Stories abound about Billy Joe Shaver, the tragedies endured, the stands taken, the righteous paths chosen. Suffice to say that there is not an insincere bone in the body of this man. He simply cannot abide anything but the absolute truth.
Perhaps the purest poet of all Texas songwriters, Townes Van Zandt lived life the only way his soul permitted. His ghost is always with us, just beyond the light, gaunt but smiling, fire in his eyes and liquor on his breath. Performers reach for his songs at the end of the night, maybe in tribute, and maybe because they need them, just like the rest of us.
Austin Songwriter 