when judging texas bands, there are essentially four categories that i consider: songwriting (love lyrical geniuses!), vocals (powerful pipes are always impressive...), fiddle playing (if you're gonna play in texas, you gotta have a fiddle in the band), and finally - entertainment factor (i paid to come see your show, give it to me!) after much thoughtful deliberation, i have chosen my top winners in each field of expertise. drumroll please...
BEST SONGWRITER:
#1: ROBERT EARL KEEN [consummate storyteller. nobody has the ability to weave a tale like this man does. don't believe me? buy his new cd "the rose hotel" when it comes out on the 29th. you won't be disappointed.]
#2: GUY CLARK [legend. even johnny cash claims him as a favorite. listen to an acoustic "l.a. freeway" when you're severely homesick. you'll identify.]
#3: RADNEY FOSTER [essence of cool. he works with everybody and everybody loves him. not bad for a boy from del rio.]
#4: BRUCE ROBISON [genuinely heartfelt. bruce has the power to make you cry when you listen to one of his songs. love it when him & kel sing together.]
#5: WADE BOWEN [going places. i expect a long career from wade bowen. last album was just incredible. really incredible.]
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BEST VOCALS:
#1: RYAN BINGHAM [literally mesmerized by this voice. it blows me away. the grit, lived-in sound cannot be replicated. i could listen to "southside of heaven" on constant rotation.]
#2: WILLY BRAUN [the dark horse. really into his voice lately...i think it's so original and grainy. he's taken reckless kelly to a new level. easy on the eyes too, no?]
#3: BRANDON RHYDER [insane raw ability. octave range is pretty unbelievable. love sitting on my porch and listening to him belt out "freeze frame time."]
#4: CODY CANADA [the rebel. another course, unrefined voice. are you starting to see a pattern yet? what can i say, it sounds better rough!!]
#5: STONEY LARUE [versatility is inspiring. has the capacity to sing a gut-wrenching ballad and a rabble-rousing, foot-stomping anthem.]
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BEST FIDDLE PLAYER:
#1: DAMIAN GREEN [don't let the innocent, chaste grin fool you. he is the best in the business. aaron watson's lucky to have him by every stretch of the word. and the girls love him - see previous post.]
#2: BRADY BLACK [revered as the go-to guy. randy rogers band would not be randy rogers band minus brady black. listen to this song to find out why:]
#3: JEREMY WATKINS [always fun to watch. jeremy's with stoney and this guy is multi-talented. he plays several instruments, but his fiddle playing is superb.]
#4: PRESTON WAIT [if you play fiddle in the josh abbott band, you better freakin' know what you're doing because they employ it in everything they do. luckily, p-tone as they call him, is excellent!]
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BEST LIVE:
#1: STONEY LARUE [hands down favorite to go out and watch. when you go to one of his concerts, you know you'll leave satisfied. he works hard for the money.]
#2: PAT GREEN [let's state the truth. this is the guy that really was the catalyst for the tx music scene. some of my fondest memories of lbk, tx include a dusty field, a saturday night, and a PG show. live @ billy bob's is still a classic. God knows how I miss this:]
#3: RANDY ROGERS [just saw good 'ol RR this weekend @ floore's and he's great. always. he knows what his fans want and he delivers.]
#4: AARON WATSON [hardest working man in tx country in my opinion. really good to his fans. taylor and i went to his live DVD recording and i was really impressed with his stage presence & his aww-shucks charm. plus, he actually looks country, what a rarity these days.]
#5: CORY MORROW [crazy son of a gun. never a dull moment at a morrow show. he loves to just get silly, but i appreciate the way he makes me laugh. ]
ok. i'm beat. gotta go take a nap. call yours truly if you ever want to check out a concert...you know i'm down!
1 comment:
Speechless Shannan! I just found out about Watson's Deep in the Heart of Texas (how could a Live CD not be amazing with an artist and title like that?) and am so excited you got to be there! I give you an A+ as a critic!! I think my favorite is Robert Earl, you nailed it!
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