Sitka Stage Set for Red Dirt Music

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Category: ROOT

Created on Friday, 01 June 2012 08:42

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    Musician Marco Gutierrez says he and his band The Dirty River Boys have a mission every time they play:
    “We’re trying to have people jumping up and down,” Gutierrez said. “We’re not your typical acoustic show.”
    The Dirty River Boys will join up with Cory Morrow for the Fourth Annual Red Dirt Barbecue 5 p.m. to midnight Friday, June 8, at the Sea Mountain Golf Course. The event features a barbecue dinner and live music from 5 to 8 p.m. in a more family-oriented event, followed by an evening of Texas-generated music for the rest of the night.
    Organizers this year have also planned a “pre-kickoff” this weekend, 8 p.m. Saturday, June 2, at the Westmark Sitka. The 21-and-up event features the Texas Renegade, which will also play the following weekend.
    Both events will feature local acts, still being lined up.
    “We want to get as many local acts as we can to play,” said Seimeen Bone, a Red Dirt music fan who founded the festival and is the main organizer.
    The two events are fund-raisers for the national organization Autism Speaks as well as the local Outdoor Recreation and Community Access program. Run by Southeast Alaska Independent Living, ORCA organizes outdoor and recreational activities, including hikes, adventures and boat trips, for those with mental or physical disabilities.
    The popular Red Dirt Barbecue has traditionally been held during the week, but Bone believes holding it on the weekend will bring even more Sitkans out to enjoy the music and support the cause.
    “I’m really excited about it,” she said when contacted in Seattle. “We have so many artists coming up – Texas Renegade, Cory Morrow, Kimberly Kelly, the Dirty River Boys. It’s something you don’t want to miss.”
    While Texas Renegade has built a following over the years in Sitka, the Dirty River Boys are new and one of the hottest bands in Texas. Bone received recommendations from friends and musicians, including Cory Morrow, who encouraged her to check the band out.
    “They were saying, ‘you’ve got to listen to these guys,’” Bone said. She did, and the invitation to come to Sitka went out to them soon after.
    “I feel fortunate to have them,” Bone said. “They’re a very popular band right now.”
    Named for the color of the soil in parts of Oklahoma and Texas, Red Dirt music is most commonly associated with Oklahoma. But Texas also has a Red Dirt movement, associated with such musicians as Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.
    The Red Dirt musicians who come to Sitka for the festival are generally singer-songwriters from Texas, who write and play their own music instead of covers, and compose music using a variety of influences.
    Gutierrez, who is from El Paso, Texas, said the Dirty River Boys use Americana, fast punk, Celtic and old-time traditional as the influences in their music, while Morrow said listeners may find shades of Willie Nelson, Bob Seger and Led Zeppelin in his own music.
    Gutierrez said as a teen he shunned the contemporary country music his mother enjoyed, in favor of such punk favorites as Rancid, Anti-Flag and Lars Frederiksen. In his later teens, he started writing songs and playing his own music. Attending a gig a few years later, he met some musicians on the Texas Red Dirt scene who talked about pursuing music as a full-time career. The idea appealed to him.
    “I hated working a 9 to 5 job, I just wanted to try doing what I loved for a living,” Gutierrez said. “And they wanted to do it, too.”
    He said he felt a little outclassed by a few of them who were more polished and skilled musicians. “I felt they were way out of my league,” he said.
    But it turned out their styles jelled, and they stuck together.
    Gutierrez writes songs and sings, and plays guitar, banjo, mandolin and upright bass. Nino Cooper plays mandolin and guitar, Travis Stearns plays cahon, a percussion instrument that looks like a wooden box; and Colton James plays upright bass.
    “We all play acoustic instruments,” he said. “Some people think of acoustic music as not the most exciting music in the world.”
    But Gutierrez said the variety of influences, and combination of styles, result in an interesting and energetic show.
    “We play a lot of dance halls in Texas,” he said. “Sometimes the music doesn’t fly too well because it’s different. We get people stomping their feet, jumping up and down and having a good time. ... It’s more like a rock and roll show.”
    Gutierrez describes his turning point musically to be Ryan Adams’ Gold album.
    “I fell in absolute love with it,” he said. “It was rock and roll, and it had the Rolling Stones vibe – that’s what my dad used to listen to, which I loved,” Gutierrez said. “I loved that it was honest music. That’s what got me.”
    Cory Morrow, who will join the Dirty River Boys on stage, said it’s a little difficult to describe the music of the Dirty River Boys, but that they are an act worth catching.
    “These guys are really raw, but also in touch with each other,” Morrow said. “They don’t rehearse, they feel their way through things then they’re firing on all cylinders. It’s unique to watch. They have a general idea of what they want, and where they are going. It’s visceral. They are very pure.”
    Morrow, who lives in Austin, Texas, and has been a professional musician for 18 years, is one of the repeat performers at the Red Dirt Barbecue. Asked why he’s making the repeat trip he said, “They asked me.”
    “It’s beautiful up there, it’s for a good cause and I really like the people involved,” Morrow said. “I’m glad to be a part of it again.”
    Bone started the festival as a benefit but also because she enjoys giving Sitkans the chance to hear some of the top Texas Red Dirt artists. She said it’s also another venue for local artists to be seen and heard.
    “It’s a win all the way around,” she said.
    Bone chose the charities based on the work they do. Her son, Andrew, has Fragile X Syndrome, which is a genetic condition involving changes in part of the X chromosome, and he has also been diagnosed with autism.
    “I always wanted to raise awareness about autism,” Seimeen Bone said, noting the mission of Autism Speaks. “The (organization) is also on the forefront of research.”
    But she also wanted the event to benefit a related local charity, and thought of ORCA, which is a part of SAIL.
    “I can’t think of anything better than getting people out who have disabilities, whether it’s walking on the Cross Trail or going to the hatchery,” Bone said. She described a recent outing in which SAIL clients made a recording. “It gets them out there, and doing things, keeping them busy is so great.”
    Bone said she’s grateful to all who have supported the event in the past, and who have provided support to her family and son.
    “I’m happy with the services we have here and how the community is with him,” Bone said. She refers to Andrew as her “solid block of love,” for his sweetness toward others.
    The “pre-kickoff” event is for 21 and up, 8 p.m. to midnight Saturday, June 2, at the Westmark Sitka. Tickets are $10 in advance at Old Harbor Books, or $15 at the door.
    The portion of the evening that includes dinner, as well as music, is 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, June 8, at Sea Mountain Golf Course. Tickets for dinner and the show is $20 in advance and $25 at the door.
    Those who just want to hear the music can pay $20 at the door after 8 p.m.

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