When Ramon Medina left NonAlignment Pact, the fantastic hydra-like music blog he helped found, I didn’t have to worry that he’d stop writing about music. He was pretty clear that he would now focus his output on Houston’s own FreePress, where he appears in both the print and online editions. It’s difficult to imagine someone who loves music more than Ramon, or who has more wide ranging taste in music. He is at the punk show. The rock show. The pop show. He is ecstatic at the un-listenable noise show. At a time when I’m finding it harder and harder to stay out late and go to shows, Ramon (who has a day job and a child) is a tireless local music fan boy.

No he doesn’t like everything, but God bless him, he’s a big fan of the Bright Men. Here’s his review of last Friday’s show:

Bright Men of Learning are a perfect example of what I mean by craft; they are not trying to reinvent the wheel because BMOL’s songwriter Marshall Preddy figured out that reinventing the wheel is horribly overrated. They don’t do musical tricks on stage nor do they play around with fancy time signatures, jarring electronics sounds, or anything that approaches overstatement. The band simply plays straight-up rootsy rock. They rely on the basics – sharp songs, a solid voice, and a crack band. It’s a band that whittles away at its craft and presents you with a perfectly carved experience that’s at once recognizable as part of a tradition and yet true to itself. The band delivered exactly that on Friday. The triple guitar attack led by Ben Murphy, whose ear is simply incredible, is always a kick. (I always wonder if Ben writes his own lines or if they are given to him by Marshall but I always forget to ask.) The effect is always a lovely melodic compliment to the vocals that round the songs out quite nicely. The big thing about BMOL is that, as time has gone by, Marshall’s batting average as a writer just gets better and better. You can hear it on the band’s releases and lately it’s particularly noticeable as there are many unreleased songs which leave you after the show looking for a studio version in vain. "What the Devil" and "Western Hearts" being two examples of two songs that simply kill and will have me first in line to grab the new album.

Thanks, Ramon. The feeling is beyond mutual.

We played a show last night, and I’d say things went awfully swell. Normally, I’d have posted here and on Myspace & Facebook before the show to give you a bit of warning. But I got married last Saturday, so you’ll forgive me if I let things slip a bit.

Anyway, Chris Gray wrote our show up in Wednesday’s Houston press, and it was an exceedingly positive and well-written piece. There was only one problem: the article said someone else (i.e., not me) writes all our songs.

Ben Murphy is our guitar player, and he has a well-deserved local reputation as the unparalleled songwriter and singer for his former band, Lucky Motors. Gray was apparently aware of Ben’s reputation, but he didn’t know that I am actually the singer and principal songwriter in BMOL. The best/worst part about the error is that this is not the first time it’s been made.

Friday, before the show Chris set things right and was pretty damn gracious about it:

Apologies to Houston’s esteemed Bright Men of Learning for my ongoing cluelessness; I plan on seeking help just as soon as I have health insurance again. Here’s the deal: I have now reported twice that the Men – part of an excellent, twangish, 75% local bill at the Mink tonight with Papermoons, Wild Moccasins and Valdosta, Georgia’s Ninja Gun – are fronted by one Benjamin Davis Murphy.

This is not the case. Murphy plays guitar and cowbell, quite well by all accounts, while Marshall Preddy shoulders the responsibility/honor of fronting the Pavement-loving rockers. Thanks to the kind souls at Hands Up Houston for setting me straight, and further apologies to Murphy and Preddy for the amount of grief this has no doubt caused them, both from each other and the other three guys in the band whose names I don’t even know. But seriously, the Men don’t play near as often as they should, so if I were you I wouldn’t wait around until next time.

Oh, and now that it’s Saturday, I can report that show went great. We got a lot very positive feedback from a lot of folks, confirming what I’ve known for a while now: this is the best band I’ve ever played in.

We’re especially grateful to Mink sound man, Dunnock, who made all four bands sound great despite the great variance in sounds and styles. And today, Dunnock had some nice things to say about our performance:

It was my second time seing them last night. After seing them at the proletariat, I was sold – they are a really great band. However, this time i was blown away. I’m not trying to hug up on their balls or anything, but ben murphy is a freakin wizard and marshall has such a good voice and his songs are classy and fun.. another thing is, they have 3 guitarists and it doesn’t annoy me at ALL.. Normally bands with three guitar players make me wanna drink.. in a bad way.

Finally, I have to say all three of the other bands were totally great:

• I had not seen openers Wild Moccasins before, but the local band was surprising on a number of levels. They had nearly flawless musicianship, awesome boy/girl vocals, and some sophisticated arrangements. And they all look younger than 20. Their confident, yet utterly dorky enthusiasm infected the rest of the show.
• Ninja Gun turned out to be a pretty swell alt-country band in the vein of Uncle Tupelo and Slobberbone. A perfect bill-mate for us, in other words. They provided the evening’s only true rock moments, and they turned in a couple of fearless covers of the Beatles and Tom Petty.
• Paper Moons played last, and they were a nice way to wind down the evening. I have no idea how two guys can generate all the sounds they make, but it all sounds like expert, bittersweet pop. And, Jesus, their drummer is good, plus he brings the harmonies.

Best show in a long time. Can’t wait to play the Mink again.