Los Lonely Boys and The Gourds on Austin City Limits
Friday night TV leaves much to be desired but if I’m home and watching, the night is often saved for me by Austin City Limits on PBS. Last night was no exception. I tuned into a great show which featured Los Lonely Boys in the first half and The Gourds in the second part. The show was probably initially aired a few years ago since the father, Ringo Garza, had a prominent role in the performance. Whenever the show was made it showed their Texican Rock in great form and moved my thoughts away from a troubled week in the world to a focus on the special talent this group brings to the stage. The performance did what it was supposed to achieve, fun and pure enjoyment.
The fun continued when The Gourds took the stage. I knew a little bit about the Gourds and was familiar with a few of their songs. Their cover of Snoop Dog’s “Gin and Juice” is well known and their music has been used on several TV shows. To know The Gourds they need to be seen and Austin City Limits did that for me last night. This Texas group is absolutely talented and fun to watch.
Kevin”Shineyribs”Russel is out front often with his mandolin or electric guitar and unique vocal style but everyone has their special moment in the performance. Claude Russel seems to play everything including the accordion, guitar and keyboard. He is not the only gifted multi instrument member of the band. Jimmy Smith is on bass and acoustic guitar and Max Johnson has a fiddle, lap steel or acoustic working through the performance. Keith Langford on drums has voice as a second instrument.
I have no musical skills but am very important to musical performers. I am an audience. I marvel at the talent that groups like these two exhibit and the absolute enjoyment they provide.
When I was young, TV featured many music oriented shows. Perry Como, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Andy Williams were a few of the popular singers that attracted huge TV audiences. Jimmy Dean was a TV star before he made sausages and had a country music show which introduced country music to city dwellers like me. Roger Miller, George Jones, Buck Owens and many other country stars sprang to broad national notice as result of appearing on The Jimmy Dean Show. The Beatles were introduced to America on the Ed Sullivan Toast of The Town Show. Music was a significant part of major network programming until the 70’s.
Lawyers, Doctors and Crime took over as the programs of TV interest. It is saddening that PBS with a few presentations is pretty much the last venue on TV for musical performance viewing. My two best moments on TV in the past week came from watching the Nuggets win their series in the playoffs and to watch Austin City Limits with two great Texas bands featured.
The Swine Flu coverage and the endless appearances of the President on TV did not move my viewing enjoyment rating gauge.
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I was once told that during hard times the entertainment industry remains true, and even flourishes. I assume the reference was to Hollywood during the Great depression. In these tough times I wonder if that will really hold true as it once did.
With the advent of cable television and the even more vast, more diverse internet, why leave your home after a day at the grind. For me, an avid music lover, it’s tough to research, spend the money, take a gamble and get out to the concert hall, the theater, or even the movies. But when I break down and go, boy oh boy am I ecstatic. It’s been a while, so thanks Buck for stirring that up a bit. The famed Austin City Limits and talk of talented bands is inspiring me right now to ‘go see a show.’