Nells nightclub in New York City’s Chelsea District(14th Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues) has become famous over the years for its Tuesday night Amateur Night. Receiving such R&B royalty as Stevie Wonder and Chaka Khan as guests, it is a haven for musicians of all walks of life and the only place where the most unknown singer can be heard by legends and industry up-and-ups. Ironically, Nells’ greatest talent is not found on the center stage — it’s found behind the scenes: Tex Axile, one of the Tuesday night hosts and a veteran musician(having a distinguished musical resume with, among others, Peroxide Romance, The Outpatients, and Transvision Vamp), has put forth his self-written, self-produced Diary of a Genius.

Listen: This Lovely World I Love Slugs and Snails It's So Hard

Diary, a musical odyssey into the abyss of a troubled but creative mind, is the album that just may put Axile onto a major label as his most ambitious outing yet. It starts off with "This Lovely World." Not unlike Fiona Apple’s "Sleep to Dream" before it, "World" takes simple lyrics and an off-beat tempo and creates a song that delivers all with genuine feeling and guts.

"This Lovely World" sets the stage for the rest of the album — nothing short of original, pleasing snippets of music, plain and simple — and each song never fails to please. Axile shines brightest with "I Love," a nouveau bohemian poetry reading with catchy guitar licks and upbeat tempo. Also worthy of note is the piss-and-vinegar Brit-humor of "It’s So Hard," a Monty Python out-take of sarcasms and falsettos, and "Car In A Lake," the album’s most serious tune that’s guaranteed to haunt the most stalwart listener for hours after it’s over.

Tex Axile

The album’s most interesting track is "Slugs and Snails," a funky jive in Soul Coughing’s "Super Bon Bon" vein. Transvision Vamp fans might remember this song as "Puppy Dog Tails," a B-side on their "If Looks Could Kill" release, but take note: Axile’s take on the song is far more original, and far more personally involved, than his former band’s take. Even if Axile isn’t as photogenically candid as Wendy James once was, "Slugs", in the right hands, will ultimately be Axile’s star vehicle.

Rather than cater to the fads of the ever-fickle music industry, or dumb down his music to the lowest common denominator and face death by heavy rotation, Axile sticks to the formula that made Nells’ Amateur Night gain the respect and credibility it has justly earned on the club circuit: simple music, catchy lyrics, and a smart-as-a-whip New York mentality. DIY/independent music has become the new high road for the serious musician, and Tex Axile — for better or worse — has traveled it. And that has made all the difference.

You can order the album exclusively through his website at http://www.texaxile.com.

Bernadette is an aspiring indie reviewer. Contact her at g-force@rockzone.com.

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