Calvin Russell
Rebel Radio
Pedernales Records
by William Michael Smith

While Calvin Russell may look more like one of those poor fellows bumming change on the corner than a Texas singer-songwriter, don't let appearances fool you (given the financial state of the industry, those aren't exactly mutually exclusive anyway). And while Calvin Russell may not have the voice of a pop icon or be getting much radio play in this screwed up world where folks see Faith Hill as country, don't let that fool you either. Based on the Austin native's release on Willie Nelson's Pedernales label and the soulful, thoughtful, realistic, and -- I hate the word, but -- heartfelt performances and songs, Mr. Russell deserves our respect and our strict attention.

No, he's no upstart pretty boy who's been to the best music schools, and the only way he could get into a frat party is if he was driving the beer truck, but for the discriminating listener Calvin Russell is the Very Real Deal. He hasn't had the writing success or the recording success of a Billy Joe Shaver, but Russell is in that class of Texas artist. So, you rightfully ask, why the hell has nobody ever heard of him?

(Photo rt. Calvin and Jon Dee Graham, Berlin, 1995. Courtesy calvinrussell.com) Well, that's a long story and there's no fast instant-mashed-potatoes answer. Those who know the Austin underground know all about Russell, who was born there over 50 years ago. They know that, like many musicians, artists, and singers in the crowded, dog-eat-dog Austin scene, Russell has had more success out of Austin than he's ever found in it. In Russell's case, it may shock readers to learn that he is quite well known in Europe. He has become such an icon in the Euro Americana scene that he is in constant demand for numerous festivals and club appearances, so many that he owns a house outside Paris. (The one in France, you geographically challenged yayhoo!) He also owns a club in Switzerland. No less a musician and Austin scenester than Jon Dee Graham says he made more money as a sideman playing with Russell in Europe than he's ever made in his career. Russell has released a dozen albums in Europe, mostly recorded for Euro labels. In August, Russell played a double bill in Grenoble, France with none other than Johnny Winter. A search of the Internet for Russell information requires more language ability than a United Nations interpreter, with German, Russian, and French proving particularly helpful.

So why isnt' Russell a star in his home state? Well, without getting into it too deeply suffice it to say Russell, who's been playing guitar since he was 12, had a few scrapes with the authorities in his younger days. Like Waylon said, "There ain't no way to get ahead behind those county walls." It is enough to note that Russell's bio reads like a jumbled biography of the lives of Dennis Hopper, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Boxcar Willie.

Leaping ahead to 2002, Willie Nelson's fledgling label has put the big push behind breaking Calvin Russell in Texas with Rebel Radio, Russell's first full American release. To kick off the p.r. push, Austin Mayor Gus Garcia recently declared a "Calvin Russell Day." Not bad for a guy who grew up on a dirt street next to an auto junk yard in North Austin and who was sleeping under a house not too many years ago after returning to Austin from a short winter vacation in the Nuevo Laredo jail.

But Rebel Radio is no oddity, no collection of half-baked material meant to capitalize on Russell's unusual personal story. From the opening notes of "Still Looking For You," Russell's weathered voice projects undeniable sincerity and volumes of hard-knocks knowledge. Produced by Joe Gracey, the album's list of players gives a good indication of the respect Russell has in the community of Austin musicians: Riley Osbourne (keys), Richard Bowden (fiddle), Stephen Bruton (guitar), Lloyd Maines, John Blondell, and Gabe Rhodes. Kimmie Rhodes (Mrs. Gracey) sings with Russell on his cover of her "Wild Roses."

Russell's musical tastes are as big as Texas, a jumble of van Zandtian country-folk, honky tonk, blues, and roots rock. Whatever the style, each track is absolutely anchored by Russell's craggy, rawhide voice. Russell equally mixes oh-so-Austin covers with his own work. Four of Russell's covers -- all but one from essentially the same late '60s era -- struck me as the best versions I had ever heard: Townes van Zandt's "I'll Be Here in the Morning" and the Rolling Stones' "No Expectations" are filled with powerful emotional sincerity, and the rocking cover of Willie Nelson's "I Never Cared For You" is as edgy as a razor stropped on barber's leather. But the stunner is his version of Gillian Welch's "Barroom Girls." I suspect Mr. Russell knows way more about the subject than Ms. Welch.

Russell's own songs are certainly the equal of the well chosen covers. "Nothing Is" has the Zen cowboy qualities of the best of van Zandt or Ray Wylie Hubbard, but it is Russell's lilting, plaintive singalong "Country Boy" that should be a regional hit and make Russell a household name with alt.Texas fans. Russell carefully takes note of the subdivision of the Lone Star state and sums it up pointedly with the deceptively simple line, "What is a country boy for/If there ain't no country anymore?" It doesn't get any more authentically alt.Texas than that. Calvin Russell is the Very Real Deal. Find him. Hear him.

* If you don't speak Russian or German, www.calvinrussell.com or www.freefalls.com/roster/calvin_russell.htm are good places to start learning about Calvin Russell and Rebel Radio.

 
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