Home Grown

Since this is my first appearance on the lovely Miss Lana’s pages, I guess I should give some kind of introduction. I am a Texan by the grace of God, currently living in Waco. I have been an OKOM fan since I was about six years old without even knowing it. Warning—I am one of those old fogies who believe OKOM started with Jimmie Rogers and the Carter Family and was kept alive by Woody Guthrie and Hank Williams, and passed on through the Outlaw Country movement to the folks like Slaid Cleaves, Fred Eaglesmith, Chris Knight, etc. today.

Thanks to Miss Lana for the invitation. I first met her walking the streets of Dallas. I had thirty bucks in my pocket, she had a nice set of ti-------ckets to Poor David’s. Her work on the Shaver birthday bash with Lone Star Mama will live forever.

So, as I wait for my first official review assignment from the boss, I’d like to mention a nice little CD that arrived from Nashville a few days ago. "HomeGrown" by Panama Red is what OKOM should be – a damn good time that pretends to be little else. Panama Red has remained a legend in his own mind since the 70s. He was one of the first guitarists for Billy Joe Shaver, and was a participant in Kinky Friedman’s Texas Jewboys. You’ll also find his name on the writing credits for "Bottom Dollar", pretty much a standard in Billy Joe Shaver shows. His work with Kinky Friedman yielded songs like "Popeye the Sailor Man", "Autograph", and those memorable love ballads "Homo Erectus" and "Mama, Baby, Mama, Let Me Jump in Your Pajamas". These ten songs were done in Seattle in 2000 as he prepared to relocate (I assume of his own free will).

"HomeGrown" shows a man who enjoys the music for its own sake and is darn good at it to boot. The songs cover dirty blues, country, folk, a touch of jazz. Red’s guitar styles range from raucous to tender, sometimes in the same song. There are two instrumentals showcasing his picking, with my favorite being a slide romp on "Shortnin’ Bread". Like his string work, his vocals may conjure up screaming blues (Poor Boy) or tenderness (Heaven on Earth). If you are a Kinky Friedman fan, I think you will also appreciate Red’s personal delivery of "Popeye the Sailor Man" and "Rock n Roll Across the USA". This one will likely stay in my car stereo a while.

"HomeGrown" is available from Kinkajou Records in Nashville – 1.877.999.9975 and through the website at www.kinkajourecords.com. Also available through amazon.com and CDBaby.com.

Written by James Odom, November 2001

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