Mary Jane Farmer, Scene In Town — This article first appeared in Buddy Magazine, September 2016 issue.

Growing up in Whitewright, Texas, The Time Jumpers’ and Nashville studio fiddler Larry Franklin said the only music he heard was fiddle music and it was just natural he was hit with the music bug.

Larry is the great-nephew of Major Franklin and son of Louis Franklin, both world fiddle champions. “And it was not just my dad and uncle,” he said, “most of the better Texas-style fiddler players were friends and got together on weekends for jam sessions and fiddle contests. Until I started going to school, the only music I heard was the fiddle and what I heard in church. We kids would just play all day and all night as they played fiddle and gradually some of us began picking up the fiddle.”

It was Bob Wills who “kind of generated all this interest in fiddle, and my dad’s generation enjoyed that the most.” He said there wasn’t any bluegrass in the area at that time, and so western swing it was for all of them.

Once he was in school, Larry said, his classmates “gradually found out I was a fiddler and went to contests, and saw articles in newspapers and magazines. Then, I played at a PTA meeting. The other kids weren’t sure what to think about it, and I didn’t realize nobody else even knew what a fiddle was. It was a cool way to grow up.”

As one of three fiddlers in The Time Jumpers, Larry keeps his Texas style and western swing fiddle roots alive. It sort of began for Larry when he moved to Austin, and played guitar and fiddle in Cooder Brown, which he described as typical rock n roll and blues band. Then, he established his own band, again playing guitar and fiddle. But the break came when he signed on with the premier western swing band, Asleep At The Wheel, where he only took his fiddle out of the case. “I honed in on that style of music, once I figured out what they were doing.”

But, Nashville called, and Larry answered the call. “When I moved to Nashville, I became a recording (studio) musician, so I had to be versatile. There wasn’t much swing music to be recorded, and some artists wanted bluegrass and some southern rock — whatever the style of the day was.” He’s played with Ray Price and Mel Tillis, twin fiddled around with Johnny Gimble. He played on Miranda Lambert’s CD, Platinum; and the whole band, The Time Jumpers, have had a strong part of Willie Nelson’s latest CD project, as yet completed, which is a tribute to the late Ray Price.

Larry said he has no idea how many recording projects he’s been included in. “It would be nice to know. I was real busy for a long time, during the 1990s and for the first five or six years into 2000. We were making records every day. Everybody was doing well, during that time. It changed a lot, though. I now have a small home studio and I can record here for people. A lot of musicians do that now.”

One project The Time Jumpers have been really busy on lately is the recording of their latest CD, “Kid Sister,” with songs honoring Dawn Sears, their female vocalist who passed away in 2014 from lung cancer. The title song and another, “I Miss You,” are tributes to Mrs. Sears. Then, it jumps right back into swing mode with “San Antonio Rose.” Then, there’s the “This Heartache,” written by Kenny Sears, and other songs pay homage to the band’s late member. “We did our best to honor her, and she sings on a couple of songs in this album,” said Larry. “Kid Sister” is available now on iTunes. Franklin said they hope to have the entire project completed and printed before they play the Bob Wills Fiddle Festival in Greenville. It will be

available on Rounder Records.

Larry joined The Time Jumpers in May 2010. “The reason I remember it so well… the date that I was supposed to start was the weekend we had the big flood in Nashville. I thought, ‘I don’t know if God’s trying to tell me something here, but it gives me one more week to get ready.’” he said, tongue-in-cheek.

“Now I am back to playing Texas swing, again with three fiddles. I had never been in a band with other fiddlers . Now I play with two others. (Kenny Sears and Joe Spivey.)

“The Time Jumpers brings me back to my roots, brings me back home again,” said the Whitewright native, who added that he’s now spent 25 years in Nashville.

The Time Jumpers, led by Kenny Sears and fronted by Vince Gill and “Ranger Doug” Green, (the Idol of American Youth when with his other group, Riders In The Sky) will be playing, again at this year’s Bob Wills Fiddle Festival in Greenville on Saturday, October 8, along with another Western Swing Band, The Tulsa Playboys. That whole Greenville weekend

will have fiddles sounding out from every proverbial corner, what with other swing bands playing including Asleep At The Wheels, The Cherokee Maidens, and the fiddle contest going on Friday and Saturday.

Playing alongside Vince Gill and Ranger Doug will be Brad Albin on bass, Paul Franklin (no kin to Larry) on steel, Andy Reese on guitar, Jeff Taylor on accordion, and Billy Thomas on drums. Oh, and the three fiddlers — Joe Spivey, Kenny Sears, and Larry Franklin.

“The Franklin limb of the family tree is kind of going away,” Larry contemplated. He’s close to his nephew, Jason Andrew, who still lives in Whitewright and who still plays fiddle. “But I don’t get back here near as often as I’d like.”

The Time Jumpers play about 25 or 30 road shows each year, spicing that up with the almost-always Monday nights at the Nashville venue, 3^rd & Lindsley. So many of the 10 members are in other bands with other schedules as well. “Everybody is happy with that,” Larry added. “And any show in Texas is a highlight for me.”

The Time Jumpers will be playing at the Greenville Municipal Auditorium, with showtime for them and the co-billed The Western Flyers, at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, October 8. For more information on this show, go online to ShowtimeAtTheGMA.com and for all of the Bob Wills Fiddle Festival weekend to GreenvilleChamber.com

For more information on The Time Jumpers, go to their Website, TheTimeJumpers.com

After a day of closing out the guitar and songwriting schools, two performers took to the Threadgill Stage. Eric Schwartz from Los Angeles and Steve James (blues guitar school instructor) from Seattle.

For the night’s photos, click here

 

For the last four years, on the near-eve of the Larry Joe Taylor Texas Music Festival, a winner has been chosen from the LJT Songwriter Showcase to play the festival. John D. Hale from Jackson, Missouri, took the crown this year, but his competition gave him a run for it.

Just a little background on the Showcase: There are four weeks of preliminary rounds and two semi-final rounds. Taylor has the option of choosing a wildcard artist, or to use The Voice terms — a come-back artist. One of those two semi-final rounds consists of second-place winners and is called the runner-up round. The winner of that round moves on to the finale, which pits him against all of the first-place winners.

This year, there were 130 applicants who wanted to partake in the Showcase, only 24 made it into the contest. And, Taylor says at the beginning of every Showcase event, “As far as I’m concerned, all of these guys and girls that are here have already won and they can do whatever they want to in the music business as long as they want to. They’ll just have to work their @$$es off.”

͟Week One determined Kaitlyn Butts as the first place winner and Randall King took second. Both of these artists are young, innovative and fresh. Butts, an Oklahoma City native, has recently taken the scene by surprise with her electric vocals. She recently released an EP produced by Mike McClure. King, from Amarillo, Texas, (but calls Lubbock his home base) is an up-and-coming young George Strait. His vocals captivate the audience with hints of old-country greats. He is also a sound guitar player, though not your typical chicken picker. He can actually play the guitar and at the same time couples his instrumental abilities with a strong body of work. Randall had this to say about his experience in the Showcase, “The showcase has been a humbling experience from the git-go. I have learned a lot

about myself as a musician and as an entertainer. For a kid from the Panhandle, this has been an eye opening and unforgettable experience that I will carry with me as my career moves forward.”

Week Two featured the now-champion John D. Hale as the first place winner and Buffalo Ruckus in second place.

John has great poise and presence while on the stage, is also a fantastic guitar player and is ultimately a singer songwriter. As an entertainer he is able to involve the crowd with dashes of humor and hints of seriousness.

Buffalo Ruckus, duo, which hails from Denton, brought intensity and sweet, yet crushing, sound to T-Birds Garage Pub when they were on stage. The duo is made up of Jason Lovell (lead vocals and rhythm guitar) and Brad Haefner (lead guitar and mandolin). Lovell, a native of Leesburg, Georgia, (now a Texan by choice) brought his memories of his home state to the

watchful listeners in the crowd. In a review of their self-titled album and released in the late summer of 2014, Mary Jane Farmer (writer with Scene In Town and Buddy Magazine) said that “Lovell’s vocals and signature southern Georgia phrasing add dimension not heard on other Texas music CDs.” She is correct. If ever there was to be such a band that covets a sound that can match or be close to the Allman Brothers Band mixed with Pure Prairie League and some new age Texas Country, Buffalo Ruckus would be it.

The Showcase’s third week had James Cook as the first place holder and Jackie Darlene as the second place winner.

Cook, native to Wichita Falls, Texas, and winner of the Rattle Magazine Singer/Songwriter Competition, was powerful and energetic on the stage with his trusty side kick Stephen Wright on the fiddle. Both of them did a great job at projecting the tone of the story that Cook orchestrated. While giving it all to the crowd, they played together beautifully.

When I asked Cook about how he felt during the drive down for the showcase, he responded with, “You get a chance to go and meet a lot of other great musicians at these types of events, but I did not

know that this would have so many great musicians in one spot. The talent that came on the stage was top notch from the beginning to the end. This was an awesome event to be a part of.”

Jackie Darlene, from Waco, Texas, is one of only a handful of new up-and-coming female artists that will shock-and-awe the masses in the years to come. As long as she takes care of her precious vocal abilities, she will probably be seen and heard a lot in the years to come. For now, though, at the Showcase, when she played, she played like every song was her last. Jackie was able to hold and carry notes in her music that was so powerful that it gave the listeners chills. But, like most of the artists who played this Showcase, her feelings prior to being on stage were, “I felt so nervous before I got on the stage to play my set. I was very emotional and I feel that my emotions transpired in such a way on stage that the crowd began to feel what I was feeling. It was a humbling and yet eye-opening experience.”

The fourth and final preliminary round had singers with a wide range of interesting, yet powerful, sets. Kensie Coppin of Austin, Texas, took first and Buck Fuffalo, a Stephenville, Texas, native, took second.

When Coppin took the stage, she had a calm, but strong demeanor about her. She was confident in what she was projecting to the crowd, yet comfortable enough with her old-school style of vocals to entertain the crowd. From a young age, Coppin knew that being a professional musician was in her cards for her future.

“When I was eight years old, I finally got up the courage to tell my parents that this is what I wanted to do with my life. Thankfully, they have been there for me from day one.”

Buck Fuffalo brought intensity to T-Birds that to most would seem unconventional. With songs titled “Fluffing Funky Buck Fuffalo Party” and “Howling at the Moon,” one can imagine the types of hilarity and yet sincerity that Buck Fuffalo gives to the crowd in a youthful yet eye-popping delivery style. Buck said it best, “I know I’m an OK musician, but first and foremost, I’m an entertainer. I am there specifically to tell a story, get my point across, and if the crowd is laughing at my jokes and listening to my song, that’s a big win for me.”

The fifth week of the showcase hosted the second-place finishers, to duke it out for a spot to play in the grand finale only a week away. Buffalo Ruckus, Jackie Darlene, Randal King, Cody Jasper (who was Taylor’s chosen wild card) and Buck Fuffalo were on the docket for the silent judges to debate amongst themselves who would earn that opportunity to play in the Final round. Unlike most

showcase runner-up rounds in the past though, the judges couldn’t put their finger on one artist that showed them what it takes to move on and possibly win the next round. So for the first time in Larry Joe Taylor Showcase history Jackie Darlene and Randall King were selected as the co-winners of the runner-up round.

The final round consisted of six artists for the first time in Showcase history: Kaitlyn Butts, Randall King, James Cook, Jackie Darlene, John D. Hale, and Kensie Coppin. Sadly though, Jackie Darlene was unable to compete because she had lost that chilling voice.

In the end, John D. Hale won the marbles. His excellent presence and poise while on the stage coupled with his singer/songwriter style helped him secure his victory.

John D. said about winning the Showcase, “I’m excited. I didn’t know what to expect. Really, you know, it’s one of them things I jumped into and didn’t know what would be the outcome of it. There were a lot of great songwriters. I’m just happy to have had the chance to be a part of it.”

Pretty humble words for a young man from the state of Missouri who in recent years has started to make waves in the Texas music scene. Though, he was able to write from his heart and soul, his true craft came from his ability to visually tell a story through his vocals and excellent instrumental showmanship. Every note that he hit or played had a purpose to the song he was playing. Out of all of the competitors, Hale showed consistency in his abilities as a songwriter and good control in his presentation to the watchful eyes of those who were listening. When asked for a word or phrase that best described his experience throughout the showcase process and ultimately his victory, Hale responded simply by saying his entire experience was pretty humbling. He then went on to say, “I didn’t expect to come in and win you know. It’s like I said it, it’s not my personality. It puts a lot of faith and years and years of writing songs ,and then you finally make it happen. And that’s what it takes and one crowd at a time is fine by me.”

John D. Hale is the fourth of the LJT Singer/Songwriter Showcase, sharing honors with past winners. Luke Wade, Dalton Domino, and Parker McCollum.

John D. Hale will play at the LJT Texas Music Festival on Saturday, April 23.