L.E. "Gene" Scott

Gene's interest in music is due, in part, to his father who used to take him to honky-tonks and tell him to "listen to that steel guitar".  Gene grew up with fellow Brazos Brother, Jack Stephenson, and they even joined the Marines together on the "Buddy Plan" (but somehow they managed to get separated - military intelligence?)  After they both were discharged, (1969 for Gene, 1970 for Jack) they "did a lot of jamming in living rooms and on front porches" and continued writing their own original material.  They've played together off and on ever since !  Jack was one of the founding members of 'The Second Nature Band', known for it's "river-bottom jazz".

Gene's professional career began in the early 1970's while he was attending Weatherford College in Weatherford, Texas.  He performed with the 'Weatherford College Stage Band' and 'Country Gold'.  It was there that he befriended fellow guitar player and songwriter, Rocky Randall, and they're still playing and writing together all these years later!  He also met Holley Warren, however Gene never played music with him until he showed up at Jack's house one day a couple of years ago for rehearsal (better known as "Boys Night Out"), and never left !  Turned out his vocals melded really well with Rocky's and Gene's, and another Brazos Brother was born!

In the late 1970's and early 1980's, Gene began playing with 'The Second Nature Band', with
the likes of Earl Musick, Mickey Morrow, Mason Wallis and Tommy Joe Millsap, with James 'Dave' Davis as Sound Engineer.  They played original music around the Fort Worth area.  During this same time, Gene was also playing with John Goodrum & the Madd Dog Country Band, playing country steel everywhere from Tarrant to Parker to Palo Pinto Counties. In March of 1981, Gene joined 'B. J. Strings Cowtown Dance Band'.  "We worked a lot of 'joints', and a lot of exciting places", like several 'Fort Worth Pioneer Days Festivals', NCHA Champions Parties at the Will Rogers Complex in Fort Worth, and we can't forget the famous 'White Elephant Saloon' in downtown Fort Worth.  They also worked in Dallas, Denton, Montague, Jack and Hamilton counties in various 'joints'.  They even  made it to "Okla-by-god-homa" !  While working with the 'Dance Band', Gene was able to play with "some great fiddle players, like Johnny Gimble, Bobby Boatwritght, Randy Elmore, Reggie Ruffner and Tommy Hughes, just to name a few".

It was also during this period that Gene worked some dates with 'Earl Musick and the Unsung Heroes', as well as with 'Kim O'Connor and the Lucky Rangers' and with Amos Staggs ( "and he was way cool before Hootie came around", says Gene! )

Since 1995 Gene has been 'freelancing' on steel guitar with whoever calls, but playing mostly with John and Alice Nash in a band called 'Walnut Springs'.  Gene's also a 'regular' at RockHouse Studio in Fort Worth, where his extraordinary steel guitar and booming bass can be heard on Reload Records most recent releases, 'Amos Staggs - Scattered', 'Earl Musick - Done Deal' and, of course, 'The Brazos Brothers Band - Harmony Road'.  He has also been featured on Amos Staggs previous release 'Mighty High and Mighty' and on Kim O'Connor's 'Worthy' albums.

When asked how he began to write his own songs, Gene replied, "When I first started playing, I had to write 'em, couldn't learn anybody else's!  Some were given to me from 'above'.  I just wrote them down.  Inspiration is sometimes fear, but usually it's a 'what if' attitude."

Asked how he feels about playing live versus playing in the studio, he said, "There's some pressure from outside, and from within, to do some live stuff, and some is fine, but there's at least two more albums of material that just needs to be worked on, and recorded in Mexico", (grinning).  

Gene claims his musical influences to be "anyone I ever heard who played better than me".  Then he added Jimi Hendrix, The Allman Brothers, Al Dimeola, Stanley Clarke, Charlie Byrd, Van Halen, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ray Price, Buddy Emmons and Herbie Hancock, which shows in the eclectic variances of his songs.  Gene's immediate plans for his musical future is " to do another album, and do it better."  You can't ask for more than that!

Brazos Brothers Home - Bio - Reviews - Pics - Audio