Lyle Lovett
Lyle Lovett may not have been at the top of his singing game as he and his Acoustic Group stopped off at the Walker Theatre on Monday night, but he was still an eloquent storyteller and interrogator of his fellow top-notch musicians.
In the next-to-the-last gig of a tour that started in Sante Fe on Jan. 31, he apologized twice for his raspy voice. He said a cold had been going around among the group members.
Between gulps of water and sweet tea, Lovett reminisced about his college days at Texas A&M when he often wrote songs and made music with Robert Earl Kean. He said both dreamed of becoming full-time musicians, but both doubted it would happen.
He also talked about his family ties with wife April and their twins, who are now five and a half. He said the daughter "eats everything," while her brother at this point abstains from meat.
And he spoke of one of his favorite days of the year when the Lovetts gather at the family cemetery outside of Houston for memory sharing and dinner on the grounds.
Lovett got guitar veteran Jeff White thinking back to the time when he was at a Nashville party hemmed in between Earl Scruggs and Roberta Flack. He remembered that Scruggs commented that the guitar he was using "had a good sound."
LA pianist Jim Cox wowed the crowd with a long improvisation and recalled that he first touched a piano when he was five. He said his teacher had played some German marches and, during recess, he tried it for himself. The teacher afterward recommended that the Cox family get a piano - and they did. Cox played many years for Leslie Uggams and many other notables.
Leland Sklar, the bearded one on bass, told of his continued awe that he gets to perform with musical stars. He was on the road with James Taylor for 20 years, then went out with Phil Collins. His book, sure enough, is titled "Everybody Loves Me."
Fiddler Luke Bulla told of his latest endeavors and broke off into bluegrass frequently.
After one more show, the Lovett group takes a break and he can get back to the twins for a few weeks.
He said he can't wait to return to Chattanooga and play at the restored Tivoli when it is ready.