Encore performance! The episode of Radio Without Borders for April 18, 2007 originally aired on Februrary 15, 2006.

Radio Without Borders #21
April 5, 2006
The Gourds, Brandi Carlile, Austin Lounge Lizards, Brent Palmer, Tucker Roundtree

The Gourds
“Hooky Junk”
Many have attempted to personify, label-fy, quantify, verbalize and sanctify the concoction of musical quilts The Gourds have somehow knit together. In a saucepan of slow roasts they have conjured tempos, tangos, waltzes, zydeco, old timey, two step, low-grooved, long winded, short tailed, stompin’ gizmos of tunes tripped out of lonely, solid teeth and wet green Earth. The Gourds, an Austin favorite, seem to let their music fry just long enough before they turn it over and brown it on the other side. Their newest CD is Heavy Ornamentals.

Brandi Carlile
“Closer To You”
Authentic. That’s the first word that springs to mind when you encounter Brandi Carlile. From her rootsy bell-clear voice to the palpable emotion that seeps through every song on her stunning debut album, everything about this 23-year-old from rural Washington state is the real deal.

Austin Lounge Lizards
“Hey Little Minivan”
The Austin Lounge Lizards have delighted audiences from Texas to California, from Canada to the U.K., with their inventive style of satirical folk, country and bluegrass. Based in Austin since they formed in 1980, the Lizards have honed their music into a knife-sharp art form. Trademarks of a Lizards song are highly literate, sharply pointed lyrics that poke fun at politics, love, religion and the culture in general. The Austin Lounge Lizards just celebrated their 25th year of playing together.

Brent Palmer
“Disposable Arms”
Born in Port Neches, Texas, Brent was raised in Houston for much of his childhood. There his parents gave him his first guitar at age nine and turned him on to records like Alabama’s Feels So Right and Roy Orbison’s Cryin. He’s now pursuing a music career in Austin, blending driving guitars, plaintive vocals and bittersweet lyrics into his own brand of folk-pop.

Tucker Rountree
“Nights and Mornings”
Tucker Rountree, based in Salt Lake City, is a composer, jazz guitarist and educator. As a product of the eighties, he was engrained with the new wave and pop music of the time, which is apparent in his original jazz compositions. Tucker’s favorite influences include John Coltrane, Pat Metheny, Eric Johnson, John McLaughlin, Wayne Shorter, Wes Montgomery, Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett and Wolfgang Muthspiel. He’s currently working on a new album, due out later this spring.

— Laurie Gallardo