Probably my favorite Austin act. Ever.

The funny thing about being a critic is that you’re required to be somewhat pretentious. You have to be transcendent in a way, able to see the whole picture and sum up an artist’s catalogue, intentions, history, schedule, all within a couple hundred words. Sometimes I have an incredibly difficult time of it because I find myself too attached to the artist, the literary equivalent of floundering up to the guy screaming “OH MY GOD DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE???” Case in point: Scott H. Biram.

I fuckin love this guy. I’ve loved him from the first song I heard. If his music were a bar, there’d be peanut shells and cheap beer on the uneven wooden floor and chicken wire around the stage; like Bob’s Country Bunker if it was run by Rob Zombie. If Jim Beam were alive, he’d bartend there. Sam Elliot would claim the corner barstool. Clad in a Callahan’s hat and oft-torn metal band tee, Scott’s dirty bluesy metal-country ain’t gonna be heard on the Grand Ol’ Opry. He has, however, won the respects of outlaws worldwide, notably Hank Williams III, who covers his eerily-prophetic “Truck Driver”. He can pick strings with the best of ‘em, and he blends country and bluegrass with blues and distortion flawlessly. You’ll find the classic country song themes (mama, or trains, or trucks, or prison, or gettin’ drunk), cleverly interspersed with songs about murder and disposing of bodies.

The part I love is that SHB knows his style, and knows it works, but never lets it get stale. The man’s got attitude. It’s not just the music, it’s a feeling you get while listening.like you haven’t showered in a week and you’ve just come through a dust storm. And you really need a beer.

Perhaps he’s best summed up with this anecdote (taken from SHB’s website): At SXSW 2004, SHB was scheduled to showcase right after Kris Kristofferson. When asked if he was worried about going on after Kristofferson, Scott was quoted as growling: “They said that was a hard act to follow….I’m a hard act to follow motherfuckers!!”
The stunned crowd looked on.

Find albums and other fun stuff at the SHB website
And as always: His MySpace page