Bill Hearne

Photos and notes by Mary Jane Farmer — for many photos, click on the link at the bottom of this page

Bill Hearne has been around since the mid-70s, walking through and enjoying the heyday of the original Texas music revival, aka, the Progressive Country, Redneck Rock, Outlaw music brought to popularity by Hearne and his wife, Bonnie, and peers that include Jerry Jeff Walker, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Willie Nelson, Guy Clark, Billy Joe Shaver, and the ilk.

The story goes that Bill and Bonnie met at Rod Kennedy’s legendary Chequered Flag in Austin. Rod tells it that Bill was on stage and Bonnie in the audience, when she began singing along and harmonizing to Bill’s song. Bill sought her out the break, and the rest is romantic history. That was in the early 70s. Bonnie’s health no longer allows her to travel, so Bill keeps the songs and all they bring to the public alive with solo and sometimes full band sounds.

If you haven’t heard Bill Hearne before, go to his Website, BillHearne.com and treat yourself!

Well, back to the open mic… Bill Hearne was the featured artist, something that Poor David’s Pub owner David Card and the open mic promoter, Mr. Troll, bring to the show pretty often.

This open mic allows each artist 3 songs before a mic and with a sound system many venues attempt to copy, but somehow it just works better in Poor David’s Pub. Sign-ups begin at 7 p.m., This open mic also is about the singers, most of whom are also songwriters. It is usually the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month, somethings, such as Dec.4, which is the 1st Wednesday of December, the open mic is vacated in favor of PDP’s being able to feature a traveling act. On Dec. 4, John Fullbright will be featured, with local Troy Cartwright opening.

This past Wednesday (Nov. 6), saw a baker’s dozen performers on the PDP stage, plus Bill Hearne and  guitarist, Jon Mastin. Those on stage included Alek Veloz, Scott Thornton, Roger Delney, Monk, Tim Spitzer, Megan, Mr. Troll, Baylis Laramore, John Mason, William Hunero, Tony Ramey, Rory Payne, Bryan Adam Joyner, and Mike Schikora. The finale included some other singers and pickers as well. (Sorry if I misspelled some of these — let me know and I’ll fix it.)

Watch Poor David’s Pub Website for a possible new announcement of one more incentive to come to these open miss. And let’s hope Bill Hearne gets back to town in the spring.

For all photos, click here

You get these four Texas musicians on the same stage, at the same time, and the total of their musical experience and the number of musicians with whom they have worked and the results can be staggering — more than 100 years combined. True Texas Troubadours, Shake Russell, his trio members Doug Floyd on mandolin and Mike Roberts on bass, have been joined lately by Michael Hearne and what was a trio of acoustic arrangements and three-part harmonies take on another dimension. Yet, all the while, it remains true to — if a genre you must — Texas/New Mexico Southwest Cowboy Americana Original Folk Country… you get the drift…

The foursome played Saturday night (Aug. 11) at Poor David’s Pub on Lamar Street in downtown Dallas, possibly the best listening room in the area with the best of the best sound systems and the best sound man working it all. It also has Mike on the front door, himself a former touring musician who greets every patron with a demeanor that sets an upbeat tone for the night as they walk in.

Shake emerged on the Texas music scene in the 1970s on the third coast of Texas, about the same time that Michael Hearne was beginning his career in the Dallas area. Both men are songwriters, in addition to their lead vocals and, in Michael’s case, extreme acoustic guitar pickin’. Mike Roberts began touring with bands plus or minus a few years of that, and Doug Floyd has been plucking his mandolin since practically they were invented.

And, in spite of all that past experience, it was one band on stage, not four musicians up there doing their thing. The Shake Russell Trio has been touring together about 9 years, and, Floyd said, they have never even had so much as one argument. Each knows his job both on stage and off. And Hearne, who has been songwriting with Russell for a while now, joined that band Saturday night, having as much fun listening to Floyd on his mandolin as he did harmonizing on Russell’s songs. And when Roberts took a break on his bass, all three men watched and listened in awe, as if they had never heard such pickin’ before.

Poor David’s Pub is bringing another Texas giant in next week, Aug. 17, and that being Kinky Friedman. You can watch the live music calendar here for future gigs there, and also for future Michael Hearne and Shake Russell Trio gigs, including Hearne’s upcoming Barndance/Festival in Taos, N.M. in early September.

For more photos, click here

"Poor" David Card in the center with top 6 B.W.Stevenson finalists

It may be a quickie singer/songwriter contest, compared with several others that can go on for weeks and into months, but the B.W. Stevenson 26th contest by far had its fair share of incredible musicians, great audiences, and judges beyond compare.

Poor David’s Pub hosts the B.W. Stevenson contest teach year. After accepting all the entries, the preliminary judges pick the top 12 to compete in person. That happened, this year, on April 18, at, of course, Poor David’s Pub on Lamar Street in downtown Dallas. Vying for the top honor were, in alphabetical order, Lauren Alexander, Brice Beard, Helene Cronin,  Emily Elbert, Mike Frieley, Robert Grossman, Ben Higginbotham, Steve Jackson, Mikaela Kahn, Butch Morgan, and Nick Verzosa. ( I apologize if I misspelled any of these.) The contestants varied in ages and in styles, making it a well-rounded night of music. Judges that night picked, Beard, Cronin, Ebert, Grossman, Jackson, and Kahn to move on. Alexander was 1st alternative, as a “just in case” somebody couldn’t return the following week, and Butch Morgan actually made the top list, but bowed out because he couldn’t return to compete April 25.

Emily Elbert

That second Wednesday, the night of the finals, each musician showed style and class and talent and personality on stage that had to have made it hard for the judges to come up with a winner. But, when it was said and done, Emily Ebert took the top honor with Brice Beard coming in second. Both will be re-appearing at Poor David’s in the future, opening for a name act, as part of their winnings.

Emily’s most powerful song was one she wrote after studying the great artist, Michael Angelo. Written about his power and passion,  the young singer delivered her tribute to him with her own passion and power.

Emily Elbert photographs, click here

Brice Beard photographs, click here

Helene Cronin photographs, click here

Robert Grossman photographs, click here

Steve Jackson photographs, click here

Mikaela Kahn photographs, click here

Butch Morgan photographs, click here

Ben Higgeinbotham photographs, click here

Mike Frieley photographs, click here

Lauren Alexander photographs, click here

Nick Verzosa photographs, click here

The contest is held annually in April, and is information is on the Website:  PoorDavidsPub.com

David Card has kept this progressive, appreciative venue open now for 35 years, and regularly features a large variety of types of music, not just centering in on one style or another. B.W. (short for Buckwheat) Stevenson was a regular artist there before his untimely death in 1988. B.W. penned “My Maria” which reached No. 9 on the Billboard chart in 1973, and again in 1996, and wrote Three Dog Night’s “Shambala,” also a Billboard chartbuster. Author Jan Reid dubbed Stevenson “The Voice” in his book “the Improbable Rise of Redneck Rock.” Stevenson was 38 years old when he died.

David Card continues to keep B.W.’s name, music, and memory alive, and as such has remained a leader himself in the Texas music-of-all-sorts field.