GOODTIMES WITH RANDY “TEX” HILL AND THE OREGON VALLEY BOYS
This article has been a long, long, time comin’. Yep, life has been movin’ at a gallop even this ol’ horse hasn’t been able to keep up with…neeeiiigh(nay)
Originally this post was going to be just about Randy “Tex” Hill and the cool guitar art assemblage projects that he has done.
The man, Randy “Tex” Hill, is quite talented. He’s been a fine drummer & singer – forever… and has traveled the globe entertaining for just about as long as that.
This just in via Facebook: Randy “Tex” Hill…”I got a call on Thursday. It’s confirmed. I’ll be inducted into the Northwest Western Swing Hall of Fame on August 10th in Auburn, Washington. Wow. Blows my mind. I am extremely honored.” Words from a humble talented guy.
He’s also a graphic designer, artist, has his own radio program, and even runs his own magazine. How he finds time to do all of this, I’ll never know. He makes me tired, he does so much.
Recently, (in the scheme of things), I had the opportunity of getting out to hear his band The Oregon Valley Boys perform at Ringlers, right here in Portland, so I figured I’d just tell you a bit about the band also. These guys are the best Western Swing Band that I’ve heard in a long time. They have it down and they have it down good. Talk about a bunch of Swingers…(Western style that is).
THE ART OF RANDY “TEX” HILL
I met Randy “Tex” Hill some five plus years ago when I was given the opportunity to photograph some of his Assemblage Art. Randy makes these way cool sculptures – unlike any that I had ever seen. The guitar assemblages, however, were what caught my eye first. Just imagine guitars brought back to life from the dead. Oh yes, the DEAD…These guitars are the only examples of reincarnation on the planet. They come back to life as art.
Here’s what Tex has to say about his art:
“Breathing life into odd bits and pieces that others have cast off and thrown aside is the key to the formation of my assemblage artwork.
My passion for creating this kind of art reaches back into a childhood that was rich with the vision and imagination that is naturally found in my home state of Texas.
And much like the storytellers and characters that have created a state that is larger than life, I take pieces of everyday existence and craft them into something a little more fantastic and a little more exotic than they were originally meant to be.”
Randy’s Bio pretty much will tell you a whole bunch about these sculptures and the man, Randy “Tex” Hill:
Pacific Northwest graphic designer and musician Randy Hill has been creating assemblage art (don’t call it trash or junk) in one way or another since he was a boy growing up on a farm in central Texas. “I always looked forward to Saturday mornings because my father would take my brother and me down to the town dump to get rid of our trash,” remembers Hill.
“While dad was busy unloading the truck, my brother and I would go ‘treasure’ hunting. To me it was a gold mine of junk of every description, and I would bring home choice castoffs and create cool things out of them. I didn’t have any money, so I created things I dreamed up with stuff other people threw away.”
Hill returned to his childhood fascination a few years ago when his son-in-law decided to throw out an old Silvertone acoustic guitar he owned because the neck was broken. (Editor’s note: C’mon, almost everybody knows-except sons-in-law- you don’t throw away an old Silvertone guitar – especially if you’ve ever had guitar fever. They’re the best ones.) “I told him, ‘no way,’ because I knew I could make something out of it,” says Randy. The result was the birth of his first