Will Johnson, Collin Herring

It's only fitting that Dallas' favorite yoga studio cum music venue presents this rather yin/yang bill, a two-man survey of the best of local songwriting. The über-prolific Johnson of Centro-Matic, South San Gabriel and solo renown offers a bit more darkness while Fort Worth wunderkind Herring serves up the light,...

By Rob Patterson

August 3, 2006

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It's only fitting that Dallas' favorite yoga studio cum music venue presents this rather yin/yang bill, a two-man survey of the best of local songwriting. The über-prolific Johnson of Centro-Matic, South San Gabriel and solo renown offers a bit more darkness while Fort Worth wunderkind Herring serves up the light, both of them reworking the Americana/alt-country/roots rock thing to their own keen and emotionally stirring purposes. Both have begged comparisons to artists of far wider but not necessarily greater acclaim--think Paul Westerberg and Jay Farrar for contemporary references--yet each is also making his own distinctive mark as a writer and stylist. Hence this two-fer is rich with musical literacy and lyrical harmonics from guys who can both stun listeners with their guitars, their voices and the products of their mighty muses.

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