[Updated 21st February 2020]
It’s not often I get to play guitar with a country legend, but the pseudonymous Virg is certainly an exception, in every sense… Sometimes to be heard in the company of members of Grey Wolf, disguised as Comfort of the State, but occasionally you may have caught me picking in an awestruck sort of way behind him at a pub somewhere and chiming in with the occasional harmony. And I’m happy with that…
As it says on his website:
Have you ever woken up in an empty bed, blear-eyed and smelling of stale perfume, with a broken heart in one hand and an empty bourbon bottle in the other? You have? Well, Virg is singing just for you.
In fact, while I sometimes wonder how Gareth Owen sings so well with his tongue so firmly planted in his cheek, some of his songs do tend to prove that some of the the best parody and pastiche comes from a love of what you’re parodying. But there’s a lot more to his writing than Virg. Take a look at his verse and short stories, if you get the chance.
He’s also released a couple of CDs recently that I’ve reviewed for folking.com – listed here.
David Harley
