??????????????????????????????????????????????? If there's a running tally somewhere of the
??????????????????????????????????????????????? world's all-time best second-hand purchases,
??????????????????????????????????????????????? add this one to the list: Not too long ago,
?????????????????????????????????????????????? Damnations TX singer/bassist Amy Boone
?????????????????????????????????????????????? walked into an Austin pawnshop and plunked
?????????????????????????????????????????????? down around $70 for a second-hand Washburn
?????????????????????????????????????????????? banjo.

?????????????????????????????????????????????? "It was probably my rent money, but it was
?????????????????????????????????????????????? cheap!" Boone says of the purchase, though it
?????????????????????????????????????????????? was hardly money down the drain. That old
?????????????????????????????????????????????? banjo would ultimately prove to be one of the
?????????????????????????????????????????????? most defining elements of her fledgling band's
?????????????????????????????????????????????? sound, second only to the sweet harmonies
?????????????????????????????????????????????? Boone shares with her sister and co-band
?????????????????????????????????????????????? leader Deborah Kelly. Boone's contribution
?????????????????????????????????????????????? on banjo is limited to the initial purchase,
?????????????????????????????????????????????? however; it's guitarist Rob Bernard's spirited
?????????????????????????????????????????????? plucking that drives the Damnations live and
?????????????????????????????????????????????? on their Sire debut, Half Mad Moon.

?????????????????????????????????????????????? "I envisioned the banjo being in the band, but I
?????????????????????????????????????????????? was still new on bass and had enough of a
?????????????????????????????????????????????? challenge just to keep getting better at that,"
?????????????????????????????????????????????? Boone says. "So, I invited Rob over, made him
?????????????????????????????????????????????? some coffee to tantalize him, and asked,
?????????????????????????????????????????????? 'What do you think about playing banjo?' He
?????????????????????????????????????????????? said, 'Uh, I'll give it a try.' So he sat in my
?????????????????????????????????????????????? house and I strung out a bunch of folk songs
?????????????????????????????????????????????? and he learned all the chords."

?????????????????????????????????????????????? The prominence of banjo, mandolin and the
?????????????????????????????????????????????? aforementioned sisterly harmonies betrays the
?????????????????????????????????????????????? group's love of traditional bluegrass, country
?????????????????????????????????????????????? and folk music, but there's more than enough
?????????????????????????????????????????????? rock in the mix to lend the Damnations
?????????????????????????????????????????????? pseudo-punk cred -- or at least to rub
?????????????????????????????????????????????? traditionalists the wrong way. "There are so
?????????????????????????????????????????????? many bluegrass and country purists that
?????????????????????????????????????????????? would probably want to ring our neck," laughs
?????????????????????????????????????????????? Boone. "We basically stick to rock venues
?????????????????????????????????????????????? that can handle the crossover type of thing."

?????????????????????????????????????????????? Half Mad Moon still begs to be filed under
?????????????????????????????????????????????? alt-country, but it stands apart from the crowd
?????????????????????????????????????????????? of lonesome Son Volt and Whiskeytown
?????????????????????????????????????????????? imitators by virtue of its buoyant, infectious
?????????????????????????????????????????????? energy. They're not above a haunting melody
?????????????????????????????????????????????? or double-edged lyric, but by and large the
?????????????????????????????????????????????? Damnations' spin on the No Depression
?????????????????????????????????????????????? aesthetic actually steers clear of depression.
?????????????????????????????????????????????? When the sisters sing of love's "hellish kind of
?????????????????????????????????????????????? heaven" in the album's stand-out title track,
?????????????????????????????????????????????? painting a grim scene of a rotting relationship
?????????????????????????????????????????????? with the line, "It's been a long time let's have
?????????????????????????????????????????????? ourselves a quarrel/Let's go sit upon our drunk
?????????????????????????????????????????????? and lazy laurels," they do so over an insanely
?????????????????????????????????????????????? sprightly Appalachian jig that demands a fervid
?????????????????????????????????????????????? dance. It's a compelling approach that comes
?????????????????????????????????????????????? off even better in their anything-but-lazy live
?????????????????????????????????????????????? show, making the Damnations the best
?????????????????????????????????????????????? Yankee-born Texas act since Jerry Jeff Walker
?????????????????????????????????????????????? ditched his New York folkie schtick for
?????????????????????????????????????????????? Austin's outlaw boho in the early Seventies.
?????????????????????????????????????????????? Boone and Kelly, you see, were born in
?????????????????????????????????????????????? Schoharie, N.Y., and didn't move to Austin
?????????????????????????????????????????????? until some ten years ago.

?????????????????????????????????????????????? "We saw a lot of bluegrass as kids growing up
?????????????????????????????????????????????? in upstate New York," explains Boone, noting
?????????????????????????????????????????????? that most of their Texas fans don't seem too
?????????????????????????????????????????????? bothered by the Yankee thing. "It's not like we
?????????????????????????????????????????????? came from Brooklyn and moved here or
?????????????????????????????????????????????? anything. We grew up in a town ten times
?????????????????????????????????????????????? smaller than this one. I guess people here
?????????????????????????????????????????????? have accepted that we took the country
?????????????????????????????????????????????? instead of the Yank part, and threw the Yank
?????????????????????????????????????????????? part out."

?????????????????????????????????????????????? Both sisters are now proud to call Austin
?????????????????????????????????????????????? home, though their Lone Star allegiance has
?????????????????????????????????????????????? nothing to do with the "TX" at the end of their
?????????????????????????????????????????????? band name. That, alas, was a reluctant
?????????????????????????????????????????????? concession to avoid confusion with all the
?????????????????????????????????????????????? other damned bands flaunting the same name
?????????????????????????????????????????????? or variations thereof. "We shouldn't have been
?????????????????????????????????????????????? surprised to hear that there were other bands,
?????????????????????????????????????????????? because it's actually a generic name," says
?????????????????????????????????????????????? Kelly. "But once you get used to a name, it's
?????????????????????????????????????????????? your identity. We tried to change it for a week
?????????????????????????????????????????????? and it didn't work. It's pretty traumatic for a
?????????????????????????????????????????????? band to have to change its name."

?????????????????????????????????????????????? Were any formal challenges ever issued to the
?????????????????????????????????????????????? other name-holders?

?????????????????????????????????????????????? "Actually," laughs Kelly, "I wanted to get a
?????????????????????????????????????????????? hold of one of them and have them come to
?????????????????????????????????????????????? our record release party to do a song with us,
?????????????????????????????????????????????? because it'd be fun to put them in front of our
?????????????????????????????????????????????? fans and then go, 'We want to kick this band's
?????????????????????????????????????????????? ass!' But I don't think we would win, because I
?????????????????????????????????????????????? saw a picture of them in a magazine and they
?????????????????????????????????????????????? just look so gnarly and full on ... what you'd
?????????????????????????????????????????????? expect a band called Damnations to look like.
?????????????????????????????????????????????? *Nothing* like us."

?????????????????????????????????????????????? RICHARD SKANSE (February 19, 1999)
?