Red Shahan is back in a big way with Loose Funky Texas Junky.
Admittedly, I was sleeping on Red until his 2021 masterpiece Javelina snapped my head on straight and ever since I’ve been shocked that he continues to be a somewhat-hidden gem, even within the Texas scene.
Loose Funky Texas Junky is a neon oasis in the West Texas desert. It’s groovy, snappy, and feels like shade in a heatwave but don’t let the style overshadow the substance because the heart of this record, like all of his previous, is the lyrics.
In a genre criticized for oversimplicity and too-direct lyrics, Red’s words take a bit of thinking to get to the core, a quality found throughout the Texas scene no doubt, but what sets Red apart is his dedication to using the right word in the right moment; whether it perfectly rhymes or fits traditional syllabic structure be damned. It’s something Nashville writing rooms would rather keel over and die than do, one because it’s difficult and two because it breaks the carefully calculated mold of radio composition designed for comfort over courage.
Take the second verse of “Room Full of Desire” as an example.
“Leaving out of Colorado
Body’s still, head full throttle
Today is my daughter’s birthday
Evergreens, mountain solos
Rivers full of browns and rainbows
I hope one day time forgives me”
Yes, the main media talking point about this album is going to be the sound and let’s face it, this record is (as the name suggests) funky as hell. But I got the chance to ask Red a few questions about what specifically brought these songs out of him, and the depths of life that inspired the project are not only rarely touched by even the best songwriters, but when they are, almost never are done this well.
When asked for some stories behind the songs, Red floated dive bars, old love, post-partum, and marriage struggles, and while I’m always a sucker for a good dive bar story, the later two caught my attention, which brought us to “Clues”, the 9th track on the album and one of the biggest sonic outliers.
Red turned not to his own life to find this song but to his wife Amanda’s, something that (naturally) made her a bit uneasy at first, but with time she saw how others would be able to use her story to help themselves.
“Clues” is about a time in my marriage shortly after Covid when the dust started to settle and we’d had our 2nd kid. It was a rough time for my wife dealing with post partum/depression as well as coming off the insanity of being an ICU nurse during Covid and when all the boxes were checked and she had achieved everything she set out to do, she was still seemingly lost and it was hell trying to find her on a daily basis.
What I saw her go through was something I wouldn’t wish upon any human. Depression is such a darkness when it truly reveals itself and I can assure you that I made plenty of mistakes that didn’t help the situation.”
What made it all even harder for the two of them was the novelty of it all. Amanda had been a D-1 athlete at Texas Tech, built a career in the pressure cooker of the ICU wing, and was successfully raising young children, all while supporting Red and his music career, so the idea that things wouldn’t be okay, despite them being fine on paper, was hard to comprehend; a feeling I think many of us can relate to.
But what makes her truly remarkable is the strength and foresight she showed to overcome these challenges and become better, not just for herself, but for her children, both now and when they go on to be mothers and fathers, and the unknown faces who may hear her story and use it to improve their own lives.
“Now that we’ve navigated it together and although I can still be a sh*t head from time to time, it’s certainly made our marriage stronger than ever and I’m proud of how hard she’s worked to understand herself and her surroundings. Although I know it makes her cringe to think that there’s a song out there about the nitty gritty of our lives, I know she’d be more than willing to sit with any stranger and tell her story if she knew it could help them.”
When asked if his writing played a part in her starting to talk about and confront the struggles head-on, Red said:
“She loves the personal side of my music when I write about MY struggles but when she became a part of that I think it shocked her to hear it from a writer’s perspective. It may have even allowed her to open up more.
I think that she’s always had the ability to express her struggles to the select few she has in her circle but when it became something she couldn’t run from or compartmentalize, it was a battle she wasn’t used to having to look in the face. But I don’t like to think I had everything to do with her opening up. I’d like to think that becoming a mother (several times over) truly made her look at her struggles from another angle so that she could not only be better in the moment for our children but also for when they become mothers and fathers too.”
While some jobs are nothing more than what people do for money, Red knows that’s not the case with his wife:
“That’s how nurses are. They’re resilient, independent, honest, and willing to put everyone else before themselves. That’s why I love her.”
It’s clear “Clues” isn’t the only song about his wife on the project; “Wild In My Mind” lives in the same vein.
Red sings about what it’s like watching her power through problems while doing his best to encourage her and tell her she’s still the same girl he fell in love with years ago. It may be the prettiest song he’s ever released and I just know my wife is going to tear up listening to it.
“Reflections don’t play fair anymore
But what you see is not what I see my jaw still hits the floor
And it’s ok to feel crazy even most the time
‘Cause you ain’t the only mother feeling on the sideline
But I promise you my dear
Your wings still know how to fly
We can go anywhere anytime I swear
And you will always be wild in my mind”
If I had my way, Loose Funk Texas Junky would be debuting at the top of every chart, but unfortunately that’s not the way this world works.
However, I want us all to take a minute and appreciate the masterful beauty of this album, from the bluesy honky-tonkers like “Ain’t It A Shame,” to the rambling, gambling tunes like “Desperate Company,” to the heartbreaking ballads like “Clues.”
Few artists can create an atmosphere and inspire a feeling like Red Shahan and we need to thank our lucky stars that we get to live in a time where this music is being released.
Crank the album up and let’s have ourselves a weekend.
