satirized the themes of country music with hilarious additions to Steve Goodman’s ‘You Never Even Called Me By My Name’, but has often used the clichés himself. His defiant stance and love of motorbikes, multiple tattoos and ultra-long hair made him a natural ‘Nashville outlaw’, which he wrote about in the self-glorifying ‘Longhaired Redneck’ and ‘Willie, Waylon And Me’.

In 1978 Johnny Paycheck had a US country number 1 with Coe’s ‘Take This Job And Shove It’, which inspired a film of the same title in 1981, and Coe’s own successes included the witty ‘Divers Do It Deeper’ (1978), ‘Jack Daniels If You Please’ (1979), ‘Now I Lay Me Down To Cheat’ (1982), ‘The Ride’ (1983), which conjures up a meeting between Coe and Hank Williams, and ‘Mona Lisa’s Lost Her Smile’ (1984), which reached number 2 on the US country charts, his highest position as a performer. Recordings with other performers include ‘Don’t Cry Darlin” and ‘This Bottle (In My Hand)’ with George Jones, ‘I’ve Already Cheated On You’ with Willie Nelson, and ‘Get A Little Dirt On Your Hands’ with Bill Anderson. 

Coe’s 1978 album Human Emotions was about his divorce – one side being ‘Happy Side’ and the other ‘Su-I-side’. The controversial cover of Texas Moon shows the bare backsides of his band and crew, and he has also released two mail-order albums of explicit songs, Nothing Sacred and Underground. 

Coe appears incapable of separating the good from the ridiculous and his albums are erratic. At his best, he is a sensitive, intelligent writer. Similarly, his stage performances with his Tennessee Hat Band differ wildly in length and quality: sometimes it is non-stop music, sometimes it features conjuring tricks. Coe’s main trick, however, is to remain successful, as country music fans grow exasperated with his over-the-top publicity. He may still be an outlaw but as Waylon Jennings remarks in ‘Living Legends’, that only means double-parking on Music Row.