Brad Buchholz, American-Statesman Staff
11-09-2001
The Austin American-Statesman
Champ Hood * 1952 - 2001, ; 2 steps out,
of the spotlight,; A selfless and sensitive
Austin guitarist, Champ Hood made
fellow Austin musicians sound their best
In my mind's eye, I see him still -- a man with a fiddle, lost in the music,
standing in
the corner of a small South Austin recording studio. It is winter, 1989.
The hour is
late. I barely notice as Champ Hood begins to warm up, drawing the bow
across
his violin, for I have come to see the "star" of this two-man recording
session:
singer Willis Alan Ramsey. Could this be it? The first session for what
might be
Ramsey's long-awaited second album? My eye wanders. I watch Ramsey settle
in
with a steel-string guitar. He fiddles with a microphone. Then -- oh so
slowly, oh so
softly -- it begins to hit me. This man on violin, this unassuming guy
with the
cascading ringlets of curly blond hair, happens to be playing the most
wonderfully
delicate passage. And it's only a warm-up.
Champ Hood has been improvising for five or 10 minutes now, testing out
a
variety of musical textures for a new Ramsey love song titled "Bayou Girl."
Now, it
has become a composition of its own: a Delta suite. The spirit of Hood's
playing
is rich with Cajun imagery, with contours that suggest a light breeze through
the
boggy air of a bayou. It is achingly, longingly gentle.
Ramsey feels it, of course. Closing his eyes, he lets the song swing to
him and
then sings the lyrics to "Bayou Girl," but in a soft and tender spirit
inspired by
Champ Hood's interpretation. The spontaneous take is perfect, the moment
as
sublime as summer starlight.
Sadly, there is no tape rolling in the control room. The musical moment
will be lost
to history. Yet what could be more eternal, more triumphant, than the memory
of
the time our hearts soared in the power of song? What could be more sacred
than
the loving spirit of players dedicated to touching something sublime?
Though he's lost to us now, dead of cancer at the preposterously young
age of 49,
I still see him in my mind's eye -- the sweetly understated Champ Hood.
I never
knew the man. But like so many Austinites who really knew him, I will forever
cherish the memory of those transcendent notes that came from his heart,
through
the strings -- notes of beauty, notes of selflessness, notes of joy.
What is Champ Hood's legacy? It boils down to this: All the man did, for
some
25 years in Austin music, was to make everyone he played with sound better.
He
brought luster to that which was already beautiful and made it shine. As
a
musician, Hood was selfless and sensitive and loyal. He was fun-loving.
He
was devoted to the power of song. He was beloved by his peers.
For the musicians in Austin, this loss is on the order of Doug Sahm and
Townes
Van Zandt," says singer-songwriter Jimmie Dale Gilmore, who performed with
Hood for years at Threadgill's restaurant on North Lamar. "The public may
not
be aware of what has been lost. But most musicians know it for sure."
Champ Hood played fiddle and guitar, sometimes mandolin, and he sang in
a
sweet, strong tenor. He was widely recognized as one of the premier acoustic
musicians in town. Hood's career can be neatly capsulized in three phases:
his
tenure with the popular Uncle Walt's Band in the 1970s, his Wednesday night
collaborations with Gilmore in the 1980s, and, finally, his nine-year stint
with
bluesy songstress Toni Price. Along the way, he toured with Lyle Lovett's
Large
Band, guested with his friends in the studio, and even fronted a band of
his own --
the Threadgill's Troubadours.
There was never a more reluctant front man, however, than Champ Hood. It
was
his preference to champion the work of others. From the very beginning
-- as a
singer and guitarist with Walter Hyatt and David Ball in Uncle Walt's Band
--
Hood's shy, workmanlike stage demeanor was a large part of his musical
identity.
Stephen L. Clark, owner of the original Waterloo Ice House on Congress
Avenue,
remembers this vividly:
"One of the things I loved to do at the old Waterloo was to take pictures,"
says
Clark, whose casual burger-bar and ice house was one of Uncle Walt's Band's
favorite venues in the late 1970s. "I'd have the lights set up carefully,
so that there
was good and even light on each one of them -- Walter and Champ and David.
But whenever I'd get ready to take a picture, Champ would always step out
of the
light.
"That was Champ's way, to be two steps out of the spotlight, even as he
was
playing these sizzling leads."
Uncle Walt's Band was an all-acoustic ensemble, defined by its delicate
three-part
harmonies and its affinity for swing, jazz, country and sweet ballads.
As performing
musicians, they were first and foremost gentlemen. They respected music.
Their
stage manner was rich with nuance. You see traces of it, today, in Lyle
Lovett's
stage show. You saw it, as well, in Champ Hood's retiring stage manner.
"He was a sly kind of shy, with a twinkle in his eye," says Threadgill's
Eddie
Wilson. "And all he ever wanted, as a musician, was to be a better player
at the
end of the day than he was in the morning."
Fiddler Alvin Crow remarked this week on KUT-FM radio that Champ Hood was
the only guitarist he'd ever met who learned, and mastered, the violin
as an adult.
Most guitarists talk about doing it, he said. But most give up upon discovering
that
the discipline and difficulty of mastering the instrument outweigh the
allure.
"During the old Waterloo shows, I would sit in the audience with other
musicians --
accomplished guitarists, better than Champ, or accomplished violinists,
better
than Champ," recalls Stephen Clark. "But they would just look at him and
say,
'How does he do that?' Even though these other players were more technically
gifted, Champ's expression was so much greater than the others." For Champ
Hood, the beauty of his playing was always anchored in feeling.
Champ Hood kept his lung cancer a secret from all but his closest friends.
His
passing was sudden and surprising. He was diagnosed in the spring, dead
in the
fall. The only consolation seems to be that he was allowed to die in the
country, in
a house that overlooked the hills, donated by friends who knew the end
was near.
"Everybody is devastated," says Clark. "But amidst the tragedy, there was
some
great joy. An amazing group of people came together to take care of him
at the end.
I witnessed such a great depth of human character: It restored my faith
in
humankind." (Those friends will gather one last time -- Sunday, 2 p.m.,
at a
memorial service at the First Unitarian Universalist Church -- to say goodbye.)
Hood's passing has affected people in complex ways. It's not just that
a leader
in the music community has died. It's that Champ Hood has died.
Much of that pain comes with the understanding that a second member of
Uncle
Walt's Band -- a group of musicians that exuded grace and gentility --
has died
young. It was just five years ago that Walter Hyatt died when a ValuJet
passenger
airliner caught fire in flight and crashed into the Florida Everglades.
They'd been the best of friends, Hyatt and Hood. Champ backed Walter on
guitar, playing his familiar, Django-inspired licks, on Hyatt's critically-acclaimed
1990 solo record, "King Tears." The album had been produced by Lyle Lovett,
who
used to play between Uncle Walt's Band sets at the Waterloo Ice House.
Hyatt
spent his last birthday at Threadgill's, in fact, and sang as a guest in
Hood's
Troubadours band.
There is also the understanding that Champ Hood was one of the really good
guys of the local music scene -- a giver in the truest musical sense. His
ambitions
were simple, personal ones. He was a man with no pretense. He also was
loyal to
his hometown.
While Hyatt and fellow bandmate Ball left Austin and found fame in Nashville,
Hood pulled his shirttail out, cracked open a beer and stayed home, much
to the
delight of fans who saw him as the quintessential "front porch" musician.
How
appropriate that Hood found his perfect match, in music as well as friendship,
in
Toni Price.
The West Coast record executives bemoaned that Price wouldn't dance to
their
tune. She wouldn't stand up on stage. She wouldn't shave under her arms
or lose
the tattoos. She wouldn't tour. They couldn't understand it. But Champ
Hood did.
To these two, the feel and integrity of their music, the spirit of independence,
always came first.
"You know what I like most about this record?" Price mused aloud, upon
the
release of her debut album, "Swim Away," in 1993. "It's the CD. The color
of the
CD. (A cool and soothing blue.) It's exactly the same color as Champ's
guitar."
All the man did, for 25 years, was bring luster to every band, to every
piece of
music. His violin solos on Price's torchy ballads ("Just to Hear Your Voice"
or
"Wishing Well") are heart-wrenching, drenched with feeling. As a guitarist,
he
developed a sense of grit to go along with his trademark sweetness. Until
a month
before his death, Hood continued to play in Price's famous "Hippie Hour"
show
at the Continental Club, even on a night when his own son was guesting
at "Austin
City Limits." "These Tuesday night shows, they mean a lot to Toni," he
told a friend
who urged him to catch his son's show. "That's what I need to do."
How could it be? How could it be that a player of such sensitivity, who
gave so
much of himself to music -- and to his friends in music -- might not have
reacted
quickly enough to the first warning signs of his own declining health?
So many
times, he answered our call with love. "Another song! Another moment!"
It's sad to
wonder: Did he not save enough love for himself?
In my mind's eye, I still see him -- a man and his blue guitar, lost in
the music,
seated on stage at the Continental Club. There are four players seated
in a row:
Casper Rawls, Toni Price, Scrappy Jud Newcomb, Champ Hood always on the
far left. The club is jammed. The air is thick with smoke, the room filled
with the
flurry of strings. Toni's eyes are closed, her left arm swaying skyward
as the three
guitarists trade licks.
What are they playing? "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover?" Everyone
in the
crowd is swaying or dancing. What happened yesterday? What of the worries
that
come tomorrow? At this moment, all that matters is the music -- and it's
deep
within our hearts. The music builds. It's Champ's turn to solo on slide
guitar. He
holds us in his hands . . .
The love that passed through the music: It is Champ Hood's gift to us all.
The
memory of it will not die.