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