Island Moon June 03, 2011B 8

Delbert McClinton

Delbert McClinton(Ft. Worth, TX) goes back…like back far enough to be able to say that he taught John Lennon how to play the harmonica. As the only white act at the Skyliner Ballroom in Ft. Worth (circa 1960) Mc-Clinton received his early tutelage from such blues masters as Jimmy Reed, Howlin Wolf and Son-ny Boy Williamson. One Grammy, thirty eight al-bums and four decades in the music business later, the 70 year old Texas icon

is still making music. He has just released another CD, Room to Breathe and plays 4-6 shows a month. Delbert has had a long and successful career playing music that defines the Texas roadhouse sound. If you don’t get up and dance to his steaming harmonica and stompin’ beats on songs like Standing on Shaky Ground, Shotgun Rid-er or Giving It Up for Your Love then you must be dead. (The Delbert McClinton show on Thursday is only avail-able to those who pay one of the three tiered member-ship fees.)

Willis Alan Ramsey

Willis Alan Ramsey (Dallas, TX) only put out one re-cord in 1972 but it was a good one. Songs such as Musk-rat Love, Northeast Texas Women, Old Missoula, Geral-dine and the Honey Bee, Satin Sheet, Sleepwalking and The Ballad of Spider John have been covered by the likes of America, Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Buffett, Wide-spread Panic, Shawn Colvin, Waylon Jennings, Lyle Lovett and Jimmy Dale Gilmore. There’s not an old Texas music lover around who didn’t wear the grooves out of his record somewhere along the line which firmly placed Ramsey’s popularity to that of cult status. This is a rare treat to have Willis Alan in the line-up.

Ray Wylie Hubbard

Ray Wylie Hubbard (Wimberley, TX) is known as the Wylie Lama of Texas Music. His wit and dark charm have produced 14 records since 1976. Hubbard’s bio, written by Joe Nick Potoski, says it all, “Ray Wylie Hubbard writes the kind of songs that make you want to ride along no matter where he’s going--because you know it’s gonna get strange somewhere along the way. The references to Muddy Waters being as deep as Wil-liam Blake (“I really do believe it,’’ Ray says) and lip-stick pickups, resonator slides, the dreams of drunken poets, deceased call girls, opium, wasp’s nests, clouds growing a tail, his ability to segue seamlessly from pri-mal exclamations of carnal lust into songs about salva-tion without pausing for irony; and a craftsmanship that manages to rhyme mescaline and gasoline and Volkswa-gen with dragon while painting vivid portraits of charac-ters both real and unreal, all evoke a sense of place that is larger than life but in no way made up. Ray Wylie is far better‐versed explaining how the sacred and the profane, the yin and the yang, the eternal and the now, the hippies and rednecks, the saved and the damned are all part of the same conversation.” My favorite Hubbard line of all times is, “If I knew I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of my truck.”

Guy Clark

Guy Clark (Nashville, TN) is a songwriter’s song-writer. Originally from Monahans, Texas, Clark moved around from Houston to Austin to Los Angeles before finally settling in Nashville in 1971 with his wife Su-zanna. Together they joined a fraternity of singer-song-

By Ronnie Narmour

ronnienarmour@gmail.com

Three Chords and the Truth

Well, Memorial Day has come and gone and we are officially “in season” here on the Costal Bend. Live music is absolutely everywhere. I’ve seen a ton of great shows these past two weeks. The Tarpon Music Bash at the Tarpon Ice House was a smashing success with about 30 Hill Country musicians on hand for three days of non-stop music. The Back Porch has beefed up their calendar with the likes of Gary P. Nunn and Lar-ry Joe Taylor both performing last weekend. The Porch will have the storied West Side Horns (San Antonio, TX) playing on June 4th and the Sisters Morales (San Antonio, TX) playing on the 11th. My focus in this col-umn is directed towards two festivals in Rockport where I have the honor of writing about legendary Texas artists who have influenced Texas music for decades. But right now, times a wasting… let’s roll.

Joe Ely

Joe Ely (Austin, TX) played a solo performance at the Rockport Festival of Wine and Food on May 29th. The Cody Angel Band (Port Aransas, TX) with Mike Mil-

ligan (Austin, TX) played a three hour set prior to Ely. Originally from my home town of Lubbock, Joe Ely has been a strong component of my makeup for 40 years. I feel that he is arguably the most prolific and substan-tial songwriter to grace the great state of Texas in the past four decades. His songs are nothing short of poetic and his music defines the soul of our state. Ely sings of freight train whistles, bullets and bibles, fighting roost-ers and crossroads in the rain. And when he sings of love, you get a clear understanding of just how powerful a force it is. The boy has a way with words.

Ely is about to release his 24th album since 1977 enti-tled Satisfied At Last. I’ve watched him roam the world looking for that satisfaction in the past four decades and I’ve never seen him look so comfortable in his own skin. At one point in his performance in Rockport, Ely invit-ed anyone and everyone in the audience to sit around him on stage…and they did. Joe Ely genuinely seems at peace with the universe and his music has never sounded better. He played a handful of songs from his forthcom-ing record and it’s all classic Ely. One of his new songs was about a man whose final wish was to have his ashes loaded into shotgun shells and shot at skeet. Other titles on the new disc include The Circle of Love is a Work of Art and a tribute to our soldiers, Not That Much Has Changed. He also covers the stirring Billy Joe Shaver song, I’m Going to Live Forever.

DO NOT MISS LISTRockport Music Festival (June 9-11)

The first annual Rockport Music Festival lineup is by far one of the best schedules I’ve seen in a festival envi-ronment around the Coastal Bend. The group of artists that promoter Tommy Moore has assembled is nothing less than stellar. On Thursday, June 9, Malford Milli-gan (7:00) and Delbert McClinton (8:30) will perform. On Friday, June 10, Cory Morrow (7:00) and the Casey Monahew Band (9:30) will perform. On Saturday, June 11, Willis Alan Ramsey (1:00), Ray Wylie Hubbard (3:00), Gary P. Nunn (5:00), Guy Clark (7:00) and Jerry Jeff Walker (9:00) will perform. You can get all the information you need at the festival website at www.rockportmusic.com.

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writers that gave Nashville a “Paris in the 20’s” feel. He surrounded himself with the likes of Townes Van Zandt, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, Mickey Newberry, Bil-ly Joe Shaver and David Alan Coe. Writing songs with a “pencil and a big eraser” Clark hammered out such masterpieces as L.A. Freeway, Desperados Waiting for a Train, Texas 1947, Boats to Build and Dublin Blues. He has released more than 20 records since 1975 and his songs have been recorded by such artists as John-ny Cash, Ricky Skaggs, Lyle Lovett, The Highway-men, Jimmy Buffett and Emmy Lou Harris. Inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Foundation’s Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004, Clark was honored with the Amer-icana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting in 2005. In 2006 his album, Workbench Songs, was nominated for a Grammy in the “Best Con-

temporary Folk/Americana Album” category. Today, Guy Clark remains a folk icon and national treasure. His sentiment is dry and his songs are beautiful, reflecting the man himself and displaying an old-fashioned mas-culinity that emphasizes honesty, integrity and carefully chosen words.

Jerry Jeff Walker

Jerry Jeff Walker (Austin, TX) has recorded 33 re-cords since 1967 and is probably best known for pen-ning Mr. Bojangles. Walker spent the mid 60’s in NYC as part of the Greenwich Village folk scene and moved to Austin in the early 70’s associating mainly with the “Cosmic Cowboy” invasion. At the age of 70, Jerry Jeff still performs 2-3 shows a month nationally.

And that’s the truth!

Live Music Tonight

Live Music Every Friday

Cody Angel, Joe Ely and Ronnie Narmour at the Rockport Music Festival of Wine and Food.

Guy Clark will play the Rockport Music Festival June 10th.

Jerry Jeff Walker will play the Rockport Music Festival June 10th.

Delbert McClinton will play the Rockport Mu-sic Festival June 9th.

Friday, June 3rdCarol Elliott @ Tarpon Ice House (5:30- 7:30)

Darryl Lee Rush @ Back Porch

Rich Lockhart Band @ Hooks B-B-Q

Acoustic Breeze @ Coffee Waves

Electric Touch @ House of Rock

Vallejo/ Jason McMaster @ Executive Surf Club

Art Walk w/ Electric Touch @ House of Rock

Saturday, June 4thWest Side Horns @ Back Porch

The Ones @ Tarpon Ice House

Rich Lockhart Band @ Hooks B-B-Q

Cheap Sunglasses (ZZ Top Tribute Band) @ Brewster Street

Look At It N Tip/ Ty Dietz/ Flat Broke/ Echo/ Patiently Waiting @ House of Rock

C-Roots @ Coffee Waves

Rick Cates @ Scuttlebutts-Seafood Bar and Grill

Infinity Kills/ The Hi-Tones @ Zeros

Anson Carter @ The Backwoods Saloon

Ty Dietz @ House of Rock

Walt Wilkins/ Pat Grogan @ Executive Surf Club

Sunday, June 5thAcoustic Open Jam @ Tarpon Ice House

Deftones/ Dillinger Esc Plan/ Le Butcherettes @ Concrete Street

Tuesday, June 7thReno & the Groove Getters @ Dr. Rockits

Scarecrow People @ Executive Surf Club

Clarissa Serna @ Revolution Bar and Grill

Open Mic w/ Rev. Fred @ House of Rock

Thursday, June 9thAloha Dave @ Back Porch

Delbert McClinton/ Malford Milligan @ Rockport Music Festival

Cody Canada & Departed @ Brewster Street

Ballabajoomba Poetry Slam @ House of Rock

Scooter Brown @ Executive Surf Club

Friday, June 10thHouston Marchman @ Back Porch

Norm &) Amanda @ Hooks B-B-Q

Casy Monahew Band/ Cory Morrow @ Rockport Music

Festival

C- Roots @ Coffee Waves

Nethermedia Jam Fest @ House of Rock

Scarecrow People @ Brewster Street

Lighter Ray @ Executive Surf Club

Saturday, June 11thSisters Morales @ Back Porch

Dave “Bottlehead” Miller @ Hooks B-B-Q

Jerry Jeff Walker/ Guy Clark/ Gary P. Nunn/ Ray Wylie Hubbard/ Willis Alan Ramsey @ Rockport Music Festival

Spark in the Dark @ Coffee Waves

Rick Cates @ Scuttlebutts-Seafood Bar and Grill

Built From Ashes/ Switchblade Jesus/ The End of Us @ Zeros

Slaid Cleaves @ Third Coast Theater

Sing-Along Pianos @ Brewster Street

Rosie Rawhyde/ Starlet Within/ Burlesque @ House of Rock

Paul Renna @ Executive Surf Club

Sunday, June 12thAcoustic Open Jam @ Tarpon Ice House

SpinFX (noon) @ Hooks B-B-Q

Monday, June 13thJason Suthern @ Outta Bounds

Sports Lounge

Randy Rogers & Wade Bowen (Acoustic) @ Brewster Street

Tuesday, June 14thScarecrow People @ Executive

Surf Club

Clarissa Serna @ Revolution Bar and Grill

Open Mic w/ Rev. Fred @ House of Rock

Thursday, June 16thMike Milligan & the Altar Boys @ Back Porch

Like Moths to Flames/ The Browning/ Your Memorial/

Dilusions @ House of Rock

Hunter McKithan @ Executive Surf Club

Friday, June 17thblacktopGYPSY @ Back Porch

Rich Lockhart Band @ Hooks B-B-Q

Five Card Draw @ Brewster Street

Acoustic Breeze @ Coffee Waves

Scarecrtow People @ Executive Surf Club

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