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7/16/13 2:30 PMGourds on Film: All The Labor Documents Austin Band's Rise and Thrall | The Texas Observer
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Gourds on Film: All The Labor Documents Austin Band’sRise and Thrallby Dan Oko Published on Friday, March 8, 2013, at 9:35 CST
In the waning days of the 20th century, two things were consideredgospel among in-the-know Austinites: Lance Armstrong, fresh off hisfirst Tour de France victory in 1999, was the greatest athlete Texashad ever produced, and The Gourds were never, ever going to play“Gin & Juice” again. As it turns out, the case for Armstrong’ssupremacy has been torpedoed by illicit juicing, and The Gourds haveembraced the potentially tiresome novelty of “Gin & Juice” as theanchor—“Free Bird”-style—of mid-set medleys. Fans of both brandshave learned it’s best never to say never.
The Gourds have recorded 10 albums of propulsive Americana sinceKevin Russell formed the band with Jimmy Smith, Claude Bernard andCharlie Llewellin in 1994, but it was the Napster-era viral success of“Gin & Juice” that introduced Russell’s fierce East Texas drawl to theband’s broadest audience. So it’s little surprise that All The Labor, anew documentary about The Gourds, delves into the strange story ofhow a fledgling Austin band hit the virtual big-time via the file-sharingof a larkish cover song.
All The Labor, produced by High Plains Films of Missoula, Montana,and directed by Doug Hawes-Davis, will premiere at Austin’s SXSWconference in March. Hawes-Davis has built a reputation ondocumentaries about wildlife management in the American West, anda filmography heavy on horses, bison, coyotes and prairie dogs mayhave accustomed him to weird and wooly subject matter. But All TheLabor—named for a track on The Gourds’ 2000 album Dem’s GoodBeeble—represents the filmmaker’s first attempt at rockumentary. It tracks the band over a 10-year period, from an oddappearance on the Austin Fox affiliate in preparation for a 2001 SXSW showcase to the recording of 2011’s Old Mad Joyalbum and ensuing tour.
As the “Gin & Juice” diversion suggests, The Gourds defy easy categorization. Kevin Russell and Jimmy Smith dividesongwriting responsibilities, with Russell providing alt-country stomp and holler and not a little Gulf Coast soul (he grew upin Beaumont), while quasi-reformed punk surrealist Smith tends toward rocking tales of weird America, old and new.Rounding out the current lineup are longtime drummer Keith Langford, triple-threat Claude Bernard (accordion, guitar andkeyboards) and multi-instrumentalist Max Johnston, son of Dallas music figure “Dollar” Bill Johnston and younger brother ofwayward folkie Michelle Shocked.
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7/16/13 2:30 PMGourds on Film: All The Labor Documents Austin Band's Rise and Thrall | The Texas Observer
Page 2 of 3http://www.texasobserver.org/gourds-on-film-all-the-labor-documents-austin-bands-viral-hit/
The Gourds traveled 2,000 miles to record Old Mad Joy at the late Levon Helm’s Woodstock, New York studio under thedirection of former Bob Dylan sideman-turned-producer Larry Campbell. All The Labor portrays the band tightly focused onthe album, its first for the Vanguard label, providing a sharp contrast to footage of the band at home in Austin with familiesand friends. For all their shambolic drinking, smoking, farting, burping and joking—this is a warts-and-all portrayal—the guysare a disciplined unit at work.
Though well regarded, Old Mad Joy didn’t exactly set the charts on fire. But it does show The Gourds to be keepers of amusical flame that connects giants like Helm and Doug Sahm (who invited the band to back him for a live recording in 1998)with latter-day jangle-folk rockers like Mumford & Sons and The Avett Brothers. They’re shown in the film as they comeacross in person: authentic, and not particularly concerned with the vagaries of fame. Given the fakers and takers Austinhas produced over the years, that’s a labor deserving more than a little love.
Freelance writer Dan Oko, formerly of Austin, now gets his swamp boogie on in Houston, where he’s a contributing editor toHouston magazine. His work has also appeared in Garden & Gun, Dwell, and Texas Highways. All The Labor premieresduring SXSW at 7 pm on Wednesday, March 13, at the Zach Theatre’s Topfer Theatre.
Tags: All the Labor, Gin & Juice, Old Mad Joy, The Gourds
Houston-based writer Dan Oko is an avid fisherman who hopes never to encounter a lionfish in the wild. His work has appeared inAudubon, Garden & Gun and Texas Parks & Wildlife.
7/16/13 2:30 PMGourds on Film: All The Labor Documents Austin Band's Rise and Thrall | The Texas Observer
Page 3 of 3http://www.texasobserver.org/gourds-on-film-all-the-labor-documents-austin-bands-viral-hit/
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