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Tickets to Steve, surf’s up and class of ’86
by Chris Aaland Country music was in a sad state of affairs in the early- and mid-1980s. While Nashville and Austin were artistic hotspots a decade earlier, even legends like Willie, Waylon and Cash seemed washed up during the Reagan years. Many critics blame “Urban Cowboy” and its sequin-and-rhinestone shtick, spawning hits like Johnny Lee’s “Looking for Love” and Anne Murray’s “Could I Have This Dance.” Others point to the influence of MTV. Whatever your take, country needed a jump-start. A handful of artists who would come to be known as country music’s class of 1986 breathed life into the tired, old genre. These included radio-friendly Randy Travis, neo-traditionalist Dwight Yoakam, quirky swing poet Lyle Lovett and rebellious rocker Steve Earle, among others. While Travis’ star rose and fell quickly thanks to the fickle ways of Top 40 radio, the others have withstood the test of time. Arguably no artist has left as big of an imprint on country music the past 22 years as the ever-changing, genre-bending Earle. Whether taking on issues ranging from the Iraq War to the death penalty or spanning the musical map from country to folk to rock to bluegrass, Earle’s songwriting and musicianship are biting and never boring. The rebel’s career has taken him from Texas to Tennessee and now to New York City. With new wife Allison Moorer in tow, Steve Earle barrels into town July 9 for a KSUT-sponsored event at the Community Concert Hall. Tickets go on sale this Saturday at the Concert Hall’s ticket offices in Durango and Bayfield. The last time Earle played locally was for a 2004 Durango Acoustic Music production at the Abbey Theatre. That concert sold out in a matter of days, so get your tickets early for this one. Coincidentally, our other local community radio station – KDUR – put tickets on sale this week for a July 11 concert by folk chanteuse Patty Larkin, whose intimate performance at the Abbey Theatre is limited to just 160 seats. Tickets to the KDUR/DAM co-production are available at the Abbey, Animas Trading Co., Canyon Music and Southwest Sound. While these two visionaries are on the horizon for July, there’s no shortage of live music this week. Surf’s up next Wednesday as the Beach Boys play at Ray Dennison Memorial Field at Fort Lewis College. The full-day bash starts at noon with the Morehart Chevrolet Beach Party, featuring a classic car show and music by the Jelly Belly Boogie Band. Gates to Dennison Field open at 4 p.m., with Ralph Dinosaur taking the stage at 5, Jesse Colin Young at 6:15 and Mike Love and company at 8 p.m. Reserved seats are sold out, but plenty of general admission tickets remain ... as do tickets to the VIP tent, which features complimentary food, beer, wine, margaritas and soft drinks. Proceeds go toward student scholarships. This week’s musical offerings at Steamworks include feel-good music from DJ Mowgli on Thursday, the return of Vanilla Pop and their fun-filled Vegas show on Friday, and blues, soul and rock from Telluride’s Hillbilly Hotel on Saturday. Tonight’s (Thursday) Ska-B-Q features conscious reggae by I-Gene and food from Serious Texas BBQ at 5 p.m. Tune in to I-Gene on KDUR from 6-8 p.m. each Friday for his “Babylon Collapse Sound System” program. The Summit hosts The Sweats with special guests the Good Neighbors at 9 p.m. Saturday. The Good Neighbors blend alternative rock and funk. Jack Ellis & Larry Carver open their summer season at El Patio with a two-night stand on Friday and Saturday. Their roux of blues, folk and rock starts at 5 p.m. each night. Guitarist Robin Davis holds court each Monday night at the Diamond Belle Saloon. A past member of Wayword Sons and Broke Mountain, Davis is rumored to be recording a solo album this summer with many of his bluegrass friends. Show up to the Belle at 5 p.m. Monday nights, and you’re never sure who will join Davis onstage. Last Monday it was his former Wayword Sons partner Benny “Burle” Galloway and A-list bassist Bryn Davies (best known for her work with Peter Rowan, Tony Rice and Patty Griffin). Cassettes from country music’s class of 1986 never seemed to leave my Chevy Malibu or my buddy Shawn Nichols’ Suburban during our freshman year at FLC. Here are five highlights from country artists who shook Music Row that year: • Dwight Yoakam, “Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.” The album is a modern country classic, from originals like “Guitars, Cadillacs” and “South of Cincinnati” to covers of Johnny Horton’s “Honky Tonk Man” and Harlan Howard’s “Heartaches by the Numbers.” I shotgunned more cans of cheap beer to this album than to any other – and that was during my head-banging days, mind you. • Steve Earle, “Guitar Town.” Every song was perfectly written and meticulously crafted. It’s tough to believe that an album with such an anti-Reagan slant would be critically hailed by conservative country programmers, but even CMT listed this as its No. 27 country album of all-time two years ago. • Lyle Lovett, self-titled. Part Guy Clark, part Bob Wills, Lovett’s debut album painted such vivid pictures as “Closing Time,” “The Waltzing Fool” and “Farther Down the Line.” The arrangements were true to Texas music, yet pointed toward the jazzy direction that Lovett would take years later with his Large Band. • Randy Travis, selected cuts from “Storms of Life.” I’ll admit that most of Travis’ work is over-polished, Top 40 bubble gum fare. But a handful of cuts from his debut album – most notably “On the Other Hand” and “Diggin’ Up Bones” – go down as smooth as small-batch bourbon. • *k.d. lang & the Reclines, “Angel With a Lariat.” Technically this was released in early 1987, but it was recorded in the summer of ’86. I can recall hearing “Got the Bull by the Horns” and “Pay Dirt” on KDUR. These songs shattered any stereotypes I had about women not being able to play with the big boys. Later in my life, this album would open up a whole new world of classic women’s rockabilly and country singers. • Got a two-pack habit and a motel tan? E-mail me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.
Got a two-pack habit and a motel tan? E-mail me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net. by Chris Aaland
Whatever your take, country needed a jump-start. A handful of artists who would come to be known as country music’s class of 1986 breathed life into the tired, old genre. These included radio-friendly Randy Travis, neo-traditionalist Dwight Yoakam, quirky swing poet Lyle Lovett and rebellious rocker Steve Earle, among others. While Travis’ star rose and fell quickly thanks to the fickle ways of Top 40 radio, the others have withstood the test of time. Arguably no artist has left as big of an imprint on country music the past 22 years as the ever-changing, genre-bending Earle. Whether taking on issues ranging from the Iraq War to the death penalty or spanning the musical map from country to folk to rock to bluegrass, Earle’s songwriting and musicianship are biting and never boring. The rebel’s career has taken him from Texas to Tennessee and now to New York City. With new wife Allison Moorer in tow, Steve Earle barrels into town July 9 for a KSUT-sponsored event at the Community Concert Hall. Tickets go on sale this Saturday at the Concert Hall’s ticket offices in Durango and Bayfield. The last time Earle played locally was for a 2004 Durango Acoustic Music production at the Abbey Theatre. That concert sold out in a matter of days, so get your tickets early for this one. Coincidentally, our other local community radio station – KDUR – put tickets on sale this week for a July 11 concert by folk chanteuse Patty Larkin, whose intimate performance at the Abbey Theatre is limited to just 160 seats. Tickets to the KDUR/DAM co-production are available at the Abbey, Animas Trading Co., Canyon Music and Southwest Sound. While these two visionaries are on the horizon for July, there’s no shortage of live music this week. Surf’s up next Wednesday as the Beach Boys play at Ray Dennison Memorial Field at Fort Lewis College. The full-day bash starts at noon with the Morehart Chevrolet Beach Party, featuring a classic car show and music by the Jelly Belly Boogie Band. Gates to Dennison Field open at 4 p.m., with Ralph Dinosaur taking the stage at 5, Jesse Colin Young at 6:15 and Mike Love and company at 8 p.m. Reserved seats are sold out, but plenty of general admission tickets remain ... as do tickets to the VIP tent, which features complimentary food, beer, wine, margaritas and soft drinks. Proceeds go toward student scholarships. This week’s musical offerings at Steamworks include feel-good music from DJ Mowgli on Thursday, the return of Vanilla Pop and their fun-filled Vegas show on Friday, and blues, soul and rock from Telluride’s Hillbilly Hotel on Saturday. Tonight’s (Thursday) Ska-B-Q features conscious reggae by I-Gene and food from Serious Texas BBQ at 5 p.m. Tune in to I-Gene on KDUR from 6-8 p.m. each Friday for his “Babylon Collapse Sound System” program. The Summit hosts The Sweats with special guests the Good Neighbors at 9 p.m. Saturday. The Good Neighbors blend alternative rock and funk. Jack Ellis & Larry Carver open their summer season at El Patio with a two-night stand on Friday and Saturday. Their roux of blues, folk and rock starts at 5 p.m. each night. Guitarist Robin Davis holds court each Monday night at the Diamond Belle Saloon. A past member of Wayword Sons and Broke Mountain, Davis is rumored to be recording a solo album this summer with many of his bluegrass friends. Show up to the Belle at 5 p.m. Monday nights, and you’re never sure who will join Davis onstage. Last Monday it was his former Wayword Sons partner Benny “Burle” Galloway and A-list bassist Bryn Davies (best known for her work with Peter Rowan, Tony Rice and Patty Griffin). Cassettes from country music’s class of 1986 never seemed to leave my Chevy Malibu or my buddy Shawn Nichols’ Suburban during our freshman year at FLC. Here are five highlights from country artists who shook Music Row that year: • Dwight Yoakam, “Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.” The album is a modern country classic, from originals like “Guitars, Cadillacs” and “South of Cincinnati” to covers of Johnny Horton’s “Honky Tonk Man” and Harlan Howard’s “Heartaches by the Numbers.” I shotgunned more cans of cheap beer to this album than to any other – and that was during my head-banging days, mind you. • Steve Earle, “Guitar Town.” Every song was perfectly written and meticulously crafted. It’s tough to believe that an album with such an anti-Reagan slant would be critically hailed by conservative country programmers, but even CMT listed this as its No. 27 country album of all-time two years ago. • Lyle Lovett, self-titled. Part Guy Clark, part Bob Wills, Lovett’s debut album painted such vivid pictures as “Closing Time,” “The Waltzing Fool” and “Farther Down the Line.” The arrangements were true to Texas music, yet pointed toward the jazzy direction that Lovett would take years later with his Large Band. • Randy Travis, selected cuts from “Storms of Life.” I’ll admit that most of Travis’ work is over-polished, Top 40 bubble gum fare. But a handful of cuts from his debut album – most notably “On the Other Hand” and “Diggin’ Up Bones” – go down as smooth as small-batch bourbon. • *k.d. lang & the Reclines, “Angel With a Lariat.” Technically this was released in early 1987, but it was recorded in the summer of ’86. I can recall hearing “Got the Bull by the Horns” and “Pay Dirt” on KDUR. These songs shattered any stereotypes I had about women not being able to play with the big boys. Later in my life, this album would open up a whole new world of classic women’s rockabilly and country singers. • Got a two-pack habit and a motel tan? E-mail me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.
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The Independent Weekly Line on Durango and Beyond
ountry music was in a sad state of affairs in the early- and mid-1980s. While Nashville and Austin were artistic hotspots a decade earlier, even legends like Willie, Waylon and Cash seemed washed up during the Reagan years. Many critics blame “Urban Cowboy” and its sequin-and-rhinestone shtick, spawning hits like Johnny Lee’s “Looking for Love” and Anne Murray’s “Could I Have This Dance.” Others point to the influence of MTV.