Short and burly, Volkaert has forearms about as thick as Popeye's, laced with faded blue tattoos and bricklayer's hands. His thick, stubby fingers look as though they'd be more at home tearing down a carburetor than tossing off wild-ass guitar licks. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Volkaert started on guitar at the tender age of 10, sometimes skipping school to get in a few extra hours of woodshedding. By the time he was 16, he was well on the way to playing in every Moose, Elks, Legion, VFW, nightclub, and beer joint in the area. In time, he found greener pastures in Alberta, playing in a three-piece band and making a living with the instrument until moving to Southern California in 1986.

"I ran into a bunch of rockabilly guys there," says Volkaert, "and got on that jag for awhile, which was real, real fun. So much of it is related so closely anyway, y'know, rockabilly, old-style blues, and Fifties country, so there's not a whole lot of difference. I worked a lot, played a lot, and learned a lot while I was doin' that."
After moving to Austin Texas in '2000 the city’s spirit and supportive music scene have allowed the native of Canada to settle in and establish himself as a guitar player’s guitar player in the Live Music Capital of the World. And he’s digging it.

“It’s wonderful,” Volkaert said on a recent Saturday afternoon before his weekly matinee at the Continental Club, “I love it. There’s lots of good live music, and lots of bad live music. There’s something for everybody. If you want to see a guy playing a fiddle with a safety pin in his lip and a diaper on, doing rockabilly, this is the town for you. You get punk rock guys and old grandpas and nobody says nothing, nobody picks on nobody’s hair or nothing, it’s just so laid back—it’s fun!”

2008 - Redd Volkaert’s new record Reddhead will probably land in the country bin. The imposing guitar master is well known for the years he spent as country legend Merle Haggard’s lead axeman. So it goes without saying he delivers a good bit of tantalizing twang. But by the time you get through all 14 cuts of this, his first recording since 2000, you realize you are dealing with a guy who has few stylistic limitations. The guy can probably play Mozart or Mingus note for note.

In fact, the first cut (“Red Line Fever”) on this free-wheeling testament to impressive chops sounds like what you might get if Dick Dale and Junior Brown mixed it up in the studio. Ignore the lyrics for a moment on “Call the Pound” and you could be listening to a bit of rock ‘n’ roll menace à la The Doors. The disc includes several nods to Bob Wills that instantly conjure up a full dance floor at the Broken Spoke. “Raisin’ the Dickens,” a deft, blazing instrumental, would do Chet Atkins proud. The man is not just browsing, either—he is a virtual master of whatever genre he tackles.

Volkaert either wrote or co-wrote with Laura Durham (whose husband Alan produced with Volkaert) half the tracks on Reddhead, demonstrating that as a songwriter he’s no slouch. With the backing of a crackerjack band, and old school (analog) recording techniques, Reddhead is not just a picker’s pleasure, but a sure bet for anyone who appreciates genuine, honest, real American roots. If it were left up to me, I’d file this one under “Super Bad.”
Astute readers may remember his stints with Merle Haggard, or his more recent work with Brad Paisley which resulted in a Grammy nomination in 2004 and actually winning a Grammy in 2009, countless TV appearances, recording dates and clinics, keep him busy enough, though he still somehow finds time to travel to play festivals with his band.