About
Originally hailing from New York City, the Hot Club of Cowtown initially started out as a duo featuring the Connecticut-born/Massachusetts-bred guitarist Whit Smith and Kansas-born Elana James (née Frememan). Prior to meeting, Smith studied privately with guitarists Bill Connors and Richard Lieberson, and led his own the 13-member Western Caravan. Similarly, James (who holds a B.A. in Comparative Religion from Barnard College) had studied classical violin at the Manhattan School of Music, as well as Dhrupad North Indian classical music with Pandit Vidhur Malik. She also spent several summers working on horse ranches in Colorado and playing fiddle in cowboy bands. Joining forces as Whit & Elana, they eventually relocated to San Diego, where they spent a year busking for tips and developing their repertoire. A second move brought them to Austin in the late '90s, where they officially adopted the Hot Club of Cowtown moniker and worked with bassist/producer Billy Horton for several albums, including 1998's Swingin' Stampede and 1999's Tall Tales. A third album, Dev'lish Mary, arrived in 2000 and featured contributions by bassist Matt Weiner.
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