Al's First Record

(Produced by ) Drive west from Portland, Maine on US 302 and youâll pass a giant mechanical television repairman on the left. The repairman was built by Al Hawkes years ago to promote his television store. Al sold TVs for years, but his real love was always country and bluegrass music. Heâs been a performing musician, record producer, pirate radio broadcaster, and general promoter. Now, he works like a mad scientist in his basement to preserve recordings and document musicians who played a part in Maineâs musical history. His basement is filled with records; some 50,000 or more. Every now and then, he goes into his stacks and pulls out an old treasure. Jen forgot to say in the piece that is a producer on the Virginia-based radio program, .  Thanks so much for turning her on to this awesome tune "Shifting Texas Sand." She went on a web hunt for it immediately.  (And Shea wants to out Jesse as an alum of the .) Check out the   or go straight to the