A GREAT CHAPTER OF US-MUSIC HISTORY GOT STARTED IN LUXEMBOURG:

This is the exiting story of the Luxembourg-American friendship of Texan songwriter & actor LYLE LOVETT and Luxembourg’s famous Country Music Export BUFFALO C. WAYNE.

I first met Lyle Lovett in 1978 while I was playing a concert at an Icelandic Bar called “The Loch Ness Pub” at the “Ënneschtgaas” close to the cathedral in Luxembourg City. Lyle Lovett back then came from Texas A&M and was studying at the “Goethe Institute” in “Rothenburg ob der Tauber” in Germany to bring his skills of the German language to perfection. The Texan student made a side-trip to Luxembourg where he met a young Luxembourg folk music newcomer Buffalo Wayne. He asked me if he could play some songs, I agreed and after Lovett gave us a proof of his amazing talent, I seriously didn’t want to go back on stage anymore. We became good friends, we’ve stayed in touch and two years later I invited Lovett for a duration of six weeks to play at Luxembourg’s national fair, the “Schueberfouer” together with a star country band from Phoenix, Arizona, named “J. David Sloan and the Rogues”. That Band from Arizona, house-band at the legendary night-club “Mr. Lucky’s” in Phoenix, liked Lyle’s material so much that they asked, if they could add some of Lyle’s songs to their repertoire. Lyle agreed and from then on his nightly Luxembourg concert series got backed up by “The Rogues”. A few years later, my american friends returned the favour and in 1984 Buffalo C. Wayne, the new country singer from Patton-Town, Luxembourg went to Phoenix, Arizona to play at “Mr.Lucky’s, the club of the clubs” and had the plan to record some of his originals with the Phoenix musicians, but by mistake the secretary had booked the wrong studio dates. My friend Lyle Lovett had booked a Texas club tour for both of us and I recorded two of my originals and one of Lovett’s songs together with Lyle Lovett and the very best session musicians of the Texas Music Scene at “Texas Motion Picture Studios” in Austin. The recordings in Austin became part of my debut album named “The European Texan” and I’ve proposed to Lyle to fly to Phoenix and record some of his originals with the “Rogues”. Lyle agreed and the recordings with the “Rogues” compared to the traditional Nashville Sound came out sensationally different. Lovett’s unique voice and new sound lead to his Nashville recording contract. Famous Texas singer-Songwriter Guy Clark supported Lovett and opened doors in the country music industry. The Rogues for many years became Lovett’s back-up band. What happened then, today is part of American Music History! Lyle Lovett was recognized as a rare breed, the master of songwriting and exceptionnal performances became one of the the chosen few, 4 -time Grammy winner! Lovett knows to convince with a cool, elegant appearance, a humorous, bright and intelligent mind, a good stage presence and a very polite, professional attitude towards his fans and the media’s. Lyle’s popularity is permanently increasing. The piano player that came to Luxembourg with the Rogues was 17 year old Matt Rollings. He also became a member of Lyle Lovett’s Large band, Matt moved to Nashville and also wrote music history. Grammy nominated and multi-platinum selling Rollings produced and toured with Billy Joel, Larry Carlton, Emmylou Harris, Marc Knopfler, Martin Taylor, Clint Black, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Reba McEntire, just to name a few. Since LYLE LOVETT became Randy Newman’s duett partner in “You got a friend in me” for Walt Disney’s film “Toy Story” even kids rush to buy his albums. Lyle Lovett in the past was seen at nameless concerts and charity projects together with Sir Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, Sting, James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, Woopie Goldberg, Zuccero,Steven Tyler, Elvis Costello, Kris Kristofferson, K.D.Lang, Shania Twain, Norah Jones, Toby Keith, Cheryl Crow, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Sissy Spacek, Patty Loveless, Trisha Yearwood, Allison Kraus, Emmylou Harris, John Mellencamp, the President Bush Sr., President Bill Clinton, just to name few and countless Hollywood celebrities. Lovett is a regular at popular TV-shows, like the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno”, David Letterman, Conan O’Brian, Ellie Show..etc.., but Mr. Lovett stays humble, he’s a well seen, a good example of how to behave and how it should be done in showbuzz!-Hats off my friend! Lovett's music career began as a songwriter, but he soon signed with MCA Records in 1986 and released his eponymous debut album. While typically associated with the country genre , Lovett's compositions often incorporate folk , swing, blues, jazz and gospel music as well as more traditional Country & Western styling. He has won four Grammy Awards, including Best Country Album (1996 for The Road to Ensenada), Best Country Duo/Group with Vocal (1994 for "Blues For Dixie" with the Texas swing group Asleep at the Wheel ) , Best Pop Vocal Collaboration (1994 for "Funny How Time Slips Away" with Al Green) and Best Country Male Vocal (1989) for Lyle Lovett and His Large Band).Lovett has acted in a number of films, including Robert Altman's films: The Player (1992), Short Cuts (1993), Prêt-à-Porter (1994), Cookie's Fortune (1999), and composed for Dr. T & the Women (2000). More recently, he has acted in The New Guy (2002) and Walk Hard: the Dewey Cox Story (2007). His television acting forays include Mad About You, Brothers & Sisters and Dharma & Greg. In the late eighties Lyle often came to visit his friend Buffalo Wayne at home in Luxembourg City during the breaks when he was filming or recording TV-specials in England and Germany. I recall the tall Texan once ringing the doorbell very unexpectedly, rushing in from Luxembourg Airport on his way to Paris. My 8 year old son Marvin opened the door, got frightened and screamed:”Daddy, there’s somebody all in black with very, very high piled-up hair, and he’s asking for you!” Those were the days when Lovett for publicity- & marketing reasons had unforgettable mysterious looks and the press used to call him “The Tallest Hair in Nashville!” “People Weekly Magazine”July 12.1983, published a great cover story of Hollywood Actress Julia Roberts marriage to Lyle Lovett. It’s only one and a half years later the same magazine sadly reported about their divorce. What went wrong? Meeting with “Gentleman” Lyle LOVETT in person is good fun! He is soft spoken and well educated with a college degree in journalism and has a good sense of humor. Mr. Lovett is known to be a very untypical US-Country-Singer, he’s charming, always well dressed, very charismatic and has some kind of a British, aristocratic appearance, other than a majority of country artists who are known to cultivate the more traditional Country & Western image!-Not Mr. Lovett! Lyle Lovett was born in the unincorporated area of Klein, Harris County (suburban Houston), Texas. Near the campus of Texas A&M University, where Lyle Lovett and troubadour Robert Earl Keen once were roommates, young Buffalo C. Wayne started his first Texan tour in 1984 together with friend Lyle Lovett as a double feature venue, at the Live-Music Club “Dr. G’s” in Bryan-College Station. In those days for me, a young Country singer with the artist name of Buffalo C. Wayne taken from my favourite western heroes Buffalo Bill Cody and actor John Wayne, the touring and playing together with Lyle Lovett was enriching and very enjoyable. Lyle to me is a songwriter equal to my 70.ies idols Kris Kristofferson and Jerry Jeff Walker, Guy Clark and Rusty Young and it was Lovett who for the first time introduced me to the magic of Texas night clubs and the song-writer music scene! Incomprehensible for me back then, was the fact that Texas-native Lyle Lovett, who was raised nearby his uncle Calvin’s Horse Ranch near Houston, and Lyle who proved to be an excellent horserider and motocross pilot, didn’t wear no typical western gear and didn’t care for “Stetson” cowboy hats at all! Big disappointment for a thirty one year old debuting cowboysinger from Luxembourg-Europe, who from reading wild west-gunslinger stories and watching John Wayne movies was convinced that all native Texans automatically had to be born with a cowboy hat,-no doubt! But on the other hand, perfectly to my liking was the fact, that my Texan friend since the day he was born walked around in flashy western boots and owned a serious collection of them! If you get to see him on TV or even better on stage, take a look at the stylish fine suit and western boots combination, It really fits, looks good on him!

While touring together with John Hiatt in Europe, February 2010, Lyle Lovett invited me to their concert at the “Ancienne Belgique”, in Brussels, Wednesday, february10.th 2010. We got extremely well received by Lovett himself as well as by road-manager James Gilmer. It was of no surprise that we’ve attended a completely “sold out” venue.

I never can get enough of Lovett’s performance. Lyle’s intelligent, humorous lyrics have always been of a great inspiration to me. I love his latest work called “Natural Forces”! Lyle’s sweet character, kindness and humbleness is one of a kind! I guess that’s one of the reasons he’s so much appreciated!

Buffalo C. Wayne was born in Ettelbrück, Luxembourg, the city got nicknamed „Patton-Town“ for being the headquaters of General George Patton during the „Battle of the Bulge“ in World War Two. Each summer for 50 years the strains of “Star-Spangled-Banner” and the drone and roar of jet fighters in a low flyover were heard during a ceremony of commemoration named Remembrance Day where wartime sacrifices of the allied forces are remembered. Thousands of spectators, officials and high-ranking military gathered by a 25-foot memorial obelisk surmounted by an American eagle, by one of the tanks that once rumbled through the town as well as a nine-foot statue of General George S. Patton Jr. who led the Third Army during the campaign that liberated Luxembourg 1945.

As a young aged admirer of our US-liberators, the Native Americans and Wild West films, I got friendly with an American family who taught me the language and introduced me to the American Way of Life. Ever since I’m part part of the two cultures. I first became a psychiatric nurse and after having worked in hospitals for 5 years, I went to art-school and worked as a graphic designer. To pay for my studies I’ve also worked as a nurse, truckdriver, radio-d.j. and a shop manager before I went to Paris, France to become a fashion designer. For some years I’ve studied at the best of schools and later successfully worked in the Paris- and New York- fashion business.

I started writing rocksongs as a teen-ager and formed my first Rockband in 1968. Returning from Paris 1982 I founded my first Buffalo Wayne Band (BWB) and went on tour in Iceland, the USA and all countries of the western hemisphere until August 2008 my last USA concerts that took us to the Luxembourg-American heritage festival and communities in Illinois and Wisconsin. In 1988 my longtime friend Dr. Abe Chej from Nashville, close friend of Grand Ole Opry Director Hal Durham and guitar hero Chet Atkins, opened doors to Buffalo Wayne at the legendary “Grand Ole Opry” where I got introduced to a cheerful audience by the « King of Country » Roy Acuff himself. Ever since “The European-Texan”, nickname given by Lyle Lovett and picked up by the US-Music Press, became known to country radio and country fans all over the world. Four years later 1992 I went on Tour in Russia where in the City of Ekaterinburg, capital of the Ural Mountains, we’ve played in front of no less than a half million people at once,-inconcievable, unforgettable !

Lovett’s and Buffalo’s country music careers got started almost around the same time and decade, but the two friends were leading their battles separately from each other, in two completely different worlds and continents! In the USA where Lovett came to fame, the Texan singer-songwriter was using well functionning American-entertainment structures, while Wayne who was based in Luxembourg was pioneering. I recall we were only a handful of competitors of different nationalities with the courage and illusion to first had to start promoting Country Music in Europe. But up to our days country music in Europe didn’t make its breakthrough, it remains an unpopular art form and is still unknown to the masses. While the United States have the reputation of being one big nation with English as the one and only official language and having the best organized music industry world wide, here at our old continent things are just the contrary. We have not one, but many European Music Industries, they are divided and not working together. Each nation speaks its own language, has its own “music culture” related to tribal heritage, local dialects and national preferences, not to forget the huge unbridgeable, political differences, if not to recall the “iron curtain and cold war”, which lasted until 1989. Because of severely controlled borders and the hunt for drugs, the transport of music gear and travelling in Europe was made difficult for bands, long before the founding of a so called “European Union” and signing of the “Schengen Treaty” brought the new changes. Untill today the countries of Europe have diverting national market interests. So, for many years it was rather impossible for a European Country & Western performer singing in English with a “Cowboy-Drawl” to be understood at a larger scale. On the other hand I wasn’t satisfied to just cover the “US-Country Charts” like most European country acts still do up today, but I was aiming at something new. I didn’t want to be taken for a copy of what was going on in the States. I wanted to write and perform my own stuff! European journalists those days were more interested in looks, my fancy western gear than in my music, not to talk about the the message behind lyrics or the sound. I always understood Country music as a lifestyle but never as a defined music style, I never intended to stick to a special way of writing, that’s why music professionals had problems labelling Buffalo C. Wayne. The European Music Industry would not take us serious and saw us as loonies or Outlaws.

We’ve played the insignificant circuit of European Country Festivals and unconditional country fans, we were moving so to say completely “under the radar!” and therefore ignored by the medias.

Buffalo Wayne’s life and adventures are summarized in a 130 paged novel called “Büffelherz” (Buffalo Heart) The book contains funny road stories, the backstage-and nightlife, including an interesting chapter about Lyle Lovett’s visits to Luxembourg. The book has lots of great photographs plus a brandnew CD called “Soulblood” with 22 originals attached at the hardcover. The package got released in German language by publisher: “Editions Schortgen www.schortgen.lu

www.lylelovett.com

www.buffalo-c-wayne.com