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See also: Avery Covers Damien Jurado
Steve Earle famously opined: “Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I’ll stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that,” so it stands to reason that Townes is a tough songwriter to do justice. Yet local psychedelic folksters Field Tripp pull it off.
“I don’t think we strayed too far from the original,” singer/guitarist Dan Allmond says. “We had a little more jamming because I heard Brian [Mabry] playing the clarinet on it, and we just needed more of that. We try to do it as much justice as we can.”
“I think the Townes selection that we chose showcases a little bit more of his early career,” Allmond says. “It has almost a ’60s psychedelic feel to it. If you listen to some other Townes, it’s a little bit more singer-songwriter acoustic guitar based. [“Black Widow Blues”] is a pretty rare song, I think it was released after his death.”
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“Townes Van Zandt is really a poet. Dan introduced me to Townes, I had never heard him before and he’s really inspiring,” Elizabeth Christy says. “He writes about everything in life, and the weirdest things. He’s just such a cool person. Everyone should watch a documentary on Townes Van Zandt [Be Here to Love Me] and see just how his character truly was. He’s a really interesting guy.”
Field Tripp is scheduled to perform Friday, August 3 at Tempe Tavern.
If you play in a local band and would like to have a cover featured on our blog, please e-mail us at music@newtimes.com.
See our Take Cover archives for more Arizona bands taking on national songs.
