So on the day of Kent Finlay's annual 29th birthday, a long awaited track is being made public! This is Jamie Lin Wilson, Randy Rogers and the Hill Country Choir doing my favorite Kent Finlay song "They Call It The Hill Country". They recorded this last year at the Cheatham Street Woodshed studio and it turned out FANTASTIC!
ENJOY!
Shining a light on the live music culture in New Braunfels and beyond.
Showing posts with label kent finlay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kent finlay. Show all posts
Kent Finlay memory from Texas Music TV
Shiner Beer Artist of the Day - Kent Finlay
Kent Finlay opened the doors of Cheatham Street Warehouse in June of 1974 as a music hall, to develop, perpetuate and promote Texas music in its most natural state - the honky-tonk. During the last three decades, Kent has earned quite a track record for developing new writers and artists, and we are proud of the wealth of talent that has walked through the door and up onto the stage of this rustic old building. Those were the days -- "Ladies Free" and nickle beer. George Strait and Ace in the Hole Band played their first 50 or 60 gigs on this very stage. "Little" Charlie Sexton and his younger brother, Will opened every Tuesday night for a very young Stevie Vaughan - even before he started billing his name with the "Ray". In the middle... Lucky Cheatham Street veterans remember lots of Texas summer nights - filled with magic and music - Jerry Jeff Walker and Willie Nelson, Flaco Jiménez and Marcia Ball, Doug Sahm and Augie Meyer, Gatemouth Brown and Eric Johnson... the list goes on forever. We're proud to consider Alvin Crow and Joe Bob's Bar and Grill, Omar and the Howlers and Asleep at the Wheel, B. W. Stevenson, Lou Ann Barton and Guy Clark and Billy Joe Shaver and The Skunks, and the Killer Bees and Greezy Wheels all a part of the Cheatham Street Family. Kent continues to develop, promote and publish promising new writers and musical talents. He takes pride in opening the doors to give talent like Adam Carroll, Randy Rogers Band, Shelley King and a host of other new artists a place to grow and be nurtured before appreciative audiences. All the while, Kent carefully maintains the intimate setting that keeps veteran road warriors like Rusty Wier and Ray Wylie Hubbard, Monte Montgomery and Ray Benson’s Asleep At The Wheel coming back for more... and the list goes on and on and on.
From Kent Finlay
That beautiful building with all the soul and the great sound now belongs to THE CHEATHAM STREET MUSIC FOUNDATION 501(3)(c) -- and it is the primary job of the "foundation" is to carry on the music tradition into forever. In addition to developing bands, musicians and songwriters, we are archiving music and collection music items of interest. If you should have old photos or posters stuck somewhere in a drawer, we would appreciate it greatly if you would send them to us so that they can last forever. And of course, we always need money as we continue to refurbish the "Warehouse." If you should be willing to help out from time to time with a tax-free donation, you can send it to: The CHEATHAM STREET MUSIC FOUNDATION 501(3)(c) -- Attn: Sage Allen -- 119 CHEATHAM STREET -- SAN MARCOS, TX -- 78666 -- (All donations greatly appreciated. We are currently trying to raise enough money for a much needed new roof.)
And since some of you have been remembering some of those great JOE ELY shows from the past, I must say that JOE ELY will be back on December 12 for another incredible concert! You probably might want to get your tickets in advance. www.cheathamstreet.com
Here's the original post on Facebook...
Shiner Beer Artist of the Day - Kent FinlayKent Finlay opened the doors of Cheatham Street Warehouse in June of 1974...
Posted by Texas Music TV on Tuesday, November 25, 2014
George Strait at Cheatham Street?
Did George Strait make a surprise appearance at Cheatham Street Warehouse?
by Cody Oxley
For the past couple of years, Randy Rogers has held acoustic performances at Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos, TX every month or two. Each time, he invites a special guest or two to join him. The shows always sell-out. The guest is almost always a secret until showtime, and the list includes Hayes Carll, Kyle Park, Sunny Sweeney, and an exhaustive list of artists you likely love.
On October 13, 2015, Randy took the stage again. Cheatham is special for Randy. It's where the Randy Rogers Band had its first gigs. Cheatham is also special to other noteworthy artists. Stevie Ray Vaughan once held down a Tuesday night residency, and some say he still makes a random spiritual appearance at the hallowed old warehouse. George Strait and the Ace in the Hole Band started at Cheatham as Southwest Texas students, and band members current and former are often in the audience.
Cheatham Street Warehouse lost its founder, Kent Finlay, to cancer earlier this year. He was not just a music venue owner. He was a songwriter and a mentor to many up and coming songwriters, Rogers included. It must be a bittersweet return each time Rogers takes the stage knowing that though Kent no longer watches from his stool at the end of the bar, Mr. Finlay definitely watches from somewhere over the stage.
Continue reading...
Kent Finlay: Celebrated and remembered
| Monday: | Blue Healer, Haley Cole and Court Nance performed plus the whole place broke into "I'll Fly Away" |
| Tuesday: | Tessy Lou & The Shotgun Stars, Lucas Eason, Sean Makra & Scott Feigh performed plus Jamie Wilson recorded "They Call It The Hill Country" in the Woodshed studio |
| Wednesday: | Many groups recorded as a choir to use in the last couple of choruses on "They Call It The Hill Country" the Jamie recorded on Tuesday. The Wednesday night Kent Finlay's Songwriters Circle turned into a night of tribute to Kent as many songwriters sang one song each in rememberance. |
| Thursday: | Jamie Wilson & Courtney Patton, HalleyAnna Finlay & Kathleen O'Keefe and Ashley Monical performed |
| Friday: | Foscoe Jones + Daniel Driver and friends are performing, and rumor has it some folks that graduated from the Kent Finlay school of life with honors may be there as well. |
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| An impromptu gathering of musicians who frequent Cheatham Street Warehouse perform “I’ll Fly Away” in memory of Kent Finlay. Monday, March 2, 2015 |
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| Musicians gather on stage to perform “They Call It The Hill Country” in memory of Kent Finlay. Monday, March 2, 2015 |
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| A large gathering of songwriters assemble at Cheatham Street Warehouse on Wednesday night to each play one original song in memory of Kent Finlay. Wed, March 4, 2015 |
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| Engineer Russell Tanner prepares to record one of many groups of friends, family, and fellow songwriters in the chorus of Kent Finlay’s most recognized work, “They Call It The Hill Country” Wed, March 4, 2015 |
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| Kent Finlay’s son Sterling Finlay listens as in-house studio engineer Russell Tanner sings an original song for Kent Finlay, his employer of nearly a decade. Wednesday, March 4, 2015 |
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| With his father’s bandana at his feet young Sterling Finlay takes the helm of his father Kent Finlay’s renowned Wednesday night songwriter gathering, leading three generations of Texas songwriters in an emotional chorus of “They Call It The Hill Country.” Wed March 4, 2015 |
Charlie Stout's videos of Kent Finlay
So not only is Charlie Stout a very talented songwriter and photographer who has an eye for beauty and the ability to turn a phrase; Charlie also had the foresight to immortalize Kent Finlay on his YouTube channel. Charlie has several video that he captured last year of Kent Finlay on his own stage at Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos, TX delivering songs, poetry or just talking about his personal history. I absolutely LOVE these videos and can't thank Charlie enough for doing this...
"Meet Kent Finlay"
"The Songwriter" (spoken poem)
"They Call It The Hill Country"
"Ride Em Cowboy"
"I'll Sing You a Story"
"Hanging My Hat"
"Comfort"
"Don't Judge My Songs By How They Sell"
Thank you Kent...
Thank you Charlie...
"Meet Kent Finlay"
"The Songwriter" (spoken poem)
"They Call It The Hill Country"
"Ride Em Cowboy"
"I'll Sing You a Story"
"Hanging My Hat"
"Comfort"
"Don't Judge My Songs By How They Sell"
Thank you Kent...
Thank you Charlie...
Kent Finlay: "The Songwriter"
Thanks Charlie Stout for posting this! Here's some epic poetry from an epic Texas songwriter. (I'll stop saying "epic" now)...
We miss you Kent, I'm sorry I never took the time to come meet you in person...
We miss you Kent, I'm sorry I never took the time to come meet you in person...
Kent Finlay: The Man, The Music and The Van
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| Photo by Jamie Maldonado, San Marcos Mercury |
On Monday, February 9, 2015, I stepped inside Cheatham Street Warehouse for the first time in over 4 years to see my friend Dennis Jay play an acoustic set at Cheatham Street owner Kent Finlay's annual 29th birthday. One note about the night, Kent was not on hand because of ongoing medical issues related to a long battle with cancer, but he was watching a video feed. The place hadn't changed much, from what I hear it never really has. I truly love Cheatham Street, Kent Finlay and everything that this place stands for, but sadly I don't have a ton of free time to venture over to San Marcos to catch shows, visit Kent's Wednesday songwriter circle or watch Dustin Welch work with veterans on Monday evenings teaching them to play guitar and write songs, or any of the other incredibly cool things they have going on over there. It's sad but true, when I have the time to catch a live show, I typically stay in New Braunfels since we have so many choices within our city limits on any day of the week or weekend. Cheatham Street Warehouse has one thing however, that New Braunfels does not, it has Kent Finlay. Kent has been supporting and helping songwriters of all skill levels at his warehouse on the tracks since 1974. There were times when Kent wasn't around because of other responsibilities including his own band "High Cotton Express", but for the largest part of the last 40 years Kent Finlay has been nurturing young talent and helping launch careers.
One of the earliest and possibly most impressive careers that started at Cheatham Street, was when a young George Strait auditioned to fill an open lead singer position in a band called "Stoney Ridge" that was playing weekly at Cheatham Street back in 1975. Needless to say he got the job, and they debuted as "Ace In The Hole Band" on October 13, 1975 where they continued to play regular Wednesday nights at Cheatham Street Warehouse for nearly two years until the crowds that came to see them would no longer fit in the building. In 1977 Kent and George loaded up in the yellow Dodge van pictured above (click photo to see more) and headed to Nashville to record a demo, and the rest they say is history.
Other notable artists that cut (or sharpened) their teeth at Cheatham Street Warehouse with guidance from Kent Finlay include Stevie Ray Vaughan, James McMurtry, Hal Ketchum, Al Barlow, Will Sexton, Charlie Sexton, Justin Trevino, John Arthur Martinez, Todd Snider, Terri Hendrix, Randy Rogers and many, many more!
I am linking to some sites below. One is a Q&A with Kent around the time of his birthday in 2013 by Brad Rollins of the San Marcos Mercury; it's a GREAT resource for lots of trivia about the history of the songwriting in the Texas Hill Country which of course has spread like wildfire into New Braunfels and left behind a wonderful community that embraces live music and supports and nurtures a growing songwriter population, and it hasn't stopped growing. The other is the "history" page on Cheatham Street Warehouse's website. They both have lots of great history on Kent, Cheatham Street and many of the careers he launched.
I leave you with this... Support live music, support the songwriters and go see them and quietly listen to them play their songs. You never know who might be the next Dean Dillon or even the next George Strait.
links:
- Q&A: Kent Finlay on the birth of San Marcos Music by Brad Rollins, San Marcos Mercury.
- Cheatham Street Warehouse: History
- "Kent Finlay, Dreamer" - autobiography by Jenni Finlay & Brian T. Atkinson
- A little about Kent's medical struggles, which are still ongoing to this day
- Photos of the yellow Dodge van
picker-uppers of the van photos:
- CMT.com
- TheBOOT.com
- CountryMusicNation.com
- Houston Chronicle (chron.com)
#PRAYFORKENT
Artist Spotlight: Sons of Fathers
Sons of Fathers will perform at Ray Wylie Hubbard's Grit 'n Groove Festival on April 6, 2013 at Whitewater Amphitheater in New Braunfels, TX. Click here for more details.
Some things were just meant to be.
Nearly three years ago David Beck and Paul Cauthen were up and coming singer/songwriters. Both frequently attended the school of Finlay (Cheatham Street Warehouse) where many rising and seasoned musicians have found a welcoming home for anybody with musical talent and/or a heart for songwriting. There may have been a bit of a competitive spirit between the two early on, but after discovering they had some musical chemistry and together made a good songwriting machine; they traveled with HalleyAnna Finlay to New York to sit in on some song swaps. It was here that the decision was made they needed to form a new band so there would be an outlet for the music they had been writing together.
In the spring of 2011 they spent three weeks at The Zone recording studio in Dripping Springs and let highly respected producer Lloyd Maines help the guys organize the material into an album that had a natural flow to it, and he put his magic touch on the project which has a history of taking something already very good and making it great. Aside from the time in the studio the band was traveling and playing gigs anywhere they could get them under the name Beck and Cauthen. They were starting to generate some buzz because of the strong songwriting and the unique sound they had with smooth harmonies and well thought out instrumentation. With a bit of name recognition and a first run of a thousand copies of the completed new album "Sons of Fathers" (by Beck and Cauthen, of which I happen to have a copy), they got a cease and desist letter from the artist Beck because of the confusion the name could cause. Of Beck's material; the song "Loser" floats to the top. Not wanting to cause too big of a stir, the guys complied with the order and ended up choosing the name of the band's new album "Sons of Fathers" so they could carry on. A second run of albums with the new name and a few changes to t-shirts, the website and social media and the band had a new name and a new energy to go take the world by storm and tour to promote and sell a new album.
Having never stopped writing songs while maintaining a busy touring schedule; it wasn't long before the guys were starting to think about putting together a second album. The first single the band decided to drop on the masses in the summer of 2012 through a free download from the website or through social media; was "Burning Days" under the proposed album title "Big Diamond Waltz". The band eventually took a big collection of songs back to their trusty friend Lloyd Maines who was able to again massage it into a singular, flowing piece of art. Names were kicked around for awhile such as "Roots and Vines" which was the second song released as a single and it was a possibility, but the band finally decided "Burning Days" was the most fitting title for the album.
"Burning Days" was a better fit than a lot of people know. Since the official release of freshman album "Sons of Fathers"; they have never slowed their touring and songwriting pace. When they weren't touring (which is expensive) they were writing songs and when they weren't writing songs they were touring. All this time on the road left the young band without a permanent residence, so they did the best they could when they were back home in Austin/San Marcos, but they were essentially homeless during this period. You have to travel to get your name and music out to the people. Traveling is expensive. You understand the vicious cycle!
The new album is scheduled to officially release on April 2nd which is just four days short of Ray Wylie Hubbard's Grit 'n Groove Festival at Whitewater Amphitheater in New Braunfels, TX. Sons of Fathers is a well-deserved part of this highly distinguished line up. The band's now much higher name recognition and growing legion of fans have pulled them into a state where they can finally get profitable. That's good news for fans like me, because it means a band I've liked from the beginning and highly respect is finally going to be able to hit their stride and enjoy some of the success that they've earned. I'm quite certain they won't slow down though!
Here's some bonus material. These are videos I took of them the first time I saw them perform live opening for Robert Earl Keen in August of 2011 at Texas Music Theater. Amazing chemistry even then!
links:
Sons of Fathers website
Sons of Fathers on Facebook
Sons of Fathers on Twitter
Some things were just meant to be.Nearly three years ago David Beck and Paul Cauthen were up and coming singer/songwriters. Both frequently attended the school of Finlay (Cheatham Street Warehouse) where many rising and seasoned musicians have found a welcoming home for anybody with musical talent and/or a heart for songwriting. There may have been a bit of a competitive spirit between the two early on, but after discovering they had some musical chemistry and together made a good songwriting machine; they traveled with HalleyAnna Finlay to New York to sit in on some song swaps. It was here that the decision was made they needed to form a new band so there would be an outlet for the music they had been writing together.
In the spring of 2011 they spent three weeks at The Zone recording studio in Dripping Springs and let highly respected producer Lloyd Maines help the guys organize the material into an album that had a natural flow to it, and he put his magic touch on the project which has a history of taking something already very good and making it great. Aside from the time in the studio the band was traveling and playing gigs anywhere they could get them under the name Beck and Cauthen. They were starting to generate some buzz because of the strong songwriting and the unique sound they had with smooth harmonies and well thought out instrumentation. With a bit of name recognition and a first run of a thousand copies of the completed new album "Sons of Fathers" (by Beck and Cauthen, of which I happen to have a copy), they got a cease and desist letter from the artist Beck because of the confusion the name could cause. Of Beck's material; the song "Loser" floats to the top. Not wanting to cause too big of a stir, the guys complied with the order and ended up choosing the name of the band's new album "Sons of Fathers" so they could carry on. A second run of albums with the new name and a few changes to t-shirts, the website and social media and the band had a new name and a new energy to go take the world by storm and tour to promote and sell a new album.
Having never stopped writing songs while maintaining a busy touring schedule; it wasn't long before the guys were starting to think about putting together a second album. The first single the band decided to drop on the masses in the summer of 2012 through a free download from the website or through social media; was "Burning Days" under the proposed album title "Big Diamond Waltz". The band eventually took a big collection of songs back to their trusty friend Lloyd Maines who was able to again massage it into a singular, flowing piece of art. Names were kicked around for awhile such as "Roots and Vines" which was the second song released as a single and it was a possibility, but the band finally decided "Burning Days" was the most fitting title for the album.
"Burning Days" was a better fit than a lot of people know. Since the official release of freshman album "Sons of Fathers"; they have never slowed their touring and songwriting pace. When they weren't touring (which is expensive) they were writing songs and when they weren't writing songs they were touring. All this time on the road left the young band without a permanent residence, so they did the best they could when they were back home in Austin/San Marcos, but they were essentially homeless during this period. You have to travel to get your name and music out to the people. Traveling is expensive. You understand the vicious cycle!
The new album is scheduled to officially release on April 2nd which is just four days short of Ray Wylie Hubbard's Grit 'n Groove Festival at Whitewater Amphitheater in New Braunfels, TX. Sons of Fathers is a well-deserved part of this highly distinguished line up. The band's now much higher name recognition and growing legion of fans have pulled them into a state where they can finally get profitable. That's good news for fans like me, because it means a band I've liked from the beginning and highly respect is finally going to be able to hit their stride and enjoy some of the success that they've earned. I'm quite certain they won't slow down though!
Here's some bonus material. These are videos I took of them the first time I saw them perform live opening for Robert Earl Keen in August of 2011 at Texas Music Theater. Amazing chemistry even then!
links:
Sons of Fathers website
Sons of Fathers on Facebook
Sons of Fathers on Twitter
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