Centro-matic and South San Gabriel To Donate Record Sales To Bastrop Wildfire Relief Efforts

Back in July, when we caught up with Centro-matic frontman Will Johnson to talk about his band’s latest release, the excellent Candidate Waltz, much of our conversation centered around the small dusty city of Bastrop, Texas, located about 30 miles south of Austin, where Johnson wrote essentially all of the new album’s material.

“It was hot as hell, and it was my first summer in that little town,” Johnson told us of those recording sessions. “It was interesting to be kind of removed from the big city
for the first time in quite a number of years. I didn’t know a lot of
people out there, which is kind of part of the impetus of moving out
there. I really wanted to kind of hunker down and live the small-town
life for a little while. I remember I’d wake up, take care of a little
email work or whatever, walk downtown, get lunch, then come back and
hook all the amps up and everything, and just write all afternoon. It
was one of the most fun, truly kidlike, joy-filled writing sessions I
can remember. I just set everything up in the kitchen and had a really
good time just playing this.”

The current situation in the town is far less blissful; of all the areas facing the fires rampaging through Central Texas at the moment, Bastrop might have it the worst. The city’s blaze the largest of all the fires, having already destroyed 600 homes, having forced the evacuations of another 5,000 residents and having spread well across 30,000 acres.

Earlier this week, on a return flight to his current residence in Austin from a tour stop in New Orleans, Johnson saw the damage of the fire firsthand, the smoke emanating from the nearby region impossible to ignore from the sky’s eye. Once back home, he called some friends to check on their well-being. Most had been evacuated and are in good health, despite their homes being in question. But not all have been so fortunate.

“I’m still missing one guy,” Johnson says over the phone this afternoon.
“I haven’t reached him yet. Everyone else just seems incredible
devastated. But they’re all safe, and that’s the big thing.”

Far
as Johnson knows, the place he rented while writing Candidate Waltz is
still standing. But few structures have been so fortunate. One friend,
Johnson says, watched on as he lost his home to the fire in “a matter of
minutes.” Others complained that they were having difficulty breathing
amidst all the flames and smoke.

“It definitely hits home,”
Johnson says. “It’s an area and a region that I’m pretty smitten with.
It remains an incredible source of inspiration to me and I have a lot of
friends out there. And it’s our family’s playground.”

Wistfully,
Johnson talks of weekend trips back to the city for brunches, hiking
treks and swimming trips. Were it not for commuting complications,
perhaps, of getting his kids to their Austin schools, he might still
live there. As such, Johnson and the rest of his bandmates in
Centro-matic and South San Gabriel have a plan to help out with the
devastation as best they can.

This weekend, on Saturday,
September 10, and Sunday, September 11, one hundred percent the sales of
all Centro-matic, South San Gabriel and Will Johnson solo releases
purchased at the Undertow Music Collective online store
will be donated to helping the victims of the Bastrop fires. The
following weekend, on Sunday, September 18, Johnson will also auction
off two paintings from his acclaimed baseball series — portraits of
Dave Kingsman and Richie Herber — with the proceeds also benefiting the
Bastrop victims.

“I want to make sure that the money we raise goes directly to the Bastrop cause,” Johnson says.

This
afternoon, he’s researching the specific entities to which the money
will go. (As that information is confirmed, we’ll pass it along.) In the
meantime, Johnson is hunkering down in his Austin home, hoping that the
situation doesn’t worsen — especially in light of the fact that many
Bastrop evacuees have relocated to the state capital. This morning, a
fire broke out north of the city.

“We’re just totally surrounded
by it now,” he says. “It’s extremely hazy here [in Austin] today, and
there’s the smell of smoke everywhere. This is the first day that I’ve
noticed that significantly.”

Below, Johnson makes his plea for assistance in his cause directly.

Centro-matic Dispatch – September 6, 2011

I write to you all with a pretty heavy heart this afternoon. On the
flight home from New Orleans yesterday, I saw a massive portion of my
former home county on fire. I got word of all this after our show on
Sunday night, and waited ’til morning to make some calls. I spoke to a
friend and former neighbor before I got on the plane to make sure he,
his wife and dogs were okay. He told me that the fire came through
faster than they could have imagined on Sunday afternoon. They had just
enough time to get the dogs into their small car, shut the front door to
the house that they’d put years of love, work, and care into, and say
goodbye. They lost everything minutes later to a fire that presently
spans over 30,000 acres, and has destroyed more than 500 homes.
Resources are stretched thin out there. As I write this, the fire is
still 0% contained.

My friend’s story is one of many here in Central Texas right now, but
it sure hits hard. It comes from a community that I lived in for a good
while, and still have immeasurable love for. Bastrop and its
surrounding piney woods has inspired the last few years of our
songwriting and the releases that have followed. Every ounce of
Candidate Waltz was written out there. The Little Raider EP that I
released earlier in the year is as close as I could get to out and out
writing a love note to that area’s beauty, inhabitants, and uniqueness.

Our band has decided we’d like to help out in a few ways.

We will donate all Centro-matic/South San Gabriel/Will J sales from
the Undertow Store on Saturday Sept. 10th and Sunday Sept. 11th to help
victims of this fire. It’s a good time to pick up a release (or
releases) you may not have, need to replace, or pass along to a friend.

Centro-matic store @ Undertow Music Collective.

I will also auction off two original baseball paintings (Dave Kingman
and Richie Hebner) starting Sunday. The auction will be up and running
for a week, ending Sunday Sept. 18th. All details on the paintings will
be included once the auction begins.

100% of the proceeds will go directly to help victims of this fire get their lives back on track.

Thanks for reading and considering.

-Will J