Tom's Open Mic May 7, 2015
Sixteen-hundred miles from Philly, fifteen blocks from Merle and Willie,
No one famous, everyone pretends.
Suntan lines all over me, Friday nights at the A.S.G.,
Looking down from the heights where the river bends,
Six cold Shiners in my fridge, bats are flyin' from Congress Bridge.
Guitar music rising as the night descends.
Barbeque at the downtown Stubbs, midnight shows at the Saxon Pub,
Longhorn autumn days that never end.
And another night in Austin with my friends.
No one famous, everyone pretends.
Suntan lines all over me, Friday nights at the A.S.G.,
Looking down from the heights where the river bends,
Six cold Shiners in my fridge, bats are flyin' from Congress Bridge.
Guitar music rising as the night descends.
Barbeque at the downtown Stubbs, midnight shows at the Saxon Pub,
Longhorn autumn days that never end.
And another night in Austin with my friends.
From “Sixteen Hundred Miles from Philly” by Adam Belsky
http://kissmyblackass.bandcamp.com/…/sixteen-hundred-miles-…
http://kissmyblackass.bandcamp.com/…/sixteen-hundred-miles-…
I have a theory that you can’t write a bad song with the word Texas in it. Just naming a city in Texas is probably enough to get you a good song. Plenty of songs illustrate my point. “Miles and Miles of Texas.” “Waltz Across Texas.” “T for Texas.” “You Aren’t from Texas.” “San Antonio Rose.” “Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind?” “Dallas.” “Fort Worth Blues.” “El Paso.” “Amarillo by Morning.” “London Homesick Blues.” And one of my favorites -- “Screw You. We’re from Texas.” Ray Wylie Hubbard tells a story about being inspired to write that song when a rich couple from Nashville came into a bar he was playing at and asked him to play a recent Nashville hit. Ray Wylie didn't know that song so they requested another top 40 hit. Ray Wylie ultimately told them that he only plays songs he or his friends write and then, on his next break, he went out in the alley and wrote the first verse of “Screw You, We’re From Texas.”
I love that story. ACL and SXSW may be trying to make some big bucks off of the Austin music scene but for the most part, Texas music is more about democracy than capitalism. There just hasn’t been a middle man between the consumers of music and the musicians the way there is in Nashville. Live music is about listeners and performers sharing the same space. Here in Austin, often there’s not much difference between who’s in the audience and who’s on the stage – everyone in the room may be a musician. Because the music scene here isn’t built around the record industry, Texas songwriters have not been locked up in a Nashville “verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/chorus/out” straitjacket approach to songwriting. Hell, tell a Texas songwriter that Nashville doesn’t like waltzes and you’ll probably find yourself listening to a string of waltzes. The result of that independent spirit is that the voices and stories of Texas songs are unique and authentic. And in my opinion more creative.
I’m using as the title of these posts about Tom’s Tabooley Open Mic a line from a song by Texas songwriter, Adam Belsky, who also happens to be my friend and partner in crime at Tom’s. I like the song because it captures something sweet and real about a place I love and shines a light on things I’ve experienced: BBQ at Stubbs, Shiner beer, the Congress bridge bats, the Saxon Pub, Friday night open mic at the ASG (Austin Songwriters’ Group). I particularly like the refrain – Just another night in Austin with my friends. I’m appropriating it because it’s not just about Adam and it’s not just about what has already happened. There are plenty of music-filled nights in Austin with our friends ahead of all of us.
The next one is tonight at Tom’s. If the past is any indication of what the future holds we’re in luck. So far, in four weeks we’ve had over 40 performers on stage at the Tom’s Open Mic. Last week, 18 singer/songwriters/players performed unique and authentic songs: Tracy Weinberg, Scott S., George Ostrich, Eric John Bilyeu Ornelas, Jim Adams, Gregg Miller, Nita Lou Bryant, Zach and Cameron, Rose Gabriel, Paul Wright, Barclay Wright, Mickey Moore, Peggy Wright, Roger Edmondson, Katya Lalli-Butera, Patti Dixon and Daniel Schaefer. It was so much fun to see Paul Wright play with his nephew, Barclay Wright, and to hear, UT students Zach and Cameron, harmonizing with each other. I loved Roger Edmondson's song “Rusty Things” and Peggy Wright’s song about her mother. I can’t wait to see who comes out tonight and to hear some more terrific songs.
Sign up is at 6:30. Music goes from 7 to 10.
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