West Texas Waltz
hosted by Garrison Keillor
Show #1492April 4, 2015
From City Bank Auditorium | Lubbock, TX
0:00 | 01:58:59
The Flatlanders
Ashley Monroe
This week: the last of our spring rebroadcasts, originally from April 2013 at the City Bank Auditorium in Lubbock, Texas. The Flatlanders perform "Not That Much Has Changed" and Ashley Monroe sings "Morning After," and Garrison chats with Travis Holley and Peggy Sue Gerron about Lubbock's own Buddy Holly. In Lake Wobegon, Donny Krebsbach ventures onto the lake in search of early spring ice fishing.
The Flatlanders
Mention Lubbock, and music lovers are likely to think Buddy Holly and Delbert McClinton and Terry Allen - and most certainly The Flatlanders, the trio that The Chicago Tribune once dubbed "the holy trinity of West Texas music." Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Butch Hancock formed the group in the early 1970s but soon disbanded as each forged a successful solo career. Over the years, they've reunited for concerts and recording projects. Their latest release is 2012's The Odessa Tapes (New West Records), songs recorded on reel-to-reel tape in 1972 and thought lost for nearly four decades. Joining the three for this performance are Robby Gjersoe (guitar), Pat Manske (drums), and Jimmy Pettit (bass).Ashley Monroe
Nashville singer-songwriter Ashley Monroe seemed destined to a music career. Growing up in Knoxville, Tennessee, she was a country music fan from the time she got a Patsy Cline tape in her Christmas stocking. Add to that, she is related to both Carl Smith and the Carter Family. By age 11, she was a talent contest winner; soon after, she was working five nights a week singing and clogging in a show in nearby Pigeon Forge. Her latest album, Like a Rose, was released last month on the Warner Brothers label. Guitarist Guthrie Trapp joins Ashley for this performance.Travis Holley
When Travis Holley returned to Lubbock, Texas, after a stint in the Marines, he brought home a $15 pawnshop Harmony guitar and showed a few chords to his little brother, Buddy. Buddy Holly (the "e" was dropped in the spelling of his name) went on to a storied - and all-too-brief - career in music. And more than half a century after his death, his songs remain an important part of popular culture. Travis Holley still lives in Lubbock and keeps fond memories of his famous sibling.Peggy Sue Gerron
Peggy Sue Gerron first met rock 'n' roll legend (and fellow Texan) Buddy Holly at Lubbock High School. She was a student; he had graduated but was back to play for a music assembly - and he was running late. Clutching a guitar and an amp, he accidentally knocked her over while running down the hall toward the school auditorium. Years later, a Holly song that started out as "Cindy Lou" was renamed at the request of Holly's drummer. He wanted to impress his girlfriend: Peggy Sue.Garrison Keillor
Garrison Keillor was born in 1942 in Anoka, Minnesota. He went to work for Minnesota Public Radio in 1969, and on July 6, 1974, he hosted the first broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion in St. Paul. He is the host of The Writer's Almanac and the editor of the Good Poems series of anthologies from Viking.The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band - April 27, 2013
The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band is led by A Prairie Home Companion music director Richard Dworsky. Keyboard player, composer and improviser in any style, he also writes all the script themes and underscores. His latest CD is So Near and Dear to Me. Chet Atkins called Pat Donohue (guitar) one of the greatest fingerpickers in the world today. And he writes songs too - recorded by Suzy Bogguss, Kenny Rogers, and others. Nobody's Fault and Vicksburg Blues (a collaboration with Butch Thompson) are the most recent of Pat's albums. Gary Raynor (bass) has performed with the Count Basie band and Sammy Davis Jr., with whom he toured for several years. He was first call for dozens of touring Broadway shows, including the first presentation of The Lion King. Gary teaches at the McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul. Peter Johnson (percussion) has played klezmer music with Doc Severinsen and jazz with Dave Brubeck. He was a drummer for The Manhattan Transfer and for Gene Pitney. He has toured the world, but he always comes back to home base: Saint Paul. Richard Kriehn is principal second violin for the Washington/Idaho Symphony. But it's not all classical all the time; he is equally at home playing bluegrass fiddle and mandolin. He was a member of the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble and the bluegrass group 1946.Tim Russell
One minute he's mild-mannered Tim Russell; the next he's George Bush or Julia Child or Barack Obama. We've yet to stump this man of many voices. Says fellow APHC actor Sue Scott, "He does a better Ira Glass than Ira Glass." A well-known Twin Cities radio personality and voice actor, Tim appeared in the Robert Altman film A Prairie Home Companion and the Coen brothers' A Serious Man. Tim has also been reviewing films professionally for over 10 years.Sue Scott
On APHC, Sue Scott plays everything from ditzy teenagers to Guy Noir stunners to leathery crones who've smoked one pack of Camel straights too many. The Tucson, Arizona, native is well known for her extensive commercial and voice-over work on radio and television, as well as stage and movie roles, including the part of "Donna" in Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion.Fred Newman
Sound effects man Fred Newman is an actor, writer, musician, and sound designer for film and TV. Turns out, no one is more surprised than Fred that he's made a career out of doing what he used to do behind the teacher's back -crossing his eyes, making sounds, and doing voices. He readily admits that, growing up, he was unceremoniously removed from several classrooms, "once by my bottom lip."