By Scott Johnson
MCAU Assistant Editor
AUSTIN, Texas (December 2013) – Austin-based Americana/Roots singer-songwriter Chris Beall will perform on a Christmas-themed edition of the popular “Songwriters Across Texas” television show on Dec. 22.
The Sunday holiday special is scheduled to air on The CW Austin (KNVA-TV) Channel at 11:30 a.m. Viewers can tune in at AT&T U-Verse (Channel 10), DirecTV (Channel 54), and the Dish Network (Channel 54). Beall's appearance, which was filmed earlier this month at Strange Brew, also will stream on a delayed basis at the show's website at http://songwritersacrosstexas.com. The artist will perform the holiday classic "Go Tell It On the Mountain" and the newly released original "Dug Down Deep".
Beall’s music continues to receive local and national attention. His newest album, “The Gin Mill Hymns,” recently hit number 46 on the Texas Roots Radio Airplay chart. The online publication No Depression has added the track “Make a Livin’” to its “Freight Train Boogie” podcast.
The artist’s upcoming performance on “Songwriters Across Texas” puts him in great company. The show airs every Sunday and has previously featured artists such as Dale Watson, Rosie Flores, The Derailers, Rick Trevino, Alvin Crow, Brennan Leigh, and Omar & the Howlers. Executive Producer Pitt Garrett created the show to allow audiences to discover songwriters through intimate interviews and performances.
"I am thrilled to appear on the 'Songwriters Across Texas' Christmas show," Beall said. "It's always been my dream to perform on the show in the footsteps of some of our state's top performers."
The television appearance comes hot off the heels of Beall’s performance at the historic Chisholm Trail Ballroom earlier this month. The artist recently released the roots rock-oriented “The Gin Mill Hymns.” He self-produced the album and wrote five of the nine tracks. His musical style is often compared to artists such as Tom Petty, while his lyrics brim with Springsteen-like storytelling sensibility.
“This album is me being comfortable with all these different facets of the Americana genre; even the songwriting.” said Beall. “With any human being, there are certain things we give up and certain ones we hold onto. There are times in our lives where maybe we traded something in that we should have held onto. Later we realize what the cost really was.”
The artist's imagery-filled musical stories "fit back together" music and family, creativity and making a living, life and religion, and whiskey and church. Beall says that he enjoys the juxtaposition of putting two unlike things together and creating beauty out of it. For example, gin mills are a slang term for bars while hymns are sacred songs.
“I go after authenticity. In my stuff, most of the time you hear ideas that are accessible, approachable and authentic,” he said. “I think part of what makes anything beautiful is the combination of the limitation and the accomplishment. The juxtaposition, side by side, makes it work… Part of the reality and the real beauty is lost in the quest to be perfect.”
Jimi Jean, of “Jimi Jean’s Sounding Off on Sounds”, says artists like Beall love making music.
“Chris is the quintessential independent artist. I would probably go as far as to say that he is the poster child for the new ‘alternative music industry’ that has developed...” he said.
“The Gin Mill Hymns” was engineered, mixed and produced by Beall. The multi-talented artist is featured on lead vocals; acoustic, electric, and baritone guitars; mandolin, banjo, and resonator. Rodney Black co-wrote several songs and is featured on electric and acoustic guitars, as well as lap steel. Scott Roberts plays electrine and stand-up bass while Gray LeGere can be heard on drums, percussion and background vocals.
Beall’s artistic journey began as a child growing up in Abilene and he says music has always been a part of his life. At six years old, he was picking out four part choral pieces to sing in church and recalls singing Air Supply with his mom as they drove around in their ‘70s station wagon. He began playing the guitar after he broke his ankle in a 1986 national championship BMX race. His two half brothers played the guitar and helped teach him chords.
He began playing professionally for regional acts in the ‘90s. In 1996, he moved to Nashville, Tenn., where he produced independent artists and signed a development deal with Millennium Records. By 2000, he was back in Austin working as a sound system designer and recording engineer, collaborating with artists such as Citizen Cope, Augustana, and Aqualung.
Beall made the decision to pursue a career as a singer-songwriter in 2008. He released his first folk-oriented solo CD, “Brand New World”, two years later and toured China as part of the Austin Sound Exchange.
Beall’s second release, “The Gin Mill Hymns” is available at online music retailers, including Amazon and iTunes. The project is being promoted to radio nationally by Nashville-based Bill Wence Promotions. The artist is represented by LeGere Productions and Whiting Publicity and Promotions.
To learn more about Chris Beall or his new album, “The Gin Mill Hymns,” call (512) 293-6705, send an email message to beallstreet71@gmail.com, visit http://chrisbeallmusic.com or http://www.reverbnation.com/chrisbeall. For more information about “Songwriters Across Texas”, visit http://www.songwritersacrossTexas.com.
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