Willie Nelson once said that Austin, Texas was the perfect place for musicians who didn’t fit in anywhere else to fit in.
Bob Livingston counts as one of those musical misfits.
Long known as the Cosmic Cowboy, Livingston will haul his far-out brand of blended music out of Austin and to the Renaissance Center for the Arts Nights/City Lights Series in Kingsport, Tenn. on Oct. 4.
He will draw material from his days as a member of Jerry Jeff Walker’s Lost Gonzo Band. Expect the title track from his album “Mahatma Gandhi & Sitting Bull.”
Left-of-field stuff, but what do you expect from a fella known as the Cosmic Cowboy.
“Cosmic Cowboy is something that Michael Murphey called me way back, Cosmic Bob, then it became Cosmic Cowboy,” Livingston said recently by phone from his home in Austin, Texas.
Livingston played on Murphey’s groundbreaking album from 1972, “Geronimo’s Cadillac.” From there, he joined folkie Jerry Jeff Walker’s anything-goes Lost Gonzo Band, which included rocker Gary P. Nunn. They were a microcosm of Austin.
“Austin was absolutely jumping,” Livingston said. “Then, Willie Nelson came to town. It was all hippies and rednecks, and it just blew his mind. Austin was a great place to live and play.”
Livingston appeared on such renowned tunes as Walker’s party hearty “Sangria Wine” and “Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother.” He can also be heard with Nunn and the Lost Gonzo Band on “London Homesick Blues,” which for years was the theme song of PBS’ “Austin City Limits.”
Livingston will perform those songs in Kingsport. However, those who attend Livingston’s performance will experience a different kind of show on several counts.
“It’s just me and Bradley Kopp on stage, but it sounds like three or four guys,” Livingston said. “I play guitar and harmonica, and I tap my foot on what’s called a porch band bass.”
Secondly, Livingston’s show does not simply feature song after song. He entertains with stories of how such songs as “Geronimo’s Cadillac” materialized.
“I start out with some of my stuff. I tell my story,” the Lubbock, Texas native said. “I tell the story and set up the story of ‘Redneck Mother.’ I’ll tell the story of ‘London Homesick Blues,’ and then do it, too. I get the crowd to sing along a lot with me, and I encourage that.”
Thirdly, bring as wide open a mind as you can. Interested in East Indian music since hearing The Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood,” Livingston embarked upon his first of many tours of India in 1986. Since then, exotic Indian sounds have eased into his music.
“It’s ethereal and eclectic,” Livingston said. “It awakened something in me. The whole east-meets-west thing is where my heart is at.”
If Cosmic Cowboy indicates a way-out dude with way-out ideas for music, then the name fits him as well as his Stetson does.
“I don’t think anybody’s doing the music I’m doing,” Livingston said. “It’s different. People come away with their perspectives a little wider. It’s entertaining, and it’s educational.”
IF YOU GO
Who: Bob Livingston
When: Oct. 4, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Renaissance Center, 1200 E. Center St., Kingsport, Tenn.
Admission: $18 for adults, $15 for seniors and students
Info: (423) 392-8414
Web: www.texas-music.org
TOM NETHERLAND is a freelance writer
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