Hayes Carll Stories

I found out who Hayes Carll was sometime in late 2003 when he opened for a Cross Canadian Ragweed show in College Station, Texas. I forget which bar it was, but it wasn't the Dixie Chicken, so I'm sure it doesn't exist anymore. Back then CCR (which is fun to abbreviate, but is way less popular than the proper CCR so you have to explain yourself every time) was the shit in the state of Texas. My sister had come down to visit for the weekend so I got some tickets.

While we waited in line I noticed a person at the door who was asking everyone for identification. This was a new concept to me. I never got carded on account of the beard, and I also never went out because I didn't have many friends in College Station - aside from the hockey players - they were way more into Canada stuff like Nickelback.

Once we got closer to the entrance I realized they were asking people to be at least the age of 18 years old. I also noticed the big-ass sign that said "18 and OVER" right in front of the entrance. I knew for a fact that my sister was 17 years old. This posed a problem.

I thought quick. Right before we got to the bouncer I whispered "tell them you forgot your ID - just go with it." Sister Stein nodded. I approached the bouncer first and proudly presented my identification. He glanced at it, gave it back to me, then asked my sister for her ID. She said "I forgot it" and before the bouncer could respond I turned to her and said "Again?!?! Every fucking time...what is wrong with you? Damnit...." and proceeded to curse her out while she pretended to go through her wallet. I would have been on YouTube if it existed and people had cell phones that took video.

The bouncer was flustered - he didn't know what to do with the fit I was throwing - and I'm sure he felt bad for Sister Stein for having such an asshole for company. He said "just bring it next time" and proceeded to let us both in. I think we high-fived once we were three steps in the door, which probably wasn't wise, but it was an exciting moment that needed to be celebrated.

We got some standing area spots pretty close to the stage and watched Hayes Carll's opening act. It was good! My favorite song was "Down the Road Tonight" which is one of those songs where the singer makes a list of things without any real coherent purpose - they just want to list a bunch of badass things. After his set, the dance floor thinned cause people went off to get drinks, cause that's what you do between bands. Again, I did not know this because I was in a new situation, but I think Sister Stein did cause she wandered off for a bit.

So I stood around the stage looking at all the cool stuff on the walls of the dance hall. In the middle of my Stein space-out, a very pretty woman walked up to me and said "Hey! You were great!" I looked around to make sure she was talking to me, and she affirmed that she was talking to me by saying "yea, you!" I was more confused than usual. I hadn't done anything, except sneak my sister into a bar through a stroke of genius (becoming an asshole). The woman then asked me "You're Hayes Carll, right?" I said "Yes Ma'm."

I lied! I couldn't believe it myself. She went on about how much she enjoyed my (Hayes') last show in Austin and really loved that one song I (Hayes) wrote. About a minute in to our conversation she asked me where I was playing next. I smiled, blushed more than normal, and said "I'm not Hayes Carll" while looking at the ground. We both had a good laugh. Then I'm pretty sure my sister came back with some Lone Stars and CCR rocked the house.

So that is the story of the first time I was mistaken for Hayes Carll. The second time was at Gruene Hall at a Todd Snider concert. There were posters of Hayes all over the place, backs of seats even, because he was playing the following weekend. A drunk guy in a golf shirt behind me yelled "HEY HAYES" about 17 times before he finally tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and explained to him I was not the talented musician, but thank you and Hayes is playing next week. That time was less fun, but still fun in it's own way.

Here's the thing about Hayes Carll - I think we were more similar in our presence than our looks. I mean, there is that "white male hippie with a beard" thing that makes us all hard to tell a part, but mostly I think we are both seen as someone who can take a joke and maybe tell one if we're in the mood. In 2008 he released the album Trouble in Mind and I connected with the entire album. It helped that NPR (KUT especially) pitched the hell out of this album - I loved every song on it.

ALSO - here is the new Apple Music Stories and Stein's Playlist - every band I talk about will get some songs added, and probably other songs I just think should be on there. Listen to it on shuffle and follow the rabbit holes you find. Rock and roll!

-Stein