The first time I booked Kevin Russell to play for us at Threadgill's, it was three years ago for our SXSW coverage on X Country (XM). He came in just as the menu specials were being written on the blackboard and before we started taping his set, he sang down the list of what was being offered that day. It was a long, involved, mouthwatering ad-lib of a riff to be sure. But that's just the kind of guy he is.

Inventive, loose, living in the moment. From MySpace, here is an, um, explanation(?) - we think self penned, "The mysterious quantity lurking in the afterglow of yesterweek. A gamey diamond of a find for any fan of the utmost mystical wooden teapot of song known as American Song Bag. A modern day renegade born of the white rice and rain in the lonely, humid southeast of Texas. Raised by Karankawan Wizards. Awarded the congressional medal of the obtuse in 1967 by then President Lyndon Johnson. Inventor of Frequency Shifter used in the growing of medicinal eggs. Educated at Glory Abounds Academy For Isothermal Static. Professor of Economic Threat Access. Steaming with uncertain attributes only seen in the general population during the Scotch-Irish domination of Western Carolina and Eastern Tennessee. Dangling participle of roots music." Well hell, THAT explains everything!

Though this is a band project, things get fuzzy when you know that Kevin is AKA Shinyribs Russell, and that he is the frontman from The Gourds. With him on stage is Keith Langford's pounding drums, Jeff Brown running on bass, and Winfield Cheek smoking the Yamaha. There is a brand new CD that came out two weeks ago called Well After Awhile, produced by George Reiff, with appearances by Ray Wylie, Mark Rubin, Bukka and Sally Allen, Scrappy Judd, Phoebe Hunt, and Michael Fracasso. And there is a video for you here of a song not on the CD. Ha-ha. If you click on the link for "Bolshevik Sugarcane," it takes you to an interesting place. What does it mean - Orwell anyone?

Kevin sends this out for all the hard work they are doing over at the capitol. Whatever capitol that might be. Remember to take you hands out of your pocket and roll like a rocket, while you groove at the end of the song to a musical lick from the Marvin Gaye tune "Hitchhike," coupled with a vocal piece of R-E-S-P-E-C-T, just a little bit!

-Jessie Scott