To begin the Rex Foster story, let’s begin with the story of Bob Dylan stopping in San Antonio, finding a mom and pop record store, pulling over the tour bus, going into the store on a Sunday morning with his road manager and asking if he could get a copy of Rex Foster's CD, Artist because of a song he'd heard called "Thinkin' 'Bout Bob Dylan". He had the manager of the store not only sell him a copy, but also record that song and the last song, "Freedom" on a cassette because Neil Young's bus that Dylan was using didn't have a CD player. Then off he went down the Texas highway into the universe of Bob.
Full circle.
Rex Foster has been a songwriter since 1965 and a performer since 1963. Thus the Dylan influence, along with Ray Charles, Joan Baez, Buffy St. Marie, The Beatles, The Bryds, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Big Daddy Tom Donahue and falling in love with Joan's sister, Mimi Farina. Having Milan Melvin as first producer. But, before that Curt Boettcher showed Rex the dream world of Los Angeles studio recording in 1967 after he escaped from Texas during the Federal sweep on psychedelic family bands like Rex’s first band, Rachael’s Children. Rex and his band were rocking Texas in 1966-1967, long before anyone in San Francisco knew what “psychedelic†meant.
Rex Foster’s musical career has now spanned five decades and has included an album on the famous Barclay Records label in France in 1970; being on the leading edge of the psychedelic movement in California during the late 1960’s; touring as part of the famed Medicine Ball Caravan across the United States and Europe with the likes of Van Morrison, Joanie Mitchell, B.B. King, Hot Tuna, and Rod Stewart and Faces; being part of the progressive country uprising during the 1970’s, and touring with Merle Haggard in 1976.
With all these times of dues-paying...a thousand gigs, a million nights, playing with everyone and playing alone . . . on tour with the great ones, touring alone; on the move in England, France, coast-to-coast; recording albums, T.V. and everything in between. In 1982, the road had taken its toll and Rex put on the brakes. He and his wife Kelly had a beautiful daughter, Rachael, and Rex dedicated the first five years of her life to being home as Papa. During this interlude he developed the trademark jewelry worn by Emmy Lou Harris, Pam Tillis, Roseanne and the late Johnny Cash, the Bellamy Brothers, Haggard, Jerry Jeff Walker, Rodney Crowell, Steve Cropper, Hal Ketchum, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn.
Getting back to touring in 1987, and further creating his trademark guitar playing and songwriting styles, Rex hit the musical highway and began recording again. He added to his long-standing repertoire with four attention-grabbing CDs between 1991-2004:
Artist – 1991 (produced by Rick Beresford)
Believin’ – 1994 (produced by Rick Beresford)
Buffalo Zen – 2001 (produced by Peter Rowan)
Trio Sessions – 2004 (engineered by Tom Roudebush)
Rex has garnered a cadre of appreciative fans across the United States, the European continent, and of course, Texas. Rex is one of those special songwriters whose work is timeless and transcends geographic boundaries. Like his friends, the late Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Willis Allen Ramsey, Peter Rowan, John Ims, Chuck Pyle, and Steve Earle (who calls Rex one of his heroes), his work is about things that matter and his delivery is such that audiences can't help but respond and become involved.
His Buffalo Zen CD garnered much praise from other musicians and songwriters. Rex combined energies with, and was produced by, his well known and respected friend of 28 years, Peter Rowan (Bluegrass icon/hero, Bill Monroe's side vocalist and guitar player, folk pop legend, part of the group "Old and In The Way" with Jerry Garcia, and is known for his outlaw bluegrass Panama Red era with the Jerry Douglas, Bella Fleck, etc, gang).
---The songs on Buffalo Zen are mostly Rex's or what he has done with his friends’ songs after "taking them captive". He does a new, previously unrecorded, Peter Rowan song, a Tom Kimmel/Lisa Aschmann song, and co-written songs with Steve Fisher and Rick Beresford. One co-write was with his daughter, Rachel Foster. All in all - a great collection of songs and songwriters.
---Cindy Cashdollar plays dobro, and lap steel with Rex on the Buffalo Zen CD. She played on all the sessions for Dylan's Grammy monster Time Out of Mind CD a couple of years ago. She is very magical and complementary with Rex's music.
---Steve Earle writes the liner notes for Buffalo Zen. He relays his feelings about the early influence of his old friend, Rex Foster.
In 2004 Rex issued the Trio Session CD. This latest release was one of those chance moments in Rex’s history of live recording, where all the muses came together to dance.
Rex took his trio into the studio and recorded a 10-song set to document the amazing sound of this era with these two other musicians, Jeff Gilkinson on cello and mouth harp, and Emmett Smith on guitar. Though Rex never intended to get such a magic recording...it amazed everyone involved in the project and especially his European fans. It’s a straight-forward recording. Good studio. Good microphones. Good engineer. The three of them sat in the same line and positioning they had been doing on stage. Rex’s trio played and recorded 10 songs with no listen backs, no overdubs, no fixes, no frills . . . just a stage performance in the studio...straight through (without Rex telling stories between the songs). Though the genuine American roots music loving Europeans bought every first-run Trio Session CD, Rex had more printed when he got back to Texas from his last European tour and has been feeling good at each sale since.
One listen to a Rex Foster song and you’ll understand why Bob Dylan just had to pull the tour bus over and buy a Rex Foster CD.
What others say about Rex and his music:
"Rex Foster is one of my heroes." -- Steve Earle
"Rex's songs are really refreshing; I feel like he and I are kindred spirits." -- Townes Van Zandt
"My dear friend with the incredible voice coming out of the Hill Country of Texas." -- Peter Rowan
"Where can I get Rex's CD?" -- Bob Dylan
"Rex Foster sings from his gut, his heart, and his soul. Ain't that what music is all about?" -- Dana Cooper
"Rex Foster has the four winds in his voice and Mother Earth in his heart, and when he puts it to music, I believe it" -- Chuck Pyle"Rex has his own focus and insights, says things in his songs that others can relate to but can't articulate themselves. Plus, I like his hats." -- Jon Ims
What they are saying in Europe about Rex:
"Rex is like a Bob Dylan with the voice of Lou Reed." -- Christophe Kuentz
"Foster is his own man and his own branch of singer- songwriting in the fruitful tree of Texas. Saying this for me is like saying he has entered the pantheon of the best music on this planet." -- Moshe Benarroch
“His songs are jewels and his jewels are songs.†-- Luigi Grechi
Rex’s Music:
Roads of Tomorrow – 1970
Ashby Project – 1974
Artist – 1991
Believin’ – 1994
Buffalo Zen – 2001
Trio Sessions – 2004
Rex’s Co-writers:
Peter Rowan
Rick Beresford
Fred Koller
Bill Bellemy
Dana Cooper
John Ims
Rory Lee
Steve Fisher
Don Earl Harding
Dan Chandler
Greg McLaughlin
