Country Standard Time Interview
CST's Take: Texas-born roots rock with just the right amount of atmosphere. If Jimmy Webb hadn't written Galveston, R.G. Stark eventually would get around to doing so.
Kind words from Remo...
I got the R.G. Stark's "Not Crazy Tonight" cd and I want to say that it's a very inspiring musical journey. I previously knew his talents with Blue Diamond Shine and it's great to be able to listen to more songs from him! Scrappy Jud Newcomb's definition of R.G. Stark's music
is perfect but his songs go far beyond, sketching vividly America's southwest and its feelings and emotions. I traveled many times through US and this cd make me feel as I'm driving once again on those wonderful roads.
Thanks again!!!
is perfect but his songs go far beyond, sketching vividly America's southwest and its feelings and emotions. I traveled many times through US and this cd make me feel as I'm driving once again on those wonderful roads.
Thanks again!!!
HARP digs R.G...
Texas troubadour R.G. Stark—the initials stand for “receiving genius,” a nod to his years spent toiling in a warehouse—chronicles his border-state life with such aplomb that it’s a wonder he hasn’t been picked up on yet by the legions of Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt acolytes.In fact, Not Crazy Tonight, recorded in Austin with Ron Flynt (20/20, the Bluehearts) as co-producer, bassist and keyboardist, and with guests including pedal steel whiz Neil Flanz and guitarist Scrappy Jud Newcomb, is one of those records that could only come from the Lone Star state... (see attached for more)
Stark’s songwriting reminds me of the great singer-songwriter Tom Russell while his voice recalls Chris Isaac with a tougher rougher Texas barroom edge. "Mineral Wells”, “Coyote", "Narcocorrido Nuevo Laredo" and “Monterrey” are just begging to be covered (not that there is anything wrong with Stark’s versions). R. G. makes me wish I was living in Texas again sitting in an ice house with a beer wrapped in old yellow pages (the original pre-koozie beer cooler) listening to Stark and company... (see attached for more)
4 Stars from Mr. Conquest:
On paper, it’s hard to see quite where Blue Diamond Shine ends and frontman John
‘RG’ Stark starts, as his core players are Blue Diamond Shine’s guitarist Eric Hisaw,
drummer Vicente Rodriguez and accordionist Kevin Kelnar, along with Ron Flynt bass,
keyboards and “miscellaneous,” which means his album has most all of Blue Diamond
Shine’s strengths, mainly his idiosyncratic, asymmetrical songwriting and Hisaw’s always
excellent guitar work. However, with a few outside helpers, such as Scrappy Jud Newcomb,
who plays guitar on two tracks and rather neatly describes Stark as “like a cross between
Doug Sahm and Jimmy Webb,” coproducers Stark and Flynt have come up with a big sound
that constantly flirts with bombast but stays on the righteous side. Stark’s work with Blue
Diamond Shine has been described as “roots noir,” “Western surreal,” “Bayou poetry,” but
on this outing, I’d qualify Jim Beal Jr’s “Gothic” as ‘Gulf Coast Gothic.’ Stark has always
covered a lot of ground in his songs, with a particular, richly metaphorical, emphasis on
backroads, small towns and swamplands, but has expanded his geographical range, exporing
westwards to Mineral Wells, eastwards to Abbeville, LA, south to Narcocorrido Nuevo
Laredo, Monterrey and the Border (Coyote). Not that’s he’s just a musical gazeteer, Secret
Girl and She Comes And Goes are more routine, or at any rate as routine as Stark gets,
which isn’t very.
‘RG’ Stark starts, as his core players are Blue Diamond Shine’s guitarist Eric Hisaw,
drummer Vicente Rodriguez and accordionist Kevin Kelnar, along with Ron Flynt bass,
keyboards and “miscellaneous,” which means his album has most all of Blue Diamond
Shine’s strengths, mainly his idiosyncratic, asymmetrical songwriting and Hisaw’s always
excellent guitar work. However, with a few outside helpers, such as Scrappy Jud Newcomb,
who plays guitar on two tracks and rather neatly describes Stark as “like a cross between
Doug Sahm and Jimmy Webb,” coproducers Stark and Flynt have come up with a big sound
that constantly flirts with bombast but stays on the righteous side. Stark’s work with Blue
Diamond Shine has been described as “roots noir,” “Western surreal,” “Bayou poetry,” but
on this outing, I’d qualify Jim Beal Jr’s “Gothic” as ‘Gulf Coast Gothic.’ Stark has always
covered a lot of ground in his songs, with a particular, richly metaphorical, emphasis on
backroads, small towns and swamplands, but has expanded his geographical range, exporing
westwards to Mineral Wells, eastwards to Abbeville, LA, south to Narcocorrido Nuevo
Laredo, Monterrey and the Border (Coyote). Not that’s he’s just a musical gazeteer, Secret
Girl and She Comes And Goes are more routine, or at any rate as routine as Stark gets,
which isn’t very.
R.G. Stark at The Cove...
Stark is a fan of roots music including conjunto, country and Cajun. He's also a keen observer of life and living in small towns in Texas and Louisiana. He puts it all together in songs such as "Coyote," "Monterrey," "Abbeville," "Mineral Wells" and "Shrimp Boat Town." Stark's also adept at mixing and matching musical styles as he and the band jumped from rocking folk to a polka to the hardcore honky-tonk of "Strong Wine, Strong Women."
This is haunting, gorgeous, country music...
Like a cross between Doug Sahm and Jimmy Webb...
...Country Rock a la Gram Parsons, with moody vocals and reflective lyrics. Stark has a keen eye and a rumbling voice that makes for solid post-country grooves...
Stark twangs with the kind of gothic/desperate-men-do-desperate-things lyrics that haunt while propelling the boot-scooting...
Lively and colorful, propelled by spirited arrangements with a generous nod to prime Sir Douglas Quintet and Stark's rich baritone and melodic instincts...
Shrimp Boat Town evokes a place where, in frontman R.G. Stark's elegant bayou poetry, "The jukebox is your only friend." His well-spent quarters pay handsome dividends... If Huey P. Meaux were still around, he'd hustle Stark into his Sugar Hill Studios double time...