"Dangerous Angels" came from a Young Writers' Workshop Tom taught at UV, where he boldly stated that all songs are love songs. He was challenged by his students to write a love song based on a news headline, "Barak and the Prophets of Doom," which he tied in with a book called "Dangerous Angels."

"Christmas in the Ashram," written by Chris Rosser, could have been Tom's. His parents moved from India to the U.S. when Tom was small, and he grew up with the two cultures around him, as reflected by the song. 

"Ashes of Love" was inspired by a memorial service for Mitch Snyder where a processional with the ashes somehow turned into a conga line. When he performed it for a Tyler 3rd-grade class, one of the students said, "Mr. Tom,  please don't play any more sad songs." 

Tom's co-write with Tom Kimmel, "See Myself in You," has been recorded by Randy Travis on his "Inspirational Journey" album, and we hope the royalties will help Tom buy a new car to replace the one totaled in an accident in November (we're very glad Tom walked away!)
Tom sang several songs he co-wrote, including "I See the Angels" (Lorin Rowan and Alex Call), "I Begin to See your Face" (Pierce Pettis), "Falling Star" (Michael Lille), "Mrs. Whitney" (Don Conoscenti) and "Everywhere I Go" (Buddy Mondlock). We got to sing along with "Rishi's Garden," "Spit It Out" and even "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," and Tom and Mike reprised their Kerrville serenade "Love Me Tender" to birthday-girl Debbie. 

The concert ended with Tom's unique rendition of "O Holy Night" and  an encore of Don McLean's "Vincent." 

The song circle was long and sweet, with Tom adding some piano. He stuck around the next day to help Cary out with a song she was writing, and the result was stunning. Overall, Tom is quite an artist and quite a human being. Having him here was a blessing. 

Their concert was a joy. They were relaxed and happy, excited about their new lives, and it showed in their performance. The intimacy of a house concert is definitely the best way to see this pair - they let their hair down. 

We were introduced to the wit and wisdom gained through experience with the Nashville machine, a 
 

Although they won't be touring much, they are still writing. In fact we got the first performance of a song that they had just finished that afternoon. "Crying for You" related to an ordeal Theresa's daughter went through with the Texas Syndicate. It's a killer.

It was a great fun evening, and we wish these folks all the best in their new lives. Joe has already arranged for Tom to do a star party in Lajitas over Christmas - what a great sky!

Here are photos of the folks who played, and spoke officially (then there was the song circle). Some of them hadn't been heard from in a while and we thank them for coming back out. The art of all these performers - songwriters, musicians and poets - is important to us and to the world.

Lorin and Doug never fail to present an entertaining show. You want variety? We GOT variety. Classical, jazz, raggae, samba, rock & roll and even straight-up folk, the evening was a mix of Lorin's originals, Doug's cello explorations and interesting covers of both popular and classical tunes.

The second piece of the evening was Doug's - a fascinating cello solo, largely pizzicato, and transforming into "Eleanor Rigby." Introductions to several songs throughout the evening were cello originals. We had a new audience member,

"My Father's Son", cowritten by Lorin and Peter Rowan, was inspired by a comment from their Aunt Barbie: "Your father was a dreamer." This and other songs, including "Winkelman's Farm" and "Rebel Sons,"  were stories of three wild brothers growing up. 

"Where are You Coming From" was cowritten by Lorin and Michael McNevin. "Wallawa Valley" was the story of the Nez Perce, which inspired Tom for the song circle. We all sang along with the Bob-Marley-meets-
Wolfgang-Mozart rendition of "Stir It Up" and with Lorin's "A Little Out of Touch." 

The concert ended with a medley of interesting instrumental renditions of pop tunes and Lorin's "Soldier of the Cross," now the title track of Ricky Skaggs's new album. 

Tom sings lead on Mr. Tanner, with Bill filling in the John Wallace part.

From Linda's hand position, this has to be Sequel.

From love songs to disaster songs, from the popular to the obscure, from the simple melody of "I Want to Learn a Love Song" to the complexity of "Sniper", we tried to cover the range of Harry's songs and provide a picture of his life. Bill even tried out "30,000 Pounds" during the song circle afterwards. 

We had a wonderful audience of new and old Harry fans, and raised $485 for World Hunger Year. Thanks to all who came and sang and enjoyed!

Kat started right off with a bagpipe tune ("The Clumsy Lover by Niel Dickey), played on the guitar, leading into "Love's The Only Word." Kat's guitar work is awesome, making complex Scottish and Irish melodies, mostly written for fiddle, flow smoothly from her fingers. All evening she interspersed traditional fiddle tunes with her songs and the songs of others, including Woody Guthrie's "Pastures of Plenty," a song about dust bowl migrants that  echoes Kat's family history. 

We were treated to three stunning new songs. "Impact" came from a self-defnse class Kat took recently, and deals with the freedom from fear that it has created. Kat highly recommends such classes. "The Letter" poses the question, "If you were magically given the chance, would you go home?" "Snow" is an answer. 

The second set started again with dulcimer tunes, then a request for "Go To the Water," which we sang with. Another new song, "Someday (someone will prove you wrong)" was written to a teenage friend of Kat's who is going through her "Heathcliff" stage, choosing men who are bad for her. 

We giggled and sang along with "The Sloth," a classic from the British comedy team of Flanders and Swan, and enjoyed some other well-chosen cover tunes. The concert ended with "Paper Boats," one of our favorites, and an encore medley of three tunes on the dulcimer. 
Overall the evening was very much enjoyed by the large crowd. Any concert by Kat Eggleston is an experience to treasure. The film crew were very friendly, professional and almost invisible. They even filmed most of the song circle after the show. 

In addition to many favorites from Chris's album Archeology, we were introduced to the "Federico Felini Trilogy" Öwell, two thirds of it anyway, since the last is yet to 

"Feat of Amazing Grace" came from free-associating on the word "polyester" and concerns Chris's hometown of Caser, NC. "Archeology" has been covered by an Arkansas band called Bluegound Undergrass. "Deeper than My Own Name" is about Chris's grandparents from Texas. His grandfather and his brothers were named after Caesar's generals and had a 

Chris introduced us to the dotar, an Indian instrument with 17 strings, in an instrumental piece he classified as "HindoBilly," to go along with the "TurkoBilly" of his song "Dervish" - Eastern music as played by a tall white guy from North Carolina. 

What a great, fun concert! Catch Chris at the Cottonwood Festival.

This concert was all we'd hoped it would be and more. Dave's abashed and engaging style, with his brilliant and inspired lyrics and music, combined with Tracy's broad range of musical abilities and growing presence made for an unforgettable evening. Those of us who are devoted Dave & Tracy fans couldn't have asked for a better one. 

Dave started by announcing that he didn't have any new songs, so if we'd seen him before .... Well, no one left. Turned out he lied. The new ones were even better, if possible, than the ones we'd heard before. 

"The River Where She  Sleeps" and the current radio hit "Crocodile Man" were followed by the first of those new songs, "The Gentle Arms of Eden," written after a long conversation with Tom and me, and chronicling the history of life on earth and religion in four verses and a sing-along chorus. No other songwriter could have done it so well. 

Three chords and the truth, embodied in "Grand Prairie, Texas Homesick Blues" was followed by "The Raven," another unrecorded shamanic dream number featuring Tracy's cool clear voice and violin. They sang songs from the albums, took several requests, and took a break. 

The second set began with a very new song - so new Dave had the lyrics in front of him. I think the name was "Preston Miller," a deep involved tale that ends with a whammy. Next was the traditional 

Signature Sounds artist Trailer Song which, for Dave, became the dark love song "Winter When She Goes." 

A TV rant from Richard Feinman explaining that everything is really waves of light and life, combined with the understanding that grace is given not earned, and the silly things people do to try to earn it, produced "The Mountain," and we all sang along with Tracy on the choruses. "Hey Conductor" picked it up and threw it on, to the anthem conceived by the spirits of Jack Kerouac, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley and adapted by Dave into "Don't Tread On Me." Several requests later, and an encore of Dave's only song that is not a true story, and it was over.

Well, not quite. The song circle was a very good one, with Dave and Tracy sitting in, doing some not-quite-ready songs, and we even coaxed half a song from Tracy - Dave says she has the beginnings of 50 of the best songs he's heard. We're sure he's right. 

The first set was short and included her "Kerrville Song" and several requests, including "Little Red Book" and "Woman at 33". This last has grown since she wrote it, and now extends to 83, maybe even to 103. We had a short break (our first timed one) and moved on to the rest of the show. 

Jana talked about writing songs that are spiritual and inspirational without being religious. With the variety of venues she plays there is some concern about alienating people with religious specifics, so she goes out of her way to be inclusive. She followed that discussion with "I'm Not Lost," and everyone sang along, even the folks who had never heard the song before. 

Tom then annouced from the balcony that Cary Odom's baby, Hannah Katherine, had 

Jana followed up with "Rocked in the Arms of God," a sweet lullabye, and then a story about her first encounter with the Four Bitchin' Babes, where she first met her idol Megan McDonnough who was very pregnant at the time. She was a little goupie-ish then, but The Babes have since recorded one of her songs, so she doesn't feel so much like a 'germ' any more. 

"What Would I Do Today If I Were Brave" led into "If I Had Only Known," perhaps Jana's 

The song circle was large and varied and fun, and included some Dave Carter songs ? a preview for our next show?

They started out with "Big Sky Full of Dumb Stars," the title song from their latest CD and Tom's fave. When you go out west the sky gets pretty big and scarey to a kid. 

They followed with "When the Monsoons Finally Came"  (they live in Arizona) and the silly song "Sticky Thighs"  about wet vs dry heat (but it's 112* dry heat!) 

From pseudo traditional celtic to small towns to physics we were treated to a variety of wonderful and interesting music ? and that was just the first set.

The second started with Happy Birthday to Ginger, who blushed nicely, then launched into a song about a personal mockingbird, accompanied by banjo and accordian. No one left the room, which in itself speaks volumes for the abilities of this melodic duo. 

"Wind in the Willow" tells a tragic but common tale of life in the west. "Wash My Eyes" was 

For encore we got to hear "Down Here," a song Don finished for T.R.Ritchie's 50th birthday some years ago. It's not about him or anything, just finished for his birthday. Don said if it had been about T.R. it would have had cat in it instead of a dog.

The song circle was exceptionally good. John and Dirje Smith got here from a gig in Plano, so we had new songs, and two cellos. Phil brought two ukeleles and joined in, and Cary and Debbie sang some new ones. Paul picked the hard but generally funny ones, and Don and Deb joined in a few times as well. 

They set up their sound system on the stage under the trees, we set out chairs up the hill into the cedar grove to supplement the chairs our audience brought. It was a beautiful afternoon to sit under the trees and listen or dance along with a little folkgrass. 

From Donna's irreverent "Round Barn" to Phil's ballad "Why I Can't Cry" to Kelly's songs based on classic poetry, Still On The Hill gave us the gamut. Donna did most of the lead vocals, mixed with spirited fiddling. Phil sang several songs and switched off between guitar and banjo as needed. Kelly mostly sang backup, but wowed us with his leads on banjo and guitar. John danced with his bass, and gave us a few tunes as well. When he sang "Banjo Clark," the history of the banjo coming to America, Donna shared Kelly's mic for vocal harmonies, on her tiptoes and stretching for it. She said she forgot her platform shoes she usually slips on for that song. 

Jacquie Manning, Rich Prezioso and Darryl Purpose were in the audience for the concert and stayed for the song circle, which we got to do around the campfire. And what a song circle it was. The pros in the group introduced us to songs they weren't ready to put on stage yet, and they were songs that need to get out there. But it was a circle that welcomed amateurs as well, and we all got our turns.

Chris Proctor kicked off our saturday concert. Kate and Anke, who had played at Calvin's the night before, were in the audience, so Chris started with a bouncy piece called "Tap Room," after the only neighborhood bar left in the 'hood they share in Salt Lake City. He followed with "Hot Spot," written but not used for an ad series to get folks to carpool, and "Wargames," about domestic unrest and played with a slide on a 12-string guitar.

She started with the love song  "If I Were," followed by her personal anthem, "I'm Home." "Pilot Light" was born when Anni was trapped in a Comfort Inn in a blizzard, and "Don't Check Out" was written for her father after her mother's death. We got a taste of a work in progress, "Touch Another Life," and of course she couldn't get away without singing "Bill Shephard's Van," the song that won her the Kerrville New Folk a few years ago.

We laughed and cried and sang along.It was a good mix of music, and resulted in a good mix of audience. Everyone heard something they'd never heard before. 

We sang 3-part harmony for "Don'cha Know Tom Noe," a song that only gets played

"Wealth and Consequences" was a song for which James felt he was channelling Michael Smith, and it did have that flavor. "Better Love Than Never" employs the sum total of his French (he is 

Some funny songs, some children's songs and some mystic and philosophical songs. It was quite an enjoyable evening. 

I especially enjoyed his great "The Miners Song", and feel inspired to go back and 

After the show toward the end of the picking circle time, I had to ask Bill if he still did "Ten Ton Molly". It was the first thing I heard on NPR (Tom May's show out of Lincoln) when I rode back

"Ten Ton Molly" is a long and complex poem about a weapons system designer who gets laid off. He goes to say goodbye to his his latest creation, a ten ton battle tank, and ends up taking her out onto the freeway for one last ride. (he spends his time off in jail.) Bill said he would give it his best shot, and it was perfect.

So here's a look at the infamous Bill Staines guitar technique. A right hand guitar played left handed (he needs both pick guards). Those in the audience who tried to steal licks were soon babbling. (I learned years ago to not even try it.)

Linda left for Florida right after the show to help her mom through her second knee replacement (Jim Ross, I know you can relate). If this isn't quite up to her usual standards, it's because I'm on her Mac doing it. She did, however,  set it all up so well that I think even I am going to be able to at least get it out.

This does provide the chance for me to express for myself, Paul, and Linda, a big "Thank You!" to all of you. First of all to 

              Tom

Michael threw us right into it from the start with Byron's song of Kerrville, "I Came to See the Little Girl Dance." It was a sweet reminder of a departed friend. 

He followed that with "Panther in Michigan" and "The Dutchman," and the ball was rolling in earnest. We split our sides for "Famous in France," and actually got to sing along in French ("take that, James Durst.") Then we sang "Tall in the saddle" with "Tom Mix" and "Hallelujah, the honey to the hive" and reminisced to "Gamble's Guitar."

Early involvement in Broadway paid off. Michael wrote and performed the music for "Grapes of Wrath," doing 8 shows a week for a year. This gave him the opportunity to impress his mother by having his picture taken with Gregory Peck, who had come to see the play. It's a story worth hearing...