Words from Scott Sharrard: Stevie Ray Vaughan's Impact on the World
"Hurricane Harvey was strong, but love is stronger." -Houston Food Bank
On Tuesday, October 3, we invite you to join us for a special night of music and giving at Texas Flood: A Stevie Ray Vaughan Birthday Benefit for Victims of Hurricane Harvey, featuring Scott Sharrard. Ryan “Shwizz” Liatsis, from the band Shwizz, and his trio opening with a classic blues set. Hurricane Harvey was one of the worst recorded hurricanes to hit Texas in decades causing mass-flooding and damage. The Houston Food Bank is here to help people who lives were affected by Harvey, and we're proud to raise funds for disaster recovery.
Scott Sharrard has devoted his life to creating music straight from his core. Having been coined as one of "the greatest guitarists in the country" by Billboard, he began touring with the Gregg Allman Band as lead guitarist and musical director in 2008. Gregg Allman said of Sharrard, “I know all about guitar players — I’ve seen the very best — and Scott Sharrard is the perfect guitarist for my band. He understands that you don’t need to play just for the sake of playing... when it’s time to solo, Scott delivers, boy.”
Thoughts and words from Scott Sharrard
"Stevie Ray Vaughn’s debut studio album “Texas Flood” was a watershed moment for guitar players, blues fanatics and old school rock and rollers. This album dropped on a time in the 80’s when most people had given up on the blues genre ever remerging as a popular form. SRV and his trio, along with the help of legendary record man John Hammond, reinvented the Texas Blues and Rock and Roll sound in one blistering, mostly live, studio date."
"Seeing SRV live on his "In Step" tour at the tender age of 12 changed my life forever. He had it all. The man was a spiritual channel, genre be damned. Going into my teens in the 90s, there were always a couple kids with fedoras and Strats in every town, showing up to jams and posing, knowing the licks and none of the substance that made SRV who he was, every kid who could throw a pentatonic lick and mug at a night club jam was the “next SRV!!”. I fought this label with all my life as I was also a teen who was a full time musician, working with guys far older and better than me. I cut my hair, dropped the Stratocaster favored by Stevie for a 335, studied Tom Waits, Grant Green, Miles Davis and the Meters. But SRV, along with the Allman Brothers, was how I learned to play and they were my personal live and in person inspiration as a middle class white kid who was obsessed with American music and its all its origins, permutations and tributaries. Ironically, an interview I read as a teen with Stevie in Musician magazine also changed my life. It was the first I heard of Donny Hathaway AND Grant Green. I never looked back."
"So as we reassess so much these days in music and life I thought we could take this show for flood relief in Texas and make it a tribute to one of its favorite native sons. Let us never forget that Stevie was a world class musician. Once you get past the trappings of show biz this man's heart always shines through. The fire, the groove and the fury. We will do our best to conjure what we can of his spirit and blast some love south for the victims of this terrible storm and the continuing consequences of global climate change. Viva SRV! Onwards!" -Scott Sharrard