Practiced nonchalance. In the music world, it’s the ability to sound just as fresh the 500th time you play a song as you did when you first wrote it. Bands that are good at it are always better live. Although I’ve only seen them live once, I get an overwhelming sense Californians Mark Tegio and Austin Smith fall into that bucket. After touring for years as a duo, they’ve added steel guitar and bass to the lineup, and have released a new album with the full band, Can’t Stay Here.
That play-it-like-we-did-on-the-porch attitude bursts through on Hell Raising Habit. There’s a mesmerizing streak of country in the harmonica and finger-picking that accompanies a story about knowing better, but going ahead and doing it anyway. Shine has a little bit of that streak as well in the description of a magical night. It starts out a little folkish, but soon eases its way into a slow country waltz. Speaking of which, Same Old Waltz features Tegio’s best gravelly voice in an OG country song where a couple keeps breaking each other’s hearts again and again.
The full band makes itself felt on Think I’ll Just Sing, a country rock number recounting life as a musician, “cause I can’t wake up at six and be in bed by nine.” That inevitable time on the road shows it toll in Rapid City Nights, where Tegio’s voice nearly cracks as he relays the angst of having to choose between his love and, you know, his real love. The title track is southern, honky-tonk rock about being a restless spirit. Fools also subscribes to that southern country style, with some outstanding guitar solo work.
Although they’ve lived the majority of their lives in San Diego and San Francisco, Smith & Tegio have absorbed a lot of the sounds from the rural 95% of the state. Their music would feel as natural in a juke joint in Mississippi as it does in a roadside tavern in California’s Central Valley. So although the band is still early in their career, Can’t Stay Here channels the soul of rural America and is something to check out before you close the door on 2023.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.