April, 1999
Beaver Interview
Simon Morgan, Cowboy Mouth

Seven years in the making, two major recording deals downriver and thousands of miles along life's dusty highway - The Last Hurrah has been a long time coming. Austin, Texas' Beaver Nelson can tell you a thing or two about missed opportunities. They litter the floor of his rehearsal rooms and the archives of Lightstorm (a pre-Freedom ex-label), destined to remain unreleased for some time yet. Those early recordings boast tracks featuring people like Lucinda Williams - which gives you some idea of Nelson's pedigree. Other ex-associates also include Tony Scalzo and Joey Shuffield, these days trading as Fastball.

Produced by the superbly named Scrappy Jud Newcomb, The Last Hurrah shines like a full moon on a clear winter's night. Part troubadour, part tunesmith, part gunslinger - Beaver sure ain't no pussy. He swings, he digs, he cajoles and sinks his teeth into your senses one more time. Many of the songs here were recorded after attending the funeral of Van Dyke Parks (correction: Townes Van Zandt) in Nashville in 1997. On The Last Hurrah Beaver sounds like he's been carrying the torch from that day on.

Company of Kings rolls off the disc with ease. A fiddle stained, mid-tempo lilter - straddled by Nelson's sing the phone book and still sound sincere voice. Strong As I Look ain't a million miles away from Being There period Wilco - which is never a bad thing. The Jules Shear co-write, Too Much Moonlight, grows in stature with every subsequent listen. Featuring Shear on intricate harmonies, it's up there with the angels. Also to be found on Glitterhouse's Luxury Liner 3 compilation. 'When I told you that I was bad news, I didn't mean that stuff for you to belive it enough to agree' goes the intro to I'm Just Crying, a beautiful acoustic lament with slender pickins and a chunky acoustic undertow. Stray Dog sounds like it was written in a sidestreet off of Main St. Exiled to roam for ever, Beaver howls; "I piss where I please". The wonderfully understated whoo-whoops perfectly match the dualing sub-Keef guitars. Things Get Shaky 'Round Midnight thankfully bears no mention of the man behind the green door. Excellent mandolin wind courtesey of Rich Brotherton, robust but delicate - passionately sung, 'It ain't no better by sunrise.' Major tune alert. One Car Collision is the LP's second co-write, this time with singer songwriter Michael Fracasso. A one man act of sedition, 'You won't need much help to wreck yourself.' A cautionary tale. Landed In The Mud is another outstanding up-tempo rocker with one eye on the barn.

There's an understated temperance to The Last Hurrah. It builds as it goes, a song cycle moving towards an inevitable conclusion with the LP's two closing tracks (and The Last Hurrah 's finest moments). Pyramids cuts deep into your heart with the opening guitar solo and stakes a place on your gravestone by the chorus. A song about wasted time and missed opportunity, this is nearly (really?) where we came in. In a perfect world Pyramids would enter the singles chart in March and stay there till the leaves fall from the trees. 'Those fools flip coins like they're truly fickle - I flip coins like I'm mad.' We believe, Beav, we believe. Wrapping things up in a fiddle, guitar and snare snapshot is closer Drive You Home. 'It's nice to know who you're friends are, they're the ones who'll drive you home'.

Hurry up Beaver, we've been on orange juice all night, hop in and bag a ride. The Last Hurrah is more of a semi-colon than a full stop - there's a lot more to come from Beaver Nelson. Once you've spent a few days in his company you'll be longing for the follow-up too. Nelson may well look like the great great grandson of General George Armstrong Custer on the cover of The Last Hurrah - but that sure don't make this his last stand. It's nice to know who you're friends are; The Last Hurrah has been mighty hard to eject from the CD tray of the cowboy mouth office stereo. Songs like Pyramids and Drive You Home lodge themselves so deep inside the cranium it's difficult to go a day without hitting repeat. Some nights, when a cool wind blows in over the perimeter fence of the Cowboy Mouth lot, we've been known to sit and listen all night long. We lined up a few questions for Beaver and tracked him down to Austin, Texas. He answered thus:

SEVEN YEARS IS AN AWFUL LONG TIME TO RECORD YER DEBUT - WHAT WENT DOWN?
Waiting seven years to make this record was not my idea. Deals falling apart led to the wait. In retrospect, I'm grateful those records didn't come out because this one is so much better than the others would've been.

ARE YOU HAPPY WITH YOUR NEWFOUND INDEPENDENT STATUS?
Of course. It's nice to know where you stand when dealing with a label and Matt Eskey is great about that. Larger labels obviously have some advantages - but those don't mean anything if they won't put out your records.

PYRAMIDS IS OUR SONG OF THE LP. IT'S GOT "MASSIVE RADIO HIT" STAMPED ALL OVER IT. WHAT'S THE SENTIMENT BEHIND THE SONG?
Patience, understanding the value of little steps. The time it takes to create something of value - especially when you can't see what you're building but keep laying the bricks anyway.

WE'VE GOT YOU DOWN AS A VOICE THAT COULD SING THE PHONEBOOK. WHICH GREAT VOICES INSPIRE YOU?
My favorite voices are Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits and Lucinda Williams - to name a few. I don't think I deliberately try to sound like any of them, though. They all sing with their voice - I try to do the same.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST GUITAR AND WHO INSPIRED YOU TO PICK IT UP?
First guitar - unplayable guitar. I think it was my fathers- he didn't play- I was 10 or so. Took lessons for 2 months - quit. Started again with a cheap electric when I was 14 and never quit.

WHICH OUFITS CURRENTLY WORKING IN THE GENRE DO YOU MOST ADMIRE?
Lucinda Williams, James McMurtey, Jud Newcomb and Mike Nicolai. I'm interested in the writing and the genuineness of a voice more than production values and layers of sound. I was so lucky to have Scrappy Jud produce my record - we share the same sensibilities in a lot of ways.

WHAT'S ON THE HORIZON FOR BEAVER NELSON?
Hopefully touring soon. Making another record - probably in the fall.

ANY PLANS TO VISIT THE UK?
Talked to some folks, but I need a little help before I can get over.