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State of the Arts 2006Sept. 22, 2006 - Dec. 31, 2006Highlights from the Fall Arts Guide
Guy ClarkFriday, Oct. 20 Fans of the singer-songwriter scene revere Guy Clark for his plainspoken lyrics and West Texas tone, but after three decades in the biz, he’s still not the kind of dude who has much of a Q rating. Drop a Townes Van Zandt reference to a casual country fan, and you might receive a nod of recognition. Mention Clark, and you’ll probably get, “Isn’t that the ‘Hee Haw’ guy?” in response. (That was ROY Clark, cowpoke.) Along with Van Zandt—who was a close friend before his death in 1997—Clark was one of the direct forerunners of Nashville’s trad-country revival during the ’80s and early ’90s, influencing experimenters such as Dwight Yoakam and Steve Earle as well as a whole generation of hat acts. Clark himself isn’t much for 10-gallon poses, however; he’s more the Martin-guitar-and-white-shirt type. His worldview has always extended well beyond the ranchlands, too: In the ’60s, he bounced between Texas and California, hooking up with Van Zandt in Houston, kicking around San Francisco, and learning how to make Dobros in Los Angeles. He didn’t reach Nashville itself until getting a publishing deal in the early ’70s. These days, he’s still turning out albums every few years, mixing nostalgia and worldliness, and he still sounds like an evolving artist rather than just a twangy elder statesman. Workbench Songs, pre-released this summer online, even has a song (“Analog Girl”) that tackles the Internet Age without resorting to corn pone. Guy Clark performs with Slaid Cleaves Friday, Oct. 20, at 7:30 p.m. at the Birchmere, 3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria. $22.50. (703) 549-7500. (Joe Warminsky)
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Copyright © 2006 Washington Free Weekly Inc.
