Friday Afternoon Video: Hayes Carll

In case you hadn't heard, Steve Goodman can no longer lay claim to the "best country and western song ever written." That tarnished crown now rests squarely on the head of Hayes Carll. The song in question? "She Left Me For Jesus."

With lyrics like "It could been Carlos or Billy Ortez / But if I ever find Jesus, he's gonna wish he was dead," it's easy to see why Carll is being hailed as a pitch-perfect amalgamation of classic country bad boy David Allan Coe (NSFW lyrics in that link, so caveat click-tor) and timelessly earnest songwriter Townes Van Zandt. His songs are by turns funny and sad, superficially amusing and deeply introspective, and his music has a knack for sticking with you long after you've left a concert or turned off your stereo.

Born and raised in The Woodlands, Hayes Carll took a non-traditional route to becoming a performer (although one can argue that there are no "traditional" routes), obtaining a history degree from a small Arkansas liberal arts college before living in what has been described as a "shack" on Crystal Beach while selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door to support his burgeoning songwriting career. All the while, he played gigs night after night at Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe in Galveston, where the audience there appreciated his unusual mix of folk, country and conversation.

Since then, he's released a few albums, won a few awards, written some songs with Ray Wylie Hubbard and Guy Clark, and received the kind of national acclaim that's rarely given to alt-country acts who have songs with names like "Bad Liver and a Broken Heart" and, simply, "Beaumont."

This afternoon's video is a collaboration between Dano Johnson of Collection Agency Films and Hayes Carll himself, in a cute short that demonstrates Carll's tendency to tell off-the-wall stories in the middle of his performances:

If you'd like to catch Hayes Carll live, now that he's moved on from such venues as Old Quarter and the bulwark Mucky Duck, you can see him in all his bearded glory tonight at Sam Houston Race Park. He takes the main stage along with another Houstonist favorite, Ray Wylie Hubbard, at 8:30 p.m. Tickets start at $30, a mere pittance to see two such talented singers and storytellers in person.

But if you're quick (and/or low on cash), Houstonist has a hack for you: if you go by Cactus Music this afternoon around 5:00 p.m., you can catch Carll performing live in the store for free! Don't say we never gave you nothing, baby.