One of the better young acts excelling in rootsy chemistry is Florida's Have Gun Will Travel. While their current album, Mergers & Acquisitions, is the band's strongest to date, the quintet's last LP, Postcards From the Friendly City, was an excellent example of their talents as well. For those who pay attention to such things, the reliably excellent, Denver-based label Suburban Home Records, home to Two Cow Garage, Drag the River and Lizzie Huffman, has adopted the band and made sure their records get to the masses.
Luckily for Texas, Have Gun Will Travel is making a rare swing though the state this week. Tonight, they open for fellow musical chemists Whiskey Folk Ramblers and The Orbans at 8.0 in Fort Worth. Tomorrow, City Tavern will host their Dallas stop. Lead vocalist Matt Burke decided that picking only one record to be stranded with on a desert island would be too tall a task for him, so guitarist Scott Anderson shares his choice of his desert island disc.
If given only one disc to be stranded on a desert island with, which would it be? The Rolling Stones, Exile on Main Street. Why that specific album? The songs, the vibe, and the story behind the whole thing. What's your favorite song on the record? All of them rule, but "Torn and Frayed" is the blueprint. When did you first hear the record? It's hard to pinpoint, but it was probably as a young lad in the late '70s. What does picking that record say about you? I guess that me and my bros listen to good music.
Catch Have Gun Will Travel tonight at 8.0 in Ft. Worth and tomorrow at City Tavern.