Postmarked Texas

Even now, there exists a strong connection between Ely, Gilmore and Hancock: On Letter to Laredo, Butch contributed "She Finally Spoke Spanish to Me," and Jimmy Dale sings harmony on "I Saw It in You."

"I guess, for me, the first time I really felt like I understood why I was a songwriter was when all the Flatlanders were livin' in a house in Lubbock," Ely says. "Each of us had a bedroom and a big ol' living room, and would wake up in the mornin' and pull out our guitars and sing and play all day. This is when I wrote songs like 'Because of the Wind' and 'Johnny's Blues' and 'Hope's Up High' and some of those early songs that I still sing today. That was a time when I realized it was okay to [be a songwriter]. I had good friends and we kinda shared in this same vision and same love for certain kinds of music and well-written songs.

"We kinda set a course and made a lot of bad decisions and wrong turns, but we're still tryin' to keep it alive. I guess there's something about being in a room -- like in a studio or on a stage -- with a band," Ely adds. "This ol' world can be real confusing, and you can take a look around you and nothing's in harmony with anything else. But when a bunch of guys are playing the same song and everybody's listenin' as much as they're playin', something happens that is indescribable.

"It's like the whole universe seems to be okay, like the six o'clock news didn't take a few things into consideration that day. You stand back from it, take a deep breath, and everything's on course.