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Wayne Sutton

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RELEASE DATE: July 27, 2004

(Houston) In a sign of great things to come, the premiere event/gig of the Austin Volunteer Orchestra (AVO) went off in style last Saturday night. AVO headlined the first full-out fundraiser -- at Houston's indomitable Last Concert Café, no less -- for Instruments for Orphans (IFO), an Austin-based charity, with a new chapter in Houston, that collects musical equipment for and gives musical instruction to children in Children's Provider Homes.

Indeed, the inaugural IFO & debut AVO event was one for the ages: a "super-group" of immensely talented individual musicians, from widely different backgrounds, playing together as one band in the shadow of a gorgeous Houston skyline.

Little more than a concept six months ago, Austin Volunteer Orchestra has become an active musical brain trust of the musicians involved. Though many local favorites were approached, the final line-up for these two shows gelled into current form only about six weeks ago. And the band -- Carolyn Wonderland (vocals, guitar, trumpet), Wayne Sutton (vocals, guitar), Matt Hubbard (vocals, keys, harp, trombone), Michael L. Hale (vocals, drums), and Shiben Bhattacharya (vocals, bass guitar) -- was definitely primed for this gig, devoting a great deal of time into song selection and rehearsal.

Brought together as five of Austin's finest individual musicians, AVO's aim was to draw attention to the rich heritage of Texas music by creating new Texas music, live on stage. And despite the fact that each member is a working musician in various other working and touring ensembles, these five devoted the time it took to making this group the best possible ensemble it could be.

Playing two full sets on Saturday, AVO set the standard for their future live performances. The group tore through classic Texas covers from the likes of Doug Sahm, Townes Van Zandt, Ray Price and Buddy Holly. These tunes took their place amongst some great original material from AVO artists' individual catalogs (we hope to hear even more this coming weekend), and some obscure titles like Butthole Surfers' 1991 anthem "Revolution Part 2" and a stunning version of the still-unreleased ballad by Willie Nelson, "...Peace on Earth".

AVO added its own diverse style to each and every cover. They rocked the house with the amazing "Waitin' for the Bus / Jesus Just Left Chicago" pairing that opened ZZ Top's '73 sizzler "Tres Hombres". Shiben (and the other four vocalists) brought the house down with a faithful rendition of Sahm's "Give Back the Key To My Heart." When Matt Hubbard steps out from the keys and up to the center, he lounges with the best in the business. And Michael Hale starts crooning a certain Freddie Fender cover, well let's just say you'd have to come hear for yourself, ladies.

The room was decorated especially for this event by ColorWarp.net. D. Brown Fisher adorned the walls with various tye-dyed and oil-painted tapestries and batiks. Event sponsor U.S. Pura Vida, provided dozens of beautiful flowers from Costa Rica.

Austin's own The Expert Witness started the evening, spinning music from a variety of genres. He also spun music throughout the set break and the band morphed from vinyl into live improve to start the second set, heavy groovin on the low end.

Overall, this show was a resounding success. And it bodes well for Austin, this week, which will host the next big event for the Austin Volunteer Orchestra.

For information on tickets to the Austin event, please click here.

Research shows that music education is linked to better language and math ability, improved school grades, higher test scores, and better-adjusted social behavior. Yet music education programs everywhere are in jeopardy, while many low-income students have no access to musical instruments or music education programs AT ALL! To help address this problem in Austin, Texas, and around the world, Instruments for Orphans (IFO) has established a continuing program seeking direct donations of musical equipment to implement our educational programs permanently placed in a variety of facilities for at-risk youth.