That is a great idea.  I've already given them a heads-up but go ahead and send, and I'll forward to them directly.  preid@ec.rr.com

Umm, is no one but me totally stoked that Charlie Sexton is going to be involved in the new record?!  Holy crap, he is a musician who has that subtle magic, that intangible intuitive instict as to how to make superb records.  If you haven't checked out his latest, Cruel and Gentle Things, you absolutely should.  All his years with Dylan really did something to this guy.  He is a master.  I am way WAY stoked that he will be involved.  As much as I love the Heartbreakers and am a die hard Petty fan, I thought that Mike Campbell's late 80s guitar sounds on Tambourine were out of place.  I'd have much prefered something more classic, really something like you might have heard on Stax recordings (as you guys mentioned earlier in this thread) or Dusty In Memphis, something from Muscle Shoals, that kind of deal.  Or maybe some sweet Nashville sounds like Kenny Vaughan when he played with Lucinda Williams.  Charlie can do all that, he is a tone-meister. 

Congrats to Tift and the band for signing to a label with such a great legacy.  Can't wait to hear the results.

Matthew

Charlie looks a cool dude with a pretty stunning Texas pedigree - I only know him from his playing on 'Car Wheels On a Gravel Road' by Lucinda Williams, and if Lucinda thinks you're in demand then you must be sh*t hot!


Bio from his website...

Charlie Sexton, raised in Austin, Texas, made his debut with Pictures For Pleasure in 1985 at age 16. He followed that up with a self-titled second album when he was 20. Because word of his reputation as a prodigy guitar player spread far and wide, he found himself an in-demand session player while still in his late teens, and he had the opportunity to record with Ron Wood, Keith Richards and Bob Dylan.

Born to a mother who was just 16 when she gave birth to Charlie, he and his mother moved to Austin when he was just four. His mother would get him out to clubs like the Armadillo World Headquarters and the Soap Creek Saloon. Places like the Split Rail and Antone's blues club became his classrooms. After living outside of Austin for a while with his mother, he moved back to Austin when he was 12, and the musicians around Austin, his heroes, people like Jimmie Vaughan and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Ely and others, took him in and put him up until he could earn more of a living on his own.

From 1992 to 1994, he was a member of Austin's Arc Angels, along with Doyle Bramhall II, Tommy Shannon and Chris "Whipper'' Layton. That group recorded one self-titled album, released in 1992 on Geffen Records. By the time the Arc Angels decided to disband, Sexton was 24 years old and already pegged as a blues musician. But in fact, Sexton plays gutsy, fluid blues guitar, but also spirited rock 'n' roll guitar.

In 1994 and 1995, he formed and recorded with his new group, the Charlie Sexton Sextet, and his debut for MCA Records, Under The Wishing Tree, was released in 1995. Sexton's album was well-received by the critics. Under The Wishing Tree presents Sexton in an array of musical genres, touching on Celtic flavored rock, folk-rock and blues. There is a lot of interplay between guitars, violins, cellos, Dobros and mandolins on the recording, and Sexton's vocals ride high on top of the melodies. On his 1995 tour to support the album, he was accompanied by Susan Boelz, violin, Michael Ramos, organ, and George Reiff, bass and Rafael Gayol, drums. 

As a songwriter, Sexton writes about what he knows, so Texas themes permeate his songs. He considers Bob Dylan his strongest songwriting influence, while he counts Austin legends Jimmie Vaughan and the late Stevie Ray Vaughan among his prime influences for guitar playing. His lyrics mix autobiographical experiences with images that are open to interpretation. More great things are in the offing for this guitarist, singer and songwriter as he recently signed a recording contract with Bach Porch Records.