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Special Guests Roy Blount, Jr. is a humorist, sportswriter, poet, performer, lecturer, dramatist, and the author of more than a dozen books. Blount grew up in Decatur, Georgia, received his bachelor's from Vanderbilt and his master's from Harvard. After a brief stint in the Army, he was a reporter, columnist, and part-time English instructor in Atlanta before becoming a writer and editor for Sports Illustrated, where he worked from 1968 until 1975, when he became a freelancer. He is currently a contributing editor for The Atlantic and a columnist for The Oxford American. Blount tells us that his pieces have been published in 111 different publications, including (the old) New Yorker, Playboy, Vanity Fair, GQ, Life, TV Guide, Vogue, Rolling Stone, National Geographic, and Organic Gardening. His work has also appeared in 106 books, including The Best of Modern Humor, The Elvis Reader, The Ultimate Baseball Book, The Sophisticated Cat, Roy Blount's Book of Southern Humor, and two new books: a memoir, to be published this month by Alfred A. Knopf, entitled Be Sweet: A Conditional Love Story, and a dog book called If Only You Knew How Much I Smell You, with photographs by Valerie Shaff. For various publications and TV networks, Blount has covered the 1992 party conventions, the Civil Rights movement, the Ku Klux Klan, Saturday Night Live in its prime, and Elvis' funeral. His work has taken him to every U.S. state except three, to China and Uganda, and even onto a stage in front of a live audience. In fact, his one-man show at the American Place Theatre was described by The New Yorker as "the most humorous and engaging 50 minutes in town" and was later expanded into Roy Blount's Happy Hour and a Half. In films, he has portrayed Truman Capote, an irate grocery shopper, and himself as reporter. In 1993, Tony O. Villanueva (guitar) and Brian Hofeldt (guitar) formed The Derailers, right here in Austin. The band's lineup has been firmed up in the past few years with the addition of Marty Muse (pedal steel), Ethan Shaw (bass) and Mark Horn (drums). The Derailers started playing locally and then began touring across the country. In 1996, their debut album, Jackpot, was released on Watermelon Records to enthusiastic reviews. In 1997, Rolling Stone magazine called The Derailers "one of the impassioned young upstarts who have picked up the honky-tonk torch, writing and performing in the style of their mighty forebears." Their newest CD is Reverb Deluxe (Watermelon/Sire Records). Tish Hinojosa is based in Austin, but she grew up in San Antonio, Texas, as the youngest of 13 children. Through her 10 older sisters, Hinojosa heard the music of the '60s-Aretha Franklin, the Byrds, Bob Dylan, the Beatles. And her Spanish-speaking parents listened to Mexican radio and conjunto music. Hinojosa started out her musical career singing jingles for a Spanish-language radio station. After moves to New Mexico and to Nashville, her debut A&M album, Homeland, was released. Her 1992 recording, Culture Swing (A&M Records), received a N.A.I.R.D. Indie Award for Folk Album of the Year. Her songs have been recorded by Linda Ronstadt and her vocals are heard with Joan Baez, Nancy Griffith, and Lucinda Williams. In 1996, Hinojosa recorded a children's bilingual album, Cada Niño/Every Child (Rounder Records). She has also performed/spoken on behalf of many progressive causes: she's been a spokesperson for the National Latino Children's agenda and for the National Association of Bilingual Education; she's performed for the National Women's Caucus, for the national conferences of the United Farmworkers of America and at events for immigrant and undocumented workers' rights. Her latest recording is Dreaming from the Labyrinth/Soñar del Laberinto (Warner Bros.). Appearing with Hinojosa tonight are Marvin Dykhuis (guitar, mandolin) and Chip Dolan (keyboards).
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An Interview with Heather Masse
In a 2009 interview, Heather Masse tells us about her earliest influences, auditioning in a women's bathroom, and a few memorable moments from A Prairie Home Companion.
Old Sweet Songs: A Prairie Home Companion 1974-1976
Lovingly selected from the earliest archives of A Prairie Home Companion, this heirloom collection represents the music from earliest years of the now legendary show: 1974–1976. With songs and tunes from jazz pianist Butch Thompson, mandolin maestro Peter Ostroushko, Dakota Dave Hull and the first house band, The Powdermilk Biscuit Band (Adam Granger, Bob Douglas and Mary DuShane).
