Janice Williams Loves Austin

May 27, 2009

Reality Shows

Filed under: Music — Janice @ 12:16 am

Everytime I think I’m going to be writing a lot and keep up with this thing, life intervenes and I can’t believe how quickly the time passes by. I have started the newest new job and while it doesn’t take up a lot of my time, I still haven’t quit all of the other jobs and I’m having to get up earlier in the morning for this one. So I’m pooped! I hope it all adjusts and I adjust soon.

But with my friend Wes Hayden on the TV show The Bachelorette, I was thinking about the phenonmenon of reality TV.  Remember the time when if you knew anyone that had really been on TV, you thought you knew a star? I can count now a bunch of folks that I’ve seen on TV now (beyond the random parade news story interview or friends that were newscasters):

1. WES HAYDEN on The Bachelorette.  This one took my by surprise, I had no idea he was going to do this show. Wes is a Texas musician I’ve known for years now because of the radio station. I last visited with him at Hill’s last summer about his latest album. He is really playing a featured role on the Bachelorette at this point, and I have no idea if he “gets the girl.” I think he can actually do better. She is Canadian. I think he’d be better off with a nice Texas girl that doesn’t think “country” music is Martina McBride.

2.  KRAMER on Wife Swap. My astrologer friend Kramer was on Wife Swap just a few weeks ago. He was not a “swapper” or “swappee,” but was on an episode with a family West Texas where he came in to give the rancher husband a reading at the request of the hippie woman from North Carolina. Short appearance, but an appearance nonetheless and he came off looking very good, not weird (like the hippie woman) at all.

3.  NATALIE WOOD on that Dallas Cowboys cheerleader show that was on CMT.  Natalie and I met at Asleep at the Wheel shows and struck up a friendship. Strikingly beautiful, I was not surprised that she went out for the Cowboys team. She became a cheerleader and was on this show two seasons. I think the second season she actually got cut, but she is having a baby (had by now?). I was not a fan of how they treated the women on that show, but then again, those women signed up for it!

4. WILL on American Idol. Now my mind is blanking and I can’t think of Will’s last name. Will is my friend Anne Hudson’s baby brother and he was just 16 on American Idol a few years back. He was eliminated before the Top 12, but I think he did make the group that went out on tour. I’m sure it was better in the long run for him to not become the Idol at that age and at that point. He is still pursuing his singing career.

5. WILL BIGHAM on that ScreenTest show (was that what it was called) where they had filmmakers isolated and they were making movies every single week. The whole show was kind of cheesy and it only was on that one season. But Will is the son of family friends of mine. I know his Dad and Mom and his grandparents and have known them my whole life.  Will actually WON the whole thing and is now working for the Spielberg people at Dreamworks. The whole writer’s strike came along just after he won, so that seemed to delay things. I need to check up and see how his career is going.

I know when I was thinking of this I had a few more friends and acquaintances that were on reality shows, so there will have to be a Part II to this one.

May 20, 2009

Poodie Locke

Filed under: Austin,Music — Janice @ 1:05 am


Austin had a string of deaths…   Poodie Locke, Willie’s tour manager and owner of Poodie’s Hilltop Grill, and Bud Shrake, the famed sportswriter and author and companion of Ann Richards, and Stephen Bruton, musician, producer, and actor.

 

Of the three, I only knew Pooder personally. I don’t know when I actually met Poodie or where. I probably was around him when I was 18 and met Willie the first time, though I don’t remember that. I got to know him these last few years at Willie’s picnic out at Spicewood and when he would come with Willie to the station and when I would go to his club out on the hilltop.

I admired Poodie because he didn’t just let things lie. If he had a problem with you, he’d let you know. That’s a quality I am just not good at. I either avoid you or give you the passive/aggressive treatment if I’m mad at you. I don’t get angry, I don’t tell you what’s wrong.  Poodie heard I was mad at him one time and he called me on it. I won’t go into the details of the story, but when he saw me he said, “I’ve got a bone to pick with you.” He told me what he had heard and I told him why I was mad and he defended himself to a degree that I understood and got over it. I’m glad he did. I would hate to be holding a grudge against someone that I couldn’t patch it up with anymore.

 

I don’t know how Poodie managed to make everyone feel special and taken care of when his job was to take care of Willie.  I remember a concert at the Backyard where I was just there to “introduce” Willie (really you only get to introduce the fact that coming up will be Willie, you don’t get to introduce him and have him walk on and shake your hand,… now THAT would be cool). I did my thing and then Poodie pulled me over and gave me a seat on stage right, right behind dear Mona, where I was about 10 feet from Bobby’s fingers on the 88s. He also gave me a handful of the Willie “Kiss Big Booty Good Bye” guitar picks and some of his barbecue sauce. He was very generous. I usually paid the cover charge at his club, but if he was ever close by the door when I got there, he pulled me on in and didn’t let me pay.

 

I haven’t seen Poodie in a long time, at least as long as I’ve been out of radio and longer. I hadn’t really thought about him in a while, but certainly expected there would be another time somewhere along the way.

May 18, 2009

Taking the Hint

Filed under: At home,Radio stuff — Janice @ 9:27 pm

I know how to take a hint.

When Brandt was a baby, maybe 6 or 8 months old, I remember rocking him and singing the title song of the musical “Oklahoma.” Brandt solemnly looked up into my eyes and then reached up and held my lips shut. I got the point.

Now my cat is doing the same thing. I bought a piece of audio equipment so I can do some recording at home. It has to be “fine tuned” so I’ve been practicing some commercials and adjusting the knobs trying to make it sound right. So I am ANNOUNCING and talking very loudly in here in my office. I did this the other day and Nathan Jr. came through the house meowing LOUDLY and marched right in here. The thing is, Nathan Jr. is not a talking cat. Wilburt is the talking cat and his voices his thoughts quite frequently. Nathan Jr. rarely meows, but, man, he was coming through the house sounding like an alley cat in heat. He came in, jumped up on the desk and began biting my arms. Biting is another thing he just doesn’t do.

Tonight I was giving it another try and ANNOUNCING in my office. Here came Nathan Jr. meowing and he once again was nipping on my arms. This time as I played it back it was peaking and way too loud and there was bad feedback, too. Nathan was down around my feet biting on my ankles. I get the message. The cats will have to be confined to the porch for the next attempt at recording.

May 15, 2009

Mother’s Day

Filed under: Family,Music — Janice @ 2:01 am

I had thought about writing a post on Mother’s Day about my wonderful Mother and the wonderful mother my sister is and about the other mother’s in my family tree that had such an influence on me (even the ones I never knew). But then I got to thinking about my friends’ mothers.

My friend Carol’s mother had a stroke about a month ago in Amarillo and has been in the hospital and rehab trying to regain her abilities and her strength. She’s had another stroke and surgery and setbacks, but the reports are positive, though she won’t be going back to the house she lived in when I knew her. Carol and I were in second grade together. I remember Carol from those days, but she doesn’t remember me. Our mutual memory goes back to seventh grade when we moved back from Colorado to Canyon and I became friends with Carol and her best friend Cassi. They were best friends from toddler times, but they allowed me into their circle. All of my junior high and high school friends had pleasant mothers (well, we never were very fond of Raymond’s mom, honestly), but Mrs. Green, Carol’s mom, was just the best. Always cheerful, always happy to see us. She was the one that happily let us have parties at her house. She made the first homemade tortillas I ever had. Carol brought those to Spanish class and put the rest of our offerings for “Mexican food day” to shame. Mr. Green died while we were all still in high school and he was only in his 50s. Mrs. Green became a teacher and carried on and stayed just as sweet and loving as ever. Mark got to meet her when I took him back for my 20th high school reunion. Even in their short meeting, he understood what I meant when I raved about Mrs. Green and what a sweet woman she was. I hope she is well soon.

In elementary school in Colorado, Jane was my best friend. I wasn’t HER best friend, she had June, but she was mine. She lived on our street, but a long way down the block (it seemed that way at the time) and across a busy street.  Her house was on my walk to school, so we usually walked home together at least. Mrs. Wohr was a nice Mom. We spent a lot of time at Jane’s house because it was on the way home AND because she had a big basement, a place we could be sent. I think I had more meals at Jane’s house than she ever had at mine. Mrs. Wohr served dinner at 5 p.m. every day. I had never heard of such a concept. In our house, we had dinner sometime after Daddy got home from work and when it was ready. I’m sure it usually hovered around 6 p.m., but at the Wohr house, Mr. Wohr got home from making airplanes at 4, I think, and dinner was at 5 p.m. And they drank milk at dinner, too, a foreign concept to a Texas raised on iced tea for all non-breakfast meals. But all of that doesn’t really describe Mrs. Wohr. She was funny and laughed a lot and would tease and joke with me and Jane and Jane’s sisters Ellen and Julie. I saw her again sometime within the last 20 years and though she was greyer and older, she was exactly the same. No Jane is the one that seems exactly like her mother was in my childhood memory.
In college, Sandy’s mother was the sweet “other mother” I looked up to. She was in her 40s when she and Mr. Gore adopted Sandy, so they were older than my parents. But she had the energy of someone half of her age and I don’t know how she did all of the things she did. Sandy and I would drive down from West Texas State (WT) to Vera, Texas, Sandy’s hometown–nothing more than a gas station and a few houses between Benjamin and Seymour–and visit on the weekends. Mrs. Gore made fabulous HUGE loaves of bread and there was always plenty of them. She made pickles and canned things. I don’t know how she had the time to do all that she did. She was probably also the first woman I ever saw drink a beer AT HOME! What a novel concept. I thought that was pretty cool. Mrs Gore went with me and Sandy and our friend Connie on a big long 2 week road trip to California when we were 19. Of course there would have been no road trip if there had been no Mrs. Gore (at least not for Janice). But Mrs. Gore, though a steady, guiding force, was still cool enough to let us do most of the things we would have done on a road trip alone, just maybe more safely. Has it really been more than 20 years since Mrs. Gore died of cancer? That doesn’t seem possible at all since her memory is still just as lively as she was.

After college, living on my own, I teamed up with Beth and became roommates. Now her mother was different from any other mother I ever knew in my life. Mrs. Butler was nutty and funny and interesting and easy to talk to. Before I met her, Beth would regale her co-workers with stories about her mother that just seemed hard to believe. It sounded like her mother never cooked meals or did the motherly kind of things. Beth didn’t know that mashed potatoes was something you could make with a potato, she thought it only came from a box. Eventually I met Mr. and Mrs. Butler and observed the interesting dynamic in that household. I think it was the Yankee in them that made them all argue and laugh and be very loud. Or maybe just because they had had four kids in the family, it was a necessity. Mrs. Butler even came and lived with Beth and me and our other roommates for a couple of weeks when she was mad at Mr. Butler. The rest of us loved having her as a roommate, but Beth was ready for her to go back home, which she did. Mrs. Butler certainly would speak her mind and do things her way. My favorite story of all was when she was dying of cancer, but still capable and able and seemingly “healthy.” She was at a rehab-type facility and was irritated that her son was living in her house, freeloading, and using her car. She asked a friend to drive her to the store one afternoon. He obliged and then she asked him to drive her to her house, she needed to get something. He did and before he knew what had happened, she had jumped in her own car, started it up and darted off! She wasn’t much for a sense of direction, but eventually she made it back to her rehab home, quite victorious to have absconded with her own car so that her son wouldn’t be using it. She died not long after that and as we viewed the body, Beth slipped her mother’s keys into her hands to go with her for her last journey. A fighter until the end, she knew how to take action!

There were lots of other mother’s that I knew along the way, of course. Some mothers that I was glad I grateful I didn’t have to live with. None compared to my own mother, of course. I’ll keep her. I expect Jane and Carol and Sandy and Beth all have good memories of my mother, too. Especially Sandy, since she spent more time at our house than any of the others. I hope you had a good Mother’s Day honoring your mother and the other mothers that shaped who you are.

May 13, 2009

Worst Funeral Ever?

Filed under: Uncategorized — Janice @ 11:56 pm


(This typeface is different because I wrote this and then pasted it in, rather than writing it here where it MAKES me use their typeface. Better? Worse?)

I went to a funeral last weekend. The brother of our best man died. I didn’t know him well, but he sounds like a wonderful man and a good friend. He had been in a car accident at the age of 19 and had been a quadriplegic for 34 years, but he beat the odds and was able to drive a car, take care of himself, and live a full life until cancer took him at 52.

 

I have been to a lot of funerals in my life. I believe I go to more funerals than the average person. I’ve been to some bad funerals. But this, sadly, will go down in my mind as the worst funeral I’ve ever been to.

Not the first part of it, though. An Irish priest from the hospital was the “master of ceremonies” and had been Russ’s chaplain at the hospital and I realized that this was the same chaplain that had been there for my dad two years ago. I had never met him, but Mackie and mother had talked about the cute Irish priest. After the service, I thought, I will go introduce myself and thank him for ministering to my dad.

 

Mark’s best friend and best man, Les, eulogized his brother Russ and did a beautiful job. Many other friends and loved ones and a nurse from the hospital all got up to say great things about Russ. The four other “boys” that had been with Russ the night of his accident and had all also been injured were there and one spoke about their lifelong friendship. I got a good feel for the kind of man Russ was.

 

When all the stories had been told in 45 minutes or so, the priest asked Les in an aside if he could have about five minutes to wrap things up. Certainly, said Les. The little Irish priest then proceeded to preach for 45 minutes. And it was the most disjointed, unrelatable, all-over-the-map, sermon I have ever heard in my life. He quoted songs, he quoted scripture, he told anecdotes, he warned us not to have regrets and then quickly backed up and said, “I’m not saying Russ had regrets, I’m just saying that you shouldn’t have regrets…” He told stories of his life, stories of his ministry, stories that made him look important, or that’s what it seemed to be trying to convey. He told us to send cards to Russ’s parents. He told us to bring food by and visit Russ’s parents. He told us to be kind to dogs (maybe I hallucinated that part, I was drifting in and out by now). I was not just bored with this sermon, I was angry. Angry that he would take this platform and preach to a captive audience. When he started talking about the rapture and Jesus coming again, I wanted to jump to my feet and shout, “Jesus, come take me now!!” And when he started to talk about the end of time and how the establishment of a state of Israel is a sign of end times, I was close to walking out the door.

 

He said, “Finally…” and “In closing…” a couple of times before he ever got near a conclusion, because something else would pop in his head and it had to come out. Finally, well, still not finally, he said a long prayer. Surely, it was almost over. No, he went on from there. And then, THEN, he said thank you for coming and ended… and stepped around from the microphone and talked some more. Meanwhile, thunder and lightning were crackling all around and I was praying for an electricity failure to put a stop to this or even for a tornado to take the roof off the place. Anything to make it stop.

 

When he did stop, I jumped up and got to the lobby in record time. Mark and his mother were close behind, but I believe they got caught a little in the stampede of everyone else that was breaking free and trying to escape. I certainly did not, at this point, want to go introduce myself to the priest; I might have been there all evening, too.

 

I know the priest had the best of intentions. I expect he doesn’t get to preach very often and didn’t quite know what to do with the opportunity. But now I am worrying about all the sick people that he may be subjecting to long captive sermons each and every day at that hospital. At least they have a “nurse call” button they can use, hopefully, to end it.

May 11, 2009

The Bonnie Raitt Show

Filed under: Music — Janice @ 10:09 pm

My friend Denise is very sick at home and needs my blog for reading material (I flatter myself– Truly she is too sick to sit up and read). But Denise had invited me to the Bonnie Raitt concert along with some other friends. The tickets were her birthday present from lovely people that know how to give a gift! The tickets were dead center, 15 rows back, directly even with the stage and with a great line-of-sight at the Bass Performing Arts Center on the UT campus. Poor Denise ended up being too sick to go to the show last night, so I want to write about it so she will know what she missed and so I can thank her for giving me the opportunity!

I’ve never been a big Bonnie Raitt fan and have never seen her. I had her big album in the 80s that was so popular.  I probably haven’t been too interested in seeing her these last 17 years because Mark’s ex-wife was a big fan so that turned Mark into an anti-fan.

But, it was really an amazing show and I’m glad I experienced it. Paul Thorn was the opening act. I’ve seen him before and got to know him a little bit on our cruise in January. I was really looking forward to seeing him in a setting with a great audience for a full show. He truly delivered. I love the artists that are clever and funny between songs (Ray Wylie Hubbard, Hayes Carll, and Jack Ingram are masters). Paul Thorn is of that class, plus his deep Mississippi accent makes it all the more interesting. Between two songs he said (in that accent and very slowly): “Perhaps your girlfriend just left you and you are considering putting an end to your life. Perhaps this next song will give you the confidence and fortitude you need to carry through with your plan.” His big finale, The Mission Temple Fireworks Stand had the audience on their feet and cheering for an encore (which you just don’t get with an opener, sadly). A huge crowd followed him to the lobby for the intermission to buy his CD. I hope all of those people become aware that we have him booked to play at the Shady Grove in August. I will love that show too!

The Bonnie Raitt show was unlike any other Bonnie Raitt show, I expect. Her former guitar player and long-time friend, Austin’s Stephen Bruton, had passed away the day before of cancer. There was no doubt it was going to be a hard show for her, but I think it was also cathartic.  If she had had a show scheduled in Detroit or New York or L.A. she probably would have acknowledged his death and talked about  him and many of her fans would know him, but in Austin, there were so many people in the audience that knew Stephen well, not just from his days in her band, but from all of his other projects that made him a part of Austin life.

She walked out on stage and talked about Stephen before she played a note. Throughout the night she mentioned him almost between every song, mentioning that he was in the video for this song, or how he would always stand on stage and crack her up. It was a very moving tribute without being too sad about it all.  She also acknowledged Poodie Locke’s death and sent her best wishes to his family.

Her show was a lot like the Bruce Springsteen concert I wrote about. Although I only knew the three big radio hits that I had played in my adult contemporary radio days, the musicianship of the band and her voice made it all incredibly entertaining. She also sang Angel From Montgomery, which I guess is a staple of her road show, but I had never heard her sing it. It seems like all female artists attempt that song, but she really had a nice way of singing it effortlessly.

I’ve learned a lot about sound and production and the way instruments should sound since I’ve been working “in the business” and since marrying Mark.  The sound on this show was excellent. Never too loud, but loud enough to let you hear every note. Her voice (and the processing equipment that they used) made it sound just like a CD or the radio (well, except better, of course) and I was surprised how good her voice sounded, since it always has seemed raspy when I’ve seen her on TV.

She was also joined by special guests.  Johnny Nicholas (I think!) came out and played harmonica with her and shared a memory of Stephen Bruton. I don’t know him, but I hear that he is a piano player. Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds also came out and played with her.

Her encore was “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and another song and then a couple of songs with both of the harmonica players joining her on stage. I thought it may have gone one song too long, but she spent almost two solid hours on stage entertaining. She doesn’t dance or fly or any of the things that seem to be a requirement of so many artists anymore, but she put on a beautiful show.

Despite the rule against photos, I did take one, but I was not an idiot that uses flash. This was during the encore with the harmonica players. You can’t really see any of the people onstage, but check out the beautiful background. It was a very cool cloth background gathered in big irregular swoops. With the lights shining in different ways, it really created some different moods. The lighting of the show was one thing I would have changed. People complained at the Bruce Springsteen concert about the bright lights that kept surprising the audience by suddenly shooting right in their eyes. It must be the trendy thing to do because Bonnie’s did that often too. I know they like to be able to see the audience in front of them sometime and this did that, but I had to look away from the stage every time those bright headlights were suddenly in my face. You kind of get an idea on the lights from this picture, too.

Bonnie Raitt Show

I have talked to Denise tonight and she thinks she actually might live. I’m very glad because she has been too sick since last Wednesday. I will write a LOT this week, I promise.

May 1, 2009

Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses

Filed under: At home,Family,Music — Janice @ 12:11 am

I feel like one of those horses.

My inclination is to go put my feet up and veg and watch TV, but I will write a short post rather than a few emails.

We just had the biggest show we had ever had at the Shady Grove. My goodness, it was a crowd. We had Doug Moreland as the opening act at 7 pm and Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses at 8.  We’ve had lots of shows where we have to stop the influx of people and let one in only when one leaves. We’ve done that during the show several times. This time, we went to one-in-one-out at 730 pm. Unbelievable crowd. I think the KGSR listeners that don’t pay attention to music outside of their KGSR listening were quite surprised that he had such a following. There was definitely a huge amount of people that didn’t hear about this show on KGSR.  I guess it was a good show. I’d like to give the song-by-song play-by-play, but I was working the door and the parking lot and I didn’t WANT to get into that crush of sweaty people. Hayes Carll and Joe Ely got on stage with Ryan for a song and I think Johnny Burke (formerly of the Dedringers) may have also, but I didn’t see it.  I had some people complaining bitterly to me about the crowd. I wanted to tell them, Hey, you want me to book my accordion trio? That will give you a small crowd. In Austin, Texas, people want their music comfortable, casual, AND free. Sometimes you have to sacrifice something for the others.

But, for comfortable and casual and pretty close to free, the Republic Square Solar Powered Concerts got underway last night with Emory Quinn, Joe Ely, and Charlie Robison (with Bruce showing up too). It was everything you think a “concert in the park” should be. VERY casual, everyone spread out with their blankets with plenty of room to roam and get a taco. It was a good vibe.

I went by Hill’s Cafe to see how things were going there. Big crowd, most of the same behind-the-scenes crowd so I enjoyed the familiar faces. My friend Marsha chose not to book that series this year, so I don’t “have” to be there this year, which is nice. I still didn’t leave as early as I planned last night because I kept finding one more old friend to catch up with. That is a good problem to have.

Well, until I came home. I’m still working and training on this new job. It is possible to do their work a little later if I need to do something in the early evening. Which sound good until I get home and see the work that needs to be done. It can be a lot or a little, it all depends on the doctors. The doctors were quite busy yesterday and I ended up working until past 3 in the morning. That is NOT something I want to do very often. I don’t mind being awake at 3 in the morning, but working at a keyboard while my eyes are swimming is not the easiest way to make a living. And so far, it isn’t quite paying off either. I’m hoping that will come along soon.

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