Billy Joe Shaver: Testifying in songs and stories

Billy Joe Shaver

By Paul T. Mueller—If you were looking for the perfect artist to anchor a concert series called “Songs of Lovin’ and Redemption,” you could hardly do better than Billy Joe Shaver. Legendary songwriter, road-dog performer, one-time connoisseur of chemical excess, committer of serial matrimony, notorious hell-raiser, born-again Christian – you’d have to figure the guy knows everything there is to know about lovin’ and redemption. Judging from his March 6 appearance at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Houston, you might be right.Shaver, who’s 73, moseyed up the center aisle shortly before showtime. He stood at the front of the pews and related a long story about being born again, and the dissolute life that led him to that turning point. Explaining that he’d emerged from his addictions and the withdrawal that followed only after finishing a song he’d been struggling with, he proceeded to sing that song – “I’m Just an Old Chunk of Coal,” which became one of his biggest hits – without benefit of band or instruments.

At that point his band – guitarist Jeremy Woodall, bassist Matt Davis and drummer Jason McKenzie – joined him for a full-band (albeit acoustic) reprise of “Old Chunk of Coal.” A bit shaky at the beginning and seemingly somewhat ill at ease, Shaver worked his way through a few more of his hits – “Georgia on a Fast Train,” “Old Five and Dimers Like Me,” “You Just Can’t Beat Jesus Christ” – punctuated with more life stories. “I’m a little short-handed,” he said by way of explaining his limited guitar-playing skills – holding up his right hand, minus parts of three fingers, and describing the long-ago sawmill accident that resulted in that injury.

Performing in a venue far removed from the bars that are his usual habitat, Shaver referred several times to the dissonance between the rowdy outlaw country he’s best known for and his more spiritual songs. “I hope there’s no one expecting ‘Honky Tonk Heroes,’ “ he said at one point. “I’m just not going to do that in here.” But after a few more of the softer songs, and a couple of audience calls of “Thunderbird!”, the church’s rector, the Rev. Patrick J. Miller, held a brief conference with Shaver and apparently gave his blessing, so to speak, to Shaver’s performing some of his more worldly fare. The band then launched into “When Thunderbird Was the Word,’ “Honky Tonk Heroes,” “That’s What She Said Last Night” and “The Devil Made Me Do It the First Time” – pretty much the same stuff you’d get at a plugged-in Shaver show, minus the amplification.

Shaver talked for a while about the dangers of drugs and about how his son, Eddy, died of an overdose in 2000. He followed that with the gentle tribute “Star in My Heart,” which he told the audience “was written for Eddy and you.”

More stories and more songs ensued – “When the Fallen Angels Fly,” “Hottest Thing in Town,” “You Asked Me To,” “Ride Me Down Easy,” “Try and Try Again,” among others. Woodall’s excellent picking and string-bending made for fine accompaniment, and an interesting contrast to the full-on electric sound that’s been the hallmark of Shaver’s bands for many years.  Bassist Davis improvised his lines on an acoustic guitar, while drummer McKenzie wowed the crowd with an impressive display of percussion skill using only bongos, brushes and a few small instruments.

After a standing ovation, Shaver promised “a couple more” and took off on a long tale involving youthful marriage, breakups, truck repair, panhandling, carousing and despair, all of which led into a rowdy rendition of “Ragged Old Truck” that left a knocked-over mic stand lying on the floor. He finished “The Road,” a slower, almost mournful ballad featuring Woodall’s beautiful Spanish-style playing. “Love me one more time before I go,” the song ends, and by that point there was plenty of love to go around – the audience’s for Billy Joe Shaver, and his for them.

“Songs of Lovin’ and Redemption,” put together by the Rev. Miller and the Rev. Eric P. Hungerford (the church’s rector and associate rector, respectively) continues with Sara Hickman on March 13 and Terri Hendrix on March 20.

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