Terri Hendrix

Terri Hendrix (born February 13, 1968 in San Antonio , Texas) is an American country singer and songwriter. She lives and works in San Marcos , Texas .

Life

Terri Hendrix was born in 1968 at Brooke Army Medical Center , Fort Sam Houston . As the daughter of a Command Sergeant Major of the United States Army , who was awarded a Purple Heart in Vietnam , she had a rather nomadic childhood. Due to relocations, she spent a few years in Panama . Education for independence was decisive for her, her brother and her older sister. She made her first acquaintance with country music at home: her father taught her a few chords so that they could sing pieces by Dolly Parton and Patsy Cline together .

Terri Hendrix performed live at the Old Settler's Music Festival in Austin, 2006.

Back in San Antonio , Terri Hendrix sang in Mac Arthur High's high school choir, specializing in opera and Broadway. At the end of her high school years, she won a scholarship for classical music at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas , but soon moved to Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, where she still lives today. Her musical career began in the early 1990s as a coffeehouse act in Open Mike sessions around San Antonio and San Marcos. In the following years she left the university and concentrated entirely on songwriting and guitar playing with her new mentor Marion Williamson . In return for work on her Wilory Farm in Hye, Texas, she gave the up-and-coming singer guitar and singing lessons. The staunch philanthropist Williamson influenced the young musician in a spiritual, musical and business-technical way. A deep friendship developed between the two, until Williamson's death from cancer in 1997.

Her first album "Two Dollar Shoes" (1996), released on her own label Tycoon Cowgirl Records, became a local hit. In 1997 she renamed her label to Wilory Records in recognition of her mentor Marion Williamson. Shortly after her debut was released, she met the producer and multi-instrumentalist Lloyd Maines . Maines, father of Natalie Maines ( Dixie Chicks ) and producer of musicians as well as bands like Robert Earl Keen , Joe Ely , Richard Buckner and Wilco , has been producing her albums since then and works as a recording musician and core member of Terri Hendrix's band in the background.

The three follow-up albums to "Two Dollar Shoes" (1998 "Wilory Farm", 1999 "Live" and 2000 "Places in Between") made Terri Hendrix known to a national audience and, from a commercial point of view, marked a clear breakthrough. "Wilory Farm" and "Places in Between" also received favorable reviews in the German edition of the music magazine Rolling Stone . The temporary level of awareness in Germany could not be maintained in the period that followed - unlike in the USA, where the artist has long been considered a recognized member of the wide-ranging New Country and Alternative Country scene. “Places in Between” was followed by the two albums “The Ring” (2002) and “The Art of Removing Wallpaper” (2004). In November 2005, “Celebrate the Difference” was the last release so far: a CD especially for children . Among other things, it contains a new edition of the Hendrix song "Lluvia de Estrellas", which is presented in Spanish and English, as well as several cover pieces, including "Car Car" by the US folk song legend Woody Guthrie .

In the line-up of Terri Hendrix (git, voc, harm, mand) and Lloyd Maines (git, steel, dobro, mand), the singer has performed at several well-known festivals in the USA and Europe, including the Blue Highways Festival in Utrecht, the Newport Folk Festival , the Philadelphia Folk Festival, and the Mountain Stage Folk Festival . When they're not touring as a duo, the cast is reinforced by percussionist Paul Pearcy and bassist Glenn Fukunaga. Terri Hendrix and Lloyd Maines jointly organize an annual songwriting workshop that addresses both the creative process and business-technical aspects. Otherwise, Terri Hendrix co-wrote the 2002 Grammy- winning instrumental "Lil 'Jack Slade" by Dixie Chicks.

Style and reviews

Terri Hendrix writes most of her songs herself. Her music is influenced by different styles. In addition to the styles of western swing and classic folk that were still predominant on the first three albums, elements from rock , blues and pop are increasingly found . The musician herself names musicians such as Mississippi John Hurt , Sonny Boy Williamson II , Paul Simon and Ella Fitzgerald as essential influences and describes her style as a unique mixture of folk, roots pop, country and scat jazz.

Self-determination and the development of one's own creative potential are essential to Terri Hendrix. Because of her roots-based music and her reserved attitude towards the music industry, she is often compared to Michelle Shocked and Ani DiFranco . The Texas Monthly, for example, outlines it as a “ Sheryl Crow in overalls or a down-to-earth version of Ani DiFranco”. Social criticism in a general form - such as the very conventionally oriented selection of pieces of music on US radio - is definitely articulated by the singer. In contrast to Shocked or DiFranco, however, this criticism is not expressed as a decidedly left basic attitude. Terri Hendrix understands her songs rather as an invitation to the individual to go his own way. Her motto and at the same time also the subtitle of her label Wilory Records: "Own your own universe".

Reviews: The Philadelphia Local Daily News finds their lyrics outperform many of their contemporary peers in terms of quality; they are rich in images, make one thoughtful and always come with an undercurrent of nonconformity. The British Mojo characterized her as a "perky Texan cowgirl". On the occasion of the release of their seventh CD, “The Art of Removing Wallpaper”, Music Row Magazine discovered “acoustic instruments, funk groove and a singer with a conviction”. On the occasion of the publication of “Celebrate the Difference”, the Readers Journal compares Terri Hendrix with the poet, composer and children's book author Shel Silverstein . Griff Luneburg, co-owner of the Cactus Cafe in Austin: “Your songs come straight from the heart. She is the most convincing of the new Texas Troubadours. "

Discography

The eleven albums that have been released so far have all been published on Wilory Records' own label. CD titles available in Germany are marked with a *.

• Two Dollar Shoes (1996; out of print)
• Wilory Farm (June 1998) *
• Live (May 1999) *
• Places In Between (May 2000) *
• Live in San Marcos (May 2001)
• The Ring (June 2002)
• The Art of Removing Wallpaper (June 2004)
• Celebrate the Difference (November 2005)
• The Spiritual Kind (August 2007)
• Left Over Alls (2008)
• Christmas on Wilory Farm (EP; 2008)

Represented with pieces on the following compilations:

• World Cafe live
• Parkinsong Volume One
• Don't mess with Texas Music Volume Two

Awards

• Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance: Dixie Chicks "Lil 'Jack Slade" (2003)
• Best Folk Act (1999, 2000, 2001; Austin Music Awards / Austin Chronicle Music Poll)
• Best Singer-Songwriter (1999; Austin Music Awards / Austin Chronicle Music Poll)
• Best New Band (1999; Austin Music Awards / Austin Chronicle Music Poll)

tape

Full cast of the recording of "Celebrate the Difference"

• Terri Hendrix (vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin, harmonica)
• Lloyd Maines (Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Papoose, Mandolin, Steel Guitar, Banjo, Electric Bass, Vocals)
• Glenn Fukunaga (upright bass, ukulele)
• Paul Pearcy (percussion)
• Riley Osbourn (keyboards)
• Dennis Ludiker (Fiddle)
• Noah Jeffries (mandolin)
• Mark Rubin (tuba)
• Stan Smith (Clarinet)
• Mark "Speedy" Gonzales (Trombone)
• Joel Guzman (Accordion)
• Kids Choir: Declan Maguire, Slade Pasdar, Danielle Meador, Jacy Meador, Rainey Tsukifuji, Carolene Tsukifuji, Lily Remmert

Web links

• Works by Terri Hendrix in the catalog of the German National Library
• Website with information and picture gallery
• Terri Hendrix at Allmusic (English)