But Pankratz is no kewpie-doll gimmick: the 26-year-old Dripping Springs native is among the best drummers around, a gun-for-hire who's in no band and all bands. Having sat in with everyone from would-be Austin surf-rock legend Teisco Del Ray to country-boy Don Walser to Dawson, she's quickly established quite a reputation as a musician who's adept at all styles while maintaining her own.
She began her professional career playing with her dad, a rhythm and blues drummer around Austin in the '60s, in the reggae band I-Tex; shortly before she left for Rice in 1990, she formed her own band, the rockabilly-and-jazz 47 Indians, which broke up in 1991. She nearly found herself in a band with two-thirds of High Noon until they added another member and decided to go rockabilly without percussion, which left Pankratz free to play with whomever she wanted or whoever called.
"Hopefully, part of what's unique to me is being able to fit in and complement the musicians I play with," she says. "I'm not sure I have a style of drumming. Maybe that's a developing thing. I don't know. I think too much, and if I start thinking about my style I'll psyche myself out. Sometimes I think way too much and I have to remind myself to stop thinking and play. I think I provide a real solid backbeat when it's called for, but there's room, too. I feel like a lot of my favorite drummers are about what they don't do as much as what they do."
Ronnie Dawson and High Noon with Lisa Pankratz perform November 5 at Sons of Hermann Hall, 3414 Elm, at 9 p.m. This will be Dawson's last performance in town for a good while because he's set to return to London to finish recording his next album, due to be released early next year. In the meantime, he has just released a killer, brand-new single on the Rock-A-Billy label out of Colorado, "Boy Next Door"/"Rockin' Boppin' Fever."
DUMP on this
When is an underground-rock fest not an underground-rock fest? When it has corporate sponsorship from Shiner Bock, that's when. Otherwise, the 1st Annual Dallas Underground Music Party (which organizers refer to as "The DUMP") bears a striking resemblance to last year's initial Wake Up, Dallas! showcase: for two nights, some of the area's best (and not-best) punk bands play 15-minute sets at the Galaxy Club to raise awareness about The Scene. John Freeman will even emcee the proceedings, having proved himself the Ed Sullivan of such events at last year's Wake Up! debut.
On November 4, the bands performing will include: Baboon, Trucker Pussy (formerly Headswim, and not to be confused with Thunder Pussy), Vibrolux, UFOFU, Brutal Juice, El Kabong, Bad Hair Day, Alan Parsons Projectile, Thermus, and Superphat. The following night's lineup will include: Grand Pricks, Lithium X-Mas, Feckweed, Trailer Park, Loveswing, The Millionaires, The Soup, Duck Duck Annihilation, Cobbler, Panzee, and Hodge Podge. Admission is $3 each night for the 21 and over crowd; $5 for 18 and under.
