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“When Leo Fender
dreamed up the
Telecaster
electric guitar
back in ’49 or
so, it’s
doubtful he knew
what uses it
would be put to,
especially in
the hands of
someone like
Redd Volkaert.
The local
Telecaster
master is all
over the guitar
like grease on a
pork chop,
quoting jazz,
country, blues
and western
swing as
effortlessly as
turning on the
lights in the
living room,”
said Jerry
Renshaw in the
Austin
Chronicle.
Living in Austin
and loving it,
Volkaert is
ecstatic to have
found a city
where music is
vibrant and
creative and as,
Redd put it,
“The crowds seem
to accept people
for their
musical ability
more than their
clothes or lack
of, hair or lack
of, or cowboy
hats or lack
of.” When you
see Redd play at
the Continental
Club with his
band or other
bands around
town, someone in
the audience
always mentions
that he was
Merle Haggard’s
guitar player.
It’s true, he
was, but the
bigger picture
is the music he
is making now
for himself and
for his avid
fans.
A local Austin
legend and
revered by
guitarists all
over the world,
Redd Volkaert is
one of the
hardest working
axe men on the
planet. Not
only has he
released several
solo albums over
the years, but
Volkaert is a
current member
of two other
Austin-based
groups, Heybale!
and The Lucky
Tomblin Band, as
well as a valued
hired-gun for
sessions and
touring work
with such
artists as Brad
Paisley, whose
work with the
country star
garnered Redd a
GRAMMY©
nomination for
Best Country
Instrumental
Performance in
2004. Redd’s
guitar will soon
be heard again
on an upcoming
Brad Paisley
album.
Born and raised
in Canada, Redd
started early,
at the age of
ten; and by the
time he was 16,
he was playing
in local bars
and clubs in
Vancouver,
British
Columbia. After
8 years in
Alberta, he
moved to Los
Angeles, playing
in clubs,
teaching and
working on demo
sessions. In
1990, he moved
to Nashville and
started working
road dates and
studio sessions
with Ray Price,
Lacy J. Dalton,
Clinton Gregory
and Dale Watson,
eventually
working his way
to Merle
Haggard’s band,
The Strangers.
In 1997, Merle
Haggard found
himself in need
of a lead
guitarist.
Haggard said, “I
usually listen
to the guys in
the band. I
asked them who
was the best
guitarist they
knew, and they
all said Redd.”
He took Redd
without an
audition. After
becoming a
“Stranger,” Redd
recorded and
toured with
Merle, appearing
in concert and
on national
television.
On his new CD,
Reddhead,
Volkaert is
joined by Chris
Gilson on drums,
Nate Rowe on
bass, Rich
Harney on
keyboards and
Buzz Evans on
steel guitar.
Heybale! band
mate Gary
Claxton is a
special guest on
harmony vocals.
The new album
was recorded at
Top Hat
Recording
Studios in
Austin and was
produced by Alan
Durham and Redd
Volkaert, with
John Harvey
handling the
engineering and
mixing.
Reddhead
is a showcase
for Volkaert’s
guitar
virtuosity in
country, blues,
jazz and western
swing, as he
glides
effortlessly
between genres
without missing
a lick.
Listeners are
also treated to
Redd’s baritone
voice, which
glides as
effortlessly
over the songs
as his fingers
do on the
strings on his
guitar. The 14
songs on the
album include a
number of
originals, plus
Redd’s unique
take on The Box
Tops classic,
“The Letter,” as
well as such
other chestnuts
as “End of the
Line,” “Only
Daddy That’ll
Walk the Line,”
and the sizzling
Buddy Emmons
instrumental,
“Raisin’ the
Dickens.”
In a recent
review of the
new Heybale! CD,
The
Last Country
Album,
No Depression
magazine
said: “Redd
Volkaert is one
the Telecaster
visionaries of
his generation.”
‘Nuff said!
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