Joe Ely's got quite a few things happening right now:
Joe Ely:
Keeping The Fires Burning
Since he first hitched a ride out of Lubbock, Texas, at the age of sixteen, singer-songwriter and Flatlanders band member Joe Ely has been a road warrior, traveling highways and back roads across America and Europe, playing music for "2 hours of ecstasy" out of "22 hours of misery." To stay sane on the road, Ely kept a journal, penning verses that sometimes morphed into songs, and other times remained "snapshots of what was flying by, just out of reach, so to savor at a later date when the wheels stop rolling, and the gears quit grinding, and the engines shut down."
Many tours, many releases, and many stories later, Joe keeps the fires burning. This month marks the release of his new book, Bonfire of Roadmaps, the first CD on his new record label, Rack 'Em Records called Happy Songs From Rattlesnake Gulch, and the release of Silver City (Pearls from the Vault VOL. 1), which is an acoustic CD of pre-Flatlanders Ely songs.
Joe's new book, Bonfire of Roadmaps, is a collection of writings from 1972 until the present, focusing on the works that survived the grueling years of travel across America and Europe, eight in a van, experiencing the motel-side of life. It also reveals finding the ultimate salvation in the performance each night onstage with close friends in front of an audience of perfect strangers. The book starts in the flatlands and ends in the flatlands and is peppered throughout with drawings from various sketchbooks that lived inside of Joe's guitar case.
The release of Bonfire of Roadmaps will coincide with a reception at the Ransom Center at the University of Texas that will include a showing of the drawings and a spoken word and musical performance piece. From March 1 - April 2, 2007, the Ransom Center will present in its second-floor lobby an installation of artwork derived from material appearing in Ely's new book.
Joe is currently on the Four Horsemen Tour with Guy Clark, John Hiatt, and Lyle Lovett, swapping songs and stories on stage for a 33 city tour around the USA and Canada. Visit Joe's official store to order Bonfire of Roadmaps, which Entertainment Weekly picked as a 'must have' book! Also available are his latest releases, Happy Songs From Rattlesnake Gulch and Silver City. |
