By Mark Kneubuhl
Special to LIVE!
June 30, 2007

If you mow lawns for a living, the rain has been good for business, but if you’re a touring musician on the country music circuit, it can present some real roadblocks.

Apparently that’s what happened to Drew Kennedy, who was scheduled to play at Blaine’s Pub (10 W. Harris St., San Angelo, Texas), last Thursday night. Fortunately, San Angelo has its own pickers and players, one group of which, gladly filled in.

But Darren Morrison and his band are so much more than the – ‘Hey guys, what’s-his-name didn’t show-up, call Darren’, sort of band. They’ve got good original tunes, two CDs, the My Space thing and a sound that’s more than worthy of the circuit.

The sound is no accident either: Bass player, Jimmy Shanks and Tony Blair (yes, his name really is Tony Blair), steadily orchestrate the tempo, while Darren on guitar, Slim Jim Rose (harp) and real-deal musician, John Talley (keyboard), unselfishly share the spotlight, displaying their musical prowess.

LIVE! had a ‘word on the run’ with Slim Jim just after his pre-show ritual of downing some electrolytes and a quick visit to the restroom. “I gotta work hard to keep up with him … Darren doesn’t know how to take a break,” he said.

Many of today’s Texas country bands have become homogenized with steady rhythms, then the break-out lead riff and occasional drum solo. The songs are all-to-often about finishing off a bottle of tequila, runnin’ down the road, being heartbroken from a love gone south, or I got to get back to my country home… sort of thing.

Morrison’s music is refreshingly more, with hints of the Almond Brothers, Waylon, Arlo Guthrie and even B.B. King, all rolled into one. And occasionally, during some of John’s piano riffs, there is a dash of Herbie Hancock, showcasing his love of Jazz and degree of control over the ivories. (He also plays in a jazz quartet.)

Besides the music, they’re also fun to watch. There’s a relaxed-cohesiveness in their play. We at LIVE! don’t use that clichéd adjective ‘tight’ anymore, so we’ll call the Darren Morrison Band, ‘skin-tight!’ How’s that?

His latest CD, self-titled, is a pleasant mix of all things Morrison. “What’ll I Do,” was admittedly written with Willie in mind and if you close your eyes, you can even see the braids and the headband.

“Pretending I Don’t Mind”, a duet sung with wife, Codi Zane, will give even the toughest of cowboys a severe case of chicken skin. Morrison says it’s one of his favorite songs, with his wife’s “angelic soprano juxtaposed and my out-of-tune, out-of-time, vocals “stylings”.

 

There she goes,
with her new man.
I’ll just stand here in the shadows.
Holding hands, gazing deep into each others eyes,
that was me not too long ago.
And this small town is getting’ smaller by the glass,
she’s my days my nights and my dreams,
and yet you have to ask.
Doesn’t both me to see her out tonight,
I guess I’ve gotten pretty good,
at pretending I don’t mind…

 

Something else that sets Darren Morrison aside from the run-of-the-mill country band, where the rigors of the road often show in the performance, Morrison and company are live and full of energy. Darren’s broad, never ending smile comes from the heart, where to him, playing music is as much fun as a roller coaster ride ia to the kiddies.

“I play music because it seems to make me a little less crazy than when I don’t,” said Morrison. But perhaps the desire to create and tell his side of life’s often cruel story, are all part of that craziness?

“Old Friend” was written for his father, who after years of battling depression had ended his life.

The new CD runs the gauntlet of emotions, from honky-tonk, to the campfire-style, over the boarder ballad, “Rosita,” to songs of the absurd, like “Circus Song:” A true story about his friend Rex, “that old midget-lover,” and his life with the carnival and his family in Arkansas.

“They had some troubles and trials, Morrison said, “but he assured me that they always got into the circus for free.”

If you like good musical company with some variety, one of the best deals in town is the Darren Morrison Band.