'A gruff voice that occasionally hints of Eric Clapton and a moody songwriting style that hints of Neil Young.' Austin Chronicle
'An enchanting and memorable live performer.' Urban Campfires Program
Etkilendikleri
PERFORMING SUN & MOON & STARS IN 1977
INFLUENCES: John Lennon, Bruce Cockburn, Mark Knopfler, Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Lowell George, Nanci Griffith, Lyle Lovett, David Rodriguez, Tom Pacheco, Peter Case, Bob Neuwirth, Geoff Muldaur, T. Bone Burnett, Fritz Richmond, Steven Bruton, David Mansfield, Mickey Raphael, Southside Johnny.
Neye Benziyor?
"As a songwriter he can easily take his place in that hallowed area occupied by the likes of Randy Newman, Bruce Cockburn and Tom Waits." Appel Farms Festival
"A haunting, spare set of recollections that recall Robert Johnson in their stark intensity and Hank William in their country simplicity." ' Musician Magazine
"Vince Bell is not your typical Texas singer-songwriter. His music is more art song than folk song, more Jacques Brel than Woody Guthrie...He's easier to compare to David Crosby or Joni Mitchell than to Willie or Waylon." Acoustic Guitar Magazine
READ JOE NICK PATOSKI'S BLOG ON ONE MAN'S MUSIC:
http://joenickp.blogspot.com/2009/05/life-and-times-of-vince-bell-texas.html
ONE MAN'S MUSIC: The autobiography published by the University of North Texas Press, the newCD, and the new One-Man Play
The end is where we start from.
— T.S. Eliot
When Vince Bell finished writing One Man's Music: The Life and Times of Texas Songwriter Vince Bell, a revised and greatly expanded edition of his acclaimed 1998 autobiography, little did he realize that the simple yet hard-won act of typing "THE END" would signify not only the completion of one work but the beginning of two others. When the University of North Texas Press published One Man's Music in April as the latest in its North Texas Lives of Musicians Series, Bell also premiered a new play and rleased a companion CD soundtrack of the two works.
"[T]his is a triumphant tale of distance and reunion, of shrapnel and balm, and of a man and his guitar who manage to find poetry in tenacity," wrote Peter Cooper of The Tennessean.
Based on his autobiography, One Man's Music: A Monologue with Song details Bell's recovery from an accident that waylaid his career for a dozen years. Recounting his roundabout climb back onstage, he shines a light in those dark corners of the music business that, for the lone musician whose success is measured not by the Top 40 but by nightly victories, usually fall outside of the spotlight. Bell will premiere the hour-long, one-man show at Anderson Fair, in Houston, Texas, on April 24th and 25th.
Bell completes his artistic trifecta with the simultaneous release of his fifth album, One Man's Music: The Songs. Serving as the soundtrack to not only the book and play but also his impressive career, Bell complements his new tunes with newly recorded versions of some of his most notable work from long out-of-print albums. "This time it's a duet," Bell says. "I wanted to play my guitar against a piano." The result, according to renaissance man Bob Neuwirth, is a recording that's "So live!"
EXCERPTS FROM ONE MAN'S MUSIC: A MONOLOGUE WITH SONG
Early articles and reviews include:
ACT THREE: The Reinventions of Vince Bell
by Brad Tyer
The Texas Observer
“... a new CD called One Man’s Music, a collection of Bell songs old and new in a well-matched guitar-and-piano presentation. The CD accompanies a book, One Man’s Music: The Life and Times of Texas Songwriter Vince Bell, published this month by University of North Texas Press. Both are being released in conjunction with Bell’s first public performances of One Man’s Music: A Monologue with Song. The hour-long one-man show covers the whole story: the young guitar player’s paradise of Houston’s Montrose neighborhood circa 1971; his coffeehouse-circuit touring days; the accident and recovery; and Bell’s eventual return to the stage, and to relative normalcy.”
http://www.texasobserver.org/article.php?aid=3018
Vince Bell - One Man's Music (autobiography)
by Richard Soos
Eartaste
"You never know what to expect from a poet in terms of autobiography. Vince surprises in that while his prose is poetic, it reads well, like a good novel. We get small glimpses into his life filtered through the eyes of a good writer....Vince’s prose is filled with irony and self-deprecating humor, in the best sense. “I’ve grown up in music, worked to distraction in music, married unsuccessfully in music, and I’ve been at it for several wifetimes.” Nope, that’s not a typo, that’s Vince at his best. Occasionally he’ll remind us that he’s a poet, “every kind of human perturbation was partially obscured by a verdant, elephant-eared undergrowth”, but his poetic phrases do not distract from the story, they add some color and flavor.
http://eartaste.blogspot.com/2009/04/vince-bell-one-mans-music-autobiography.html
Rootstime.be
Vince Bell, One Man's Music: The Songs
by Jan Albert
"Without any doubt one of the albums of the year!"
http://www.rootstime.be/CD%20REVIEWS/2009/2009-APRIL2.htm15
The above article is in Dutch, but Mr. Albert kindly provided an English translation:
"If John Lennon had been born in Texas and hadn't been called Townes Van Zandt, his name would have been Vince Bell. It takes a Belgian surrealist mind to understand this, but that doesn’t make it less true! No, seriously, Vince Bell is –alas- one of the best kept secrets of Texan songwriting. He was and still is the most sophisticated one of the generation of songwriters and performers that hung around the Houston music scene in the seventies. Not that the company was bad: Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Lyle Lovett, Lucinda Williams, Nanci Griffith, ... all of them swerving around Anderson Fair and The Old Quarter and joints alike. It was written in the stars that Vince would make it. He was recording an album and had just finished a session with Stevie Ray Vaughn, when late at night he was struck by a drunk driver. Next morning, his obituary was in the local newspaper. The journalist ‘doing’ the emergency units and who saw Vince being brought in, didn’t give him a ghost of a chance…
I stared into the face of God… and he blinked.
Twenty-seven years and a slow recovery after a coma later, Vince has completed his latest album (his fifth), has seen his autobiography ‘One Man’s Music’ published in the ‘Lives of Musicians Series’ (University of North Texas Press) and is embarking upon a one-man-show tour during which he mixes spoken word with songs. Those who know Vince, know what a storyteller he is, so we can only hope we’ll soon be able to se him on in one of the clubs nearby. Until then there is the new record, which is also called ‘One Man’s Music’. For the occasion, Vince has re-recorded a selection of songs from his back-catalogue. Many are from his debut (‘Phoenix’, produced in 1994 by Bob Neuwirth) which isn’t available anymore, except through Vince’s website. On ‘One Man’s Music’ Vince has stripped down fourteen songs to their bare necessities: very direct vocals, up and close (’so live’ remarks Bob Neuwirth) and Vince’s unique guitar playing, which is something in between finger-picking and strumming – for the guitar freaks: you have to hear this, in order not to understand it and wonder how he does it. I guess Vince’d say it takes a fractured and fixed up arm. Ned Albright adds some subtle touches of Steinway, not too much, just enough to add some colour. It works like magic! Except his guitar, nothing stands in between Vince and his songs and this leads to some of the ultimate versions of his enchantingly beautiful songs. How else can we describe pearls like these:
The sun and moon and stars make the wind blow
Took me twenty years to understand
Lost to me is how the lives of friends go
Like autumn leaves in Oklahoma wind
(Sun & Moon & Stars).
A hundred miles from Mexico
Me and my amigo, the coral orange moon
Dark so black poets don’t go
Ol’ fateful, willin’ who I am on a fateful, winding stretch of road.
(100 Miles from Mexico).
Or this one, from the very first song Vince wrote after the accident – recorded here for the first time:
A luckless night
After a luckless day.
The frying fish commits filet.
The waitress was a plate of babe.
He eyed the price.
A pair of dice.
(Pair of dice)
Vince’s work is of an extraordinary nature and ‘One Man’s Music’ is either your chance to discover it, or to enjoy 24 carat versions of those songs you know already. The book and the CD can both be ordered though Vince’s website.
Just dropping by to say Hi and see what you’re up to and how you are doing.
As always, wishing you well. Stay positive, productive & purpose driven.
Peace
Michael
Vince, Thanks for the add! Look forward to you coming through Austin again or to the Spring Fling. We're trying to replace The Oaks and remember some great performances there like yours. Peace & Love, Will
We've got a show Sept. 26, I think, but it's not the same night as yours, I'll try to make it. It's about time we crossed paths . . . Don't know Vince Pawless, but it sounds like I should. I'll send you an article I wrote least year about the darker side of Texas music--part of it deals with David.
Every time that we listen & write music... play an instrument... dance... act in a play... or work in some audio/image/video engineering process... something is healing inside...
When we share it with friends... something is healing all over...
cada vez que escuchamos o escribimos musica... tocamos un instrumento... bailamos... o trabajamos en procesos de ingenieria de audio/imagen/video.... algo se sana por dentro...
Cuando lo compartimos con otros... algo se sana en todas partes...
El Amor puede conducir... de manera simple... todo...
After catching Vince in the Hill Country, it was very nice seeing you both @ the Fair... What a great evening!! Look forward to our paths crossing again soon ~ Happy Trails!<3
Hi Vince, good to hear from you! I see where you're in our old hometown for some shows. H-town sure has changed from when we were kids hasn't it? If I ever get through Santa Fe I definitely look you up. Peace
We so enjoyed your River Road House concert in San Antonio ~ what a special performance! Can't wait to catch you again @ month's end at Anderson Fair. Love<3Light!
hello vince and sarah... about the "my guitar and me" topic (see: one man's music on hazy list), maybe here's one on myspace... direct voice+guitar take, while taking a break from mixing a more complex song. it's italian, hope you can enjoy anyway. also an interesting live of "sonya" with good friend matteo toni -- check us out! sending love to queridos amigos en santa fe d
Vince - your presence and songs still radiating in this little neighborhood by the river after last night's wonderful house concert! Truth told, I don't think anybody wanted to leave last night, everyone was enjoying themselves so much.
Thank you for bringing us your unique charm, moving songs and much laughter, and for bringing Cam King to play at your side - you're right, he's wonderful! We really enjoyed a relaxing, stress-free evening with you, Cam and your long time friend, David Byboth. Can't get any better than that!
Can't wait to crack open your new book, One Man's Music - the Life and Times of Texas Songwriter, Vince Bell!
Have a wonderful time with the debut of your one man play today in Austin - wish I could be there, but my car awakened with a flat tire. That's alright..I can do some good reading today. (o:
Again, thanks, many blessings and see you down the road, JoLynn
