The Gobblers Knob

The hat is likely to be covering some serious scars

As I mentioned last week, yesterday was the day for the “Pickin’ for Preemies II” show in Grapevine.  Strong cast of players on one stage for a great cause.  I managed to get there just in time for the first foursome (the 16 acts were divided into groups of 4) which featured Adam Hood, Darren Kozelsky, Walt Wilkins and Ryan Bingham.  Unfortunately, this would be the only set that I would get to witness for the entire evening (don’t ask, trust me).  Luckily for me, the opening set turned out to be what would surely be one of the tightest, most transcendent sets of the night.  Of the 4 writers on stage, Hood had the best overall voice, he boomed out “Buzzes Like Neon” and quieted the rustling, still-arriving crowd that seemed surprised to have such a serious sound hitting their drums that early in the show.  Wilkins proved to be the best showman of the 4.  His songs are about relating stories and the teaching of lessons learned.  When Wilkins’ wife, Tina, came out to duet on “Someone Somewhere Tonight,” it again made people stop and savor the moment and appreciate Wilkins for the heir apparent to Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt that he is. Wilkins is a song-writing svengali who can be as comical as he is mystical (at one point he swallowed some of his own lenghty hair and said “that would never happen to Ray Price“).  As enthralling as Mr. Hood and Mr. Wilkins turns at the mike were, it was when Mr. Ryan Bingham started strumming that you felt as if you were seeing something different and new in Texas/Red Dirt music.  Bingham carried himself with several unique attributes, chief among them was his cowboy hat (see above picture). It isn’t a 10 gallon and it’s not your typical Stetson.  Second, his fake, pearly-white teeth were gleaming.  His past life as bull-rider is responsible for his new mouth full of teeth.  Above even those stand-out elements it was his voice that signaled the arrival of something great.  His voice contained enough gravel to pave the parking lot outside with two layers of coarse concrete.  As dusty and gravely as his voice was, his melodies were as sweet as the ones Mr. Wilkins’ sang before him.  He went from gothic-western tales in “South Side of Heaven,” where he busted out his harmonica and tore it up, to a more deliberate, meandering “Snake Eyes,” which featured some great pickin’.  Bingham even got into party, jam-band mode as he revved up with “Sunset.”  Bingham will see his next album, Mescalito, be released on Lost Highway Records, home of Ryan Adams, Lucinda Williams, Hayes Carll and Lyle Lovett, in October.  Lost Highway has done a great job of nurturing and promoting its artists, and it is exciting to know that Bingham and his band, The Dead Horses, will be given a real shot at nation-wide acclaim.  Since I had to leave early (still not ready to talk about it), I couldn’t help but feel good knowing that these 3 individual, completely different talents represent the new guard (they were given the afternoon slot, where LaRue, Randy Rogers, Cody Canada, Jason Boland, etc.. were given the late-night slots).  The Texas “scene” is still growing, however, it can only live off of the albums of Ingram, RRB, Green, and Morrow for so long.  These 3 names; Hood, Wilkins and most definitely, Bingham will be up front and center in continuing the expansion of the Texas brand.

Ryan Bingham Live (this isn’t from Pickin’ for Preemies, though.  Sorry, it was dark!!)