Martin Sexton

This weekend Andy and I were able to squeeze in a concert of one of my favorite musicians, Martin Sexton. We actually first found Martin Sexton a couple of years ago by accident when he opened for Nickel Creek in Austin at Stubbs. At that point, we had no idea who he was and were floored by his performance. He has such a great energy on stage, and we enjoyed him much more than Nickel Creek. So when I saw that he was going to be playing in Dallas at the House of Blues on the very same weekend that we were going to be in the Dallas area, we immediately bought tickets.

I have to say, I honestly enjoyed his last performance better than this one. I think the songs on his album "Live Wide Open" are better than the songs on his newest album "Seeds". With that being said, I still thoroughly enjoyed this concert. We were front and center - literally. So close that he told me "bless you" when I sneezed. I decided after this concert that I appreciate different artists for different reasons. Martin Sexton's songs aren't necessarily lyrically deep, but the things I love about him are that he is so very unique in his style, and he is extremely passionate. He does the most incredible things with his voice and is able to sound like a full band by himself. On top of that, he really has an incredible and unusual ability to get the crowd involved. My favorite was when he performed the song "Gypsy Woman"!

If you get the chance, you should definitely see him perform! He's certainly much better live than on CD, but if you're interested, "Live Wide Open" is definitely my favorite of his albums. The pictures above and some I snapped from the front row!

By the way... Andy owns the same shirt Martin Sexton was wearing. Random.

Billy Faier the Banjo Legend

Every year for nine years in a row, Andy has performed at the Texas Cowboy Poetry gathering in Alpine, TX. Two years ago after one of his shows, a man by the name of Billy Faier introduced himself to Andy. Immediately, he recognized the name - it was Billy Faier from Ramblin' Jack Elliot's song "912 Greens", the incredible banjo player. Last year when we were in Alpine we stopped by Billy's house in Marathon (just 30 minutes from Alpine), but Billy had just had heart surgery, so we didn't stay too terribly long. However, I was extremely impressed with this 77 year old man who played Bach on the banjo.

This year, however, we had the great privilege of spending extended periods of time throughout the weekend with Billy. Billy joined Andy on stage at his gigs in Alpine, we went with Billy to his gig in Marfa, and we had a great jam session at his house. During this time, we heard stories about folk musicians Billy knew and knows, including Woody Guthrie, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Pete Seeger, Mississippi John Hurt, Leadbelly, and many others. We heard traditional folk songs the way they are supposed to be heard. We heard stories of the Dust Bowl, the Civil Rights movement, and the rise and importance of work unions in our country, and the importance of American folk music in all of these things. Not only is Billy an incredibly talented man and fascinating (he hitchhiked all across South America and is an expert juggler), but he his also a very kind man. We spent the weekend with a piece of American history. I am now privileged to call this piece of American history my friend.

I highly recommend checking out his website, www.billyfaier.com, and buying some of his albums. Pete Seeger once introduced Billy as "the best banjo player I have ever heard." I agree with this.

This Machine Kills Fascists

I would imagine that Woody Guthrie's guitar was the inspiration for Mr. Roach's banjo. Here's a picture of Woody's famous guitar and a picture of me at the Woody Guthrie memorial in Okemah, OK this past fall.

"I was born in western Oklahoma and drug up in the Texas Panhandle. That's where the wheat grows, where the oil flows, where the dust flows and the farmer owes - where you hunt for wood and dig for water - where you can look farther and see less - where there's more weather and less climate, more crops and less groceries than any other dadburned place in the universe." - Woody Guthrie

This banjo kills kittens.

Tonight I went with my good friends Ben and Beth to hear a folk singer named AJ Roach. This is the second time I have heard him in concert. The first time was probably three years ago when Andy and I stumbled upon him at a coffee shop here in Lubbock. Because Lubbock isn't the most artsy place in the world (understatement), he was virtually ignored at that concert, except for a few people like us who were eating up his music. Much to my delight, he stopped through Lubbock on this tour and I was able to hear him again. It was a small venue with not much more than twenty people in attendance - one of those that are so incredibly amazing because you are so close and can really savor the music in such a small setting - but at the same time you almost feel bad that not more people are enjoying it.... Anyways, if you haven't heard of AJ Roach, check him out, www.roachmusic.com .

And yes, this is a picture of his banjo, which I found amusing.