Don Burnham isn’t exactly stepping away from his 8- to 22-piece western swing band Lost Weekend because all of the players on his “solo” CD, I Dreamed Count Basie Was a Cowboy, are members of Lost Weekend’s extended family. Considering the natural ebb and flow of personnel in a band that’s been around over a quarter of a century, this band has out-grown family. By now it’s a tribe.

Lost Weekend, the band, built its name by covering songs by Bob Wills, Cindy Walker, the Light Crust Doughboys and like-minded western swing pioneers. Don Burnham, the band’s leader, has turned his attention to writing his own material, often updating the topical content while keeping the music true to its roots. “Apple and Google and Gold,” the release that launched the Don Burnham era, is a case in point. It’s a cowboy’s lament about sinking one’s life savings into Enron, dot-coms and sub-prime mortgages instead of investments that soared rather than sunk. Bob Wills never even wrote about the Great Depression, where Don Burnham is ready to face 21st century economics lock, stock and 401K.  Video: Apple and Google and Gold.  “Ex Factor,” a heartbreaking tale of woe about having your date walk off with her ex-whatever, is also better suited to our times than times gone by.

Write what you know is the CD’s credo, (more…)