This past June singer songwriter Hayes Carll came to Mountain Stage and performed a song called "I Got a Gig." This song, as well as many others throughout his career, have been inspired in whole or part by the the small town of Crystal Beach on Galevston Bay's Bolivar Peninsula where Carll honed his songwriting chops for the better part of four years.
Crystal Beach is just one small area of the devestation felt by Hurricane Ike. You can hear Hayes' set, including "I Got A Gig," on NPR Music by clicking here.
Here is a statement released by Lost Highway Records.
Hayes Carll “devastated” by Ike damage
By Michael Corcoran | Tuesday, September 16, 2008, 01:06 PM
Hayes Carll, who spent four years honing his songwriting in the bars of Crystal Beach, is currently in England where, manager Mike Crowley says, “he’s devastated about the complete destruction of Crystal Beach.” Crowley says Carll is writing something that he’ll post soon on his web site. We’ll publish it here when it’s available.
“It’s all gone,” Crowley says of the working class town on Galveston Bay’s Bolivar Peninsula. “I’ve seen the footage and it looks like a tornado hit. It’s just concrete slabs.”
Carll hosts the Stingaree Music Festival on Crystal Beach each April. His Highway 87 label is named after the road that takes you to the seaside town, “where the cops all know your number and the bars all know your name.” Carll’s three albums are inhabited by the roughhewn characters, the shrimpers and oil workers and beach bums he met while playing at places like Bob’s, which are no longer there.
Now, virtually all that’s left of Crystal Beach are those song.
Our thoughts are with all those affected by Hurricane Ike.