Area resident and country singer-songwriter Darryl Lee Rush was chatting with a Nashville record producer type recently. The record producer was gushing about "The Austin Sound." Darryl shot back, "That's nothing. You should hear The Lakewood Sound!"

Rush had made up "The Lakewood Sound" on the spot, but after thinking it over, he muses that it might have legs. "Where else in Dallas would you find such a concentration of musicians?" he asks.

Where else indeed. But Rush adopted this neighborhood. He was born near the Gulf coast near the cotton and milo fields of south central Texas.

Lessons for fruitcake 

There wasn't much to do in Markham, Texas, where Rush grew up, so music became an important part of his life early on In the sixth grade he started learning the guitar from the uncle of a friend, a narcoleptic bluegrass guitarist. Known to Darryl and the other citizens of Markham only as "Uncle Neg," the guitarist had quite an impact on young Rush. And the price was right. In return for weekly lessons, Rush's mother made Uncle Neg a fruitcake once a year in payment.

"Uncle Neg's narcolepsy was a little disconcerting," says Rush. "We'd head down to the store with Uncle Neg at the wheel and he'd forbid me to talk to him. He was afraid I'd make him laugh, his blood pressure would go up, and pretty soon he'd be asleep at the wheel." But the man could play, and he taught Rush well.

Photo courtesy of Darryl Lee Rush

Rush plays the guitar and sings, but really considers himself a songwriter. His writes about growing up in Texas with sincerity and a sense of humor, and even slips in several references to the Lakewood area on his debut CD, Llano Avenue.

Rush grows up musically in Lakewood 

After moving to Dallas from Austin, Rush started playing Wednesdays at the Light and Easy on Greenville (now defunct). Later he moved on to the Balcony Club, where he honed his performing skills. With another area resident, Don Gallia, on harmonica, Rush and fellow musicians were the Friday night happy hour band at the Balcony Club until their following got a little too rowdy for the tiny upstairs venue. They moved on to the Lakewood Bar and Grill, where they've been entertaining the crowds ever since.

Photo courtesy of Darryl Lee Rush

Rush (far right) and bandmates (l to r) Scott Oldner on lead guitar, Andy Mayer on drums, Don Gallia on harmonica, and Mike McShane on bass.

"It's still the best place to hear us live," says Rush of the Bar and Grill, who feels that he and the band are at their laid-back, high-energy best at the local venue.

A little over a year ago, Rush and the band entered a contest sponsored by Shiner Beer. Besting better-known bands in each round, the boys won first place over hundreds of other bands, cinching a record contract with Shiner Records. Things started looking bright for Rush. "One day we're playing in the neighborhood, the next day we're opening for Diamond Rio at the Nokia Theater," says Rush, who still holds a "day job" but can now see a day when he can make his living with music.

"If I hadn't found Lakewood, I probably wouldn't still be in Dallas," says Rush. By all accounts, the rest of the world is about to find Darryl Lee Rush and discover "The Lakewood Sound." 

Listen to "White Trash Paradise" (large file, requires MP3 player on your computer). You can find out more about Darryl Lee Rush, including upcoming show dates, at the MySpace site (darrylleerush) or their web site.

You can by Llano Avenue at your local record shop, at Amazon.com, and at the iTunes Music Store, among others. 

Thanks to Daniel Kanter for the story tip. 

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