7#wWWWWWe.   7x *Wphoto skel: Have guit-steel, will travel: Junior Brown brings his bodacious musical bounty to Fort Sanders Brownian Movement Junior Browns got a sound thats too country for country and too cool for school WHO: Junior Brown WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 28, 8 p.m. WHERE: The Laurel Theatre HOW MUCH: Phone 522-5851 for ticket info by Chris Barrett Do you ever get the feeling you could watch Hot New Country with the sound off and still know exactly what those hat racks sound like? While the fashion in Nashville is rebelliona la Son of Return of Charlie Danielsthe fact that everyones a rebel now kind of takes the vinegar out of the uprising. But the mostly unshaven, fringe-sleeved country horizon is not without its bright spots. One of the brightest shines from under a Texas ten-gallon hat and goes by the name of Junior Brown. Youd need a bunch of barbed wire and duct tape to get Browns music to stay in a pigeonhole, country or otherwise. Sure, its country. So were Tennessee Williams and Louis Armstrong. Browns whiplash take on the square-dance standard Sugarfoot Rag plays like a stylistic kaleidoscope. As fast as you can put a tag to a chop, hes off to the next, from rockabilly rumble to leopard-skin surf to some vaporous fuzzy feedback lifted from The Wind Cries Mary. And while he can apparently play any damn thing on a guitar that he takes a notion to, his greatest talent lies somewhere beyond all that. You never really feel like youre listening to a hot dog. It takes a listen or two before you realize just why Browns Sugarfoot is sweeter than all the others. Its just my style, says Brown. A lot of that stuff may have started with something by Django Reinhardt or Les Paul or somebody, but then it just sort of evolvedor whateverinto my own lick. Some of these things start out as an imitation, but after a few years they meld with other things and become part of my own personality. If Browns personality seems multifaceted, it could be for a couple reasons. He cut his chops in Austin, Tex., where he still lives, on stage with just about any band that would let him up. His instrumental range doubled a few years back when he dreamed up, then commissioned, his guit-steela lap steel-Strat hybrid. He can rock flat out on the six string, then cast a brassy, bent-note lasso on the steel to pull a tune back in. Music Citys rep as a cookie cutter town remains solid even though the shape of the cookie changes occasionally. For a musician whose livelihood revolves around Nashville (he was in Nashville to guest on TNNs Marty Party when this interview took place), Brown is your proverbial free spirit. The standard issue buzz blinders dont seem to fit the man. Brown can dust off styles that died long ago and make them sound brand-new. The Gal from Oklahoma, on his 1993 Guit With It, picks up the blue yodel where Jimmie Rodgers left it some 60 years ago. But if youd never heard the Singing Brakeman, youd reckon justifiably that yodeling just might be the next big thing. He also makes the country hula sound as fresh as tomorrows donuts. On Lovely Hula Hands from his new CD-5 Junior High, Browns hands tell a story on both his wide and narrow necks. Twangy waves roll up to the shore as clouds slide by, glissing tremolo across high notes hanging from a sky of frosty azure, and all the friendly islanders smile and say Aloha with a southern accent. Brown says hes not out to revive any antique sounds. He just plays what he feels. I just use little suggestions here and there, says Brown. Its just something that comes to mewhatever I feel the song calls for. I dont consciously decide to pay tribute to anybody or anything. Ive got all this stuff in my head and it just comes out where its needed. If hot chops were all Brown had up his sleeve, he might have remained a sideman. What lends his playing relevance and sticking power is that it propels his literate, smart-without-being-smartass lyrics. From Still Life With Rose (Still, life with Rose is better, than life with you could ever be ) to My Wife Thinks Youre Dead (If you think I want trouble, then youre crazy in the head, cause youre wanted by the po-lice and my wife thinks youre dead) Brown can string unlikely images and clauses together successfully, and make you feel you thought of them yourself. His chuckles and smirks arent cheap; they dont require a rim shot or laugh track to underscore them. Its difficult to write good songs, concedes Brown. Its easy to write lousy ones. I never really knew I had that songwriting ability until the early 80s. I dont know if Im getting better, but I think Im staying just as goodas far as being able to recognize whats good and what isnt. Brown says hes writing faster than hes making records. Hes got two records worth of new stuff in the hopperlook for a fresh one this fall. In the meantime, saddle up the weed eater and head on down to the Laurel. Junior Brown  uk}#7>>eAK8{zʈX=XH{.7`hǑ{w*Iuul~F   ! P [w @ H @kl~GHYHC C eww 'Pj@PP  &C)L333333333888888888889 9 9 9 99999999:u:v:w:x:y:z:{:|QHH(FG(HH(d'@=/RH -:LaserWriter New YorkEEu