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MAN, OH MAN WAS THIS A FUN NIGHT!!  As most of you know, Rhett Butler alone is an awesome show all by himself, but adding the likes of Martin McCall [percussion] & Phil McNeese [bass] just plain added a whole new dimension to the music.  These three have been performing together sin]]>

Special THANKS to Rhett & Kathy McCullough of Clemens & Truitt Insurance [Crossroads’ Insurance provider] for helping bring Rhett Butler to town!  Also, honorable mention for Winnsboro’s wonderful Mayor, Carolyn Jones, who makes it to each and every Rhett Butler performance, contributing to the vision of keeping quality Live Music aLIVE here in East Texas!  ~Gus

The return of Richard Bowden, with the Moon & Starz, to the Crossroads/BankTexas Stage, was a real treat!  Yes, it was a couple Saturdays ago, so my apologies for not publishing this sooner.  I was waiting on the right picture, and believe the one below needs to b]]>

Anyway, what can I say about this group of seasoned professionals that hasn’t already be]]>Greg “Moon” Attaway on drums, percussion and vocals, Richard Bowden on guitar and vocals, John Early on guitar and vocals, Pat Roberson on bass guitar and vocals and Mark Vidito on keyboards and vocals.  Extra information on all them can be found at their website: http://www.moonandthestarz.com/about.htm

Richard and the famous Don Henley hail from the Linden, Texas area, and rumor has it that their careers began together…In actuality, Richard and Don formed their first band together in Linden around 1963, which was the Four Speeds, with friends Jerry Surratt and Fred Neese.  It became Felicity and then Shiloh.  Shiloh relocated to California but fell apart after that.  Don and Richard both became part of Linda Ronstadt’s band.  Don left Linda to form the Eagles.  Richard played with Linda a while longer and after that was part of two recording and touring projects that included Greg.  One was with Sneaky Pete Kleinow (Flying Burrito Bros) known as Cold Steel in ’73-’74, and the other was with the Roger McGuinn Band in 1975.  Both of those projects also included their Linden friend David Lovelace.  The original Moon & the Starz band formed in 1999 after Richard returned to Linden from Nashville.  The original lineup included Richard, Greg, David, John (Early) and friend Joe Hamilton.  Pat Roberson replaced David Lovelace when he passed away in ’03.  David’s brother Richard played piano for a bit.  Then Mark (Carlisle) Harrell became a regular keyboardist up until 2007 when Mark Vidito came in as a sub and then replaced him when he secured more regular playing opportunities in Dallas / Fort Worth.

…I had asked Richard if he could get Don to open for ’em, but he thought Don needed a little more practice beforehand–HA!!  The humor still effortlessly slips off Richard’s tongue, and he doesn’t miss the opportunity to share it with his audience.  The band mixed stories of the past with plenty of humor, more current events, great instrumentation, and packaged it all together into two very entertaining sets.   They performed to an attentive crowd, happy to have them back in Winnsboro!

We could NOT have scripted it any better than the way it naturally played out last Saturday night [June 30, 2012], in front of a moderate crowd at Crossroads Music Company & Listening Room in Winnsboro, Texas.  OK, East Texas, just a heads-up on the fact that Crossroads is doing its part]]>

 

 

Robin Beach Black, with Bruce Flett tearin-up the bass!

 

 

 

Gus, taking advantage of a photo op, with Buddy Flett & Jerry Beach!  That’s Zeke Seighman in the

 

background on the drums.

 

 

 

Stan Hoffman, formerly of the Killer Bees!

 

OK, let’s start with Buddy Flett!

 

• “First You Cry”  co-written with David Egan, covered by Percy Sledge, and was featured on the recent season finale of the HBO series, Treme’.

• Three time Grammy nominated songwriter/performer: 2011 Grammys: Best Contemporary Blues Album:          Live! In Chicago
  Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band Featuring Hubert Sumlin, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Bryan Lee, And Buddy Flett
  [Roadrunner/Loud & Proud Records]

• Blues Music Awards 2011; Memphis: Rock Blues Album: Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band featuring Hubert Sumlin, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Bryan Lee and Buddy Flett ; Live! In Chicago

 

Robin & the Bluebirds:

 

• Robin Beach Black sang back-up for Percy Sledge for 2 years, with that soulful voice of hers!
• Stan Hoffman used to rock the house on keyboards/vocals, with the Killer Bees, one of the world’s top reggae bands for 12 years!
• Robin’s Dad, Jerry Beach, wrote the song “I’ll Play the Blues For You” which was made famous by Albert King, making the song go GOLD & selling over 1 million copies!
• Bruce Flett’s decade with legendary “A” Train
• ALL FIVE SING!  Strong vocals throughout the show!

 

Tasty, tasty, tasty STUFF!!  The Crossroads spirits have been nourished once again!  ~Gus

Winnsboro was truly blessed this past weekend…just sayin’…

 

First off, the Songwriter’s Worksho]]>www.terrihendrix.com

 

Some of those that participated in the workshop traveled over 100 miles to be a part of it all, and they said it was well worth it!  Of course, spending a weekend in magical Winnsboro is NOT such a bad way to go…the music is truly coming ALIVE, and Winnsboro boasts SIX different venues that now offer live entertainment to the community and surrounding areas—NOT BAD for a town with posted population signs claiming only about 3,500 residents!

 

The workshop was limited to about 15 participants, but the concert Saturday night filled the WCA [Winnsboro Center for the Arts].  When Lloyd Maines asked, there were a surprising number of people in the crowd that had never seen Terri LIVE before Saturday night, although many of them owned one of her 14 CDs that she has produced independently over the past 20 or so years–impressive!  Did I mention the Grammy Awards???!!  Good, just making sure those reading this are aware what just went down in Winnsboro, Texas.  I counted hands of about two dozen folks that had never seen them live prior to Saturday night.

 

So, you ask, has the fame changed these two consummate professionals?  The answer remains, “NO.”  Terri still lost track of time, having such fun with her new-found friends in the audience, giving a performance that far exceeded any agreed-upon set lengths–always full of great stories, many of which shared by Lloyd.  The reality TV production company that has been gathering footage for a pilot about Winnsboro’s musical magic, was on hand to interview Terri & Lloyd, and captured some performance footage, too…stay tuned!!

 

As if all that isn’t enough, Terri & Lloyd enjoy the nurturing of rising talent, and chose Winnsboro area’s own Kate Hearne to warm up the crowd, as their opening act.  Kate has been honing her multi-instrumental skills, and will continue her college training at South Plains in West Texas come Fall.  She brought her friend Garrett, who contributed some very tasty bass guitar during their performance, and they even let ME get up and blow some harmonica on a blues tune that Kate covered of one of her father’s tunes–Dad being Winnsboro’s own Lindy Hearne, and the song covered being, “Our Love has a Chalk Line.”  THEN, for the final tune of the evening, Terri & Lloyd dove into a rendition of “Wind Me Up” and included YOURS TRULY, Kate, Garrett, Shannon, YOURS TRULY, and Sherry [from the workshop], for a great jam finale!!  It made all the hard work putting the weekend together TOTALLY WORTH IT!!

 

To Terri & Lloyd:  Please know how much you are LOVED in East Texas, where we’re in the middle of the battle to keep LIVE MUSIC ALIVE!

 

My Best,

 

Gus Gustafson

 

Crossroads Music Company & Listening Room

USA Today spotlighted the song “Einstein’s Brain” as a “Playlist” top 10 pick of the week, calling it “a bittersweet reflection on life’s limits, rendered with Hendrix’s usual rootsy grace.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Terri Hendrix @ Crossroads Music Company

 

Saturday, June 9, 2012

 

Press Release

 

Bio/Quotes/Photos

 

 

As Jim Beal of the San Antonio Express-News observed in his review of the CD Cry Till You Laugh, “Part of the beauty of Terri Hendrix’s music is she’s among the best at recognizing, writing about and celebrating resilience and common ground, the things we can all cry, and laugh, about.”

 

 

 

A classically trained vocalist and deft multi-instrumentalist (guitar, mandolin and harmonica), Hendrix is a firm believer in the theory that “life’s too short for one genre,” dodging musical pigeonholes alongside producer Lloyd Maines (guitar, dobro, pedal steel), by weaving folk, pop, country, blues and swinging jazz into an eclectic style all her own that plays like a carefully compiled mix-CD. Add to that her charismatic stage presence and reputation for always delivering an energetic and spiritually uplifting live show (from intimate listening rooms to huge outdoor festivals), and it’s no wonder why the Terri Hendrix “experience” has been embraced by three generations of loyal fans across the country and around the globe.

 

 

 

To date, Hendrix has released 14 albums on her own Wilory Records label. In the fall of 2011, she published the second edition of her first book; a tie-in with her latest album featuring song lyrics, photos and essays on life, health, business, music and “owning your own universe” called Cry Till You Laugh – The Part That Ain’t Art.

 

 

 

Hendrix is currently embracing not only the next stage of her musical evolution, but the launch of her OYOU (“Own Your Own Universe”) Community Arts Center. Inspired in part by Hendrix’s own personal experiences, as well as by people with neurological challenges she has had the honor to meet and play for over the years, the nonprofit will be dedicated to serving the greater San Marcos community with a handi-capable facility that will offer educational and therapeutic arts programs for people of all ages, ethnicities and traditions.

That’s right!!  Right here in the wonderful small town of Winnsboro, with the ONLY official rural Cultural Arts District in the State of Texas, we have a top-notch Singer/Songwriter Workshop coming to you LIVE, and hosted by none other than two Grammy Award Winners–Terri Hendrix and Lloyd M]]>

The workshop will take place Friday evening, June 8th, from 6 to 10-ish, inside the Winnsboro Center for the Arts, 200 Market Street; Winnsboro, TX 75494.  We’ll have some finger foods, water & coffee to keep y’all nourished, so that we can make the most of the time allotted.  A bargain at $40, this price INCLUDES a reserved seat to the performance on the following night!  Local rising talent, Kate Hearne, will open for Terri & Lloyd, so expect a full night of great music!!  If you’re NOT a songwriter, then come to the performance on Saturday night for only $20 reserved, or take your chances at $15 for general admission.  If you have not caught this show, you need to, and this may be your only chance.

 

If you need to find out more about Terri or Lloyd’s credentials, hit their websites.  Check out the roles these two played, with regards to the success of the Dixie Chicks.

Friday nights can be a tough-sell for Winnsboro nightlife, and tonight was no different, despite the fact that it was the Eve of SpringFest in the Downtown area.  Quite a storm planted itself overhead, and a couple times I thought 2-Bit Palomino might be doing an unplugged version of their show by candlelight!  It never came to that, but they were certainly prepared to make it happen for the folks that ventured out to see their performance.  The band is made up of Andi & Ren Renfree, along with Bill Ward, who has graced the Crossroads’ original stage prior to hooking up with Ren & Andi.

 

 

 

 

[L to R: Andi Renfree, Bill Ward, Ren Renfree] www.facebook.com/2bitpalomino

 

Together, they really light up a stage.  Plenty of great guitar work, keyboards, and percussion, backing three part harmonies that’ll knock your socks off—after all, they DID win the TMA [Texas Music Award] for “Best Vocal Group of 2011″…Shot too Nabby!!  I’d really like to have them back sometime, but I’ll need a higher level of support from our wonderful community!

 

~~Gus Gustafson