One look at 23 year old Andrew Combs’ musical influences will certainly open many eyes. He lists Guy Clark, Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, Harlan Howard, Hank Cochran, and Townes Van Zandt as among those who have shaped his roots.

To be honest, that is exactly what first attracted me to his initial 6 song debut release titled “Tennessee Time.” Anyone with that background and taste in music is worth my time to check out. I was extremely glad I did.

From the opening song titled “Hummingbird,” I was immediately reminded of the first time I heard Hayes Carll years ago on his initial “Flowers & Liquor” release. His Dallas, Texas roots truly shine in his lyrics and vocals. The phrasing and vocal inflections are outstanding.

As I sat down and spoke with Andrew, he was just going on break from his full time job in a Nashville, TN restaurant. You have got to love a guy who is not resting on his laurels and waiting for anything to be handed to him.

“Got to pay the rent somehow,” stated Andrew. “I hope to get the EP out and pick up a few paying gigs to help out, but right now it is just me and my girlfriend Heidi, who also provides background vocals and co-writing talents on one song.”

This EP has been in the works for just under 10 months, according to Combs. “We had to take what time we had between working to pay the bills and available studio time just to get everything together,” he said. “I am very proud of the final results, and happy we did it this way. It hopefully creates an initial buzz and gets to more people now as opposed to waiting for a full record. My goal is hoping it catches enough attention to either allow me to write songs for others initially to pay the bills, or tour a bit with a few paying gigs.”

Combs started out at his Dallas, Texas home playing in a high school band. “Yea, like most I had my first band in high school. We were called “Science & Progress”, mostly influenced by Radiohead, Ryan Adams, and stuff like that. I actually first started out playing the piano before picking up a guitar when I was about 14-15 years old. I then poured myself into music like Guy Clark, who is a lyrical genius.”

Out of the 6 songs which appear on the EP, 3 were written while on a 5 month trip to Ireland. “It was beautiful there, and allowed me to sit back and write “Hummingbird,” the title cut “Tennessee Time,” and “Won’t Catch Me.” My girlfriend Heidi Feek actually co-wrote “Wandering Heart” with me later. The song “Too Stoned To Cry” was actually about a couple friends of mine sort of molded into one. The 6^th song, which is sort of a bonus track right now titled “Dark End of the Street” I truly enjoy because I love the Muscle Shoals vibe.”

The mixture of tempos in these 6 songs allows Combs to utilize his vocal inflections and acoustic guitar extremely well. It is easy to hear the musical influences he has mentioned throughout his music, while still creating a presence all his own, which is a very good thing.

As for the future, Combs is hopeful something will come up, but he has no plans of changing anything to create it. “I love acoustic music. Always have and always will. I will never change my music or lose my integrity in order to make a dollar. That is just not me.”

This CD is truly something every fan of Guy Clark or Townes Van Zandt should listen to. Combs has learned from these masters and created a great sound all his own. There are few artists today who know the rich Texas music history as well as this young 23 year old does. That in itself is a blessing, because he treasures the music, and the opportunities to follow in these footsteps. If this release is any indication, I have a feeling we will be hearing much more from him quite soon.

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