Hey, Everybody—Good News! I received a letter from the ASCAP office in Lincoln Center, NYC, and they say that I’ve been awarded an ASCAPLUS endowment by the ASCAP Panel, Popular Music Division. The award recognizes me for my “contribution to American music this past year.” In case any of you haven’t heard of ASCAP, it is The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, which is “a membership association of more than 410,000 U.S. composers, songwriters, lyricists, and music publishers of every kind of music. Through agreements with affiliated international societies, ASCAP also represents hundreds of thousands of music creators worldwide.” What a great feeling to be acknowledged by such an organization for my music!
And it's perfect timing, too, because now I’m in the mood to celebrate, and it just so happens that I’m preparing for a special weekend of music with guest artist, Brian Molnar (of the East Coast band, Brian Molnar & the Broken Hearts). I met Brian when he booked me to play the Avenue A Records showcase at Banjo Jim’s in Greenwich Village on a Friday night last July, and when he told me that he’d be coming to Texas, I was more than happy to host him here in Houston with a line-up of appearances before he travels onward to San Marcos, Austin, and Dallas. His new record, Of the Fall, has been climbing the AMA chart and hit #1 on the Roots 66 chart this week!
First, we’ll be joining radio host, Laura Slavin, on her popular late-night show, Laurapalooza, tonight (Thursday, September 29) at 11:15 CST. You can listen to us live on the air at 90.1 FM if you’re in Houston or online at www.kpft.org no matter where you might be. Then, on Friday (September 30) at 5:30 p.m., Brian will perform live at Cactus music, one of the last independent record stores in the U.S. If you live in Houston and haven’t been to Cactus, it is quite a unique and wonderful experience, and I hope that you’ll drive on over to 2110 Portsmouth Street (near Shepherd and 59 south) to hear Brian on Friday. I’ll be there, too, so don't be a stranger. I’d love to see you!
On Saturday we’ll make our way to one of my favorite places to play, historic Pizzitola’s BBQ, which I’ve written about so often in my newsletters. It is a real step back in time, one of the only restaurants left in Houston that actually feels like you’re in Texas—the brick pit is seventy years old and still firing up that east Texas hickory and cookin' those ribs just right. No wonder the NY Times named it the Best BBQ joint in Houston for 2010. We’ll be hosted at Pizzitola's BBQ by my friend and fellow songwriter, Jimmy Pizzitola, in an intimate, acoustic setting during the lunch hours between noon-2:30 p.m. Check out Pizzitola’s at http://www.pizzitolas.com/, and swing by this real-deal, independently-owned Houston venue on Saturday afternoon (October 1), meet Brian and say hey! You can even bring the little ones to this family-friendly place!
For the grand finale, we’re throwing a hoedown Saturday night (October 1) at The White Swan, an ambient little spot in my old neighborhood just east of downtown near the original Ninfa’s on Navigation. Like Pizzitola’s BBQ, The White Swan is a rare piece of Houston history, a venue that has been in business since 1948, owned by the same family for all those years! I love that they haven’t updated it much—it’s about as close as you’ll get to the feel of an authentic Texas juke joint inside the Loop these days, but with a good sound system and engineer! I’ll take the stage at 9 p.m., followed by Brian at 10, Jimmy at 11, accompanied by the hot young Mason Lankford and his Folk Family Revival, who will be topping it all off at midnight with a house-rocking, high-energy send off as Brian heads west to his next destination, Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos, and the Folk Family Revival prepares to travel to Nashville for a special appearance at the Americana Music Association’s annual trade conference.
I tell you what, this is going to be a lot of fun, so everybody in Houston PLEASE try to make it out to The White Swan Saturday night, and let’s show Brian Molnar a warm Texas welcome (no pun intended!). We really want to fill it up, draw a crowd. It'll be worth your time. An experience you won’t forget. Something off the beaten path. Please forward this email. Bring friends!
Check out The White Swan at . . .
http://whiteswanlive.com/wp1/
Check out the music at . . .
Mason Lankford & The Folk Family Revival: www.folkfamilyrevival.com
Jimmy Pizzitola: www.poetontherun.net
Brian Molnar: www.brianmolnar.com
Glenna Bell: www.glennabell.com
And y’all come!