You know, something you don’t hear as much about these days is fiddle contests. They’re certainly still around, but it used to be that every county fair and Town Founders Days celebration had a fiddle contest alongside the animals-raised-by-kids judging and best pie battle. That (mostly) friendly musical competition environment and heritage nurtured a young Texas kid, Brian Beken. He went on to be a member of the South Austin Jug Band, co-founder of seminal Austin string band Milkdrive, and then as fiddler and eventual guitar player for Robert Earl Keen. He’s about to release his first solo album, entitled New Geography.
The title of the record is not about a song on the project, but rather all of them. That’s because despite Beken’s provenance, this album is rock and roll. The CD opens with The Weekend, a driving power pop number about working for the man five days a week to pay for the other two. It’s geared to a story about being a musician, but it’s applicable to anyone’s passion. Next up is Movie Stars, with its Jimmy Page-style rock guitar strumming intro. Run & Hide is a little rootsier, in a tale of modern day robber barons from Beken’s childhood home of Houston.
Strangers’ Names has a little more of a jangly sound. It alludes to a particular road trip, but is a broader commentary on anxiety. It also starts to introduce the listener to another aspect of the album–Beken plays every instrument, twenty by his count. From glockenspiel to viola to drums and keyboards, it’s a one man show. That lets him put a 70’s folk rock vibe on Bones, an art rock sound to Hall of Stone, and even a faux horns effect on David Bowie.
Between the pandemic and then Robert Earl Keen’s retirement from touring, Brian Beken found himself with a desire to strike out in a new direction, and the time to make it happen. He talks about being a kid who, while loving his fiddle music, envied rock guitar players and their ability to “move air” with their sound. In Beken’s case, those winds of change created a sound called New Geography, and I can just about guarantee you’ll dig it.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.