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Uncommon Ground ^ Eric Hanke
Eric Hanke
Eric Hanke

Eric Hanke's first guitar was a bright orange "Dukes of Hazzardâ" job he got when he was 3. He wishes he still had it, but not because he wants to emulate the kind of music associated with that show.

Though Hanke does cite Waylon Jennings and other country outlaws as influences "his first album was a Willie Nelson disc and he says Johnny Cash "speaks to my soul"
(and his dog is named Waylon) � he�s equally in love with Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, the Beatles and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

But the singer-songwriter�s debut album, �Autumn Blues,� doesn�t sound like an amalgam of influences; it�s purely wrought from his own heart and soul. He describes his oeuvre as �country music in the thoughtful sense; story songs, folk, Americana � the catch-all phrase for music that isn�t easily pigeonholed.�

Hanke�s songs are filled with crystalline vocals, sweet harmonies and impeccable instrumentation by such renowned talents as dobro/steel player Cindy Cashdollar, keyboardist Riley Osbourne, fiddle player Carrie Rodriguez, guitarist/mandolinist/vocalist Doug Hudson, harmony vocalists Denice Franke, Sarah Pierce and Vicki Dial (Hanke�s mom) and co-producer/drummer Merel Bregante, formerly with Loggins & Messina and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

There is, of course, a Texas sensibility � Hanke was raised in the suburbs of Dallas and now lives in Round Rock, outside of Austin. His lyrics frequently reference the beauty of his surroundings; starting with the album�s title tune.

�I love the fall in Texas,� says Hanke. �I finally was able to capture that imagery and pair it with the story of someone pledging their devotion to another in an attempt to ward off the blues.� He wrote the song while spending a weekend alone at famed Texas troubadour Robert Earl Keen�s Hill Country home, conjuring vivid verses Paul Simon might have written for Art Garfunkel.

�October is a prize I can�t let go/Fleeting like a cool canyon wind,� reads one. �But I�ll wrap you up to warm inside my coat/ Take away your autumn blues again.�

Of �Smoke Through an Old Screen Door,� another evocative song title, Hanke explains, �People come into our lives and leave like smoke passing through a screen door.� He wrote the song, appropriately, while sitting on his front porch.

In �Broken Dreams,� Hanke sings about riding his pony across Western skies, and comes up with the stunning line, �A heart in chains makes a desperate sound.�

These are strong, poetic metaphors, written with the self-assurance of someone who �went to the bottom of the well and kept digging, and found something meaningful.�

�I believe songs are spiritual,� Hanke explains. �You have to be inspired � then you have to be alone. It may come to you when you are in a busy place, but you have to go somewhere where you can eliminate all the other BS and focus on what matters. ... I believe that it is important to be disciplined and that writing is like a muscle that strengthens as it is exercised. Keep your eyes open, don�t compare yourself to other people, never chase, and believe in something greater than yourself.�

Spoken with the decisiveness of someone who sounds like a music-biz veteran, far older than Hanke�s 27 years. But he�s a relative late-comer; he didn�t really start playing guitar until he was 18, and at Southwestern University, he majored in international studies and German, not music.

�At a certain point I asked myself, �Why not?� Playing music for a living seemed like an obvious choice; nothing else really interested me,� he admits. Under Bregante�s tutelage, his dream grew more real.

The pair met when Hanke was doing engineering work at Clear Channel Communications� Austin radio studios, and Bregante was accompanying another Texas artist during an on-air performance. �I just started talking to him after their set was over,� Hanke recalls. �We just had a really cool friendship blossom from there. (I�m) this young cat that he�s taken under his wings.�

Hanke started hanging out at Bregante�s recording studio and learned �what I needed to do to make a great record.�

Not surprisingly, it requires pairing great songs with great talent. Hanke�s been fortunate to hook up with some of the area�s finest. He even engineered the reunion of Hudson and Franke, whose history includes tours with Lyle Lovett and Nanci Griffith. Their only recording together was never released, so Hanke�s feeling proud that he got them together on his album.

Bregante, Hudson and Pierce also accompany Hanke onstage whenever they can.

�We overcome a lot of things that most bands go through because we have a vested interest in each other,� he says. �Doug and Merel call each other, like, every day. I introduced them to each other, but the two of them, it�s like they�ve known each other for ages. Everybody gets along really well. It�s sort of a family band atmosphere. It�s pretty cool.�

It�s pretty cool for Hanke that these seasoned artists cast their lot with him, but they know something music fans in Texas and beyond will soon discover: This guy�s the real deal.
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