One of the recurring characters throughout the history of civilization is the traveling bard. Telling stories, singing songs, and just generally passing along information, the bard was the original influencer, millennia before social networks. Portland’s Mark Tegio and Santa Cruz’s Austin Smith spent a decade modeling that troubadour lifestyle up and down the west coast, honing their singer-songwriter, outlaw folk sound under the eponymous Smith & Tegio. In recent times, as part of an evolutionary create-or-die path, they found musicians Payton Vermeesch (pedal steel), Andrew Dreher (bass) and Tim Kelso (drums). The two became five and emerged as The Lowtimers, releasing their debut album, Cracks.
A number of songs on the album reflect the itinerant lifestyle of a traveling performer. Sleazy relates the surroundings of too-often encountered dive bars and cheap motels. Its verse of “another day, another dollar, another ‘play Freebird’ being hollered” could be the rallying cry of an entire generation of road dog minstrels. Here and Gone has a similar mix of folk, country and jangly guitar in an ode to the carefree life of youth that’s now passed. Flesh and Bone has a 70’s country rock feel. It’s a toe-tapping tale of getting older, and going from invincible to clearly mortal. “We would sway like them willow trees, but now them willows just weep” is the punchline to Tired Mind. Tegio takes the lead vocals, along with guest Kassi Valazza, and the intro brings to mind a Prine and Dement duet.
If a big part of the album is autobiographical in its recollections of time and place, much of the rest is a road-weary view of life’s promise. The title track laments the condition of house and car, but it doesn’t really matter “cause I got your loving.” New Friends is a little more folk-oriented and documents the turn in desire from going out partying to heading home to loved ones. Charlotte leans more to country music with a metaphor of handing over the car keys filling in for the comfort of someone having your back. Pastures is a lonely, almost bluesy, take on hoping to get back what was lost to the bottle.
Life has a way of being unpredictable: Mark Tegio and Austin Smith seem to have embraced that chaos, from being bandmates living 700 miles apart, to a transition from folk singer to country music group. I certainly won’t predict whether they remain a band or opt for a different arrangement. Regardless, Cracks is a wonderful introduction to their songwriting chops, and with musical soulmates The Lowtimers it’s an introduction to a finely honed band as well.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.