The treasure in Fred Koller’s possession right now isn’t a guitar, an amp, or a rare recording of tiki-lounge music. It’s a first-edition printing of Woody Guthrie’s classic autobiography Bound for Glory, a prize for which many a collector would offer the gold fillings in his teeth. Right now, it’s tucked away neatly in an undisclosed location, no doubt available at a moment’s notice with a single phone call to someone named Tony the Snake.
Someday, however, it may find its way to The Songwriter’s Store, the rare and used bookstore Koller has just opened in a basement nook of—where else?—the Bluebird Cafe. Opened April 1, the 25th anniversary of the day Koller first came to Nashville, The Songwriter’s Store is described as “a comprehensive resource for the songwriter,” providing everything from biographies of tunesmiths Harold Arlen and Hoagy Carmichael to impossible-to-find beat novels and poetry collections.
“My hope is that customers will be able to find books that’ll inspire them to proceed with their writing,” says Koller, a songwriter’s songwriter whose credits include the Jeff Healey Band hit “Angel Eyes,” three No. 1 hits for Kathy Mattea, and John Prine’s immortal “Let’s Talk Dirty in Hawaiian.” Many years ago in California, Koller ran a used bookstore, and he says that whenever he’s on the road, he spends a lot of his time seeking out rare editions and out-of-print treasures.
He had long dreamed of starting his own bookstore, and when a friend suggested an office space beneath the Bluebird, Koller began to pursue the idea in earnest. “I thought, gee, I really wouldn’t have to put out mats if I were there,” he says. As requests for books on songwriting poured into Koller through his regular column in Performing Songwriter magazine, he decided he could wait no longer.
Much of Koller’s own private stash is going into The Songwriter’s Store, along with such in-demand titles as Dorothy Horstman’s Sing Your Heart Out, Country Boy and Koller’s own out-of-print How to Pitch and Promote Your Songs. Koller himself will man the store from 6 to 10 p.m. every Thursday through Monday. There, he’ll probably outfit young songwriters with a copy of Hank Williams’ published lyrics. “This is the competition,” he says, imagining what he’d tell a budding tunesmith looking for guidance. “It ain’t what you’re hearing on the radio.”
Several Nashville artists returned in triumph from the South By Southwest festival two weeks ago in Austin, where many of them found a warmer reception than they ever get at home. Although hampered by bad weather on an outdoor stage, Jeff Black registered strongly enough to lure listeners into the midst of a thunderstorm. An hour later on the same stage, festival buzz band BR5-49 drew nearly 1,000 people despite a misty drizzle. The Delevantes played the wonderful dive the Continental Club, which was filled to one-leaves-one-enters capacity. At the Waterloo Brewing Company, Dan Baird and his Yayhoos rocked a full house into the wee hours of the morning, drawing cheers with “Cumberland River,” a blistering anti-Nashville-music-industry anthem off Baird’s new Buffalo Nickel LP. (The song was widely quoted all weekend.) The Yayhoos also scored with “B-E-E-R-R-U-N,” an eminently catchy drinking song coauthored by a respected Nashville music journalist who shall remain nameless.
The best story of the weekend came from the Evinrudes’ Sherry Cothran, who shared a bill at the Scholz Garden with a scruffy lot of bands with names like the Ragin’ Woodies and the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies. Cothran said she was talking to someone near the stage with her back turned when a band called Throwrag went on. Suddenly, her companions’ jaws dropped, and Cothran turned to find Throwrag’s lead singer bent over on the stage in front of her—stark naked. “He was, um, manipulating parts of his body you normally wouldn’t expect,” deadpans Cothran. “We would’ve hated to follow that.” Fortunately, the Evinrudes escaped just as the cops arrived to toss Throwrag in the pokey. Unfortunately, the band didn’t get to see the show’s headliner: the one and only Elvis of Latin America, El Vez (“You Ain’t Nothin’ But a Chihuahua”).
The other best story of the weekend concerned the cargo of angry Nashvillians stranded for several hours in the Austin airport when their return flight was grounded. After five hours of none-too-friendly stonewalling by the airline staff, the all-Nashville passenger list (which included PR groups, journalists, radio personalities, band members, and at least one Delevante) was finally treated to a generous repast of crackers and foil-packed peanuts. When the mob threatened to get ugly, the airline relented and broke out the free booze. Much singing ensued. We don’t want to mention the airline’s name, but, as one music writer quipped, “I hope next year the festival’s called South By American.”
Elliptical dispatches: Fans of psychotronic rockers Thee Phantom 5ive will have two opportunities this weekend to catch their sexagenic multimedia presentation. Saturday, the dudes open for Nine Parts Devil at the Captain’s Table in scenic Printers’ Alley, and Sunday at the Exit/In, they’re paired with DGC recording artists Southern Culture on the Skids, who’ll rip through tunes from their Dirt Track Date CD like bobcats in a paper sack. Cover for the Exit/In show is $6....
Acclaimed as “one of the fastest rising new bands on the bluegrass circuit” by New Country magazine, the Lonesome River Band celebrates the release of its Sugar Hill LP One Step Forward with a Friday-night show at the Station Inn. Show time is 9 p.m....
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