December 2025
Dear Fisherfolk,
Trout Fishing in America is closing in on a Major Milestone. 2026 will mark 50 years that we have been playing music together! 50 YEARS. Let that sink in. Many of you know a lot of our history.
- We met in 1976. I was playing bass with the Houston Symphony Orchestra. Ezra was in a band called Formerly Wheatfield. Actually, they had changed their name from Wheatfield to St. Elmo’s Fire by that time, but I could never remember that. This was my favorite band. When the symphony had a labor dispute lock-out, putting me out of work, and the bass player for St. Elmo’s Fire quit, the ‘stage was set’.
- Ezra and I were fast friends (opposites attract?) and drove together on the St. Elmo's tours. We would leave early so Ezra could fish and I could sit and read (mostly Brautigan books like Trout Fishing in America). We also started performing as a duo on the side, covering silly songs and anything else we felt like playing. It was NOT a serious endeavor. We playfully called it Trout Fishing in America.
- In the past 50 years we have traveled over a million miles to all 50 states, played shows in Canada and Europe, received 4 Grammy nominations, written a bunch of songs, raised families, and remained friends.
The list goes on and on, way too much for a newsletter. We’ll need a book to tell this story. We’re working on that with a co-writer. Right now, I’m putting together a Trout timeline. I’m researching using old newsletters, postcards, my Dad’s highly organized and precise journals, my own scattered and random journals, and booking calendars. It’s an emotional journey for me. I’m overwhelmed to say the least. Did you know Trout already has 3 Lifetime Achievement Awards? And we’re not done yet!
The studio work on our next album project is going great! This will not be a retrospective. It’s music that is happening now and next. We will continue to try and remember our older songs, but newer ones just keep on coming. Can’t wait for you to hear them. We'll be back on the road in March, playing League City, TX on 3/21. Sunday, 3/22 will be our final performance at Poor David's Pub in Dallas. David Card will retire after 49 years of bringing live music to Dallas. Come out and help us celebrate!
We wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season in whatever way you celebrate. Hopefully we will all get through everything and have a great New Year together. Thanks for making the journey with us.
Troutfully Yours,
Keith and Ezra