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Biff Tannen

By Biff Tannen
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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45687

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Can't believe there isn't a thread just for Robert Earl. Maybe no one made it after the old site.  Anyway, Copenhagen just came on my Spotify and got damn if that didn't bring back some high school memories for me.  My wife made me quit Copenhagen shortly after we started getting serious, but it was good for a while.

Us youngins in the late 90s would be at every Robert Earl concert at Stubb's, Backyard, whathaveyou, front left, every time.  This is where Pat Green also got his start and I like to believe we were a big part of his fame as well.  I threw up behind the speakers at Stubb's before the opener even started one time after I had spent all afternoon drinking off a keg at my buddy's older brother's apartment on campus.  

My car got towed from that apartment complex and I spent the rest of that night and early morning driving around Austin to various tow yards trying to find it.  I got in deep shit with my parents, but that was the least of the problems I would foist upon their worries for the next few years.  It all worked out.  Thanks REK.

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C-Man

C-Man 27227

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Love me some REK. He was still playing occasional frat parties in the early/mid 90’s. Saw him countless times in college and up until the early 00’s. Hadn’t seen him in years but he played our charity Rise Roundup event in Dallas back in 2019. Was awesome. Gringo Honeymoon until I die.

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hullabelew

hullabelew 3724

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Been a huge fan for years but get tired of his constant attempts at what my brother calls, "Yuck and Pluck".......Buckin' Horse song is a prime example of that.  But still, he has written some classics, and at the very, very top for me is "Lynnville Train".  Towards the end, he gives us this....is he reaching for gun...is he going to shot them?  Shot himself?

Steel wheels scream, the whistle blows,
His heart is breaking
She steps onto the platform, her new love by her side
He reaches in his coat, his had is shaking
The time has finally come, this really is goodbye

Then the mood completely changes as he pulls a ticket from his coat, not a gun.  

His story is he's changed his mind,
He just can't help himself
So he's getting on board the Lynnville train
And moving on to someplace else
As the train pulls out he watches them both
Standing in the pouring rain
He's headed for a new life down the line
On the Lynnville Train

I still wonder if he has a gun in his coat.  Someday, I'm going to ask him.  

 

 

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Post Oak

Post Oak 20213

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Saw him in waco 15 years ago.  Kevin Fowler opened. Fantastic show.

Feeling good again is my favorite.  But he's got so many good ones.  I really like I'll go on downtown, paint the town beige and whenever kindness fails.

So many good ones.

ROBERT KEEN!  ROBERT KEEN!

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45687

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14 minutes ago, Post Oak said:

ROBERT KEEN!  ROBERT KEEN!

Can you come help me for a minute?

 

 So good.  Picking a favorite is hard, but Front Porch Song is way up there for me.  It’s weird when songs are tied to specific memories. That’s actually my favorite thing about music. It’s an individual time machine. 

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Tylerocks

Tylerocks 2553

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Being at UT in the early/mid 90's was a great time to be alive.  REK was the soundtrack to life at that time.

We had him play a rush party we held in Fort Worth.

Cory Morrow would come hang out by our pool and play for our "burgers/beer"

 

Hell, we had Jack Ingram play a pledge class mixer.

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Chad Fuck

Chad Fuck 17682

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When I was in law school at UT in the late 90s, I clerked at a place with REK's step-sister.  She got me tickets to go see REK at some cool venue out in the sticks.  I told my gf at the time, but she was having some sort of hissy about something I'd done wrong (I probably had).  I thought it was a major score, but she just wanted to fight.  So I said I'd be happy to fight with her, but if we were going to make the show, she needed to make the call right then.  She kept on keeping on.  I left and took my best bud with me to the REK show and it was great.  She was hot when I got back, but hell she would've been anyhow.  She got over it. 

That relationship didn't last.  But at least I didn't miss the free REK show. 

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Trey3216

Trey3216 15346

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On 4/16/2021 at 9:49 AM, Chad Fuck said:

When I was in law school at UT in the late 90s, I clerked at a place with REK's step-sister.  She got me tickets to go see REK at some cool venue out in the sticks.  I told my gf at the time, but she was having some sort of hissy about something I'd done wrong (I probably had).  I thought it was a major score, but she just wanted to fight.  So I said I'd be happy to fight with her, but if we were going to make the show, she needed to make the call right then.  She kept on keeping on.  I left and took my best bud with me to the REK show and it was great.  She was hot when I got back, but hell she would've been anyhow.  She got over it. 

That relationship didn't last.  But at least I didn't miss the free REK s

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Trey3216

Trey3216 15346

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RHP-997

 

Live No.2 Dinner is the album you tell anyone to buy who wants to know what Texas Country music is about.  
 

It’s also as essential to a road trip as gasoline and beer.  
 

 

so much great REK shit.  Saw his Christmas Show at the Waco Hippodrome about 6 years ago and it was probably the best show I’d ever seen him do.  Just flat blasted it for 2.5 hours.    

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105142

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Among my all time favorites.

A buddy of mine at UT, also from Houston, has a birthday two days before mine. On the day between, he tells me he’s got this new CD he thinks I’d like. The singer is the son of a lady his mom works with in Houston.

We get a case of beer, head out to sit on the couch on our covered balcony, and pop the CD in. It’s the REK Live Album. It’s late April. A spring storm is rolling in. We sat there and listened to the album all the way through. At least twice. Killing a case of beer. Not talking at all. Watching lighting hit the tower, thunder cracking over the songs every now and then. Just being with my friend, being in the moment, letting it all wash over me. The rain, the thunder, the music, the sounds of Texas, and not just a little bit of cold beer.

It’s one of the best birthdays and one of the best memories of my life.

10+ years later, when I had a baby girl, and would rock her to sleep, I’d sing If I Were King to her, soft and low.

That album means a whole fucking lot to me.

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hornimal

hornimal 80

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On 4/16/2021 at 9:49 AM, Chad Fuck said:

When I was in law school at UT in the late 90s, I clerked at a place with REK's step-sister.  She got me tickets to go see REK at some cool venue out in the sticks.  I told my gf at the time, but she was having some sort of hissy about something I'd done wrong (I probably had).  I thought it was a major score, but she just wanted to fight.  So I said I'd be happy to fight with her, but if we were going to make the show, she needed to make the call right then.  She kept on keeping on.  I left and took my best bud with me to the REK show and it was great.  She was hot when I got back, but hell she would've been anyhow.  She got over it. 

That relationship didn't last.  But at least I didn't miss the free REK show. 

probably at the backyard.  I was there.

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orange dream

orange dream 1251

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On 4/27/2021 at 7:40 PM, Kermit said:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/anniereuter/2021/04/26/robert-earl-keen-refinanced-his-home-to-keep-his-band-paid-and-insured-during-covid-19/amp/

 

On 4/27/2021 at 2:31 PM, jimmyjazz said:

Not sure where, but yesterday I saw a blurb about REK refinancing his house so he could pay his band and crew over the last year.  

Filed amongst the things I don't understand is how the Chili Peppers can sell their catalog for 160 Million while REK needs to refinance his house to make payroll for his 10 person company.  Maybe no one outside of those who attended UT, TAMU or TTU between 1985-2000 has ever heard of him so the base is so small it doesn't really pay.  I could understand it if he had just blown all the money on shenanigans but I've never had that impression with him.  Maybe he needs to start producing NFTs.  Surprises me.

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Chad Fuck

Chad Fuck 17682

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2 minutes ago, orange dream said:

 

Filed amongst the things I don't understand is how the Chili Peppers can sell their catalog for 160 Million while REK needs to refinance his house to make payroll for his 10 person company.  Maybe no one outside of those who attended UT, TAMU or TTU between 1985-2000 has ever heard of him so the base is so small it doesn't really pay.  I could understand it if he had just blown all the money on shenanigans but I've never had that impression with him.  Maybe he needs to start producing NFTs.  Surprises me.

He's a semi-retired regional act.  He's not going to make a shit ton playing Montreal.  The Chili Peppers are a global act.  Exponential money differences.  

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105142

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11 hours ago, hornimal said:

probably at the backyard.  I was there.

First time I saw him was in the barn at Old Settler's Park (which, at the time, was out in the sticks).   He was still small-time enough that at the end of his show, we hung out at the trunk of his car where he was selling CDs and t-shirts.  Pretty cool stuff.

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105142

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Well......motherfucker.

Quote

In a video released on Friday, January 14th (see below), Keen address his fans saying, “It is with a mysterious concoction of joy and sadness that I want to tell you as of September 4th, 2022, I will no longer tour or perform publicly. I plan to continue to write songs, interview a wide variety of celebrities and contributors for our Americana podcast. I also embrace this as an opportunity to further support the music community, and the ever-expanding body of young talent on our horizon.”

Making sure to underscore, “I’m not sick, or experiencing some existential crisis,” he assures, “I feel that making a decision, and quitting the road while I still love it is the way I want to leave it.”

I mean....he has to be swinging through Texas again sometime this summer.  I think I'd like to see him.

I know he's polarizing, and his voice is not one of America's great treasures.  But it's one of mine.   Some memories of mine are pretty wrapped up with REK.  Including singing a couple of his songs as lullabies to my kids, who...aren't babies anymore.

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jimmyjazz

jimmyjazz 45957

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The guy has to be tired of grinding it out for so long.  Rich left several years back, and I don't think he got fired.

Honestly, REK could probably do just as well focusing on his clear talent (songwriting) and getting cuts with bigger artists than he could taking on the expense of touring so much.  A hit song or two can set a guy up with sufficient mailbox money for a long time.

Edited by jimmyjazz
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ohchaucer

ohchaucer 1443

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No2 Love Dinner doesn’t have a stinker on the whole album and I wore that thing out back in the day. Think I may fire up a little Gringo Honeymoon and Sonora’s Death Row this morning. His voice is both so bad and so undeniably infectious at the same time.

Would love to see an older more refined REK. He and Lyle Lovett were doing some online shows in the early pandemic days and now I’m kicking myself that I didn’t catch one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Trey3216

Trey3216 15346

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I'm definitely going to have to see him sometime this summer.  IF, big IF, I could get a ticket to see him at Floore's, that would be the absolute shit.  If not, I'll catch him somewhere.   Hate to see it happen.  Killed me that I wasn't able to see Charlie Robison again before he had to stop touring.  I won't let that happen with REK.  

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Post Oak

Post Oak 20213

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My Top 10 (I think)in no particular order.

1. Feeling Good Again

2. Gringo Honeymoon

3. Corpus Christi Bay

4.  I'll Go On Downtown

5.  No Kinda Dancer

6.  Paint The Town Beige

7.  I'm Coming Home

8.  What I Really Mean

9.  Not A Drop Of Rain

10.  Whenever Kindness Fails

Honestly, I could make a Top20 and still fell as I left some out.

 

Thanks for the good times and memories REK.  My favorite aggy.

 

 

Edited by Post Oak
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Trey3216

Trey3216 15346

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10 hours ago, Biff Tannen said:

@Trey3216 just making sure you saw this 

The June 24th show in Waco is part of the Brazos Nights concert series in Downtown.  It is free to the public and is set right on the banks of the Brazos in Indian Springs Park.  It's a really neat setup and a solid place to watch an outdoor show.  It will be an absolute fucking zoo for REK.   

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Jerry Callo

Jerry Callo 8703

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On 3/16/2022 at 6:32 PM, 4th&Five said:

Planning on doing Round Rock. Anyone been to that venue?

I think it's brand new this Spring.  Nutty Brown is/was supposed to move to this site.

Thanks for the heads-up.  I just bought a couple tickets for the Round Rock show.

Edited by Jerry Callo
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