5-31-09 Sharpsburg, MD

© Joe Ryan

Audio: by d3gourds
Photos: by Joe Ryan / by Ian Glazer / by Cassandra Mullinix (incl. video)

The Gourds
1st Annual Springfest
The Green Hill Farm
5329 Mondell Road
Sharpsburg, MD
5-31-09

01. God's House
02. Country Love
03. All the Way to Jericho
04. Shreveport
05. Right in the Head
06. LGO
07. Red Letter Day
08. New Dues
09. (the new way of) Grievin' & Smokin' > Promised Land (Chuck Berry) > Wabash Cannonball (J.A. Roff) > Grievin' & Smokin'
10. Blood of the Ram
11. Escalade
12. Kicks in the Sun
13. Declineometer
14. Blankets
15. TTT Gas
16. The Hungry Wolf tease (John Doe/Exene Cervenka)
17. Pill Bug Blues
18. Mister Betty
19. Lower 48 > Ohio (Neil Young) * > Lower 48
20. Hey Thurman
21. Dooley (trad.)
22. Burn the Honeysuckle
23. Lookout Joe tease (Neil Young)
24. Plaid Coat
E:
25. Church on Fire **
26. Beat on the Brat (Joey Ramone)
27. My Name is Jorge

28. El Paso ***
29. Waxy's Dargle (trad.)
30. The Tinys Variety Hour (Claude Bernard/Matt Cook/Travis Garaffa)
31. Nuevo Laredo (Doug Sahm)

*Audience provided the only vocals
**Kevin, Jimmy, and Keith only

***Winters version

Note: Related Letter to the Editor can be found here.

Courtesy of www.greenhillfarm.org

Special thanks to Ian Glazer, Cassandra Mullinix, and Joe Ryan for the field reports. I also want to thank Michael Ecker for transferring the audio and Tomski for uploading it to archive.org. If anyone has audio/video/photos from this show, please email TheGourdsNews.

5-30-09 Keswick, VA

© Joe Ryan

Audio: by d3gourds
Photos: by Joe Ryan

The Gourds
Ronald McDonald House of Charlottesville 2009 Gala
Castle Hill Barn
Keswick, VA
5-30-09

01. Country Love
02. Piss & Moan Blues
03. Take Me Back To Tulsa (Bob Wills/Tommy Duncan)
04. Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain (Fred Rose)
05. Spivey
06. Luddite Juice
07. Red Letter Day
08. The Gyroscopic
09. All the Way to Jericho
10. Shreveport
11. How Will U Shine > Every Little Thing She Does is Magic tease (Sting) > How Will U Shine
12. Pair of Goats
13. Blanket Show
14. Blankets
15. Out on the Vine *
16. Kicks in the Sun
17. Steeple Full of Swallows
18. Cracklins > Ramblin' Man (Dickey Betts) > Cracklins
19. Freedom Of Choice tease (Mark Mothersbaugh/Gerald V. Casale)
20. Gin and Juice (Calvin Broadus, et al.) > When I Need You (Albert Hammond/Carole Bayer Sager) > WKRP in Cincinnatti Main Theme (Tom Wells/Hugh Wilson) > Surrender (Rick Nielson) > Gin and Juice

*Loni Anderson got up from her table (where she was sitting with Tim Reid) and introduced herself to the band b/t songs 15 & 16.

Special thanks to Joe Ryan for the field report. If anyone has audio/video/photos from this show, please email TheGourdsNews.

5-29-09 Charlottesville, VA

© Ian Glazer

Audio: by George Heston & Todd
Video: Gin and Juice
Photos: by Ian Glazer

The Gourds
Charlottesville Pavilion
700 East Main St
Charlottesville, VA
5-29-09

Set I

01. All the Way to Jericho
02. Do 4 U *
03. Yoli Find a Opossum
04. Trampled by the Sun
05. Mister Betty
06. Red Letter Day
07. Hey Thurman
08. Web Before You Walk into It
09. Let's Work Together tease (Wilbert Harrison)
10. Pill Bug Blues
11. How Will U Shine
12. Aqualung tease (Ian Anderson/Jennie Franks)
13. The Gyroscopic
14. New Dues
15. O Rings
16. Plaid Coat

Set II

17. Country Love
18. Lower 48
19. Pine Island Bayou
20. Ladies Choice
21. Blanket Show
22. Blankets
23. Luddite Juice
24. Hooky Junk
25. Burn the Honeysuckle
26. All in the Pack > Inchworm (Frank Loesser) > I Fought the Law (Sonny Curtis) > All in the Pack
E:
27. Gin and Juice (Calvin Broadus, et al.) > Cupid (Sam Cooke) > Surrender (Rick Neilson) > I Can See Clearly Now (Johnny Nash) > Gin and Juice

*Portland version

Special thanks to Ian Glazer, RBLAXIN14, George Heston & Todd for the field reports. If anyone has audio/video/photos from this show, please email TheGourdsNews.

Preview 5-29-09 Charlottesville, VA

Video

This week Fridays After Five will headline a band that has toured all across the U.S., but admit they like playing here in Charlottesville best. Based in Austin, Texas, The Gourds will be making the 1400 mile trek, right here to the Charlottesville Pavilion to bring us what they call their "kaleidoscopic country" sound.

Kevin Russell, lead singer and songwriter for The Gourds, says, "One of the few rules that we had when we started was that we wouldn't play within any one genre and that we were going to be genre benders, as it were."

The Gourds have an American roots music sound, taking elements from soul, country, folk, rock & roll, and even Cajun music. Russell says, "We will play all of those styles at any given show. We might play a Black Sabbath song at any given moment, we could play a Hank Williams kind of honky tonk."

It's the kind of music that would serve as the soundtrack to a summertime backyard barbecue. "Like most music, you have to experience it...to really understand what it is."

Russell adds, "You owe it to yourself to come out and bring a friend. And if you hate it, that's fine, but I have a feeling you're gonna walk away with a big smile on your face and with a little twitch in your booty."

Reporter: Myles Henderson
May 28, 2009

Preview 5-29-09 Charlottesville, VA

Makin’ Memories: The Gourds have yet to have their fill

by Stephanie Garcia

10:10 pm May 25th 2009

The Gourds look back at their 15 year career as a “musical scrapbook”. For Austin, Texas-based country rockers The Gourds, looking back at their past 15 years of jamming is akin to leafing through a musical scrapbook– their ascension to a nationally-recognized roots rock band has been full of stumbles and successes. But one thing has yet to change: their desire to impart some meaning into the honky-tonk genre.

“It’s a nice balance we’ve been able to achieve, between simplified progression and more complex melodies, hooks, lyrics,” bassist and vocalist Jimmy Smith says. “Listen to the lyrics and that’s where you get your payoff.”

Maybe you’ve heard their countrified cover of Snoop Dogg’s “Gin and Juice” (which was for some time inaccurately credited as a Phish song– and that Snoop reportedly liked). Or you might have heard their name alongside the likes of the Avett Brothers or the Hackensaw Boys.

The early 2009 release, Haymaker!, indicated a turning point for The Gourds– instead of rocking out to a record full of singles, the album created more of a narrative, with characters and storylines dominating songs. In “Luddite,” the band croons, “I am just a Luddite / Gimme some Luddite juice / Machinery replaced me / They had to cut me loose”– intertwining a catchy country tune with satirical introspection.

“Everyone likes a good story,” Smith explains. “It’s a challenge to actually get something down in a song that won’t bore or be too abstract so that you can’t follow it.”

The Gourds rose from the ashes of a few Texas bands– from punk rockers to songwriting duos, all current members made their way to Austin’s disparate music scene. Vocalist and guitarist Kevin Russell, Smith, accordion player Claude Bernard, and drummer Keith Langford joined forces and started making what is known today as “Gourds music.” Adding in final member Max Johnston as a multi-instrumentalist was what Smith refers to as a “high water mark” in the Gourds scrapbook, and from there, the band began to make waves in the country-rock genre.

But what is “Gourds music”?

“It’s roots rock,” Smith says. “People want a definite answer– I’ll play a country song for you, but there’s a disco song coming after that– so be ready for it.”

The Gourds claim to look to just about everything for lyrical inspiration– from pop culture to high art, food to advertising. “We’re just receptors,” Smith says.

That anything-goes attitude is further highlighted by the wide-range of dedicated fans.

“There are some straight people, some freaky people, everybody responding to the old Willie Nelson anatomy of the 70s,” Smith says. “Where rednecks and hippies set aside their differences and decided they wanted to have a good time and rock out to freaky cosmic music– we nurture that.”

While The Gourds have nine albums in nearly 15 years of existence, their spark is far from fading. After touring non-stop for the past six months, some much-needed downtime is in order to tend to families and song-writing in preparation for a new album– one that promises to continue catering to intelligentsia and rednecks alike.

“The highest water mark is the fact that we’re still together and enjoying ourselves making music,” Smith says. “There’s a lot of music still to be made, and I can’t wait to see what we come up with.”

The Gourds play Fridays After Five on 5/29. Kathryn Caine opens. The show starts at 5:30 pm and admission is free.

5-28-09 Raleigh, NC

Audio: by NCHell

The Gourds
The Berkeley Cafe
217 West Martin St
Raleigh, NC
5-28-09

01. Clear Night
02. Cold Bed
03. All the Way to Jericho
04. New Roommate
05. Fossil Contender
06. Red Letter Day
07. The Gyroscopic
08. Country Love
09. Do 4 U *
10. Tex-Mex Mile
11. New Dues
12. Luddite Juice
13. Valentine
14. TTT Gas
15. Jesus Christ with Signs Following
16. Steeple Full of Swallows
17. Illegal Oyster
18. Pill Bug Blues
19. All in the Pack
E:
20. Rock Salt and Nails (Utah Phillips) **
21. Up On High ***
22. El Paso
23. My Name is Jorge

*Portland version
**Kevin learned this song from Steve Young (K. Russell, personal communication, July 28, 2009)
***Jimmy, Keith, and Max only

Special thanks to NCHell and dschram1 for the field reports. If anyone has audio/video/photos from this show, please email TheGourdsNews.