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.

This week on Ray Randall’s podcast you can hear great new music from Americana artists Mud, Blood and Beer; Lee Barber; Honey Don’t; Michael O’Neill and Guy Clark.

Workbench Songs opens with the delightfully defiant �Walkin� Man� that leads one to believe that the 65 year old Guy Clark still ain�t ready to hang up his spurs just yet.  After just one listen to the song�s chorus you get the feeling that

Clark

still has a lot of walkin� to do: �Hand me down my walkin� shoes / hand me down my cane / tune me up my mandolin / I�ll be on my way�.

 ï¿½Walkin� Man� is followed by one of the album�s strongest cuts in the form of the ballad �Magdalene�, a song that in many ways is very similar the classic �L.A. Freeway�, in that it involves a man looking to get out of his current life and head off into a new world of possibilities with the woman he loves.  �I�ve heard

Mexico

is easy / I wouldn�t stay here if I could / Don�t come along just to please me / Let�s go while the going�s good / Move with me Magdalene / I�m tired of the same ol scene�.
Clark

�s mastery of wordplay is on full display on the album�s third cut �Tornado Time in

Texas

�.  The song is a full on toe-tapping, country shuffle complete with sing-a-long chorus:  �Tornado time in

Texas

/ Take the paint right off of your barn / Tornado time in

Texas

/ Blow the tattoo off of your arm�.  Some of the images

Clark

creates are down right funny and others are just pure genius.  My guess is that this one is going to be a crowd favorite for years to come.
From there, we move on to a tale of love-lost in �Funny Bone".  It�s the story of a rodeo clown who loses his love to the new young bull rider on the circuit but instead of taking us down a trail of clich�,

Clark

finds a new way to bring us heartbreak.  �And he don�t laugh much anymore / Since she locked her trailer door / Tears and grease paint will not mix / And old dogs will not learn no tricks / He�s got that smile painted on /  And we all knew what was wrong / She broke his funny bone�.  That�s what great songwriters do; they find new ways to tell the familiar.
The four tunes that open Workbench Songs are indeed some of Guy Clark�s best songs in years and that�s just the beginning.  Other high points include a re-visiting of an older song, �Out in the Parking Lot�, which was originally released on the live record Keepers back in 1997 but until now was never given the proper in-studio treatment.  And as is the case with just about every Guy Clark record, he always makes room to pay tribute to his late friend Townes Van Zandt, this time by laying down a superb version of Van Zandt�s �No Lonesome Tune�.
Other highlights include the rare topical piece �Analog Girl� and the upbeat, fiddle driven country number "Expose".  Also be sure to check out

Clark

�s duet with long-time touring partner Verlon Thompson on the traditional �Diamond Joe�
The production of Workbench Songs is clean and uncluttered so that the musicians and Guy�s beautifully worn and ragged vocals can all shine.  Joining

Clark

in the studio this time around is Thompson on guitar, Bryn Bright on bass and cello, multi-instrumentalist Shawn Camp on fiddle, mandolin, and guitar, and producer Chris Latham on trumpet, violin, and guitar.  Songwriting credits read like a who�s who of

Americana

greatness as

Clark

teams up with Darrell Scott, Chuck Mead of BR549, Rodney Crowell, and Lee Roy Parnell.
In the end Guy Clark has crafted an album of songs guaranteed to delight any and every long-time fan while hopefully bringing many more new listeners to the fold.  Workbench Songs is easily one of the best records to be released this year.