(The Music Room) Corpus Christi, Texas born and raised Ted Roddy, has had his hand in the musical cookie jar of many different genres of music over the years. After being given a snare drum as a kid, he joined the family band playing mostly jam band and Creedence songs. As he got older, he started taking in shows by groups like Humble Pie and the Amboy Dukes (pre-Nugent "Stranglehold" days). It was at one of these shows he was exposed to Freddie King. Much as he loved the Nuge, he was blown away by King. Soon he was collecting the records of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, while at the same time scouring Woolworth's for "3 for $1" records by country artists like Willie Nelson and Red Stegall.

Feeling cramped by his hometown, he headed for Dallas. Here he was exposed to the blues of Stevie Ray Vaughan and The Fabulous Thunderbirds, who frequently played there. There was a good living to be made playing the blues scene in Dallas, and Ted hooked up with a blues outfit, the Midnighters, where he was thrust into the position of being the band's vocalist. When the blues scene started drying up in Dallas, he headed for Austin, only to find the blues scene there oversaturated. Around this time he "discovered" Elvis, and became deeply enamored and influenced by the way Elvis was able to get inside of a song, whether it was blues, gospel, Broadway or rock, and make it uniquely his. It didn't hurt that Ted has a vocally similar style, a deep, rich, soulful baritone. He then turned his attention to rockabilly, and found it much better suited to his voice than the blues were. He formed the band The Talltops, which also included Jim Heath, who would later go on to become the Reverend Horton Heat. Other projects included the harmonica driven group, Shakerug, which was inspired after he attended a Willie Nelson concert, and saw the possibilities of harmonica playing in country music, and Naughty Ones, a swing-lounge act that was his outlet for his his love of jazz, and pre-dated the brief "zoot suit" swing revival of the mid-90's. In 1995, Ted released a well received solo album of Texas roots music, combining country, rock, and blues, titled Full Circle. After the release of this album, he decided he wanted to get back to his country roots, and in 1996, formed the Tearjoint Troubadours. The lineup of the Troubadours varied from time to time, and includes such Austin A-list talent as Marty Muse, Jim Stringer, Dave Biller, Lisa Pankratz, John X. Reed, Karen Poston, Kevin Smith, Brad Fordham, Dave Sanger, Darcie Deaville, Dave Wessolowski, Terry Kirkendall, Jon Hahn, Andrew Nofziger, Chris Johnson, Landis Armstrong and Randy "Tater" Glines. Ted and the Troubadours landed a long term weekly gig at Ego's, and when that ended, found plenty of gigs playing various other clubs around Austin.

However, it wasn't until 2000, that Ted and the Troubadours went into the studio to record, the result of which is Tear Time, an album that recalls the sounds of good old 60's style honky tonkers, with a couple of hard driving rockabilly tunes tossed in for good measure. All the songs are written or co-written by Ted, save for three covers, the first one being the Dan Penn/Donnie Fritts penned "Tearjoint." This is the song that inspired the name of the Tearjoint Troubadours, with the lines "This ain't no beer joint, naw, it's a tearjoint," and to "watch this old loser cry" when "all the right that turned out wrong suddenly comes back strong." This pretty much sets the tone for the subject matter of Tear Time. Nine of the songs are set in honky tonks and other drinking establishments, four are set on the road, and most deal with the problems of love and relationships.

"It Hasn't Happened Yet," is a honky tonker about a guy that hung out with the honky tonk crowd, which led his woman to put him out like "a butt from a cigarette." "Se Habla Heartache" is a bilingual Tex-Mex border tale of heartbreak. The western swing "All Night Texas Turnaround," sings an ode to life in a Chevy van and miles and miles of Texas. "Something Good," a honky tonk duet with Karen Poston, tells of a love gone right- except for the fact that she already has someone else at home. "Let's Drown Together" has a guy who's drowning his sorrows, grabbing the wrong glass, which finds him meeting a woman drowning her own.

"Hillbilly Rocket" is a driving rockabilly number about getting out of the way when he's gets behind the wheel of that hillbilly rocket. "War Between Two Loves" tells the tale of cheatin' hearts. The Joe Dickens penned "I Like Whiskey," explains the inspiration of why he likes honky tonkin'- namely the jukebox that plays George Jones, Conway, and Loretta Lynn. Dallas Frasier's "Border Of Mexico," is about a trip to a border town and "what a peso can do for a gringo." "The Goodurn" is a driving harmonica driven instrumental, which when done live, means it's time to pass the tip jar in honky tonk lingo.

"Pretty Baby" with it's Cajun melody, seeks assurances from his beloved who seems to have developed a bit of a roving eye. The honky tonker "Presence Known," is about a guy that works late, and who's woman has been stepping out on the town, and wants to know just who she's been hanging out with. "By My Side" with it's slithery harp work and cajun beat, asks for his bayou belle's affections. Tear Time closes with the rocking Sun Studio influenced "Pick Up & Move On," where our hero decides he's not going to hang around being anyone's fool, and he's outta there.

With Tear Time, Ted Roddy, with the Elvis-like swagger in his voice, uses Elvis' ability to get inside of a song, and combines  it with stone country music. Backed by a stellar group of musicians, and standout harmonies,  Ted  succeeds in making each song uniquely his own, making Tear Time an essential for fans of traditional honky tonk. Tear Time, and the can't miss combination of Ted's voice, his way with a song (though he has more of a fondness for vocal harmonies), and the Troubadors, should easily appeal to fans of current traditional honky tonk artists like Dale Watson.   

AnnMarie Harrington Take Country Back November 2002