Luv Doc Recommends: 28th Annual Southpaw Jones Birthday Celebration

There are something like 850,000 songwriters in the greater Austin metropolitan area. That’s a rough estimate, but if you’ve ever rolled up on a South Austin backyard barbecue thinking you’re not going to have to hear some Birkenstocked booze weasel regale you with a seven-minute-long stream-of-consciousness selection from his upcoming independently released, home-recorded CD, condolences on your deflowerment. Songwriters, like fire ants, fleas, and killer bees, are an insidious yet inescapable consequence of living in Austin. Some folks like to say that you can’t swing a stick in Austin without hitting a guitar player. This may be true, but chances are you’re going to clock a songwriter on the recoil if you do. Sure, every city has its cross to bear: LA has its model/actor/resses, New York has its ruthless yuppie cutthroats, and Houston has its sweaty rednecks. In comparison, Austin’s surfeit of songwriters seems a relatively minor inconvenience. So what if your proctologist wants to pitch a few new tunes to you to pass along to your next-door-neighbor’s boyfriend who knows the road manager for Reckless Kelly; is that so wrong? Well, maybe. As any decent songwriter/proctologist will tell you, timing is everything ... timing and small hands. Besides, there’s always the chance that you might actually run into a songwriter you like, and not just because he has small hands. If you’re lucky, you’ll find one who really blows your socks off; one you’ll follow around like a hungry puppy; one who makes you forget the cigarette smoke, bad lighting, foul restrooms, and sketchy Allman brother-looking guys at the bar. In fact, you might already be so blessed. If not, you should make your way over to Flipnotics this Saturday for the 28th Annual Southpaw Jones Birthday Celebration. Yes, Flipnotics is in South Austin, but just barely, and Southpaw does have an independently released CD, but if you hear his songs and don’t immediately declare him a genius or at least a songwriting savant, cut your heart out and feed it to a stray dog. It wasn’t working anyway. Saturday the Paw will be joined by an impressive lineup of folks who love him as much as you will: Matt the Electrician, Seela, Scrappy Judd Newcomb, Abi Tapia, the Ginn Sisters, Liz Pappademas, Bill Passalaqua, and budding teen sensations Max and Henry