Event Details

Kinky's BiPolar Tour invades The Linda With opening act The Tequila Mockingbirds

Everyone's favorite former Texas gubernatorial candidate, political commentator and self-proclaimed "author, columnist, musician and beautician" Kinky Friedman is going bipolar, as in Kinky Friedman's BiPolar Tour. As he has done on his recent "sojourns through America," Kinky will be performing solo, dispensing the wisdom of the Jewish troubadour, and signing books.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Everyone's favorite former Texas gubernatorial candidate, political commentator and self-proclaimed "author, columnist, musician and beautician" Kinky Friedman is going bipolar, as in Kinky Friedman's BiPolar Tour, which starts in New England on June 6 and continues through to July 1. As he has done on his recent "sojourns through America," Kinky will be performing solo, dispensing the wisdom of the Jewish troubadour, and signing books.

The Kinkster, whose solo performance has recently been described as "Mark Twain meets Groucho Marx . . . at the corner of Johnny Cash and Lenny Bruce," will be hitting the road fresh on the heels of the release of his brand new book, The Billy Bob Tapes: A Cave Full of Ghosts, co-authored by and about the life and times of Billy Bob Thornton. With a foreword from Angelina Jolie, The Billy Bob Tapes promises "colorful tales of [Billy Bob's] modest Southern upbringing, his bizarre phobias, his life, his loves . . . and, of course, his movie career." And, as Kinky has often said, "the Kinkster will sign anything but bad legislation."

Kinky Friedman rose to stardom in the '70s, with his seminal band the Texas Jewboys. An equal-opportunity offender, Kinky, with his outrageous lyrics and crazed stage persona, may have offended some, but drew people like Don Imus, Robin Williams, Bob Dylan and John Belushi into his spiritual fan club. He toured with Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue and appeared on the inaugural season of Saturday Night Live. His infamous appearance on Austin City Limits, the only performance ever filmed by ACL and never broadcast because of content, has finally been released on DVD, to the delight of fans everywhere.

While cooling his jets from touring in the '80s, Kinky wrote a wildly popular series of mystery novels featuring himself as the detective. In the years since, the real Kinky has branched out into children's books, memoirs, historical reflections and editorials, all to great success, and all powered by his razor sharp wit. It should not be a surprise to anyone that he and Billy Bob Thornton hooked up. Also not surprising is the fact that Kinky and Willie Nelson have become good friends, and that they, too, are writing a book together.

Kinky's commentaries have appeared in such diverse media as The New York Times, Texas Monthly and Playboy, and, since adding politics to his résumé, he has been a regular on cable networks of every stripe. His books are now read the world over, and his tour schedule reflects this. From Bill Clinton to Nelson Mandela, everybody loves a Kinky Friedman book.

And apparently everybody loves a good Kinky Friedman performance, as well, as reviews of his shows have been off the charts nearly everywhere. Kinky Friedman is the real deal, an amazing performer, and one of America's brightest literary lights. The Kinkster truly is the Jewish troubadour of our times, with a show for the ages.

OPENING ACT THE TEQUILA MOCKINGBIRDS

Though Peter Pashoukos and George Fletcher knew each other through the Saratoga Springs music scene, and had even jammed together a time or two, their musical partnering was less about the desire to work together and more about simply wanting to work.

It was March, 2004 and with just enough material in common, just enough differences to make things interesting and ears sharp enough to fake the rest, the pair struck a chord with one another and decided to make a go of it.

The group specializes in instrumental, improvisational jazz, blues, gypsy swing, classic rock and original material with a strong emphasis on their guitar prowess and arrangements. Songs are often laced with unexpected twists, such as in the case of their "Take 5 Medley" which uses the famed Dave Brubeck number "Take 5" as a frame for a melding of Christmas songs and classic rock riffs leading to a crescendo of the entire guitar solo from Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven."

The Tequila Mockingbirds have performed in bars, clubs, restaurants, festivals, private, educational and corporate events, wedding rehearsals, ceremonies and receptions from Woodstock to Lake Placid, with bookings having taken place in California and Massachusetts.

At the close of 2011, they made the difficult decision to quit playing bars and restaurants, the difficulty being in turning their backs on easy money. But after more than 7 years of competing with televisions, intoxicated people who don't "get" what they do and as in the case of Saratoga, other bands, The Tequila Mockingbirds concluded that their fans generally don't hang out in bars, and for those that do, certainly not until 2 a.m. Since that time, they have been recording their 5th CD, and concentrating on securing gigs at venues where patrons come to listen.

The duo was voted the Capital Region's "Best Acoustic Duo" in the Metroland magazine 2007 and 2008 Reader's Poll, and "Best Jazz Musician or Group" in the Albany Times Union's 2008 "Best of the Capital Region" Reader's Poll.

They have been hired to play for NYRA, Society for New Communications Research, Aflac Insurance, Cisco Systems, Gilda's Club, Shelters of Saratoga, Fingerpaint Media, The Donna Crandall Foundation, Saratoga Eagle, Seeds for Peace, ASPCA, the City of Albany, NY, The Town of Saratoga Springs, The Town of Wilton, The Town of Ballston Spa, Sacandaga Valley Arts Network, Lake George Arts Project, Larac Gallery, Universal Preservation Society and countless others.

The Tequila Mockingbirds have four CDs in release: "Live at 13" (2006), "Christmas Time of Year" (2007), "Birds of a Feather" (2008) and "MUSIC" (2009).

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