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 STOP ME IF YOU'VE HEARD THIS ONE: How's that joke go? If you play a country song backward, the guy gets out of jail, quits drinkin', finds a job, gets his wife and pick-up truck back and his momma and daddy return from the dead--or something like that. You've probably heard it 100 times. The point: At the heart and soul of most every good country song is a sad tale of heartache. Hank Williams, George Jones, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn recorded songs that could break your heart. And if it was already broken, they were pretty good company. They didn't always make the stuff up, either. Like the blues, country music was born in hard places and hard times. Songs like "Coal Miner's Daughter," "Sixteen Tons" and "Folsom Prison" tell downright grim tales. These tunes did well back in the old days, but they'd have a mighty tough time getting played on a country station today. Ain't no two ways about it: Country music has taken a decidedly pop turn, with a lot more bangin' and a lot less twangin'. Not that there's anything wrong with having fun--hell, who doesn't want to be a part of a swingin' soiree?--but you ought not forget to dance with what brung ya to the party. The lines between country and rock and roll have frequently been crossed by artists on both sides of the fence, whether it's The Byrds, Linda Ronstadt, Lone Justice, The Eagles, Garth Brooks, Junior Brown or Chris Issak. The hybrid continues today, with Wilco, Son Volt and the Bottle Rockets, although you're never sure which radio station to tune in to hear it.
Todd Snider, who grew up in places like Santa Rosa, Austin, Houston, Atlanta and Memphis, scored a hit off his debut album Talkin' Seattle Grunge Rock Blues, followed up by Alright Guy. His most recent effort began as a concept album about two mountain guys named Elmo and Henry who go to town to join the circus. That road took a detour, leaving the two to pop up in some pretty strange ways on his latest release, Step Right Up, which aptly sets the stage for a sideshow of the human condition: heartbreak, fragile romance, losers and drunks. Sure, there's nothing new about these themes, but Snider's dark sense of humor twists the characters off the page. "T.V. Guide" satirizes the bunker mentality gripping the nation, while "Side Show Blues" pokes fun at society's preoccupation with a circus-like media. "I Believe You" catalogues today's vacuous virtues.
"I think people in Texas are always on the lookout for good storytellers," Ingram says. "By the time I was listening to music, I was already familiar with the songs of Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Jerry Jeff Walker. It's not what they sound like. It's what they're singing about." Tucson's own Chris Burroughs, who has spent the last six months recording a new album, will be joined by David Herbert and Ralph Gilmore to play new material off the disc. "I've just been laying low for the last couple of years, writing songs, recording and getting ready to put out this record which will be released in Europe in September, and hopefully in the U.S. soon after," the reclusive Burroughs says. The show starts at 9 p.m. on Friday, August 9, at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St. Tickets are $4 in advance, available at the Club. The cost jumps to $6 day of show.
LAST NOTES: Rock/fusion band Beyond Words, which
features Pete Fine on guitar, Rick Moquin on five-string bass,
Paul Falinski on keyboards and Brian Gunning on drums, plays The
Rock, 136 N. Park Ave., on Friday, August 9, with Milkseed opening
at 9 p.m. Cover charge is $3.
--Jennifer Murphy
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Well, quit fiddling with the dial and head down 
Texas native 