Me and my dream brother Chase Roden’s 40th birthday is also one of the dreamiest shows I’ve ever put together/been part of. Saturday night, my band Scenery will be sharing the bill with two of my favorite songwriters ever.
Chris Simpson
The first time I met Chris Simpson I was 19. To me, he was an old man approaching his mid-twenties. He had just recently started The Gloria Record whose self-fitled EP was on a perpetual loop in my cd player.
I was compelled to get to know Chris, because not only did I love TGR, but his recently deceased band, Mineral, had quickly vaulted themselves to the most hallowed of status in my life. The controlled intensity of the music, combined with Chris’ stark vocals resonated (and resonate) with every cell in my being. Their album End Serenading is and always will be one of my five desert island discs.
This part of my musical life came to a head in October 2001 when my band at the time, Mr. Body, covered Mineral at one of Emo’s celebrated Hoot Nights. After covering a full set of their music, Chris came onstage and performed the epic track Parking Lot for an adoring crowd of Mineral fans.
Over the past two decades, Chris and I have become friends and collaborators. Chris is one of the gentlest and sweetest souls in the grand state of Texas. His subsequent projects (Zookeeper, Mountain Time) have found him maturing in both sound and word.
All in all, I’m honored to have him play my celebration.
The Party
Richard and Chase’s 40th birthday celebration will be on Saturday 11/16 at 4608 Tanney St. Austin, TX at 7pm.
Chris Simpson - 8:00pm
Stanley Knives - 9:00pm
Scenery - 10:00pm
The show is FREE and all ages. You can find the FB event here. We will be raising money for RAICES and Casa Marianella.
Redding Hunter
(aka Stanley Knives)
The first time I saw Red Hunter play was as Peter and the Wolf at the old OK Mountain in East Austin during SXSW 2006 or 2007. After the set I asked him “hey man great set, can I buy a copy of your cd.” Without looking at me he returned “I don’t have any, I’m sure a record store has some.” He walked off.
Red has made some incredible lo-fi music over the years under a variety of different names (Peter and the Wolf, Gender Infinity, Traffique, etc etc). I remember the moment that I fell in love with his song craft. I wasn’t four tracks into his masterpiece album Lightness when I realized his talent. The back to back tracks of Safe Travels and Gray Overcoat may be my favorite consecutive tracks in all of music history.
In the years since, Red and I have become good friends and collaborators. Red is, without a doubt, the most creative person I’ve ever known. Whether it’s making music, writing novels, making movies or scoring them, or running DIY music venues… everything Red touches is uniquely his.
I’m so excited that Redding Hunter will be coming in from Detroit and will perform under the name of Stanley Knives at my birthday celebration.