{"id":893,"date":"2011-12-03T20:00:35","date_gmt":"2011-12-03T20:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/216.71.127.204\/wordpress\/?p=893"},"modified":"2015-10-13T18:56:07","modified_gmt":"2015-10-13T18:56:07","slug":"david-olney-w-sergio-webb-almost-austin-pasadena-tx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/2011\/12\/03\/david-olney-w-sergio-webb-almost-austin-pasadena-tx\/","title":{"rendered":"David Olney w\/ Sergio Webb – Almost Austin – Pasadena, TX"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
Written by Traci Rogers <\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dec 03, 2011 at 08:00 PM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"Image\"Pasa-get-down-dena native and owner of the refinery town\u2019s Almost Austin House Concerts, Kenny Pipes, graciously invited Houston Music Review to his 80th house concert, featuring Nashville duo David Olney and Mark \u201cSergio\u201d Webb Saturday night.<\/p>\n

A songwriter\u2019s songwriter, David Olney, began performing in the 1960s as a folk singer.\u00a0 Since then, according to his friend and fellow songwriter, Tommy Womack, the \u201cdry-witted and dead serious\u201d Olney \u201cstill retains a loyal following of fans from that era who have grown with him and continue taking the journey with. . .[the] spoken word artist. . . to see where he goes next.\u201d<\/p>\n

Legendary Country-Western\/Americana performers covered Olney\u2019s songs in the mid 1990s such as Emmylou Harris and Steve Earle.\u00a0 Harris recorded \u201cJerusalem Tomorrow\u201d and \u201cDeeper Well\u201d while Earle has covered \u201cSaturday Night Sunday Morning\u201d in live performances.<\/p>\n

In a www.youtube.com<\/span><\/u><\/a> video of a Steve Earle performance that appears to have been shot during the mid 1990s (uploaded to YouTube 3\/30\/08), during Earle\u2019s dragon-chasing phase, he prefaces the \u201cSaturday Night Sunday Morning\u201d tune with, \u201cI got a friend named David\u00a0 Olney. . .he\u2019s one of the best songwriters in the world. . .It\u2019s like one of the most perfect songs I\u2019ve ever heard. . I had run across a song that was so perfectly constructed that it doesn\u2019t have a rhyme in it and I never realized it. . .\u201d<\/p>\n

But the humble Olney tells HMR that he rarely writes the perfect piece. Using his recitation \u201cWomen Across the River\u201d as an example, he explains how a song is never done.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always a door that you didn\u2019t know about in the room that leads to some other place. . .a year or two later, I may go, \u2018Oh, I was supposed to say this, and not the line that I used.\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n

As the die-hard fans whistled and HELL YEAH-ed Saturday night in anticipation of each song the singer introduced, there were a few first-timers to house concerts, like myself, who had no idea of the Olney-Webb gold mine we were tapping open.<\/p>\n

In a darkened room, next to an Almost Austin neon light, the duo set out on \u201cWait Here For the Cops\u201d.\u00a0 The minor keys give the tune an anticipation of a gun-slinging dual from an old western movie.\u00a0 While Olney sang of emotional numbness and loss of passion that comes from having seen too much betrayal and mayhem in a lifetime, the master guitarist from Texas, Sergio Webb, personified the sound of a police siren on one of his many guitars that he brought along for the show.<\/p>\n

First-timer and Bolivian native Edi Cope became emotional during \u201cWait Here For the Cops\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe spoke truth, and I\u2019m for the truth.\u00a0 My interpretation is that my emotions [and] actions are clear, and I have nothing to fear; I have nothing to hide.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t broken any rules or shirked my responsibilities.\u00a0 I would and I will and wait here for the cops.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you write these songs,\u201d Olney said of his listeners\u2019 reactions, \u201cyou just kind of bump into a truth, and it may resonate with someone else. Their experience may be much closer to it.\u00a0 That to me has always been amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Olney is well known among his fans and fellow songwriters for his surprising and original points-of-view lyrics.\u00a0 In \u201cTitanic,\u201d the iceberg sings a siren\u2019s song, tempting the ship with \u201cCome to me. . .Come to me\u201d.\u00a0 Similarly, a ventriloquist\u2019s puppet asks his human operator, \u201cWho\u2019s the Dummy Now?\u201d<\/p>\n

True to form, Olney plans to release another perspective-rich work after the New Year.\u00a0 In February, fans can look forward to hearing how \u201cThat guy Barabbas, the murderer, the criminal that they freed instead of freeing Christ,\u201d saw The Passion unfold, Olney said.<\/p>\n

\"Image\"It is no wonder that the late Lone Star great Townes Van Zandt \u201cspecified his favorite musicians as \u2018Bob Dylan, Mozart, Lightnin\u2019 Hopkins and David Olney,\u2019 \u201caccording to Olney biographer Charlie Hunter of www.mysongwriters.com<\/span><\/u><\/a>.\u00a0 One cannot help but find similarities between Olney\u2019s and TVZ\u2019s surreal styles, so Olney\u2019s love of poetry should come as no surprise.\u00a0\u00a0 His recitation of poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Browning might remind spectators of their first few college literature experiences with a tenured professor who spellbindingly orates with perfect cadence and diction.<\/p>\n

Aside from the genius songwriting and jaw-dropping musicianship, the ambiance of the evening made me realize that I have finally found my people!\u00a0 Like my new-found friend, Ellen Klassen of Deer Park said, \u201cMusic is the glue; we\u2019re all here for the music.\u00a0 No one is here complaining about the job or lookin\u2019 for a fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

I met house\u2013concert regular Danny, The Viking, Poirrier, a kind and generous soul who is more than happy to explain the credits of each Almost Austin performer.\u00a0 His gentle voice, in contrast to his build, long, white hair and overalls reminded me of Uncle Jesse from The Dukes of Hazard.\u00a0 I felt as if I was in the company of my kindred, especially when he led the audience into the contagious excitement of Olney\u2019s and Webb\u2019s performance of Tom Wait\u2019s \u201cClap Hands\u201d.<\/p>\n

Over the glorious smells of pot-luck fare and the economical ease of BYOB, Pipes proved himself the ultimate host.\u00a0 As busy as he was with his special guests and attendees, I did not require the effect of liquid courage to introduce myself and converse with other attendees.\u00a0\u00a0 Never have I attended a party wherein a full house of strangers was approachable, warm and happy to make my acquaintance until Saturday night.\u00a0 The crowd was a salad bowl of generations, occupations, abilities and lifestyles.
\nI had the privilege of meeting 28 year old Daniel, Kenny Pipes\u2019 youngest brother.\u00a0 Daniel\u2019s Cerebral Palsy does not limit him from enjoying the language that crosses all differences:\u00a0 music.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery Saturday I play Daniel\u2019s favorite song for him when I pick him up.\u00a0 He hears \u2018Sweet Poison,\u2019\u201can Olney original describing Socrates\u2019 execution, \u201cand he starts tapping his chest and singing along.\u00a0 He\u2019s never missed one of our concerts yet,\u201d Kenny told me.<\/p>\n

In February of 2006, Pipes opened his door to his first house concert.\u00a0 Since then, he\u2019s knocked out a few walls in the living room and built a stage, complete with a full P. A. system.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all about the damn music, man!\u201d Pipes excitedly told me in a phone interview a few weeks prior to the Olney-Webb performance.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll do everything I can to support them!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Image\"House concerts have been a phenomenon all over the USA for the past decade, yet I had never attended one until Saturday night.\u00a0 I look forward to frequenting more in the future.\u00a0 In fact, Pipes is happy to announce that he is sponsoring a fraction of the Band Of Heathens on December 17, 2011 @ 6PM.\u00a0 Feel free to \u201cLike\u201d Almost Austin House Concerts in Pasadena on www.facebook.com<\/span><\/u><\/a>.\u00a0 Once you befriend each other, you may reserve tickets for any upcoming show.<\/p>\n

If anything, attending a house concert is an assertive way of supporting non-commercialized music without having to spend a great deal of money.\u00a0 Perhaps the only exceptions may be to donate $20 toward your house admission ticket.\u00a0 Attendees bring their own drinks and a covered pot-luck dish if they plan to dine with the crowd.<\/p>\n

House concerts at Almost Austin and other venues like it seem to take quiet, revolutionary stands against media giants and the pop culture privatization of music.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re cuttin\u2019 out the middle man and allowing the musicians to have all of the money \u2018cause they need it,\u201d Pipes told me.<\/p>\n

Once you \u201cdrink the water at a house concert, you\u2019ll be hooked, just as I was,\u201d Pipes concluded.\u00a0 He is right; I\u2019m thirsty for more.\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Traci Rogers Dec 03, 2011 at 08:00 PM Pasa-get-down-dena native and owner of the refinery town\u2019s Almost Austin House Concerts, Kenny Pipes, graciously invited Houston Music Review to his 80th house concert, featuring Nashville duo David Olney and Mark \u201cSergio\u201d Webb Saturday night. A songwriter\u2019s songwriter, David Olney, began performing in the 1960s… <\/p>\n

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