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Vol. 39 - No. 3 • DECEMBER 2020 • www.houstonmusicnews.net • FREE

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Jethro Tull’s Martin Barre Also In This Issue Mike Montgomery • Tab Benoit Robbie Parish • Two Tons Of Steel Tab Benoit • Koe Wetzel • Cody Canada Struggle Jennings • Cory Morrow

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Music News • December 2020

December 2020 Hello Music News readers. The Christmas season is upon us now and the weather is getting a bit colder. It’s been a rough year for everybody across this planet we call Earth. I hope and pray that this Christmas is good for all of you. I know this is going to be a rough Christmas for a lot of you out there as you have lost a lot of family members, friends, and even acquaintances that you interacted with each day. They tell me that help is on the way and there are a couple of vaccines for the dreaded Covid-19 pandemic that has gripped us this year.

I hope so, and I hope they work. In the meantime, I’d like to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Please be safe...

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Joyeux Noël, Frohe Weinachten, Feliz Navidad, Buon Natale, Feliz Natal, Vrolijk kerstfeest, Craciun fericit, God Jul, Veselé Vánoce, and Happy New Year, Bonne Année, Gutes Neues Jahr, Feliz Año Nuevo, Felice Anno Nuovo, Feliz Ano Novo, Gelukkig nieuwjaar, Un an nou fericit.

Now, on to the new issue. In this issue, as usual, we have some great stories and information to pass on to you.

Martin Barre, the former guitarist for Jethro Tull talks about his new album 50 Years Of Jethro Tull, Marlon Montgomery releases a tribute album to his father Mike Montgomery titled Crawling Spider: A Tribute to Mike Montgomery – Vol. 1 – The LA Sessions, Tab Benoit bring his own special brand of Cajun-Blues to Dosey Doe Big Barn, Houston’s Robbie Parrish is spotlighted, Struggle Jennings returns to The Scout Bar, Two Tons of Steel perform at The Mucky Duck, Jack Ingram performs at The Heights Theater, Koe Wetzel performs a soldout concert at the newly reopened White Oak Music Hall, Cody Canada performs for two nights at Main Street Crossing in Tomball, and Cory Morrow performs at Dosey Doe Big Barn I sincerely hope that everybody reading this new publication finds something here that they like and I would like to encourage you to let your friends and colleagues know about us. Just look for us every month at http:// www.houstonmusicnews.net. I would also like to encourage you to email us for a free subscription to Rock And Blues International as well. Just email us at musicnew@airmail.net and in the subject line simply put “Sign Me Up” and we’ll email you a copy each month when it is published.

Kevin Wildman Kevin Wildman Editor and Publisher

Kevin Wildman Editor and Publisher Web Address http://www.houstonmusicnews.net Mailing Address Box 1162, League City, TX 77573 Phone 281-650-1953

For Advertising email us at musicnew@airmail.net or call 281-650-1953 For A Free Subscription email us at musicnew@airmail.net and in the subject line put “Sign Me Up Now” Decemberr 2020 • Music News

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Contents DECEMBER 2020

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6

MARTIN BARRE Releases New Album 50 Years Of Jethro Tull

10 MIKE MONTGOMERY

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Crawling Spider: A Tribute To Mick Montgomery - Vol. 1 The LA Sessions

14 15

ROBBIE PARRISH The Sharp Dressed Drummer To The Stars

TAB BENOIT Tab Benoit Brings His Own Special Blend Of Caun-Blues To Dosey Doe Big Bar For Two Nights, December 11 and 12.

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Music News • December 2020 2020

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Contents DECEMBER 2020

24

24

KOE WETZEL Koe Wetzel Performs At White Oak Music Hall For A Sold Out Performance

26 16 18 26 28 32

Also In This Issue Struggle Jennings Jack Ingram Two Tons Of Steel Cody Canada Cory Morrow

34 Random Shots featuring The Band Of Heathens, Chasing Yesterday, 9 Volt Junkies, Azrael’s Bane, 7 Mile Band, Jay Hooks, Deteriorated, and Big City Nights

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Decemberr 2020 2020 • Music News

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Jethro Tull’s Martin Barre 6 Music MusicNews News •• November December 2020

By Kevin Wildman One of the most famous and popular bands in Classic Rock was Jethro Tull.

Formed in 1967, the band started out performing a mixture of blues-rock and jazzfusion. Later on they would incorporate a more rock sound into their music. “This Was” is the first album released by Jethro Tull. It was released in 1968. The original members were Ian Anderson (vocals, flute, piano, mouth organ), Mick Abrahams (guitar, vocals), Glen Cormick (bass) and Clive Bunker (drums). By the time the band recorded their second album “Stand Up,” in 1969, Mick Abrahams had been replaced by Martin Barre, and that’s were this story really begins. With over 20 albums to their credit, the only two constants on those albums were Ian Anderson and Martin Barre.

Throughout the years, Jethro Tull’s music evolved so quickly. While This Was and Stand Up were very close in sound, the albums Benefit, Aqualung, and Thick As A Brick changed quite drastically from album to album. This continued on through the end of Jethro Tull. Every album was an adventure and a new direction. Martin explains the changes as just growing musically. “ I guess we were learning a lot. We were touring continuously listening to other bands, listening to music that was playing and I think in the early days of all those bands out there, we were learning how to play. I think there’s a lot of naivete in the musicianship. It was sort of raunchy and raw and it worked because of that. Everybody just wants you to play better and they wanted to listen to other musicians and see and hear what they were doing, and pick up tips and ideas and inspiration. I guess we were learning a lot.

We were touring, so it’s a real steep learning curve in the 70s and I guess that explains why we sort of just went crazy with the music writing, with the direction we took, but it didn’t seem unnatural. It just sort of it seemed that it was a totally normal direction.

We were aware that we were sort of giving the fans a bit of a ride for their money, you know, where the music was going, but we were having fun and we found it exciting.

And we hope that translated into what we were recording.”

Martin still carries on this approach with his solo career as he moves from album to album. “That ‘s always been the way that I feel and thing about music and I carried that through into what I do. I like to start from scratch. Every album… every CD… we just start at O and build it up. I hate repetition and even when we’re playing concerts, we’ll change the set… even in the middle of a tour.

I think change is healthy. I wouldn’t say that people expected that, but Tull fans were always very flexible in that way. They heard our music and they knew that they never knew what was going to come next, but they sort of forgave us for things that they did not like, and they were really happy when we did something they did like. They never knew what was gonna come and I like that about music. I don’t want everything to be predictable or retro... all the same. You know, I mean all those adjectives. I hate them all

Jethro Tull’s Martin Barre Releases 50 Years Of Jethro Tull and maybe that’s the way I’ve approached the 50th Anniversary CD. I just wanted to do tracks that weren’t shortcuts to doing something quick and easy. I wanted to put a lot of thought and a lot of emotion into what I did. Otherwise it would mean nothing.”

In fact, one cannot really think about Jethro Tull without thinking about the unbelievable guitar-work presented by Martin Barre on those albums. Martin would remain with the band until the band’s untimely demise in 2011. In 2011 Ian Anderson came in one day and announced to the other members of Jethro Tull that he was going to ‘call it a day’ and disband Tull. Needless to say, that was perplexing to Martin and the remaining members, but they all parted and went their separate direction.

After the confusion of this decision diminished, Martin knew that there was only one course of action for him. He would continue on with his solo career. In 1994 Martin had released his first solo album, A Trick Of Memory. Another couple of solo albums, The Meeting (1996) and Stage Left

(2003) followed that up. At the time of these releases, Martin had no inclination to leave Jethro Tull at all. That was as much his band as Ian Anderson’s, although Ian had been their first. It didn’t take long for Martin to hit the road and start performing again as a solo act. Since then he has released several more solo albums, including Away With Words (2013), Order of Play (2014), Back To Steel (2015), and Roads Less Traveled (2018). All of those albums were received with great enthusiasm by his fans and sold well.

Now Martin Barre is back with a new album, however this one is a return to his roots… a return to Jethro Tull, his one true love. Face it folks, Tull wouldn’t have been the Tull we all grew to love without Martin Barre. It would have been different and it would have sounded different. Last year Martin Barre re-recorded several songs that he always loved during his Jethro Tull days and has released the album as a 2-CD project called MLB - 50 Years of Jethro Tull. The first CD or album in this two-album set was continued on next page December 2020 • Music News

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Sunday Feeling,” “Love Story,” and “Song For Jeffrey.” As Martin explains, this was not an issue with him, he always enjoyed playing those songs. “That’s not an issue with me,” says Martin, “I just make a judgement on the song and I’m not particularly highlighting what I did in Tull. I just love the history. It was my celebration of having 50 years in this music and the debt that I owe fans for enabling me to be there and play guitar for so long. So yeah, I didn’t really think too hard about what I’m playing and my choices are pretty simple. If it sounds great on stage and it’s bluesy and it’s rock and it’s heavy, and it’s got a great tempo and a lot of guitar playing in them, then I’m going to do it.”

50 Years Of Jethro Tull continued from previous page recorded ‘live’ at the Factory Underground studio in Norwalk, New York. The second half of the album was an acoustic studio version of Jethro Tull songs and was recorded in Martin’s home studio. This album contains 24 Jethro Tull classics that range from the first album, This Was through 1991’s Catfish Rising. They are all songs that Martin loves performing and he does a fantastic job at with the new arrangements and his own indisputable stamp on them.

For the recording of MLB - 50 Years of Jethro Tull, Martin recorded both in the United States and his native country of England. The project started out here in the United States at The Factory Underground as Martin explains. “Well, The Factory Underground is a sort of very cool place in Norwalk New York State. We did a few rehearsals there. It’s a facility that has recording, a small stage for an audience and it has TV recording facilities. We got quite involved with them and we had a couple of days off on a US tour and that I wanted to start on this album, so we booked into a two day session, but essentially, the first day we did everything. Disc one is recorded really in one day and it’s live, no vocals in a booth. We just set up the back line, and we just wanted to sound really authentic. I didn’t want a big studio album with those tracks. I wanted it to sound as if we’re doing a gig. It’s a cool place to record and it was fun to do. Then I came back to the U.K. and we did the studio tracks at my studio in Devon and brought the girls into sing the acoustic songs. This too is more the sort of quieter side of Tull, but in my mind the two sides always work hand-inhand. We always did acoustic segments with electric. There’s always that sort of dynamic between the two.”

The song choices on the albums were very interesting. While the “live” part of the

8 Music News • December 2020

album seemed to favor Stand Up and This Was predominately, the acoustic versions leaned heavily on Aqualung. “It wasn’t planned that way,” says Martin. “The studio album was the 4-piece Martin Barre Band, and we just play music that sort of sounds heavy and strong and people really react to it.

We’re a rock band in the old-fashioned sense.

We’re a touring band. We sort of live together… play together… eat together, and we like to sort of rock out together on stage as much as we can. It’s a great band and I think the heavier material and the guitardriven stuff comes from the earlier days anyway so we sort of leaned in that direction.”

It was interesting to see that there were several songs from the pre-Martin Barre era album, This Was. Those songs are “My

Also included on the ‘live’ section of the album are two songs from the Benefit album. Those are “Nothing To Say” and “Teacher.” “In actual fact,” Martin tells us, “I often quote that as my favorite album. On Stand Up we were treading lightly. We weren’t really sure on how people were going to react to the music, because before Stand Up, Tull was a blues band. So people had to react to the new direction we were going in.

It was a bit nervous and anxious, but we had such great success with it. We came back from the United States and we did U.K. tours with it and then we went and did Benefit. We had that much more confidence in what we were doing and it was a really fun album to play. So, for me, I have a really good feeling about Benefit as a period of time in Tull’s history and we play songs off that album as well and that will continue to.”

Although it may seem that there’s no rhyme or reason for the tracking order of these songs or the selection, Martin tells us that there is a plan. For instance, on the ‘live’ segment, the choice from Aqualung is just one song, “Hymn 43.” “ I like the song, and that chord progression,” explains Martin “A lot of bands did it. Cream did it famously.

It’s just sort of very much of that era. We started playing it on stage because Tull finished in 2011, and we’d never played “Hymm 43” for probably 30 or 40 years. I just thought we’re here and we need to give

that one an airing and so the Martin Barre Band played it. It sounded great. It was just like a real straight-ahead Rock track… really simple, really great tempo. It just works as a live track. That’s why it’s there.”

Also on the ‘live’ section is “Sealion” off of the War Child album. Martin tells us that he picked it because, “It’s quirky. I just like to be really going the direction that people don’t expect, so again Tull when we were together, didn’t play it. We chose the “War Child” album and played it, but then it sort of got buried and never resurrected again.

I thought, I know it’s got a great riff. It’s really so weird, but it’s weird and wonderful.

So again, you know, I want to do it. I want to play it and it sounded good. You know, you just have to make the cut by virtue of it being a good piece of music to play.”

When Martin set out to do a 50 year retrospective on Jethro Tull, he didn’t want to just slap a few songs on a disc and send it out, he wanted something special for the fans, as he explains. “ I’ve seen bands, including Tull, put out sort of quite meaningless ‘best of’ albums and compilations and they just sort of repackaged old tracks and not even remixed them. I just think that’s not very meaningful. That’s not very thoughtful. And I never want to be part of that mindset. To me everything’s got to be re-recorded, revisited, fresh, straight off the shelf. I just want to give them their due musically.”

When it comes to the acoustic studio tracks on Disc two of the album, there’s quite an interesting combination of songs on it.

Four of the eleven songs on it come from Aqualung, and the others come from Minstrel In The Gallery, Catfish Rising, Crest Of A Knave, Stormwatch, This Was, Stormwatch, Under Wraps, and Crest Of A Knave.

Production on these is exquisite and the vocals are fantastic. The way the songs have been re-envisioned is unbelievable. “I think that’s when the acoustic songs were really at their peak and I think Ian’s songwriting really was at its best in the acoustic material.

They’re just beautifully formed. Lyrically and musically that they’re just lovely things and so when I started looking at them and I just picked out some of the acoustic songs, I’ve always really liked. There’s a few that there wasn’t space for now. I love “Reasons For Waiting” and “Sossity.” There’s a lot of material, but you just got to pick out a few things that you think represent all of those years. The girls had never heard any of these songs and Alex and Becca knew nothing about Jethro Tull, so I played them these songs, and they’re young kids and they love them. They just thought that’s a great song and then straight away, they sang them with such conviction. And I love what they do to them. It just refreshes the songs and makes them really like new. I love what they do.”

Some of the songs picked out for this album were picked out because Martin felt that it would also help spotlight the other performers on the album. One might look at the song choice and wonder, ‘why this one, and why not that one.’ It’s a tough decision for Martin to make. Just how do you put the

acoustic work of one of the greatest bands in history with over 20 albums to its credit on just one album? It’s virtually impossible.

Martin tells us, “I can’t give all the reasons. I just picked out things I really like. They work well. They gave everybody a bit of attention. I wanted the girls to be up front on the CD because they’re an important part of my life. I wanted Dan’s vocals to have real frontline attention. It’s a difficult decision, but there will always be what I didn’t do and that’s infinite, almost infinite. It’s impossible, but I just I’m happy with what I chose and I stand by them and I apologize for things I didn’t do.”

Yes, it’s going to be inevitable. The process for selecting songs for this great reimagining of Tull songs had to be a daunting challenge for Martin, but the results on this two-disc set is fantastic. It really is a great selection of songs filled with old favorites and some of the more obscure ones as well.

“Well,” says Martin, “it’s an impossible choice, but this is an enjoyable one. It’s nice to have too much material to select from, rather than too little.”

This album is really a gem for Jethro Tull fans. It’s another chance to revisit old favorites with a new twist on them, an unbelievable chance that most bands or musicians don’t offer. There are a total of 24 great Jethro Tull songs on this two-disc set that will definitely take you on a trip down memory lane. For new listeners it will be an incentive to go out and start buying that Jethro Tull catalog that you were unaware of.

I can’t stress enough about what a great collection of songs this is. Go out and pick it up today and discover your inner Jethro Tull,

courtesy of Martin Barre and the Martin Barre Band.

Track listings and albums they are from: Disc 1 - “Live At The Factory Underground” My Sunday Feeling - This Was For A Thousand Mothers - Stand Up Hymn 43 - Aqualung Love Story - This Was Sealion - War Child Song For Jeffrey - This Was Back To The Family - Stand Up Nothing To Say - Benefit Hunting Girl - Songs From The Wood Teacher - Benefit Steel Monkey - Crest Of A Knave Nothing Is Easy - Stand Up New Day Yesterday - Stand Up Disc 2 - Acoustic Wond’ring Aloud - Aqualung Someday The Sun Won’t Shine This Was Life Is A Long Song - Aqualung Cheap Day Return - Aqualung Under Wraps - Under Wraps One White Duck - Minstrel In The Gallery Still Loving You Tonight - Catfish Rising The Waking Edge - Crest Of A Knave Home - Stormwatch Locomotive Breath - Aqualung Slow Marching Band - The Broad sword And The Beast Decmber 2020 • Music News

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Crawling Spider: A Tribute To Mike Montgomery Vol.1 - The LA Sessions

By Kevin Wildman One of the most unique releases that we’ve encountered this year has got to be the album, Crawling Spider: A Tribute To Mike Montgomery Vol.1 - The LA Sessions. The album is a touching tribute produced by Mike’s son, Marlon Montgomery. Mike Montgomery was the keyboardist and chief songwriter in a band that some of you might have heard of, Back Street Crawler. To refresh your memories, Back Street Crawler was the band that former Free guitarist Paul Kossoff formed after leaving Free. The band consisted of Paul Kossoff, Terry Wilson, 10 Music News • December 2020

Tony Braunagel, Terry Wilson-Slesser and Mike Montgomery. Basically, the nucleus of Back Street Crawler was filled with members of a band from Houston, TX called Bloontz.

Those members were Mike Montgomery, Tony Braunagel, and Terry Wilson. Terry Wilson-Slesser was from an English band called Beckett. Bloontz initially moved from Houston to England to join Kossoff in the new project.

Sadly, Mike Montgomery passed away in 1991 after a long battle with lung cancer.

This album pays homage to Mike Montgom-

ery and his talented writing abilities. This album contains 15 tracks, which feature reinterpretations of songs from the Back Street Crawler days along with songs from Mike’s R&B band, Rough House. And believe it or not, Mike Montgomery, also performs on some of these songs. Some of the songs on this a album are demos that Mike had put together, but had never been published. Marlon has a selection of those and they have been added to this release as well.

Marlon has assembled quite a cast of

musicians to reinterpret his father’s songs on this release. Among them are John “Rabbit” Bundrick (keyboardist for The Who), Johnny Lee Schell (Eric Burdon, Bonnie Raitt), Robbie Wyckoff (lead vocalist from Roger Waters - The Wall Tour), Billy Watts (John Mayall, Coco Montoya), Clive Edwards (UFO, Pat Travers, Uli Jon Roth), Teresa James (Eric Burdon, Bonnie Raitt, Walter Trout & more), Bill Leverty (Firehouse), and Jimmy Kunes (Humble Pie, Cactus, Savoy Brown), not to mention former Back Street Crawler members Tony Braunagel, Terry Wilson, and Terry Wilson-Slesser. Songs covered by these artists on this record include “Survivor,” “Rock & Roll Junkie,” “It’s A Long Way To The Top,” “Stealing My Way,” “Jason Blue,” and “All The Girls Are Crazy,” which were all featured on the Back Street Crawlers album, The Band Plays On.” Also

contributing a song to this compilation is the legendary Omar & The Howlers, who perform Mike’s song, “Just A Song Of America.” In fact, songs like “It’s A Long Way Down To The Top” and “Jason Blue” was written for Mike’s previous band, Bloontz.

However, the crowning jewels on this release are the recently discovered demos of Mike Montgomery that Marlon found. These songs are strictly unbelievable and feature a cast of characters that would make any musician blush. Now hold on to you socks as we read this list of performers off to you.

The six demo songs included on this release feature performances from Grammy Award winning guitarist Bob Kulick, who has worked with KISS, Meat Loaf, Alice Cooper, Michael Bolton, Lou Reed, and W.A.S.P., just

to name a few. Other musicians include Brian Robertson and Scott Graham from Thin Lizzy, Jimmy Bain from Rainbow and Dio, Paul Thompson from Roxy Music and Concrete Blonde, and Mike Montgomery. As you can see from this list, it was quite an unbelievable list of performers. And, by the way, you’re going to just love these demos.

They rock!!!

“Those tracks were from my father’s solo album,” explains Marlon. “After Back Street Crawler he had recorded some tracks in New York and London with the guys he used to hang out with. A couple of years ago I came across some quarter inch demo tapes with these songs on them and I thought I’d like to add them onto the album as bonus continued on next page December 2020 • Music News

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Most of the new tracks were recorded live there with the keyboard parts being added later because of logistics. On several of the songs they were going to have John “Rabbit” Bundrick perform on them, and he was based in London, so his parts were added later.

Mike Montgomery continued from previous page material.”

As a matter of fact, the bonus songs on the album came from a variety of places.

Besides the ones that Marlon had come across, one of Mike’s former producers in New York had some tapes that he passed on to Marlon and Mike’s second wife Mary Montgomery also passed on some tapes to Marlon as well. Assisting Marlon on this plethora of tapes that he had acquired was Terry Wilson. “Terry Wilson,” continues Marlon, “is not only a great bass player and songwriter, but he is also a great mixing and mastering engineer. He took all these tapes I sent him from different sources and different tapes… the reels and the cassette tapes, and he worked his magic and somehow he removed the noise and got them all to fit together. I don’t think they even sound out of place from the newly recorded tapes.”

Mike Montgomery has had a really distinguished career. He formed his first band at the age of 15, and from there he just kept moving up the ladder of success. He joined the band Bloontz in Houston, Texas, and later moved to New York where he became Johnny Nash’s musical director.

Soon he became a hot guy on the studio session circuit and found himself recording with David Bowie, Lulu, Blood, Sweat & Tears, and more acts. In 1975 he was even 12 Music News • December 2020

approached to replace Ian Hunter as front man in Mott The Hoople, but instead relocated to England to join Paul Kossoff in Back Street Crawler. After leaving Back Street Crawler, he recorded a solo album with members of Meatloaf, Thin Lizzy, Blood, Sweat, & Teas, and more. Mike then moved back to New York where he found himself immersed in a multitude of projects with people like Johnny Winter, Roy Buchanan, Rick Derringer and more. He then went on to form his own outfit, Rough House, which played a mixture of R&B, Rock, and Blues.

Marlon Montgomery is extremely pleased and happy with the release of Crawling Spider: A Tribute To Mike Montgomery Vol.1 - The LA Sessions. It took him about 5 years to put this project together.

Marlon was just a freshman in high school when his dad died of lung cancer. At the present time, Marlon is older than his father was when he passed away. This album is titled Vol. 1, and there is a reason for that. It seems that Marlon has some more material that he’d like to include on a Vol. 2 of this same project.

Some of these tracks on Crawling Spider: A Tribute To Mike Montgomery Vol.1 - The LA Sessions were recorded in Tony Braunagel’s home studio. Tony and Terry Wilson helped Marlon produce the album.

When it came to re-recording the older material from the Kossoff days, Marlon took his wish list of personnel and song requests for the album to Tony and Terry and presented it to them. “I brought the long list that I though it would be great to do from the different time periods and part of the challenge was trying to narrow down the list.

Of course, I’m so close to it, I wanted to do all the songs in the catalog. So Terry and Tony helped me out there in picking the songs that would best work together and still honor the original tunes with a little modern twist on them. They definitely helped out there. They were fantastic. Not only are they great players, they’re great producers. Once we picked the songs, we had Tony and Terry on drums and bass. Then we started going through who would best fit each song.”

“Of course we wanted to use Teresa,” continues Marlon “We needed to know who would make the most sense on vocals. We knew Mark Campbell from Jack Mack And the Heart Attack. He would bring his unique voice of rough rock and roll to “Rock And Roll Junkie.” Robbie Wyckoff can sing anything. The clarity of his vocals was just a perfect fit. And we rounded out our house band with Johnny Lee Schell. He’s an incredible guitar player and he plays slide on “99 Days. Billy Watts was the other guitar player. His solo on “Survivor” is incredible.

We were also able to bring in Adam MacDougall. I’m a huge Black Crowes fan, so it was great to have him. Of course, Rabbit played a big part in this. Terry and Tony reached out to him and brought him on board as well. He’s a genius on the keys.”

As I said before, Marlon is extremely proud of this project, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually gets Vol. 2 off the ground soon. He certainly has the stamina and the drive to do it. Personally, I think that if Mike is looking down from Heaven right now, he would just be knocked out at what his son has accomplished for him. It has truly been a labor of love for Marlon and I wish him the best in the follow-up to this album.

“I think the true testament to my dad is that these songs still hold up,” says Marlon.

“That was one of the main reasons for releasing this album, besides just honoring my dad, these songs still hold up, they deserve to be out there.

December 2020 • Music News

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Robbie Parrish - The Sharp Dressed Drummer To The Stars Where does one begin with Robbie Parrish? You may not know him but there is a very good likelihood that you have listened to his work. More than hanging out with the stars Robbie continues to be in the thick of it both on stage and as a world class drum tuner. Most of us never give much thought about what goes into reproducing the quality of sound on stage just as it was produced in the studio but Robbie does and he does this in a big way. Robbie Parrish is known as the consume’ go to sound reproduction man and when it comes to setting up microphones around the drum kit in a studio.

The man is also a top rated drummer and has performed on Broadway in Oh Calcutta! and Tommy among others. On stages around the world Robbie Parrish has performed with Annie Lennox, Edgar Winter, The Temptations, Dick Dale, Etta James, Dr. John and a long list of others. He performed with Chuck Berry in twenty plus shows including being on American Bandstand with him. Closer to home Robbie played in the great rock band Dr. Rocket with band leader Rock Romano. When it comes to dress Robbie is well known as “that sharp dressed drummer guy” and it is not uncommon to find him out and about looking every bit the way he lives his life. It was Duke Ellington that encouraged Robbie’s desire to look rather dapper both on and off stage. Plus as luck would have it a young Robbie Parrish not only received front row seats from Jimi Hendrix but back stage passes as well. He noticed the close to flamboyant dress of Mr. Hendrix and how the man stood out. Those two experiences struck home. Robbie is also the man that handled the sonics for early MTV, Woodstock II, and Live in Pompei with David Gilmour. In his early days Robbie met the Glimmer Twins, Keith and Mick who are better known today as the Rolling Stones. He would go on to prepare the drum sounds on Martin Scorsese’s “Live At The Beacon Theatre” featuring the Rolling Stones. His musical roots were planted back when Robbie was just ten. It was his Mother that took him to the music store and noticed a drum kit perched up on a shelf and mentioned that maybe drums were something he might want to learn. He did and the rest is history of course. Support at such a young age is what brings the best out of those that have the ability within, those that have a natural passion for music. What you have just read is about a man that was encouraged to investigate the mysteries of music and the nurturing encouragement he received that sparked an ember. As time advanced that ember turned into a roaring fire. If Robbie Parrish were to take a Myers Brigg test he would probably test out at about the maximum level in regard to being an introvert. Yet music lives within him so much so that it fuels a passion for perfect sound, to a depth that most of us would never dream of investigating on a regular basis. This otherwise introverted quiet soul becomes a wildly creative yet disciplined extrovert on stage and behind it. He sees music in colors and separates the hues into finely tuned sounds. The benefit is that millions of music lovers are enjoying recordings and live performances that a man of this caliber is fine tuning behind the scenes. World class sound engineer Andy Bradley shares, “Robbie Parrish is the best drum technician in the world” Learn more about Robbie at either https://www.facebook.com/robbieparrishproductions121 or Linkedin.

14 Music News • December 2020

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becoming an inspirational and motivational force in the lives of people all around the world. He maintained the ability to oversee his career and his public persona through his constant communication with his management team. Struggle’s message of strength, determination and courage in the face of adversity has been amplified by his daily presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. With the support of Yelawolf, his Slumerican family, as well as his business partner Sebastian Marbury, Struggle managed to develop and maintain a direct connection with his fans despite his being incarcerated.

After being released from prison in January of 2016, Struggle inked a deal with Yelawolf’s recently formed Slumerican record label, signaling his return and officially beginning his rise to success.

With the launch of a popular documentary series on YouTube and the upcoming release of his sophomore album, Struggle is finally poised to take his place as a true modern day Outlaw and secure his position as the Godfather of the burgeoning Outlaw Hip Hop Rock & Roll movement.

Struggle Jennings Performs At The Scout Bar December 9th The grandson of legendary Country Music icon Waylon Jennings, Struggle is part of a long legacy of Gangsters, Outlaws and Rock Stars.. Growing up as a blacksheep in his family, he fought his way out of the streets of West Nashville and into the studio where he would create the foundation for what has become his personal contribution to the Jennings family legacy..

Struggle’s message of strength, determination and courage in the face of adversity continues to connect and resonate with people around the world. By sharing his story with honesty and passion he has developed a large and loyal fanbase who relate not only to his music but also to his personal journey.

Since being released from prison in 2016 Struggle has performed for sold out crowds across the country and released multiple projects. He is finally poised to take his place as a true modern day Outlaw and secure his position as the Godfather of

16

Music News • December 2020

the burgeoning Outlaw Hip Hop Rock & Roll movement.

Struggle Jennings was destined to be an Outlaw.. The grandson of legendary Country Music icon Waylon Jennings, Struggle is part of a long legacy of Gangsters, Outlaws and Rock Stars..

Growing up as a black-sheep in his family, he was forced to fight his way out of the streets of West Nashville, eventually making his way into the studio to laying the foundation for what would soon become his personal contribution to the Jennings family legacy.. But his past finally caught up with him in the fall of 2011 when he was arrested on State and Federal drug conspiracy charges.

After being incarcerated for 5 years, Struggle has gone through a complete transformation.. Mentally, emotionally and physically.. Through sharing his story on social media networks, Struggle has grown emotionally and intellectually, assuming a new level of social responsibility and

Rapper Struggle Jennings is a Nashville-born performer whose music draws inspiration from both his grandfather’s (country legend Waylon Jennings) outlaw sound, and modern hiphop, rock, and country traditions. A cohort of Yelawolf, Jennings first grabbed the public’s attention with his 2013 debut I Am Struggle, and 2016 EP Return of the Outlaw.

Born Will Harness, the musician adopted the moniker “Struggle Jennings” when he started rapping. Jennings’ early tracks were often based around samples of his grandfather’s songs juxtaposed with eerie hip-hop beats as a backdrop for his intense and street-minded rhymes. While starting his career and forming ties with other hip-hop figures such as Yelawolf, Harness came up on drug-related charges and went to jail in 2011. While incarcerated, his focus on his music sharpened deeply. During the course of a five-year sentence, Struggle saw the release of his 2013 debut album, I Am Struggle, and also had video footage taken in jail that resulted in a video for his single “Black Curtains,” as well as a documentary that told his strange and twisting story. Shortly after being released from prison in early 2016, he released the Return of the Outlaw EP. He then collaborated with rapper Jelly Roll on three connected albums released in 2017 and 2018: Waylon & Willie, Waylon & Willie 2, and Waylon & Willie 3. The studio album, The Widow’s Son, arrived on Angels & Outlaws in 2019 and included guest spots by Bubba Sparxxx, Jeremy Penick, Yelawolf, and others.

Jack Ingram Performs At The Heights Theater For Two Shows December 18th Jack Ingram is a Texas-born country singer whose records have earned both critical and peer adoration, and spawned massive hit singles.

Emerging in the 1990s with a slew of well-received but commercially inert outings, the modern-day honky tonker didn’t find major success until 2005 with the release of the single “Wherever You Are,” which soared to number one on the Billboard country charts. Since then Ingram has racked up myriad accolades and chart-topping hits, including “Lips of an Angel,” “Measure of a Man,” “Maybe She’ll Get Lonely,” and “Barefoot and Crazy.”

Ingram first carved out a niche for himself in the bars and roadhouses between Dallas and Houston. By the mid-’90s, after extensive touring with his Beat Up Ford Band, he had released two well-received independent albums and had opened for artists like Merle 18 Music News • December 2020

Haggard and Mark Chesnutt. The end of 1996 brought about a deal with Warner, which reissued his first two indie albums, and in 1997 issued his majorlabel debut, Livin’ or Dyin’. Moving to Sony’s Lucky Dog label in 1999, Ingram released his fifth roots rock album, Hey You. Three years later, he hooked up with Lee Ann Womack’s producer Frank Liddell for Electric. Young Man, a compilation of recordings of many of his earliest songs, and Live at Gruene Hall: Happy Happy both arrived in 2004.

Wherever You Are, a live recording featuring two studio singles, was released in 2006 and was his first for Big Machine Records, a label operated by record executive Scott Borchetta and fellow country crooner Toby Keith — the title cut would go on to become both Ingram’s and Big Machine’s first number one hit. A second release from Big Machine, This Is It, followed in 2007

and included the hits “Love You” and “Lips of An Angel.” Big Dreams & High Hopes, his eight studio LP, appeared in 2009. The album produced two modest hits — “That’s a Man,” which preceded the album’s release, and “Barefoot and Crazy,” which went to ten on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart — but the record stalled at 21 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart.

Ingram left Big Machine in 2011 and spent the following five years slowly working on the folk-rock material that became Midnight Motel, the album he released on Rounder in 2016. After its August release, it debuted at 24 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart.

In 2019, he returned with his tenth fulllength effort and second outing for Rounder, the swaggering Ridin’ High...Again, which marked a return to the dusty outlaw honky tonk of his

Tab Benoit Rocks Dosey Doe Big Barn Live in Concert December 11 and 12

Louisiana Cajun-blues guitarist Tab Benoit will be returning to the Houston area for two fun-filled nights of music at Dosey Doe Big Barn in The Woodlands. All seats for this performance will be socially distanced, so we suggest that you get your tickets as soon as you can.

Tab kicked off his tour this year at The Ryman Auditorium n Nasville to rave reviews.

Joining Benoit for that one performance was blues guitar queen Samantha Fish. The concert was also livestreamed.

Music Connection reviewer, John Mollenhauer said of the concert, “(Benoit is) an artist whose playing speaks as much to you as the lyrics do, warm and disarming stage presence and heartfelt playing. This was the artist’s first live show in over eight months.

The same was probably true for the audience, and both were clearly thrilled to be there. If you like the blues, you’re gonna like Tab Benoit.”

Reviewing a live Tab Benoit show this past Spring, Blues Rock Review writes, “Song 20 Music News • December 2020

number two was “Little Girl Blues” a hard rocking bayou blues song from 2005’s Fever From the Bayou giving Tab the opportunity to demonstrate his prowess on the six string by attacking it like a man possessed. “Nothing Takes the Place of You” by Toussaint McCall was a beautiful soaring blues tune that Benoit sang with a passion reminiscent of the late great Otis Redding. The final song of Benoit’s 75-minute set was “Medicine” the title barn burning song from the 2011 album. The band was so tight by this time that it was seamless in the way that the trio inter-played with each other. The night ended as a satisfied audience expressed their appreciation for a great show.”

Benoit was selected a “30 Best Blues Guitarist In The World Today” by Guitar World and co-authored the recently-released book, Blues Therapy, about the blues and mental illness.

Benoit, who’s always been known for his environmental activism, performed two nights in his hometown of Houma last Spring at the 16th Annual Voice of the Wetlands Festival. He also appears prominently in the

IMax motion picture Hurricane on the Bayou, a documentary of Hurricane Katrina’s effects and a call to protect and restore the Wetlands, and produced a CD to help restore that state’s Coastal Wetlands. Benoit was recently inducted into the Louisiana Folklife Center Hall of Master Folk Artists in the Spring of 2020.

Benoit has launched his own imprint, Whiskey Bayou Records, with partner and manager, Rueben Williams. The label has thus far released albums by such established artists as Eric McFadden, Alastair Greene, Damon Fowler, Eric Johanson, Jeff McCarty, and Dash Rip Rock.

Benoit received a Grammy nomination in 2006 for his musical tribute to Blues and Country music on the album, Brother to the Blues. The title track was a George Jones cover. The legendary country singer is one of Tab’s favorites. The Houma, Louisiana-based Benoit also paid homage to Music City with 2011’s Night Train To Nashville, which also featured Louisiana’s Leroux.

Bert Wills

Legendary Texas Singer/Songwriter Bert Wills Delivers The Goods

Down in southeastern Texas lives a man that was born in rural Kentucky but moved to Texas years ago. He came here playing the blues harp with a slow, winding country bent to it, part of his Kentucky roots, and the recording industry was quick to pick up on his unique sound.

Abilities is used in the plural here and that’s because the man not only wails a mean harp but his guitar work is aces as well. His name is Bert Wills and if you are a studio musician you know that name well as the man is sought after by many producers. One of those producers is Andy Bradley, known world wide for his talents at the console, his past co-ownership in of SugarHill Studios, and his successful book titled, “House Of Hits”. Bert and Andy go back a ways, 35 years to be exact, both know each other’s talents well so it would be of no big surprise that they could team on a compilation of Bert’s songs for a new album.

It would not be their first collaboration as Andy has recorded nearly every album Bert has presented to the world. A new album has come to life recently simply titled “Bert Wills”. It’s just being shipped to radio stations right now and let me tell you whether you are a blues fan or an Americana fan or both this album is packed with stirring and riveting selections. Both men have similar personalities, friendly but direct. Both will tell you where to go in a New York second if you are a poser and both will be the first to tell you how welcomed you are if you are the real deal. Bert is known throughout the industry internationally and has worked with a ton of well known stars over the years. He’s also an accomplished songwriter and when he puts his Kentucky roots into a song well Katy bar the door because it’s going to be good. His last gig was with Nashville artist Rob McNurlin who is part of the Marty Stuart clan. Then he returned to Texas to work on his new blues Americana album. The end result was a fourteen track collection of 13 original songs and14 one Rock cover,and notBlues a klunker among On the2020 collection you Music News • October International 2020them.

• September can hear the raw strains of good back woods country music in Bert’s voice and on the same collection you will hear some of the best blues you have heard in years. To learn more access www.bertwillsmusic.com

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He dusted off an old guitar received as a Christmas gift after a key realization. “I figured out you could get girls easier,” he recalls. In between performing, he played football as a linebacker for his high school and eventually Tarleton State University. Even with the 5am practices, he spent all night writing, jamming, and recording. After an ankle injury and subsequent six month-hiatus, he dropped out of college in sophomore year and went all-in for his career. Within eighteen months of throwing down four-nights-a-week around Texas and Oklahoma, shows began to sellout. Koe’s 2017 debut Noise Complaint became a phenomenon powered by “February 28, 2016” [19.2 million Spotify streams], “Something To Talk About” [15 million Spotify streams], “Love” [12.9 million Spotify streams], “Fuss & Fight” [11.9 million Spotify streams], and more.

Mind you, he managed to pull this off without a label, agent, or traditional structure to speak of.

Koe Wetzel Performs At White Oak Music Hall

Koe Wetzel returns to Houston this month for a show at White Oak Music Hall on December 11th. Resting comfortably between the swagger of bro-country and the punch of rootsy rock & roll, Koe Wetzel is a singer and songwriter from Texas who rose quickly from obscurity to become one of the most popular acts on the Lone Star State’s country scene.

Wetzel was born in the East Texas town of Pittsburg on July 14, 1992. He picked up his interest in music from his mother, who was a singer and brought young Koe on the road with her; he sang on-stage with her for the first time when he was just six. Wetzel took up the guitar at the age of 12, but while he had a love for music, it took a back seat to sports while he was growing up.

In high school, Wetzel played both football and baseball, and he went on to play football for Tarleton State University. As Wetzel’s interest in football began to wane, however, his love of music grew, and in 2012 he left school to focus on songwriting and performing. He put together a band, Koe Wetzel & the Konvicts, and they released an EP, Love and Lies, in June 2012. Wetzel and his group hit the road hard, playing extensively in Texas and around the Southwest, and their passionate live shows, rowdy but relatable lyrics, and strong charisma helped them win a loyal following, especially among college students and twenty-somethings.

Noise Complaint The buzz on Wetzel grew after the release of his first full-length album, Out on Parole, in January 2015, but he became a genuine star in Texas with the release of Noise Complaint, which arrived in March 2017. “February 28, 2016,” “Something to Talk About,” and “Tell It All Town” won regional airplay and became favorites on streaming services — so much so that when one major streaming outfit pulled Wetzel’s music due to a licensing oversight on the artist’s part, fans flooded social media with demands that his music be reinstated. The mistake ultimately did more to help Wetzel’s popularity than hurt it, and he continued to sell out clubs and book festival appearances across the Southwest. In 24 Music News • December 2020

May 2019, Wetzel released his sophomore fulllength album, Harold Saul High.

Some artists break one or two rules. Koe Wetzel breaks pretty much all of them.

The Texas-born singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer kicks out hard rock hooks with a twang bred in rough and tumble dives, yet meant for stadium stages. For as much as he unapologetically trailblazes between grunge, country, Americana, and damn near everything else under the sun, this maverick broke through the old-fashioned way—he busted his ass. Since 2015, he has quietly sold over 200,000 units independently, cranked out 100 million streams and views, and went from playing bars with chicken wire in front of the stage to hosting and headlining his own packed-to-the-gills Koe Wetzel’s Incredible Music Festival surrounded by fireworks and thousands of screaming fans.

On his third album and debut for Columbia Records, Koe continues to set the rulebook on fire by simply being himself…

“We live what we write, man,” he exclaims. “I don’t make anything up. Everything I’m singing is true. Authenticity is the most important thing to me. All of the music is me.”

He began “living” music as a kid.

Hailing from Pittsburg, TX, he accompanied mom as she performed on the Opry circuit. As they went town-to-town, he watched his mother belt out country classics from the side of the stage. Grandpa introduced him to Creedence Clearwater Revival. Meanwhile, dad bumped hip-hop gems from The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, and 50 Cent. In addition to listening to Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash, George Jones, and Willie Nelson, he developed a passion for alternative rock. In eighth grade, a cousin shared an iPod playlist and opened Koe’s eyes to Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, and Nirvana. “I turned into a rock head,” he smiles.

“We did everything on our own,” he goes on. “We also like to get drunk and have a good time, so me getting arrested a couple of times probably helped out a bit,” he laughs.

The momentum continued with 2019’s Harold Saul High and its singles “Ragweed” and “Forever” as more sold-out shows ensued.

Following a tireless grind, he surprise-released the 2020 anthem “Kuntry & Wistern,” which exploded right out of the gate trending on Apple Music and garnering praise from The Boot who wrote “Wetzel has earned a reputation as one of the Lone Star State’s most high-energy and engaging performers.” Soon after, Koe inked a deal with Columbia Records.

As usual, he pulls no punches with the hook, “I think I’ve lost my fuckin’ mind, at least that’s what you told me,” over a palmmuted clean guitar.

“I’ve always listened to a big variety of artists, and that inspires me to this day,” he continues. “I might be crafting lyrics in a hiphop sense, chords in a rock sense, and melodies in a country way. All of those elements combine within the process of making music.”

That inimitable style shines on the single “Sundy or Mundy.” A bass groan gives way to vivid verses before the chorus climbs over a wall of distortion and a guitar lead rings out.

“It’s about losing your mind,” he explains. “When you’re sitting there in the studio, you can forget what day it is. It was written from the same perspective. You get delirious and numb to the whole situation. It’s got a gritty and heavy sound, but the choruses go down smooth and steady.”

As he smashes more rules, Koe Wetzel emerges as the outlaw the 21st century needed all along.

“Whatever you’re going through, I want to help you go through it,” he leaves off. “I know I’m not the only one who feels the way I do. I hope maybe this helps you build a better life. When I’m onstage, it’s carefree. There’s not a worry in the world. I don’t think about my troubles or what’s going on in my life. It’s just about the music and the fans. You don’t need anything else.

Two Tons Of Steel Perform at The Mucky Duck December 11 Before there was Americana, before there was Texas Country, Two Tons of Steel front man Kevin Geil and his original band, “Dead Crickets,” rocked a sound that blended the best of musical worlds and pushed the envelope of “Texas” sound with a signature brand of country meets punk.

The San Antonio-based group 26 Music News • December 2020

packed the small bars and local hangouts and quickly became the Alamo City’s most-loved band, earning them a spot on the cover of Billboard Magazine in 1996.

It was the beginning of a twenty year journey for Geil and the 4-piece ensemble.

Releasing “Two Tons Of Steel” in 1994 and “Crazy For My Baby” in

1995 on Blue Fire Records, a sponsorship deal with Lone Star Beer quickly followed. Dead Crickets, renamed Two Tons of Steel in 1996 began traveling outside of Texas, including stops at the Grand Ole’ Opry in Nashville, Tenn., the National Theater in Havana, Cuba, and European tours, to greet fans who had embraced their Texas-born sound. In 1996 they released “Oh No!” on their independent label, “Big Bellied Records.” They followed up the passion project with a live recording at the legendary Gruene Hall in Gruene, Texas, taped during a Two Ton Tuesday Show 1998.

2018, will mark the bands 23rd year of “Two Ton Tuesday Live from Gruene Hall.” The summerlong event has drawn over 230,000 fans since it began its annual run in 1995. The popular concert series was captured in “Two Ton Tuesday Live,” a DVD-CD combo released on Palo Duro Records in 2006. Also that year, the band’s first national release, “Vegas,” produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Lloyd Maines on the Palo Duro label, took them to No. 7 on the Americana Music Charts and was one of the top 20 releases of 2006.

Two Tons released “Not That Lucky” in 2009. The album peaked at No. 4 on the Americana Music Charts and has made Two Tons of Steel a band to watch in 2013. Along the way, the band has collected a number of awards.

To date, Two Tons has cleaned up at home, winning “Band of the Year” on 12 separate occasions and “Album of the Year” for its self-titled debut. Two Tons has also been named “Best Country Band” by the San Antonio Current ten times. Geil also has nabbed ‘Best Male Vocal’ honors four times.

Two Tons of Steel’s reach extends beyond their live gigs. In 2003, the band was filmed during a “Two Ton Tuesday” gig for the IMAX film, “Texas: The Big Picture,” which can be seen daily at the IMAX Theatre in the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin and has been seen as far away as Japan. The band also has been featured as supporting characters in award winning author Karen Kendall’s romance novel, “First Date.”

Two Tons Of Steel, Kevin Geil, Jake “Sidecar” Marchese on Upright Bass, Will Owen-Gage on Lead Guitar and Rich Alcorta on Drums our currently touring in support of the 2017 release “Gone”

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Music News • November 2020

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Cody Canada Performs Two Nights, December 20 & 21 At Main Street Crossing In Tomball Cody Canada first rose to fame as the leader of the rabble-rousing altcountry act Cross Canadian Ragweed, and later launched a solo career that found him following a similar formula of barnstorming rock & roll with strong country and blues influences. Canada’s work with Cross Canadian Ragweed took the influences of the Southwestern Red Dirt music community and paired them with solid, high-spirited musicianship and rowdy but literate songs, and the prolific band (ten albums between 2001 and 2009) was at the peak of their strength when Canada headed out as a solo artist. On his own, he debuted with 2011’s This Is Indian Land, a tribute to Oklahoma songwriters who inspired him, while his subsequent releases ranged from the beefy hard rock of 2015’s Hippielovepunk to the more contempla26 Music News • December 30 October 2020 2020

tive singer/songwriter vibe of 2018’s 3.

Cody Canada was born in Pampa, Texas in 1976 and first developed a passion for music when his folks took him to a George Strait concert when he was just five years old. At the age of eight, Canada started playing guitar, and by the time he was a teenager, his family had relocated to Yukon, Oklahoma, where he became friends with a handful of guys who shared his love of outlaw country (Steve Earle, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson are cited as special favorites) and hard-edged rock & roll (anything from classic Southern rock to ’90s grunge).

With drummer Randy Ragsdale, guitarist Grady Cross, and bassist Matt Wiedemann, Canada formed the band Cross Canadian Ragweed in 1994 (they

came up with the name by putting together elements of their names), and they soon relocated to Stillwater, Oklahoma, where they fell in with the thriving local musical community, particularly the Americana-friendly Red Dirt scene. In Stillwater, Jeremy Plato took over for Wiedemann on bass, and Cross Canadian Ragweed began touring frequently through Oklahoma and Texas.

In 1998 they recorded their first album, Carney, released through their own Underground Sound label, and in 2001 they signed a deal with Universal South; Highway 377 was their first major-label release. Thanks to a busy touring schedule and a growing and devoted fan base, Cross Canadian Ragweed became one of the most successful acts from the Red Dirt community, and during his downtime from the band, Canada was eager to help other artists he admired, appearing on albums by Ray Wylie Hubbard, Mike McClure, Stephanie Briggs, and Stoney LaRue. In 2010 Cross Canadian Ragweed announced they were going on an extended hiatus, a time-out that became permanent the following year when Ragsdale and Cross amicably resigned to spend more time off the road and with their families. Canada recruited Plato to play in his new project, Cody Canada & the Departed, featuring Seth James on guitar, Steve Littleton on keyboards, and Dave Bowen on drums. Canada’s first album with the Departed, This Is Indian Land, was released through Underground Sound in the summer of 2011. Advent?s (credited just to the Departed, though Canada appeared on the album) arrived in 2012, followed by the hard rockin’ HippieLovePunk in 2015, with Canada once again taking star billing over the band. Canada took a slight creative detour with 2015’s Chip & Ray, Together Again for the First Time, a live album that documented a concert he performed in tandem with fellow songwriter Mike McClure. Canada turned down his rock influences just a bit on his next album with the Departed, 2018’s 3, a more thoughtful collection that included guest appearances from Robert Earl Keen and Danny Barnes.

after being pulled over by police while driving 100 miles per hour. Morrow was able to strike a plea bargain that reduced the DUI charge to a misdemeanor, and drug charges were dropped due to the small amount of cocaine found, but the brush with the law had a serious effect on Morrow; he cleaned up his act, began focusing on his spiritual side, and began dating a woman who would soon become his fiancée.

In 2008, Morrow released Vagrants and Kings; featuring several songs affirming his renewed faith in his own rough-and-tumble way, the album received nationwide distribution under a new deal with Universal’s Sustain label, but it turned out to be a one-album deal.

In 2010 Morrow issued the Ramblin’ Man EP, and followed it with the fulllength Brand New Me, issued by Write On through Ampex Records. The EP hit the top spot on Texas music chart, while the album hit number 20 on the Heatseekers chart, also doing well enough to place at number 49 on the country albums chart thanks in large part to its single, “Lead Me On.” He followed it with two different Live at Billy Bob’s Texas sets — one electric, one acoustic — in 2012. The plugged-in date sold better and reached the Top 40 on the Heatseekers chart. Morrow cut his next studio date at East Austin’s 12th Street Sound and Zone Recording Studio in nearby Dripping Springs. He emerged with The Good Fight, a 15-song set issued by Write On through Thirty Tigers. It was released June 16, 2015 and scored well inside the Top 50 on the country albums chart and the Top 40 on the digital country chart, and it hit number 19 on Heatseekers. Morrow returned in 2018 with Whiskey and Pride.

Cory Morrow Performs At Dosey Doe Big Barn December 30th Singer/songwriter Cory Morrow was born and raised in Texas, and he’s become a local legend in the Lone Star State, producing a handful of selfreleased albums and playing an endless string of shows from Amarillo to Corpus Christi that have made him a major attraction in the Southwest. Morrow was born in Houston on May 1, 1971, Top and Led Zeppelin, Morrow started writing songs while in high school, but while studying at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, he developed a taste for Lone Star singer/songwriters such as Ray Wylie Hubbard and Robert Earl Keen, and struck up a friendship will fellow aspiring songwriter Pat Green. and began learning to play guitar when he was 15 on an instrument his stepfather won in a coin toss in a Mexican border town.

Originally a fan of hard rock acts like ZZ Morrow’s songs evolved with a more rootsy and personal style, and in 1993 he relocated to Austin in hopes of launching a career as a musician. In 1997, Morrow released an EP on his own Write On record label, Texas Time 32 Music News • December 2020

Travellin’, and he issued his first fulllength album later the same year. The Texas-based independent label Watermelon Records signed Morrow and issued his second album, The Man That I Have Been, in 1999, but the company soon went bankrupt and the album quickly fell out of print. (Morrow later reissued it on Write On.) Morrow bounced back in 2001 with a live album, Double Exposure, and the strength of his live show and willingness to tour endlessly through the Southwest helped him build a large and loyal Texas following.

Morrow’s college buddy Pat Green had been following a similar path with even greater success, and Morrow enjoyed a career boost when Green recruited him to help record an album of classic country covers, Songs We Wish We’d Written. Morrow continued to record and tour at a frantic pace, and eventually he moved 200,000 discs in Texas through his own label, but in January 2005 Morrow’s career hit a serious bump when he was arrested for drunk driving and possession of cocaine

Thursday, December 3 - James Wilhite Thursday Friday, December 4 - Jay Hooks December 31 Saturday, December 5 - Mark May New Year’s Sunday, December 6 - Katie’s Jam with Jay Hooks Eve Party Thursday, December 10 - Hugo Jamz Trio Entertainment by Friday, December 11 - John Calderon Mike Zito Saturday, December 12 - Josh Garrett Sunday, December 13 - Katie’s Jam with James Wilhite Thursday, December 17 - Bert Wills Friday, December 18 - Paul Ramirez Band Saturday, December 19 - Sonny Wolf Sunday, December 20 - Katie’s Jam with Paul Ramirez Thursday, December 24 - Live Mojo Friday, December 25 - Closed For Christmas - Merry Christmas Saturday, December 26 - Chris Casteneda Sunday, December 27 - Katie’s Jam with Live Mojo Thursday, December 31 - Mike Zito - Happy New Year - $20 Cover

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RANDOM SHOTS Big City Nights Perform at The BFE Rock Club It was a night of Scorpions music as Big City Nights took over the stage at The BFE Rock Club this evening.

Deteriorated Perform At The Scout Bar Deteriorated bring a heavy dose of original thrash with a combination of heavy metal to The Scout Bar. These guys really put on a fine show, and it’s great to see The Scout Bar bringing in such fantastic local bands.

Jay Hooks Performs at Katie’s Bar Jay Hooks brings a heapin’ helpin’ of Blues to what just might be the only real Blues Club around, Katie’s Bar in Bacliff. Katie’s offers live Blues 4 nights a week, so if this is the kind of music you’re looking for, this just might be the only place to get it.

The 7 Mile Band Perform at The Acadia Bar & Grill It was a night of great old Classic Rock as The 7 Mile Band performed songs from Steve Miller (The Joker), Van Morrison (Brown-eyed Girl), Janis Joplin (Me and Bobby McGee), Blondie (One Way Or Another), Tracy Chapman (Gimme One Reason To Stay Here), and many more!

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RANDOM SHOTS The Band Of Heathens Perform at the Heights Theatre The Band Of Heathens really put on a great show this night. Even though the band had performed for quite a while, the audience just screamed for more. It was great as The Heathens took us down memory lane with a great selection of songs that included “Should Have Known,” “Keys To The Kingdom,” “Ruby,” “Shotgun,” “Miss Ohio,” “Country Roads,” “Jackson Station,” and many more. I can’t wait to see these guys again.

Definitely one of my favorite bands to see live.

Chasing Yesterday Perform at The 19th Hole The 19th Hole has been bringing a lot of new bands the last few months, and they’ve been great. It’s wonderful to see the new diversification in music there. From rock to punk to country to duos, and even solo acts, it’s been a wonderful change. Tonight when we dropped by the band performing was Chasing Yesterday, who put on quite a fine show.

They performed some fine originals, including”Lost In Time,” “A Broken Time,” and “Scars.” Really good show.

9 Volt Junkies Perform at The Jailhouse Saloon The 9 Volt Junkies really energized The Jailhouse Saloon with songs from Kiss and Black Sabbath.

Their rendition of “Strutter” was just wonderful.

Here’s a band you need to make sure you see sometime.

Azrael’s Bane Perform at The BFE Rock Club For Alan Rogers Rockin’ Rememberance The BFE Rock Club was packed with fans and friends of Alan Rogers who came to show their support for this fine friend and musician. Other bands in attendance included Midnight Circus, Escape, Love and War, and Project Rivera.

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