'Asleep,' but very much alive
September 2nd, 2010 at 10:07 am
Asleep at the Wheel
Asleep at the Wheel is capable of many styles of music: jazz, country and even rock (among their first gigs was as an opening act for Alice Cooper).
But more so than anything else, the group is known for one thing: Western swing.
And specifically, the Western swing of Bob Wills.
Asleep at the Wheel, who will perform at Second Street Live in Fort Smith tonight (Sept. 2), has earned a reputation as the greatest reinterpreter of classic swing music. But the band’s lead singer, Ray Benson, tells me he doesn’t want to be seen as part of a living museum.
The music he and his band plays is fresh and lively, he says, although it certainly draws inspiration from the classics. Judging by the numbers, Asleep at the Wheel is doing something right. The band, on the strength of a new album with Willie Nelson and its ongoing theatrical product “A Ride With Bob,” played before more people in 2009 than it ever had in any year before, Benson says.
Benson also told me about the first time he listened to a Bob Wills song, his take on being an entertainer above being a history lesson and the musical prowess of his band members.
That turned into a story that we published last weekend in What’s Up!, which you can read here if you are a subscriber to our newspaper or its print products.
Tonight’s show in Fort Smith is the first in Second Street Live’s new season. Sometime next week, we’ll fill you in on the other shows on the bill for the 2010-11 series.
Tickets for tonight are $50 and are available at 719-8783.