Chris PetrilliA band I grew up, and man... Ran Benson's voice is just magnificent. And I think the fact that a Jewish kid, from Philadelphia that went to Antioch... became the modern incarnation of Bob Wills... is just perfection.
YouTube
And Asleep at the Wheel a bit more recently... and strange random thing. My HS had Asleep at the Wheel as our prom band. One advantage of growing up in Austin in the 1980s.
Asleep At The Wheel | Route 66 | Live in KUTX
but that reminds me of a modern genius... Molly Tuttle.
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway - El Dorado (Live)
Which somehow leads me to one of the finest living song writers... John Darnielle.
the Mountain Goats - Fresh Tattoo (Official Lyric Video)
And that just makes me think of this wild video...
Stephen Colbert Joins The Mountain Goats To Perform 'This Year'
Our host couldn't resist the urge to hop on stage and collaborate on this performance of his favorite song by The Mountain Goats. Enjoy this once-in-a-lifeti...
Long tall Marcia Ball... Professor Longhair would be proud.
Blues Singer and Pianist Marcia Ball Performs "Louella"
And if you don't know Professor Longhair, you should.
Professor Longhair - Tipitina
Somehow that brings me back to Angela Strehli... with Kim Wilson (Fabulous Thunderbirds) on harmonica, and Jimmie Vaughn (Stevie's big brother) on guitar.
Big Time Playboy -- Angela Strehli at ACL
And ... Justin Townes Eare, Steve Earle's son, named for Townes van Zandt... big shoes.
Gone far too early.
OFFICIAL 2011 Americana Awards - Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues
Then, his dad recorded 10 of Justin's songs as a tribute.
Steve Earle - They Killed John Henry - 1/26/2021 - The Cutting Room - New York NY
Steve's picking reminds me of Tommy Emmanuel, but Tommy is on a whole 'nother planet...
Classical Gas [Mason Williams] | Tommy Emmanuel
But if we're going to talk about picking... we have to talk about Earl Scruggs, and here with Steve Martin, who is actually a damned good banjo player.
Steve Martin & Earl Scruggs - Foggy Mountain Breakdown
If you doubt Steve Martin's talent...if you listen to the first minute and don't recognize talent...
Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
And as a born and raised Austinite and someone who saw him play so many times live, and remember the day he died, and the candle light memorial at Zilker for him...
I was at this recording of ACL. And remember every note by so many deeply talented musicians.
STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN TRIBUTE FULL DVD - CLAPTON - B.B.KING - JIMMIE VAUGHAN AND MORE
And the man himself... his playing was an absolute force of nature. I still remember the first time I saw him, at Antone's. Lying my best to sneak in at 16.
SRV & DT: Live @ Austin City Limits Concert | Famous Guitar Solos 1989
This is a man who turned "Mary Had a Little Lamb" into a 6+ minute blues guitar masterpiece.
SRV & DT: Live @ Austin City Limits Concert | Famous Guitar Solos 1989
And capable of taking a masterpiece by Jimmi Hentrix and making it his own. Not better, but his own.
Stevie Ray Vaughan - Little Wing (07/11/1983)
El Mocambo, Toronto-Canadá(07/11/1983)
And for no reason, metal band Judas Priest, fronted by leather daddy Rob Halford, doing War Pigs.
Judas Priest - War Pigs
But honestly, this cover by T-Pain is the one that shaped how I see an artist more than any other of that song.
T Pain War Pigs
Glyph@petrillic dang. possibly the most underrated artist of my life. that was incredible. (and his latest, "club husband" is good in an extremely different way; he has a crazy amount of range)
@glyph I had dismissed him originally as hiding behind autotune, but once I heard him sing, it was clear that auto-tune was an artistic choice purely.
@petrillic a common mistake. I'm not sure I ever dismissed him for autotune as such, but I certainly didn't take him as seriously as I should have