A Lone Star Christmas

Instead of reinventing the wheel this Christmas, let’s recycle a past post or two. Today, the holidays in the Lone Star State!

Christmas in Texas is pretty much like Christmas in any other place – except most of the time it’s hot, everybody’s playin’ football, people are barbecuing and drinking beer, there’s a lot of country music and blues and rock, and the stuffing has jalapenos in it.  Okay, it’s like no place else.

MP3: “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer” by the Texas Tornados

MP3: “Merry Christmas From The Family” (live) by Robert Earl Keen

MP3: “Christmas Everyday” by Rosie Flores

MP3: “When It’s Christmas Time In Texas” by George Strait

MP3: “The Christmas Song” by Steve Fromholz

MP3: “Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy” by Rev. Horton Heat

MP3: Stevie Ray Vaughan Holiday Greeting No. 1

MP3: “Rockin’ Winter Wonderland” by the Fabulous Thunderbirds

MP3: “Santa Claus Is Back In Town” by Rusty Wier

MP3: “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” by Lou Ann Barton

MP3: “Merry Christmas” by Lightnin’ Hopkins

MP3: “Frosty The Snowman” by Flaco Jimenez & Freddy Fender

MP3: “Pretty Paper” by Willie Nelson

MP3: “Nothing But A Child” by Steve Earle & Allison Moorer

MP3: “Snow In Austin” by Ellis Paul

MP3: “Sweet Little Baby Boy” by Angela Strehli

MP3: “Winterlude” by Joe Ely

MP3: “Please Come Home For Christmas” by Marcia Ball

MP3: “She’ll Be My Everything For Christmas” by Los Lonely Boys

MP3: Stevie Ray Vaughan Holiday Greeting No. 2 (1989)

The Autumn Wind

Raiders fan at Oakland-Houston game.

Before the start of the Oakland-Houston NFL game on Sunday, the crowd in Houston’s Reliant Stadium observed a moment of silence in memory of Al Davis, the Raiders owner and professional football pioneer who died the day before.

The Raiders then went out and won the game, 25-20, which came down to a last-second attempt by Houston to score and move ahead for the win. That didn’t happen, as Texans quarterback Matt Schaub scrambled out of the pocket four yards away from the goal line and seeing a defender coming in fast to drop him, flung a bullet into the end zone. That wound up being intercepted and ending the game.

But no matter who won, it was an incredible game – it was thrilling, exciting and entertaining, all you would want from a football game played at the highest level. That’s the legacy of Al Davis, and wherever he is right now I hope he’s very proud. (And I’m sure that bastard worked some supernatural stuff to help the Raiders win and to make it rain on our sorry asses as we staggered back to our cars.)

Yeah, it was a bummer to see the home team go down in the final seconds but no NFL game is a gimme, no matter what the prognosticators say. Our team is going to win again, and the Texans will have some good days too. I’m not a Raider fan by any stretch of the imagination and I don’t want to diminish the great effort by the Texans, but it kind of felt appropriate to have the Raiders win on this day. In a game hard-fought by both sides, they may have fought a little harder.

And it was a cool day because we got to meet Los Lonely Boys, the Grammy Award-winning trio that sang the National Anthem. Like I said, a great day.

MP3: “The Autumn Wind” by Sam Spence with John Facenda

MP3: “Lombardi” with John Facenda

MP3: “Pain Is Inevitable” with John Facenda

MP3: “Be Savage Again” with John Facenda

MP3: “A Golden Boy Again (Up She Rises)”

MP3: “November” with John Facenda

MP3: “The Pony Soldiers”

And hey, Los Lonely Boys!

Live: Los Lonely Boys, Houston

I can’t think of a better way to kick off the holidays than with some live music, and Saturday’s casual in-store performance by Los Lonely Boys at Houston’s Cactus Music and Record Ranch fit the bill.  LLB, from San Angelo, have been kicking around since 1997 with a smooth blend of Tejano, country and soul, all topped with some fiery guitar work from elder brother Henry Garza.  When they hit the little stage on Saturday, the (free) beer from St. Arnold Brewing Company was flowing and so was the good will.

The Garza brothers, including Jojo on second acoustic guitar and vocals (he plays bass in a more conventional concert setting) and Ringo (drums) on shaker, welcomed the crowd like family and kicked with “Oye Mamacita” and “Crazy Dream.”  The strong suit here is the Boys’ harmony, showcased to perfection on a cover of the Beatles’ “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window.”   They brought it all home with a glittering acoustic version of their Top 20 hit “Heaven.”

One knock on the Boys is that they are slow workers – they haven’t released many albums since their big breakthrough in 2004 and were working on only their fourth studio album for release this fall when Jojo encountered vocal cord troubles.  But he sounded fine on Saturday, and let’s hope we can get more of their “Texican Rock and Roll” out into circulation soon.  Their latest album is a live affair, titled Keep On Giving: Acoustic Live! and it features a couple guest appearances by Texas favorites Alejandro Escovedo and Carrie Rodriguez.

MP3: “Heaven” (Live acoustic version)

MP3: “Feliz Navidad”

MP3: “Run Run Rudolph”

Los Lonely Boys official website

Seasons Greetings from Texas!

Just in time for Christmas, they are tellin’ us that the weather will be in the 70s early this week then it should plunge to about 37 Friday night.  Brrr, right?  Well, down here we think cold weather – and all that “white Christmas” stuff – is overrated.  The other day I had an eggnog with a little jalapeno in it and although it was downright awful, I didn’t mind.  Because this is Texas, you know?

OK,  I was counting the Bowl games comin’ this year and there are a bunch in Texas: the Alamo Bowl (San Antonio), the Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth), the Cotton Bowl (Dallas), the Sun Bowl (El Paso) and the Texas Bowl (Houston).  And don’t forget the University of Texas vs. Alabama in the big Rose Bowl game, way in the future at Jan. 7.  What the hell does this have to do with Christmas?  Nothing – except that at Christmas time, people in Texas are thinkin’ football, not snow.  Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas and find yourself a Bowl game to go to.   And stay away from jalapeno eggnog.  Ho, ho.

MP3: “Mason Dixon’s On The Line,” by Jerry Jeff Walker

MP3: “Winterlude” by Joe Ely

MP3: “Merry Christmas From The Family” (live) by Robert Earl Keen

MP3: “Christmas Everyday” by Rosie Flores

MP3: “When It’s Christmas Time In Texas” by George Strait

MP3: “The Christmas Song” by Steve Fromholz

MP3: “Santa Claus Is Back In Town” by Rusty Wier

MP3: “Pretty Paper” by Gary P. Nunn

MP3: “Nothing But A Child” by Steve Earle & Allison Moorer

MP3: “Snow In Austin” by Ellis Paul

MP3: “Silent Night” by Willie Nelson

MP3: “Sweet Little Baby Boy” by Angela Strehli

MP3: “On This Christmas Night” by B. J. Thomas

MP3: “A Special Wish” by B.W. Stevenson

MP3: “Grateful for Christmas” by Hayes Carll

MP3: “Please Come Home For Christmas” by Marcia Ball

MP3: “Feliz Navidad” by Los Lonely Boys

MP3: “Frosty the Snowman” by Freddy Fender & Flaco Jimenez

30 Days Out (From Christmas): Texas 2

Along the Trail of Lights, Austin (2008)

Day 24 –  Here are some more favorites from the Lone Star State.  From Roy Orbison’s classic “Pretty Paper” (written by Willie Nelson) to Robert Earl Keen’s modern radio favorite “Merry Christmas From The Family,” these homegrown holiday chestnuts are enough to keep you cool on a humid December Texas night.  And they’ll keep you toasty a few hours later, when the cold front blows through.

MP3: “Pretty Paper” by Roy Orbison

MP3: “Blue Christmas” by Kelly Willis

MP3: “Merry Christmas From The Family” by Robert Earl Keen

MP3: “Christmas Morning” by Lyle Lovett

MP3: “Please Daddy, Don’t Get Drunk ” by Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis

MP3: “I’m Grateful For Christmas This Year” by Hayes Carll

MP3: “Winterlude” by Joe Ely

MP3: “Rockin’ Winter Wonderland” by the Fabulous Thunderbirds

MP3: “Merry Christmas” by Lightnin’ Hopkins

MP3: “Please Come Home For Christmas” by Lou Ann Barton

MP3: “Jingle Bells” by Flaco Jimenez, Freddy Fender, Joel Nava, Rick Orozco & Ricardo Castillon

MP3: “She’ll Be My Everything For Christmas” by Los Lonely Boys

MP3: “Christmas Everyday” by Rosie Flores

MP3: “Merry Texas Christmas, Ya’ll” by Asleep At The Wheel

30 Days Out (From Christmas): Texas

Day Ten – We’re one third of the way through, and thought we’d share some of the holiday music from the Lone Star State.  We have it pretty good here – the indigenous music can encompass country, blues, folk, Tex-Mex, polka and good old rock and roll.  And there is no shortage of true characters to play all this fine music here in Texas.  We will surely visit Texas again on our 30 day countdown, so warm yourself up a big bowl o’ chili or grill some Earl Campbell sausages and cue up these tunes.  Y’all have a Merry Christmas!

MP3: “When It’s Christmas Time in Texas” by George Strait

MP3: “Frosty The Snowman” by Freddy Fender & Flaco Jimenez

MP3: “Merry Christmas Darling” by the Fabulous Thunderbirds

MP3: “Silent Night” by Willie Nelson

MP3: “Feliz Navidad” by Los Lonely Boys

MP3: “Mason Dixon’s On The Line” by Jerry Jeff Walker

MP3: “Santa” by Lightnin’ Hopkins

MP3: “Must Be Christmas” by Brave Combo

MP3: “Please Come Home For Christmas” by Marcia Ball

MP3: “Santa Claus Is Back In Town” by Rusty Wier

Update: Does Journey Stay in the Top 25 Without Wal Mart?

Journey, with new lead singer Arnel Pineda , has been in the Top 25 on the Billboard Album chart for nine weeks with their latest, Revelation. This week they are at number 23 on the Top 200 Album chart and number 1 on the Independent Album chart. They are still outselling new releases by Alanis Morissette, Nine Inch Nails, Motley Crue, Jason Mraz, Usher, Weezer, The Offspring, Jewel, Vanessa Hudgens from High School Musical fame, and yes, Alice Cooper.

As we have said before, the Wal Mart strategy was genius. Radio refuses to play any new stuff by guys like Journey, so there is no way Revelation would be in the Top 25 for one week, let alone nine, if it didn’t get the push it received at the store. 

We here at 30 Days Out are very interested to see if this same strategy will be successful for AC/DC, who is coming exclusively to a Wal Mart near you in the very near future.  The Police will be selling a live CD/DVD from their “last” tour exclusively at Best Buy, but honestly I don’t think it’s going to have the same impact.

I really can’t wait to walk into Wal Mart and hear AC/DC blasting all over the place. The Aussie rockers might just knock out the remaining teeth of most of the customers. Don’t Stop Believin’.

MP3: “Change For The Better” by Journey

YouTube: Faithfully (with Arnel Pineda)

YouTube: Don’t Stop Believin’ (with Arnel Pineda)

Journey Official Website

Texas Music, August Edition

Greetings from the ol’ Lone Star State!  Today let’s take a look at some new music coming out of these parts:

Okkervil River make their home in Austin, despite being named after a Russian short story.  Their newest, The Stand Ins, comes out this September.  “Pop Lie” is an early taste from this indie rock outfit.

The Toadies, from Fort Worth, broke up in 2001 but they’re baaaaaack, with a new album, No Deliverance, a tour and some nice new rock sounds.  Surely you remember the alt-rock hit “Possum Kingdom” …

Review: “Forgiven,” by Los Lonely Boys

 

On first listening to Forgiven, Los Lonely Boys’ third studio CD, you might get an impression the Texas trio may have gone to this well a little too often.  The grooves feel more than a little similar to music they’ve made in the past and a bit too beholden to their influences.  So here’s what you do: take a drive to the beach and slip this CD into the player.  As the road and the summer stretch out before you, Los Lonely Boys sound exactly right.  “Staying With Me” is one of those summer singles like, say, Santana’s “Smooth” some years ago – it just gets its hooks in you and doesn’t let go.  You don’t want it to let go. “I’m A Man,” the old Spencer Davis group blues, lets guitarist Henry Garza rip with some tasty solos; “You Can’t See The Light” would probably remain funky even if Dr. John didn’t guest on the track; and “Heart Won’t Tell A Lie” shows off Henry’s cranking Stevie Ray Vaughan-style chops.  The songs just roll along, like a lazy summer drive.  Sure, these boys have a style that may seem repetitive to some listeners and their songs may not be groundbreaking or earth-shaking, but their sound is so comfortable and easy to digest that any missteps and redundancies are easily, ah, forgiven.  After recent offerings by Radiohead, My Morning Jacket and Coldplay, you owe yourself a lightweight summer listening treat.  Forgiven is it!  UPDATE: Apparently Wal-Mart is offering copies of the CD with two listed bonus tracks, other copies may include them as “hidden” tracks … at any rate, enjoy “Guero In The Barrio.”

MP3: “Staying With Me”

MP3: “Guero In The Barrio” (bonus track)

Los Lonely Boys official website

Review: Texas Music (Summer Edition)

Don’t know about you, but here in the Lone Star state the weather is telling us summer’s here.  Time to clean the pool, dust off the barbecue grill and pop a few tops (of Lone Star Beer, naturally).  We understand gasoline is 4 bucks a gallon so we won’t be too offended if you don’t visit over the Memorial Day weekend.  So here’s some freshly minted music from Texas, as a little holiday gift to you.