Last Thursday one of my colleagues from work invited me to join him at the Roanoke Community Center for an evening of music. I imagined that it was going to be an open mike, but what I saw when I arrived was an interesting variation on that theme. Two mikes stood in the middle of the stage with a horseshoe of musicians facing them. In the horseshoe there were about half a dozen guitarists, two fiddle players, a banjo player, a mandolin player, a steel player, a bass player, a couple of harmonicas, and a row of female vocalists waiting their turn to sing on the front row of the audience. Over the course of the night, each musician had the opportunity to take the mike and lead the band.
The majority of the musicians and audience members were seventy-years old or older, and the music they played tended to be from the late-30s to the early 60s. There were Bob Wills songs with twin fiddles, Hank Williams covers, gospel tunes, and even a memorable version of "Deep Elem Blues." The musicians showed a versatility that Texas musicians are known for, the ability to move seamlessly among genres while still maintaining a common thread. For example, one person would lead a Baptist standard, and the next would play a honkytonk rambler, and no one even blinked.
Many of these musicians have been playing together on Thursday evenings for twenty years. It was clear that they could anticipate one another's cues, and the singer would call on a guitarist or fiddle player to solo like the King of Western Swing used to do. For me, it was a step back in time, the opportunity to hear and understand the Texas music of yore.
I did not take any pictures or record any songs, but I would like to share the link to a 1930s version of "Deep Elem Blues" that somewhat captures the feel of this Thursday night band.
