Tex Schramm and the Radio King Cowboys

Area drummer Greg Schramm has played drums with some of the best Americana/Roots acts in Greater Cincinnati, formerly with Magnolia Mountain and Stardevils and currently with The Sidecars and The Tammy WhyNots. But last year, like Phil Collins and Dave Grohl before him, Schramm proved himself to be more than “just” a beat-keeper. Greetings From …, the debut album by his group Tex Schramm and the Radio King Cowboys, showed Schramm to be a damn fine songwriter and band leader, too.

Saturday at the Southgate House Revival (southgatehouse.com), Schramm shows his debut full-length wasn’t a fluke, releasing the Cowboys’ sophomore album, Lucky Chaps. The 9 p.m. release party will also feature sets by The Kentucky Struts, Mack West and Johnny Berry and the Outliers.

The notable groups with which Schramm plays and has played might all be considered “Americana,” but each performs various strains of Roots “subgenres,” from Western Swing and Trad Country to Honky Tonk and beyond. Lucky Chaps mirrors Schramm’s band experience — it’s Classic Country-inspired Americana at its core, but the album also has elements of early Rock & Roll, Rockabilly, Western Swing, Alt Country and other forms sprinkled throughout.

Vocally, Schramm’s endearing, hiccup-ready vocals guide the band through highlight cuts like “Baby, Baby Come Back,” which is threaded with stellar guitar leads from local area music legend David Rhodes Brown, the tear-in-beer ballad “Put the Glass To My Lips,” with its weeping violin, pedal steel and tight harmonies recalling The Mavericks circa What A Crying Shame, the Rockabilly-rumbling “Freight Train” and the honky-tonkin’ “Merry-Go-Round,” which struts on Todd Hepburn’s rollicking piano saunter.

With Lucky Chaps, Schramm and Co. have created the natural sequel to their debut. Once again presenting an endearing and endlessly entertaining hodgepodge of musical twang, the main difference between the two full-lengths is stronger songwriting and a more evident cohesiveness, no doubt the result of Schramm and the Radio King Cowboys’ growing confidence and experience.
- www.citybeat.com/.../article-26634-radio_king_cowboys_show_off_...

Area drummer Greg Schramm has played drums with some of the best Americana/Roots acts in Greater Cincinnati, formerly with Magnolia Mountain and Stardevils and currently with The Sidecars and The Tammy WhyNots. But last year, like Phil Collins and Dave Grohl before him, Schramm proved himself to be more than “just” a beat-keeper. Greetings From …, the debut album by his group Tex Schramm and the Radio King Cowboys, showed Schramm to be a damn fine songwriter and band leader, too.

Saturday at the Southgate House Revival (southgatehouse.com), Schramm shows his debut full-length wasn’t a fluke, releasing the Cowboys’ sophomore album, Lucky Chaps. The 9 p.m. release party will also feature sets by The Kentucky Struts, Mack West and Johnny Berry and the Outliers.

The notable groups with which Schramm plays and has played might all be considered “Americana,” but each performs various strains of Roots “subgenres,” from Western Swing and Trad Country to Honky Tonk and beyond. Lucky Chaps mirrors Schramm’s band experience — it’s Classic Country-inspired Americana at its core, but the album also has elements of early Rock & Roll, Rockabilly, Western Swing, Alt Country and other forms sprinkled throughout.

Vocally, Schramm’s endearing, hiccup-ready vocals guide the band through highlight cuts like “Baby, Baby Come Back,” which is threaded with stellar guitar leads from local area music legend David Rhodes Brown, the tear-in-beer ballad “Put the Glass To My Lips,” with its weeping violin, pedal steel and tight harmonies recalling The Mavericks circa What A Crying Shame, the Rockabilly-rumbling “Freight Train” and the honky-tonkin’ “Merry-Go-Round,” which struts on Todd Hepburn’s rollicking piano saunter.

With Lucky Chaps, Schramm and Co. have created the natural sequel to their debut. Once again presenting an endearing and endlessly entertaining hodgepodge of musical twang, the main difference between the two full-lengths is stronger songwriting and a more evident cohesiveness, no doubt the result of Schramm and the Radio King Cowboys’ growing confidence and experience.
- www.citybeat.com/.../article-26634-radio_king_cowboys_show_off_...

November 9th, 2010 By mbreen | Music | Posted In: Local Music, Reviews
Tex Schramm's Solo Debut Dazzles





4 Comments

Tags: Greg Tex Schramm, Radio King Cowboys





Greg “Tex” Schramm, former drummer for local faves StarDevils and Catalog Cowboys and current time-keeper with western swingers The Sidecars and Roots music masters Magnolia Mountain, steps up to the mic with his first solo album, Greetings From (credited to Tex Schramm and His Radio King Cowboys). Schramm’s debut suggests he’s paid studious attention behind the drum kit when he’s been playing with some of the area's finest Roots-oriented bands. But Schramm’s songwriting and execution is so impressive, it’s clear his talent is inherent.

The 15 tracks show impressive range — Schramm’s songs hover in the orbits of Classic Country, vintage Rock & Roll, twangy Rockabilly and rollicking Honky Tonk — and have an air of authenticity so thick, some might have you wondering if the release year isn’t a few decades off. The tone shifts a lot on Schramm’s debut, split between sincere, heartfelt love songs, observations on relationships gone awry, clever storytelling and tunes that carry on Folk and Country’s tradition of playfulness and humor, such as the lover’s lament “Must Have Been Smokin’ Somethin’.” Meanwhile, the album’s musical diversity allows Schramm to showcase his versatility, though his immensely strong songwriting abilities gives the album a sense of cohesion and singular personality.

Schramm’s also really good at putting together top-shelf musicians to help animate his tunes. His Radio King Cowboys band is all-star quality, featuring local Roots legend and lap-steel guitar specialist David Rhodes Brown (he also plays lead guitar, mandolin and banjo on the record), longtime collaborator Greg Renzenbrink on bass and guitarists Peter Mayer and Dean Ulmer. Schramm and his Cowboys make it look easy, moving gracefully and effortlessly from the rumbling, blazing, bluesy “Talkin’ on the Telephone” and the cinematic, reverbed-up Surf instrumental “Tacumcari” to the could’ve-been-Trad Country-hits-40-years-ago “I’m Walkin’” and “A Time Late at Night” and the dark, edgy shuffle of “All in Good Time,” one of the tracks that shows Schramm is unafraid to not simply rely on Americana clichés in his writing.

Though it’s his first solo work, Greetings From reveals Schramm to already be a mature and accomplished artist. Coming straight out of the chute this fully developed is a remarkable feat and suggests even greater things to come, creatively, in Schramm’s future. Fans of legends like George Jones, Elvis (in his early days), Buck Owens, Carl Perkins and Hank Williams, as well as modern traditionalists like The Mavericks, Lyle Lovett, Chris Isaak and BR549, need to seek out this Honky Tonk/Country/Americana tour de force, pronto.

Schramm and Co. host a release party this Saturday at the Southgate House’s Juney’s Lounge. The Sidecars also perform at the free show.
- www.citybeat.com/.../blog-1522-tex-schramms-solo-debut-dazzles.ht...

November 9th, 2010 By mbreen | Music | Posted In: Local Music, Reviews
Tex Schramm's Solo Debut Dazzles





4 Comments

Tags: Greg Tex Schramm, Radio King Cowboys





Greg “Tex” Schramm, former drummer for local faves StarDevils and Catalog Cowboys and current time-keeper with western swingers The Sidecars and Roots music masters Magnolia Mountain, steps up to the mic with his first solo album, Greetings From (credited to Tex Schramm and His Radio King Cowboys). Schramm’s debut suggests he’s paid studious attention behind the drum kit when he’s been playing with some of the area's finest Roots-oriented bands. But Schramm’s songwriting and execution is so impressive, it’s clear his talent is inherent.

The 15 tracks show impressive range — Schramm’s songs hover in the orbits of Classic Country, vintage Rock & Roll, twangy Rockabilly and rollicking Honky Tonk — and have an air of authenticity so thick, some might have you wondering if the release year isn’t a few decades off. The tone shifts a lot on Schramm’s debut, split between sincere, heartfelt love songs, observations on relationships gone awry, clever storytelling and tunes that carry on Folk and Country’s tradition of playfulness and humor, such as the lover’s lament “Must Have Been Smokin’ Somethin’.” Meanwhile, the album’s musical diversity allows Schramm to showcase his versatility, though his immensely strong songwriting abilities gives the album a sense of cohesion and singular personality.

Schramm’s also really good at putting together top-shelf musicians to help animate his tunes. His Radio King Cowboys band is all-star quality, featuring local Roots legend and lap-steel guitar specialist David Rhodes Brown (he also plays lead guitar, mandolin and banjo on the record), longtime collaborator Greg Renzenbrink on bass and guitarists Peter Mayer and Dean Ulmer. Schramm and his Cowboys make it look easy, moving gracefully and effortlessly from the rumbling, blazing, bluesy “Talkin’ on the Telephone” and the cinematic, reverbed-up Surf instrumental “Tacumcari” to the could’ve-been-Trad Country-hits-40-years-ago “I’m Walkin’” and “A Time Late at Night” and the dark, edgy shuffle of “All in Good Time,” one of the tracks that shows Schramm is unafraid to not simply rely on Americana clichés in his writing.

Though it’s his first solo work, Greetings From reveals Schramm to already be a mature and accomplished artist. Coming straight out of the chute this fully developed is a remarkable feat and suggests even greater things to come, creatively, in Schramm’s future. Fans of legends like George Jones, Elvis (in his early days), Buck Owens, Carl Perkins and Hank Williams, as well as modern traditionalists like The Mavericks, Lyle Lovett, Chris Isaak and BR549, need to seek out this Honky Tonk/Country/Americana tour de force, pronto.

Schramm and Co. host a release party this Saturday at the Southgate House’s Juney’s Lounge. The Sidecars also perform at the free show.
- www.citybeat.com/.../blog-1522-tex-schramms-solo-debut-dazzles.ht...