The Dallas Morning News Alan Peppard column [The Dallas Morning News]

Aug. 27--When singer-song- writer Willis Alan Ramsey packed them in at Poor David's Pub on Wednesday night, he showed that he has a sense of humor about his creative constipation. Thirty-eight years after his widely hailed first album, he has yet to release a second, although he recorded it.

His creative process is an asymptotic line where the x-axis is forever approaching the y-axis without actually intersecting it.

Willis' tunes have been covered by Jimmy Buffett, America and Lyle Lovett, but he says it never occurred to him to write a song until he was in the eighth grade. He was embarrassed that his friend Brice Beaird was writing songs while he had written none.

Brice opened for Willis on Wednesday.

"Brice has just released his second record," Willis said from the stage, "so, once again, I'm really embarrassed."

Poor David's owner David Card was a proud proprietor to get Willis down from his home in Colorado for the second show in 90 days, both of them sellouts. "It's a testament to the quality of singer-songwriter he is," David said. Willis also brought his Dallas-raised wife, songwriter Alison Rogers.

Willis was raised in University Park. Lots of hometown friends came to hear him -- folks such as attorney and former state Rep. Bill Keffer, Channel 8 reporter Gary Cogill (who reported live from the show on the 10 p.m.), Dallas author Julie Hersh (Struck by Living), E-Bar-S ranching scion Bragg Smith and his wife, Jill, and Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation president Linda Owen.

By midset, the whole crowd was loudly singing favorite lyrics to his song "Northeast Texas Women."

With brio, they sang, "North of Waxahachie, east of old Cowtown, them Dallas women standin' up beat the others lyin' down."

"Let's go on the road," an appreciative Willis said.

They don't come any more bipartisan than steakhouse owner Al Biernat. Last weekend, he hosted voluble Republican congresswoman Michele Bachmann for a dinner with right-wing actor Jon Voight.

Wednesday night, Democratic candidate for governor Bill White came to Biernat's with trial lawyer and former Mayor Pro Tem Domingo Garcia.

Screenwriter Jeb Stuart is the latest to tune in to Dallas as a great place to shoot a movie. Jeb wrote Die Hard and The Fugitive.

On Thursday, he flew into town to scout locations for his latest film. Stay tuned for more.

"It's a big error to think that because you like somebody's work, you're going to like him." Paul Simon

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