Born in Austin and raised on the Blackland Prairie of North Texas , Stark knows whereof he sings. His songs are about the people who live in Texas now. And that means his songs are about people everywhere. If you've ever heard the tire hum shift as you passed a county line marker, if you've ever spent a heartbroken night in a lonely honky-tonk where the jukebox was your only friend, then you've visited the world of R.G. Stark.
After releasing three critically acclaimed records as chief singer and songwriter for the band Blue Diamond Shine (including the most recent: Shrimp Boat Town, chosen as one of the top ten best new releases of 2006 by Austin Chronicle writer Christopher Gray), R.G. has forged out on his own. Quitting his day-job in a biotech warehouse, Stark holed up for several months in a travel-trailer in East Austin to work on this latest batch of songs.
Here are a few tracks from the upcoming CD. Hitch a ride. The journey is everything.
WHAT THE CRITICS SAY
Shrimp Boat Town evokes a place where, in frontman R.G. Stark's elegant bayou poetry, "The jukebox is your only friend. " His well-spent quarters pay handsome dividends... If Huey P. Meax were still around, he'd hustle Stark and BDS into his Sugar Hill Studios double time...
Christopher Gray, The Austin Chronicle
Lively and colorful, propelled both by spirited arrangements with a generous nod to prime Sir Douglas Quintet and Stark's rich baritone and melodic instincts...
Richard Skanse , Texas Music Magazine
Stark twangs with the kind of gothic/desperate-men-do-desperate-things lyrics that haunt while propelling the boot scooting...
Jim Beal, San Antonio Express-News
...Country Rock a la Gram Parsons, with moody vocals and reflective lyrics. Stark has a keen eye and a rumbling voice that makes for solid post-country grooves...
Jerry Renshaw , The Austin Chronicle
This is haunting, gorgeous, country music...
Will Sheff , Okkerville River