h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Tom Russell: http://tomrussell.com/index_flash.html

I was as excited as a little girl over the news that Tom Russell was going to be playing in Montreal. I managed to reserve tickets and so it's "Gals' Night Out".

Tom Russell, for those that DON'T know is one of the best narrative singer/songwriters on the planet. He does a lot of western ballads, along the lines of Johnny Cash, Andrew Hardin, and Ian and Sylvia Tyson. He also writes and sings about the America that is drifting out of sight, and has interpreted Charles Bukowski as music (He and Bukowski were friends and a book, "Tough Company", evolved from their correspondence http://tomrussell.com/bukowskichronicle.html ). I suppose that the best way of describing Tom is to that he excells at the American narrative in song.

His influences are Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Bukowski, Hank Williams, Little Jack Horton, amongst others.

Asked about what advice he would give a young songwriter, he said
"All the road dust eventually shakes itself off into a rhyme. It’s the Gnostic process. Everything you bring forth will save you; everything you do not bring forth will destroy you. Young singer-songwriters? Advice? Go get a job in a bar and learn ten Hank Williams songs. Get lost in Mexico. Do your homework. Learn to walk on the ground before you get up on the high wire. Forget about all this bullsh!t about folk alliances, conferences and Songwriting For Dummies books, and magazines and technology.... where has it led us? Has all this bullsh!t created anything better then The Beatles and Dylan and Hank Williams? Hell no. Songwriting is about building on your roots then finding out who you are… and writing down to the blood and bones. You wanna sell out and stand in line with all the other zombies? Well there's buses leaving for Nashville and Austin and Toronto every hour. Get on board little chillen! The promised land? It's the dead f***king the dead… in a vacuum, to quote Bukowski. But then I digress.…"

"It surprises some people to find out that Los Angeles-born Tom Russell taught criminology in Nigeria during the Biafran war and drove a taxi before choosing to seriously pursue songwriting and performing while in his mid 20s. It’s surprising because within a few years, he was co-writing songs like "Navajo Rug" with Ian Tyson while Johnny Cash, Joe Ely and Guy Clark lined up to record his music. And while many fans consider Russell a full-time musician, the man from God also paints, writes books, and makes movies. His artwork adorns his most recent album, this year’s Indians Cowboys Horses Dogs. He now resides on the outskirts of El Paso, Texas when not touring with longtime musical collaborator Andrew Hardin. Fast Forward heard from Russell via e-mail during his recent tour." http://tomrussell.com/DontAsk.html

Some quotes:
"We made a film called "Save the Valley". It was banned. It's basically three rich white guys who bought up the water rights in El Paso to irrigate their golf courses... selling Mexico back to the Mexicans in the form of cracker-box houses. It's the American way. My three acres have become a fox refuge, I may import mountain lions and wolverines.… I do what I can."

"I look forward to Alberta. They respect the song up there.... I can also go by and visit that crotchety old bastard Ian Tyson and maybe co-write a song.... he's one of the last of the greats."

Every year, Tom Russell is involved in a 5-day song-writing workshop called "Tom Russell's Cowboy Train". Tom Russell and other narrative writers (Andrew Hardin, Stephanie Davis, Sourdough Slim, Rosalie Sorrels and Wylie and the Wild West are on the 2006 roster) run workshops and do shows aboard a train. "Five nights total, with three days and nights of music on board the last great long-distance streamline train still operating in North America - Via Rail's CANADIAN from Vancouver to Toronto. Round-robins and evening concerts all day and night with some of the top names in Cowboydom."

"Midnight Cowboys: The 2005 Tom Russell Cowboy Train" article by Peter Culshaw - The Guardian, UK.
http://www.flyingunderradar.com/ (scroll to the bottom and read the article (pdf))

As I say, I'm as excited as a little girl....

Cool. Thanks for sharing.

Sounds like a great guy.

Seriously wish I could be with you there on your 'girl's night out' . . . really seriously . . .


az

The Tom Russell show was fan-freaking-tastic!

Absolutely great. Tom comes across on his CDs as fairly taciturn. However, on stage he is engaging, very funny, and does nothing by rote!

He plays with the songs and doesn't try to make it sound "exactly like listening to a CD". He digresses, makes asides, and often throws in a song to suit the mood or just for the Hell of it. It was a great, great evening.

Andrew Hardin, his back-up guitarist is a master and does a great counter-point to whatever Tom is doing. They play off each other so well.

Of course, Tom is a master-storyteller both in song and in the spoken-word and treated us to some really great stories (real and embellished) about his career and personal life and his freindships with Charles Bukowski and Dave Van Ronk.

Absolutely one of the best shows I have ever been to.

Here is a short video I did at the show. I am still trying to work out why the audio and video aren't in sync. I have uploaded MPEG versions too but am waiting for them to be vetted by TPTB at Google Video. Eventually, I will load up the two songs "Chocolate Cigarettes" and "The Dutchman". Unfortunately, the song that segues from "The Dutchman", "The Road It Gives And The Road It takes Away", was lost when my CF card died. I'd have rather had it.

This is Andrew Hardin who backs Tom Russell and Tomm doing the last bit of "Haley's Comet": http://video.google.com/videoplay?d...77700361207&q=%22haley%27s+comet%22

Andrew does a blistering accoustic in this clip.