Each Tuesday night time at The Pigpen in Mahncke Park, about 20 singers and songwriters take the stage to pour out a little bit little bit of their soul.
Whereas the craft of songwriting usually is a solitary endeavor, open mic nights in San Antonio and the Hill Nation are proving grounds for native and visiting writers to return collectively removed from the crowded Austin music scene.
“San Antonio has lengthy had a singer/songwriter tradition,” mentioned John Whipple, a tunesmith and host of TuNesday Evening at The Pigpen. “I want extra individuals in San Antonio knew to be pleased with that.”
Tracing the Roots
It’s a legacy that dates again to the Sixties. In later years, golf equipment close to San Antonio Faculty drew individuals down from Austin, just like the legendary Townes Van Zandt and later up-and-comers comparable to Steve Earle.
Claude Butch Morgan found the Wednesday open mic on the unique Casbeers on Blanco Highway within the Nineties after transferring again to Texas from Tennessee to check out his new songs. In 2003, he was requested to take over internet hosting duties of the showcase.
It featured a reside band backing anybody who needed to play. His 10-year-run as ringmaster to the artistic course of was continued by Whipple, transferring to the Olmos Pharmacy after which to The Pigpen, the place it turned TuNesday.
The artistic course of typically makes a fast transformation to efficiency at The Pigpen, due to the 2-decade-old custom of the San Antonio Tune Saloon. The Monday night time songwriters workshop, as soon as held in individual, is now on Zoom. Completed songs from that night time usually find yourself enjoying on the stage the next night time.
Greater than something, it’s a secure area for creativity.
“We’ve seen so many individuals are available in, they usually’re scared to play,” Whipple mentioned. “The Tuesday night time group turns into a security internet. I don’t know if this may work if it wasn’t for all of the love coming from the viewers.”
Early in his performing profession, songwriter and recording artist Dallas Burrow made common journeys to TuNesday to roll out new materials. He sought to re-create the encouraging ambiance and interplay with music lovers, songwriters and musicians, though he needed a mannequin extra just like the influential Cheatham Road Warehouse in San Marcos, the place energetic listening on songwriters circle nights is essential to the expertise.
Within the spring of 2021, he began The Redbird Listening Room in New Braunfels along with his mom, Carolyn Lehmann, who owned a character-rich constructing subsequent to her graphic design and advertising and marketing enterprise.
When he’s not touring with a brand new album, Burrow will be discovered giving phrases of encouragement to the songwriters, who signal as much as carry out considered one of their originals, a few of them works in progress. Apart from uncommon exceptions (such because the time Burrow requested songwriter and native plumber Patrick Sullivan to share his school voice coaching with an operatic efficiency), all songs throughout the classes are unique. Every night time then closes with Burrow or a visitor host main attendees within the gospel customary “I’ll Fly Away.”
“It helps to have that optimistic voice for songwriters,” Burrow mentioned. It’s consistent with the sports activities psychology idea that “in case you deal with the athletes the way in which they might be, they’re extra prone to turn out to be that participant.”
Songwriter Circles Evolve
That neighborhood is now extending exterior the efficiency area. In March, Burrow invited South Central Texas songwriters and their households to return for a casual music circle round a campfire on the shore of an space lake.
The scene is harking back to the quite a few campfire music circles that pop up every night time after a day of organized performances on stage on the venerable Kerrville Folks Competition.
Songwriter regulars from The Redbird additionally took the expertise to Port Aransas earlier this 12 months and located extra songwriting expertise desirous to play and take heed to others.
A fair larger attain got here this 12 months when the venue turned the brand new location for taping reside exhibits of the Ray Wylie Hubbard-hosted “Roots & Branches of Americana.” The long-running Tuesday night time present airs on 92.1 KNBT and streams at RadioNB.com.
Whereas some attendees are skilled songwriters and performers, simply as many present up at TuNesday, The Redbird, The Screaming Goat in Bulverde and different venues to precise themselves and discover camaraderie.
Alex Lucas performed in an Austin-based band within the Nineties till, at 28, he determined to turn out to be a pharmacist. He rose to the extent of district supervisor for a serious pharmacy chain, however misplaced his job after which his spouse throughout the COVID-19 lockdown. He picked up music once more, this time as a songwriter, to precise the advanced emotional turmoil of that point.
“I had principally put away my music for my profession,” Lucas mentioned.
He drew into himself till the COVID vaccine took the sting off the pandemic. It was then that he discovered the songwriting neighborhood. Now, he doesn’t miss per week at The Redbird.
“Coming right here it felt like dwelling. Songwriting and this neighborhood have modified my life,” he mentioned.
The Northeast San Antonio resident now commutes to a Luling pharmacy for work and hosts his open mic at Rails & Ales subsequent door. He nonetheless returns every week to The Redbird.
“The individuals who come right here pour their souls out,” Lucas mentioned. “We don’t categorical ourselves very effectively in actual life. It’s simpler to play for songwriters.”
Claude Morgan, who nonetheless makes appearances at TuNesday and has a daily gig along with his band at Sancho’s on Thursday, has recorded dozens of his songs over the a long time however normally not earlier than they’ve been performed for others.
“I by no means wrote a music I cared for anybody else to listen to. I wrote it for me,” Morgan mentioned. “If it’s good, then I’ll share it. It raises the waterline to be round different writers. It encourages you to be higher at your craft.”
San Antonio to San Marcos has lengthy been a candy spot for songwriters to assemble, and the variety of locations to assemble has grown in recent times.
“We identical to writing songs in the identical means different individuals get collectively and play golf,” mentioned Joe Tidwell, a songwriter from Boerne who has performed in bars for 30 years and ceaselessly takes the stage with different songwriters at The Screaming Goat.
The place screams “Hill Nation” — with mic stands made from stripped cedar, a disco ball and, in late March, a walk-on efficiency by Sixties College of Texas quarterback and 10-year NFL veteran William Bradley.
The Wednesday night time meetup is helmed by David Lee, a Grammy-nominated songwriter from Nashville who plied his commerce there for 22 years earlier than taking on residence within the Texas Hill Nation in 2015 to put in writing and file.
Tidwell mentioned Lee is sort of a father determine to many younger songwriters, having penned tunes for nation stars comparable to Montgomery Gentry and Lee Ann Womack. The night time is an effective place to workshop songs, and younger songwriters particularly just like the fellowship and suggestions of listeners and seasoned songwriting professionals, he mentioned.
“Austin’s not like this,” Tidwell mentioned. “It’s fairly uncommon, and ego doesn’t get in the way in which of something.”
Preserving the Custom
The San Antonio, Hill Nation and San Marcos songwriting communities have discovered widespread floor in recent times on the Redbird Listening Room, the place donations on songwriter nights, tickets on showcase performances on the 60-seat venue and help from the Cheatham Road Music Basis assist hold the lights on.
The inspiration was fashioned in 2005 to hold on the custom of encouraging songwriters began a long time in the past by Kent Finlay, songwriter and founding father of Cheatham Road Warehouse in 1974. It was a testing floor for seasoned and fledgling artists, lots of whom went on to seek out fame.
The inspiration ultimately purchased the constructing however offered it to Randy Rogers and is now utilizing that cash to help the inspiration efforts.
Songwriter John “Missoula Slim” Gilliam was given his nickname by Finlay quickly after transferring to Texas from Montana and becoming a member of the circle at Cheatham Road 20 years in the past.
“It was like strolling into place and discovering my tribe,” Gilliam mentioned.
He has labored to protect and unfold that tribe for others ever since, together with serving as present president of the Cheatham Road Music Basis. On Wednesdays, you’ll discover him main songwriter night time at Cheatham Road, and he’s a daily performer Thursday nights in New Braunfels at The Redbird.
“All people shuts up and listens. Songwriters love that,” Gilliam mentioned. “Taking part in a room the place individuals are truly listening, that retains you going. These are golden moments.”
That has created some of the numerous songwriter scenes he has encountered on many fronts. After all, there’s a heavy dose of that encompassing style often known as Americana, however there are additionally stripped-down acoustic performances that spotlight lyrics from what might be new nation, pop, rock or different classes when backed by a band.
“It’s an incredible alternative to indicate off new stuff,” Gilliam mentioned. “All of us attempt to help each other. It’s an open neighborhood. It’s not a clique. In the event you can write a music, we wish to hear it.”
The Venues
Cheatham Road Warehouse, 119 Cheatham St., San Marcos, cheathamstreet.com
The Pigpen, 106 Pershing Ave., thepigpensa.com
The Redbird Listening Room, 1260 S Enterprise IH-35, New Braunfels, redbirdlisteningroom.com
The Screaming Goat, 4 Solar Valley Highway, Spring Department, screaminggoatyard.com
Sketching Portraits
Pen and paint seize tunesmiths and guitars
Mark Nelson has met a whole bunch of songwriters over time and commemorated every one with the tip of a pen or swipe of a paint brush.
The 77-year-old New Braunfels resident will be discovered most nights on the time-worn Gruene Corridor within the historic city of the identical identify or on the newer The Redbird Listening Room simply blocks from his dwelling.
A graduate of the Minneapolis Faculty of Arts, he left his dwelling state in 1976 to bike round the US for the nation’s bicentennial, however solely made it — alongside along with his spouse — so far as Texas. His work as a welder had him on South Texas oil rigs, on the crew of Galveston’s historic iron crusing ship Elissa, and a number of other corporations round New Braunfels till his retirement.
By means of all of it, he by no means stopped capturing the individuals round him. For years now, the main focus of most of his sketches and watercolor work are of songwriters and singers.
“I’m hooked on drawing individuals,” Nelson mentioned. “I’m going to the place the fascinating individuals are.”
He has discovered that in songwriters, he mentioned, as his never-idle palms sketched a lawyer on a telephone and laptop computer working within the espresso store. “I actually like drawing huge noses,” he mentioned with fun.
“Lots of people like my watercolors, however I’m actually a pen and ink man,” he mentioned, exhibiting a current drawing of singer Sarah Lee Guthrie, the daughter of the famed songwriter and “Mud Bowl Troubadour” Woody Guthrie.
Throughout live shows, he is ready to extra absolutely seize the singers and band members. A much bigger problem is attempting to seize the essence of a songwriter on open mic nights when he has typically lower than three minutes to seize their essence.
He doesn’t do it for the cash, however many songwriters say they’ve Nelson’s sketches of them framed on their partitions after making a small donation. Extra particulars emerge the longer the author talks concerning the music and the inspiration, typically giving Nelson as much as 5 minutes to finish a portrait sketch.
“If (the musician) is convivial, then I can calm down,” he mentioned.
