Brett Dillon, KHYI, 95.3

Eight musicians brought their top game to contend in Round 3 Week 2 of the Rusty Wier Songwriting Contest on Sunday, (January 27, 2013) at Love and War in Texas (Plano).  The contest in its 3^rd year, hosted by Brett Dillon, KHYI 95.3 was judged by Chris Schlotzhauer, Chip Campbell and Brett Dillon.  Each songwriter performed three original songs.

First up was Byron Dowd with a moving song titled Footsteps.  “You’re dreaming airplanes”, a tale of those who would trade all they’ve known for anything else.  Byron spoke of the camaraderie between the musicians in the competition and the lasting friendships he’s made.

Heath Webb, a southpaw with a left-handed guitar, sang “It’s funny how some flames forever burn”.  A song about how you can’t turn away from the one who’s holding you back titled “Funny How”.

Jake Bays brought his usual energy and humor to the stage with his original song about road rage titled “Number One”.  It’s a clever tune about highway sign language and a positive punctuator with the middle finger.

The lone Okie in the contest, Mark Shelton belted out a brand new original song about a chance at a record deal titled “10 Days to Austin”.  “My life is on the line/My dream hangs in the balance/With my life in ¾ time”.

After a short break the 5^th performer was Matt Dunn.  In his strong husky voice he sang a cautionary tune about taking the wrong path and the price of losing everything.  Matt spoke of the personal nature of the song titled “Six String Dream”.

Cow Town’s own Phil Wallace bemused the audience with his wit and duct taped guitar.  He performed a stirring version of his original song, “Nobody Slowing Me Down” another tune of traveling to Austin looking for his “new sound in the lost and found”.

Tyler Rogers with his smooth and sometimes snarling vocals stilled the crowd with an honest and heartfelt song about the occupational hazards of being a performing musician.  “Neon nights and whiskey dreams/One’s keeping me alive/The other’s killing me” a great new original called “Neon Nights”.

Closing out the night was one of the few female performers in the contest.  Whitney O’Neil, a crowd favorite, interrupted her set to play a request titled “Gypsy Soul”.  “This gypsy soul is a hotel/And no one gets to stay”.

It was again an awesome night of music, fun and friends.  Brett Dillon announced those moving on in the contest from the past two weeks on Thursday.

The contest is being given a break Sunday (Feb.3 ) because of the Super Bowl. The semi-finals will be on the Sundays of Feb. 10 and 17, and the finals at 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24, all at Love & War in Texas (Plano.)  Love & War is at the northeast corner of U.S. 75 and Plano Parkway in Plano.

For photos, click here:

Photos and short review by Mary Jane Farmer  Go to the end of this and click on the link for photos of all performers.

Seven incredible songwriters and musicians hit the Love & War outdoor stage, aka (affectionately known as) “The Rusty Wier Pavillion.” These were: Blake Burrow, Byron Dowd, Phil Wallace, Erica Perry, Tyler Rogers, Big John Mills, and Whitney O’Neil , and these seven were competing not only against each other, but also against those who vyed the previous two weeks. Total scores took those musicians into Round Three.

Round Three, instead of the 14 people expected, will now see 16 musicians, or eight each Sunday, Jan. 20 and 27.  But before telling who those are, here’s a recap of what this past Sunday’s musicians brought to the mic.

Blake Burrow’s songs were about strength and hope (“making memories,” “a gypsy at heart… travelling long.,”) plus one about what he realizes on those days when he looks around and sees God’s work.

Byron Dowd wrote a pretty powerful song called “Footsteps” about the people in Arizona and New Mexico, among his other originals. He also commented about what an honor it is to him to “Be a part of this (contest) in his (Rusty Wier’s) name.”

Phil Wallace displayed a sense of humor on stage, explaining that he got his guitar  at Sears, and “that’s why it’s being held together with duct tape.” Perhaps his heaviest song was about a bartender he met years who had been beat up one night, and he created a story set to music about that.

Erica Perry’s four-song set included one she said she wrote for her husband, before they were married, asking if he could be comfortable with a “Honky Tonk Wife,” and another she had only finished the night before.  “Deep down you know she’s screaming inside.”

Tyler Rogers, a prolific songwriter, too, sang, with emotion in his voice, about homemade wine and another he wrote, prefacing it with “You can’t write a song in Texas without it being about killing people and going to jail.”

Big John Mills also displayed a sense of humor, talking about Rusty and “He’s the reason I quit drinking.” His most serious song was about his sister, whom he lost years earlier, “Somebody took my sunshine away,” then went back to humor with the hook line, “I got the dog, he got you.”

Lastly, Whitney O’Neil’s powerful voice delivered her cleverly penned “Six Strings Attached,” and another about Johnny and June (Cash), and thanked the dancers who got out on the floor during her set.

ROUND THREE

Round Three holds two weeks of music, followed by the final round, all at Love & War in Plano, beginning at 4 p.m. the next three Sundays. Because there are eight musicians each week, instead of the usual seven in the past rounds, musicians will get three songs each, all originals.

Jan. 20 — Those moving on this week are:  Big John Mills, Erica Perry, Greg Schroeder, Grady Yates, Chad Purdom, David Byboth, Scott Copeland, and Town Walsh.

Jan. 27 — Those moving on this week are: Mark Shelton, Whitney O’Neil, Phil Wallace, Jake Bays, Tyler Rogers, Byron Dowd, Heath Webb, and Matt Dunn.

Feb. 3 — This will be the final round, and here each musician must perform one Rusty Wier song along with their originals.

Musicians are competing for a new Kono guitar, an on-air interview with KHYI personality Brett Dillon (also the organizer and judge along with Chip Campbell), a pair of season tickets for 2013 Shiner Sunday concerts at Love & War in Plano, and a few other perks.

Click here for photos of all musicians

Happy birthday, Diana!

Only one more week left in Round Two of the 3^rd Annual Rusty Wier contest, with seven more musicians hoping to go into Round Three.  Sunday, (Jan. 6, 2013) saw the second group of seven on the Love & War in Texas (Plano) stage. Those were (in order of their performances): Town Walsh, David Byboth, Alex Gates, Jake Bays, Guy Forsythe, Bryan Adam Joyner, and Heath Webb. Each of these songwriters had their strengths. Judges were Mark David Manders and Brett Dillon, and the scores the songwriters earned Sunday will be compared with those in the weeks before and after them, with those scoring the highest moving on into Round Three.

Town Walsh opened with a song he wrote from experience, he said, called “My Little Girl,” enunciating each word clearly.

David Byboth proved himself a wordsmith with such lyrics in his songs as “swimming on the surface, drowning on dry land.” In his The Engineer Song, which he wrote for guitar maker Vince Pawless’ father, he, encouraging imagination, asked those in the crowd to close their eyes and “you will see something really good that has happened to you.” In the audience, Dana Penland kept her eyes closed through the whole song, smiling as she listened and sang along.

Alex Gates wrote a prequel, he said, to the classic “Devil Went Down to Georgia,” picked and played his song, then smiled when he said he had “shredded my pick.”

Jake Bays may be the master of alliteration, (ain’t no bars on Mars, no whiskey in the stars) and presented his four songs with humor and pathos, sometimes in the same song.

Greg Schroeder played harmonica along with his guitar work, and sang of “wishing I had somebody  else’s blues,” with a good swing in his voice.

Bryan Adam Joyner opened with his “No. 2 greatest hit — I Don’t Want to Cry Any More,” and moved into another poignant song, not fluffy at all, about his dad

Heath Webb closed out with four of his originals, and brought the afternoon to a great conclusion.

Well, that is, it concluded except for the birthday cake brought out for Diana Love, and the complement of the musicians still there singing her “Happy Birthday,” while Dillon and Walsh held a bar stool still for the spoons player also on stage.

Dillon said, “For musicians like those in this competition to have to have two jobs to make ends meet, that’s B.S… I’m just saying,” speaking about the quality of songwriting and musicianship in the Rusty Wier contest.

The contest picks up again at 4 p.m. Sunday (Jan. 13) at Love & War in Texas, at the northeast corner of U.S. 75 and Plano Parkway in Plano. There is no charge to attend these contests.

For complete set of photos, click here:

Love & War in Texas, just one of their unique decorations

Moving along, the Rusty Wier songwriting contest, third annual, kicked off its Round Two Sunday, (Dec. 30), with the first seven of 21 contestants who advanced from Round One. These were (in alphabetical order) :  Scott Copeland, C.C. Cross, Matt Dunn, Chad Purdom (brother of last year’s second-place winner Brad Purdom), Jake Reeves, Mark Shelton, and Grady Yates.

Each performed four original songs, and these seven are not competing against just each other, but also against the remaining 14 still to sing in Round Two. Judges are Brett Dillon and Chip Campbell.

Round Two continues Sundays (Jan. 5 and Jan. 13) at 4 p.m. each of those Sundays at Love & War in Texas, Plano. The restaurant is at the northeast corner of U.S. 75 and Plano Parkway. There is no cover charge to attend these contests.

For photos all of performers, click here

Tory and Ty Phelps, Love & War owners, watching the Rusty Wier contest

Round One of the 3rd-ever Rusty Wier songwriting contest is over, and 21 people are moving into Round Two. Don’t forget, everybody is taking a Christmas break this upcoming Sunday (Dec. 23) to celebrate the season, but Round Two begins at 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 30, always at Love & War in Texas, Plano.

There were a total of 37 contestants in Round One, with 12 of those singing on the Rusty Wier Stage at L&W Sunday (Dec. 16). Their photos are all available by clicking the link at the bottom of this report. Each sang three original songs.

Opening was Chase Davin Carpenter, with one song about a noisy highway, and then Chase, on another song, got some good audience participation by asking them to sing along at certain times. It worked, everyone had fun with the song. Rick Underwood was second, with a soft croon to his songs about family and love. Thirdly, Scott Copeland stepped up with a deep soulful voice, a good sense of humor, and his original ballads.

Erica Perry, the only chick singer in this round, explained the baclkground to her songs, including why she named one “BLack Widow.” Blake Burrow followed Erica, and introduced one of his songs as having been co-written with her.

Charlie Bishop, who being from Muleshoe, Texas, had the farthest to travel for the contest, got a laugh when he said it was the first time he’d played a Dallas Cowboy halftime show (the Cowboys game was on television in the back of the room throughout the contest.) Charlie’s songs were a sort of blend of ballard and cowboy, including “Palo Duro Canyon.” Phil Wallace played on a guitar obviously well-used by the duct tape holding it together, and Wallace played it well himself. Grady Yates sang of a peaceful river, wanting it to “wash my spirit clean.”

Jake Reeves sang of good vibrations and bad weather.

Mike Schikora had a Cowboys moment during his set too, when the game tied. He stopped, watched the screen himself from the stage, then, when it was over, got another laugh when he said, “Okay, back to me.” Mike’s songs included slow and easy one subjects of gypsies and angels, and such.

Mr. Troll presented ,among his three songs, a ballad with the slow beat of a horse clicking down the road, “fly on, spread your wings, fly on.” (Maybe loosely paraphrased.) Lastly Tyler John hit the stage with words included “poor me, pour me a drink,” and “proud to be a redneck.”

Photos of Week 3 songwriters, click here

Tuesday, host Brett Dillon (KHYI 95.3) announced the names of the 16 who are moving into Round Two. Those chosen had vied on this past Sunday and the two before that, with the scores earned by all three days’ contestants counting toward selection of the Moving-On musicians.

Those moving on are, in alphabetical order, Jake Bays, Big John Mills, Blake Burrow, David Byboth, Scott Copeland, C.C. Cross, Byron Dowd, Matt Dunn, Alex Gates, Bryan Adam Joyner, Whitney O’Neil, Erica Perry, Chad Purdom, Jake Reeves, Tyler Rogers,Greg Schroeder,  Mark Shelton, Phil Wallace, Town Walsh, Heath Webb, and Grady Yates.

These 21 will be assigned one of the three weeks of Round Two to perform, and those names will be released and found on Brett Dillon’s Facebook page, click here.  The contest is being held at Love & War in Texas, Plano, which is on the northeast corner of U.S. 75 and Plano Parkway, in Plano.